Official top 75 Iron Maiden songs thread!! (Top 2 revealed on 07/15!!)

[Ben_Jamin]

Continuing on and will finish with the last songs that were listed. So be ready for a long post....

#52 - Dream of Mirrors - #32

I really like the guitars in the verse. I also like the subject of the song relating to dreams. I think this is a good spot for it. I rank it there at 32 due to it feeling like it just plods along and the way it just suddenly goes into the fast part. It wouldn't feel plodding for me if they would've built up to it within the 2nd verse or something. But it's still a good song.

#51 - Isle of Avalon - #6

This song is number six for me, because of the same reasons 425 gave. But also, I enjoy these types of stories from the many cultures of the world. The story of Avalon and King Arthur is one cool thing to write about and the music fits it really good. The build ups of the song and how heavy it hits would be fantastic to hopefully witness one day live. If any song should be played, this is one of them.

#50 - Montsegur - #39
 
This is actually one of my favorites from Dance of Death. I bought Dance of Death after seeing them play Paschendale live and this one has great lyrics that fit the theme of the title of the album. Too bad the album artwork is what it is or else it could've been done way well to really reference this song. I like the energy of the song as well. I would enjoy an tour where they play nothing but reunion songs, but I doubt that will ever happen.

#49 - Lord of Light - (Did Not Rank)

I actually do enjoy this song, but this fluctuates with my mood. Some days I'll be completely into the song, other days I won't even bother when it comes up. But when this songs hits, it hits pretty good. It's one of their great short and sweet reunion era songs. I think Bruce does an excellent job on this song.

#48 - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - (Did Not Rank)

I think I may end up enjoying this song the more I listen to Somewhere In Time. It didn't rank because I never heard it much. I think it's a great song. Bruce's vocals shine in this one. And the guitar tone is great as well, especially the ending harmonizing guitars.

#47 - Starblind - (Did Not Rank)

I never heard The Final Frontier much, even though I ranked Isle of Avalon in the #6 spot. It is definitely in the top 100 though. It is a great song and the keyboards sound amazing in the intro. I like the energy of it.

#46 - The Book of Souls - #24

This is one song that was amazing to see live. The instrumental section along with the outro was awesome to see. The song has great energy and I like the lyrics too. This is the Iron Maiden I enjoy and is why I like them as a live band too.

#45 - Murders in the Rue Morgue - (Did Not Rank)

I didn't rank it because I haven't listened to the older albums much. It's a fantastic song and it showcases Steve Harris' bass playing with the intro. This would be fun to hear live.

#44 - Blood Brothers - #14

I enjoyed this one live and it's where it became one of my favorites from Brave New World. I like the lyrics a lot and it's a fantastic live song because of the meaning behind them. Good to see it up in the top 45.

#43 - The Longest Day - #21

This one was one I enjoyed on first listen to AMOLAD. That build-up is fantastic and I like the guitar melody underneath it. I enjoy Bruce's delivery in the verses. I also like the instrumental section.

#42 - The Red and the Black - #15

I enjoyed this one a lot when The Book of Souls came out and I listened to the album before they came here. I was glad to hear it live and it was really fantastic. It's up there with one of the best moments for me for an Iron Maiden show.

#41 - Run to the Hills - #27

I liked this song from when I heard it on the radio while going to town when I was about 8-9. Of course, I enjoy the lyrics. It's a great energetic song and the music fits perfectly with the horse gallop. This has one of my favorite Bruce vocal build-ups and it's one I look forward to seeing how he'll do during the times they played it.

#40 - The Clansmen - #4

This is a top 5 for me not only because of the lyrics, the build-up and the energy of it live solidified it as one of my favorite Maiden songs. I enjoy the music, the build-up and Bruce's vocals. Along with it being a song that the audience can sing a long to and it's great hearing everyone shout out, "Freedom".

#39 - The Evil That Men Do - #52

This isn't too bad of an Iron Maiden song. It was great live. It's one song that is Iron Maiden and I do enjoy from time to time. I am not surprised it ranked where it did.

#38 - 22 Acacia Avenue - (Did Not Rank)

I have not heard TNOTB much and do not know why. This is one song that still had that older Iron Maiden sound and is one that vocally wouldn't be too bad with Paul. I like the energy of it.

#37 - Coming Home - (Did Not Rank)

It's an alright song. I am just not that into it, although I do enjoy the keyboards in it.

#36 - When the Wild Wind Blows - #11

This is one of those songs that, for me, is the modern Iron Maiden sound, the sound that defines the reunion era. I would've liked to have seen them play this one live, but they did not come here for the tour where they really played Final Frontier songs.

#35 - The Parchment - #31

I like that intro. This song really blends that older sound along with the newer reunion sound. IF they make the setlist for the Senjutsu tour heavy with it's long songs, I won't complain at them playing less songs. This one would be awesome live.

#34 - 2 Minutes to Midnight - #69

I like this song, but I have heard it quite a lot and it sort of lost it's charm for me. At least it made my top 75 though, I do enjoy the lyrics enough to sing along live.

#33 - Brighter Than a Thousand Sons - #30

Great spot to be at. This is one the songs where I do not mind the repetitive lyrics. Bruce does just enough to make each way it's sung different enough to not be as repetitive for me. I love how he goes from his lower range building up to his higher range. This is one I would really like to see live one day, since it is from one of the first Iron Maiden album I bought and was the newest release.

#32 - The Prisoner - (Did Not Rank)

This one is a good song. As with most of TNOTB songs, besides the singles, I have not listened to much. I enjoy the bass, the guitars, and the vocals.

#31 - Empire of the Clouds - #54

This is a great solo song by Bruce. It ranks 54 because I have not heard it enough for me to properly rank it right, and so it ended up here.

#30 - The Legacy - #3

What makes this my third favorite Maiden song is Bruce's delivery of the lyrics. His tone in the intro is very fitting and the guitars set that vibe of sitting with an old man getting ready to tell you a fascinating tale. I really like how the music and the lyrics fit and the energy of the instrumental section. If any song I would like to see, it would be this one.

#29 - Ghost of the Navigator - #29

So funny to see this one the same as my ranking of it. This is a great spot for it. I like the melody in the chorus. I think it would be a fun one to hear live.


#28 - Dance of Death - #19

I like this song for it's build-up and the rhythm of the bass. It's a great song and it's awesome live on the En Vivo release.

#27 -  The Talisman - #38

I like that the band chose to incorporate this style of guitar and bass in their recent releases. I like how they do this and I consider it their best modern aspect of their overall sound. It would likely rank higher if I had listened to Final Frontier more.

#26 - The Clairvoyant - #51

This song is one reason why Seventh Son is my favorite album of the "classic" era. The album has a sort of certain tone and vibe to it, and certain songs really fit the tone given off of the album artwork, like the vibe of the album fits the colors of the album. Here, the guitars, Bruce's vocals, and the keyboards give off that colder/icy, blue and white, vibe. Anyways, I like the vocals a lot too.

#25 - Hell On Earth - #7

This song deserves to be played live. It's a fantastic ending to the album, and is one that has everything I enjoy about Maiden. I am so glad they continued making some mini-epic songs and not shying of another 2-disc album.

#24 - Fear of the Dark - #33

I grew to love this one live, as it's where I first heard it. The intro instantly got me hooked, along with the following bass and guitar melody into the calm verse vocals. It's also quite epic live as a lot of people sing along and it sounds great. That's one reason I love Iron Maiden shows here because a lot of us sing along.

#23 - For the Greater Good of God - #43

I like the atmosphere behind the bass intro. It was fantastic to hear this one live, that build-up was epic along with the backdrop. I remember hearing the crowd pretty good during most of chorus and "For the greater good of god" part. It was among my favorites as well from AMOLD, I was glad I enjoyed the album and consider it one of their best reunion albums.

#22 - Stranger in a Strange Land - (Did Not Rank)

Now this is a song that defines the decade.  I think it's a good rocking song. Even if it reminds me of the 80's with the keyboards, guitar riffs and production, it's still a pretty catchy song. It will more than likely get more listens and move up in the rankings for sure.

#21 - Alexander the Great - (Did Not Rank)

It's not ranked as Somewhere In Time is one my least listened to Maiden albums and I never had time to listen to them all. I really like the intro. It is quite a shame they haven't played this song live.



Finally caught up...

[Elite]

-every song still to come finished in the top 3 of at least one list...except one song (that song's high finish was number 5)

Oh boy, my number 5 actually still has a chance
Nah, no way that one is going to show up
And knowing what's yet to come (I think..) a bunch in my top 30 will not actually show up at all. Checking my list, I think the only 'Bingo-line' I could complete is #20-#29 and I do think it's very possible that this WILL happen.

---

Okay, updating for the big huge update that featured my Top 2 and the following post..

25 Hell On Earth - ranked at #1 on mine
I don't really know where to start with this one. It's daunting to write about this track, because there is no way I can do this and justify why this made my #1 without making it personal. Let's get some of the silly hyperboles out of the way (I mean every single one of them). This song is a masterpiece. Musically, this contains some of their best material. Lyrically this song is out of this world. This song touches me and speaks to me on a different level than any of their other tracks. 'Hell on Earth' is a perfect metaphor for how to feel this world. This song is melancholic beyond just being a sad reflection of reality. This song is unlike anything else Iron Maiden has made. This is Iron Maiden's greatest track.

I struggle with my place in this world. I do my best to do my part, but often it doesn't feel enough. There's so much utter shit in this world that it often makes me sad that I'm here to see it unfold without being able to do anything about it. On the other hand, life is beautiful if you make the best out of it and do stuff you enjoy doing. But then we have anger, war, hate, pain, suffering, destroying in other parts of the war. Sometimes it hits close to home; people who feel they're being treated unfairly (that's a hyperbole too), protesting about all sorts of things. I see around me that there's so much lack of understanding between groups of people, but also unwillingness to listen to one other. At the same time, I feel sad for people who are so caught up in their own realities, blinded by fanaticism and to being 'right'. You see this everywhere around the world in protests, in politics, et cetera. Why can't we let people be and not impose our own ideas on others? Contrarily, why can't we accept that some things are the way they are? In a sense, I fear for the future. There's no way our life on earth as it is now is sustainable. This in turn makes me question my own life choices, and my own mortality. Am I willing to put a child on this world, that I think might actually be doomed? This is a very real and tangible thing.

Everything I wrote down above is in this song, whether directly or indirectly in the lyrics, or in the meaning I draw from the lyrics. I'm almost 30 years old. I realise fully that I have a 100% responsibility for my own life decisions, but often it feels as if I don;t know where to go. I recently started working less to actually study again, because I want to. Because at this point, that's what will make me a happier person than by working lots. I'm definitely counting my blessings to be alive and be part of this world. I'm not a sad person in general, though I do struggle with my own feeling. Putting this to words was more difficult than I thought. At times, and usually this gets triggered by stuff happening in the world, I just feel very sad for the current state of this world. The way this song manages to capture both these feelings in one song is exactly what I needed.  And can we please, FFS, make sure that we don't ruin our home planet beyond any repair. We're in this together, let's stop making this a hell on earth.


24 Fear of the Dark - ranked at #2 on mine
For the longest time I thought Fear of the Dark would end up at #1 on my list. Remember when this one got compared to that other great live staple of theirs that will still show up before the countdown started? I do.. There's was no doubt I would rank this one higher, because my God, this is Maiden's finest hour up until the release of Senjutsu. I've seen people mention that they would rate this as the #1 live song and I've stated repeatedly that I'm considering the whole 'idea' of a song, including other versions when making my list, and following that there's no denying the greatness of this massive, anthemic track. Fear of the Dark holds a special place for me as well. When I was 15 years old, I worked in a supermarket and I had to work saturday mornings, before football matches. My dad lived quite far away, so I had to take the bus there. It was early in the morning, still pitch dark on the way to the bus stop and (you know what's coming up), Fear of the Dark came up on my small mp3-player. I had recently started listening to Iron Maiden's music, got some of their songs (probably downloaded them illegally, I don't know) and the first time I heard this song was while walking alone in the dark. Half a year later I first (and last) saw Iron Maiden live and they played this song. I sang along and shouted my lungs out to all the sing-along melodies. It took me years to actually hear the rest of the album, but I have the album cover on a shirt, mainly because I thought this was the greatest thing ever.


23 For the Greater Good of God - ranked at #34 on mine
It speaks volumes that on an album where you have this fantastic song, there's a few more that are all great as well. A Matter of Life and Death might well be my favourite Iron Maiden album, though it's hard to tell. I had 6 songs in my top 75, of which 5 have shown up. I don't really expect the last one (my fabled #5) to show up still, but I'll keep my hopes up.


22 Stranger in a Strange Land
I did not rank this song, because I find the vocal lines a little bit annoying. The repetitive main riff doesn't really help. I have no qualms with this being up high, I just don't really see the appeal.


21 Alexander the Great
And I did not rank this one either, probably because this song never really clicked with me. I hope some of my favourites from SiT will still show up, but seeing these two up this high makes me wonder if they'll be included at all.

---

My list so far in descending order (cursive songs are songs I placed highest):

#74 22 Acacia Avenue
#73 The Book of Souls
#71 Only the Good Die Young
#67 Killers
#66 The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
#63 Brave New World
#61 No Prayer for the Dying
#59 Wrathchild
#57 Death of the Celts
#55 If Eternity Should Fail
#51 Murders in the Rue Morgue
#49 The Evil That Men Do
#47 Run to the Hills
#46 These Colours Don't Run
#44 The Parchment
#42 The Nomad
#40 The Legacy
#34 For the Greater Good of God
#31 Rainmaker
#29 Ghost of the Navigator
#28 Heaven Can Wait
#27 The Clairvoyant
#25 The Clansman
#22 Can I Play With Madness
#20 The Longest Day
#17 Out of the Silent Planet
#14 Empire of the Clouds
#12 Montségur
#11 Coming Home
#9 2 Minutes to Midnight
#8 The Red and the Black
#7 The Wicker Man
#2 Fear of the Dark
#1 Hell on Earth

Unranked on my list:

The Duellists
Deja Vu
Judas be my Guide
Prodigal Son
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
Still Life
Remember Tomorrow
The Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Dream of Mirrors
Isle of Avalon
Lord of Light
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Starblind
Blood Brothers
When the Wild Wind Blows
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
The Prisoner
The Talisman
Stranger in a Strange Land
Alexander the Great

Ranked/Unranked split: 30/24

[Mladen]

Elite, as much as that was a deeply personal analysis of Hell on earth, it was still frighteningly accurate. Kudos. I agree with all of the points. 

[KevShmev]

Okay, my goal is to finish this next Friday (07/15), which means I will feature the last 20 songs in nine days, so it will be two a day mostly, with three a day twice.  I'd rather finish this on a Friday than on the weekend when there seems to be a little less traffic.

Anyway, away we go with the top 20!! Those of you waiting patiently for some Piece of Mind songs will be rewarded today.


20 To Tame a Land
Appeared on 22 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 4
Highest Ranking: 1 (pg1067, Tomislav95, Setlist Scotty)

I think I am still a bit underwhelmed on some levels by this, simply because I am used to the DT cover version, but I still liked it enough to put it at 51. I have a feeling I will like this one a lot more over time as I get more used to it.


19 The Trooper
Appeared on 24 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 3 (devieira73)

This initially wasn't on my list, but eventually snuck in at 69.  It is pretty great musically, but I feel like the vocal melodies are pretty ordinary, which is why I struggled to connect with it at first.

[wolfking]

Wow, 3 people had TTAL in the top spot.  Surprising.

[nobloodyname]

Wow, 3 people had TTAL in the top spot.  Surprising.

Yeah! Struggling to wrap my head around that one.

[Dave_Manchester]

Piece of Mind finally making its break from the back of the field!

To Tame A Land: #42: Fantastic 'tense' opening followed by one of their greatest riffs. In truth this could have appeared much higher on my list but as many of us have said, the band just have too many great songs.

The Trooper: didn't rank. Most famous bands have a classic crowd favourite that for whatever reason does very little for me, and The Trooper is that song for Iron Maiden (other examples: Sad But True by Metallica and Under A Glass Moon by DT, both of which seem to be ranked among the bands' classics and both of which just don't really move me all that much). I dunno, I've just never really taken to this tune, even though I like the downward spiralling riff.


My list so far in descending order:

#74: If Eternity Should Fail
#72: Run to the Hills
#68: For The Greater Good of God
#66: The Longest Day
#65: Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
#64: Only The Good Die Young
#63: Still Life
#61: Empire of the Clouds
#60: The Clairvoyant
#59: The Evil That Men Do
#56: These Colours Don't Run
#54: Can I Play With Madness
#53: Remember Tomorrow
#52: Judas Be My Guide
#51: Blood Brothers
#49: The Prisoner
#42: To Tame A Land
#41: Rainmaker
#40: The Clansman
#37: 2 Minutes To Midnight
#36: Montsegur
#34: The Wicker Man
#29: The Parchment
#25: Hell on Earth
#24: Stranger in a Strange Land
#22: Heaven Can Wait
#21: Starblind
#20: Coming Home
#18: The Red and the Black
#15: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
#13: Ghost of the Navigator
#11: Fear of the Dark
#10: 22 Acacia Avenue
#8: Alexander the Great
#6: No Prayer for the Dying
#4: When The Wild Wind Blows
#3: Dance of Death
#1: Afraid To Shoot Strangers

Not ranked:

Death of the Celts
The Duellists
Out of the Silent Planet
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
Deja-Vu
Prodigal Son
Wrathchild
Brave New World
The Nomad
Killers
The Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Dream of Mirrors
Isle of Avalon
Lord of Light
The Book of Souls
Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Legacy
The Talisman
The Trooper

Ranked/Unranked split: 38/19

[nobloodyname]

49 To Tame a Land - a very good Maiden tune. Surprised some had it at number one but that's part of what makes these ranking threads so hugely enjoyable.

11 The Trooper - did I really rank it this high? Okay. Well, it's obviously an utterly iconic riff. Hard to overlook how overplayed it is but I obviously managed to do that.

40 ranked/17 unranked

[Mladen]

Wow, 3 people had TTAL in the top spot.  Surprising.

It used to be my number one as well. At this point, it's probably #5. Which is still brilliant. 

[pg1067]

I’m actually fascinated that one song in the top 20 didn’t even make your list at all. Now I’m really curious.

Heck...I have three songs in my top 20 that I'm 99.9% positive won't be in collective the top 20 (and hence won't have made the collective top 75).

As with the Rush countdown, I wouldn't bet any amount of money at any odds on what number one is going to be.

Agree.  Funny thing is that, as I sit here, I can't remember what the #1 was on the Rush countdown.  Xanadu?

Anyway, away we go with the top 20!! Those of you waiting patiently for some Piece of Mind songs will be rewarded today.


20 To Tame a Land
Appeared on 22 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 4
Highest Ranking: 1 (pg1067, Tomislav95, Setlist Scotty)

I think I am still a bit underwhelmed on some levels by this, simply because I am used to the DT cover version, but I still liked it enough to put it at 51. I have a feeling I will like this one a lot more over time as I get more used to it.


19 The Trooper
Appeared on 24 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 3 (devieira73)

This initially wasn't on my list, but eventually snuck in at 69.  It is pretty great musically, but I feel like the vocal melodies are pretty ordinary, which is why I struggled to connect with it at first.

Well...damn.  I was hoping TTAL would make it higher.  Obviously (and I've expounded on this previously), I freaking love this song.  It's epic.  The use of the phyrgian mode variations throughout the song is quite clever and goes really well with the driving rhythm of the verses.  The 3/4 section right before the guitar solos is incredible stuff.  The harmony sections after the solos are sublime.  It's a perfect song through and through.

As for The Trooper, it's a bit like Run to the Hills (or, in the Rush context, Tom Sawyer and The Spirit of Radio) in that it's been played 80 bajillion times.  But there's a reason for that.  It's so damn good (despite being super simple).  I had it at #14  And with that, I offer you my college record production class cover of The Trooper (lots of Aqua Net was harmed in the making of this video).



Obviously, a big jump by Piece of Mind today.  Probably two more songs from the album, and I'm a bit surprised to see that one of them will finish higher than The Trooper.

1. A Matter of Life and Death:  7 songs/218 points – The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg (#71), These Colours Don’t Run (#65), Lord of Light (#49), The Longest Day (#43), Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (#33), The Legacy (#30), For the Greater Good of God (#23)

2. Brave New World:  8 songs/186 points – Out of the Silent Planet (#70), Brave New World (#60), The Wicker Man (#58), The Nomad (#56), The Thin Line Between Love and Hate (#53), Dream of Mirrors (#52), Blood Brothers (#44), Ghost of the Navigator (#29)

3. The Final Frontier:  5 songs/182 points – Isle of Avalon (#51), Starblind (#47), Coming Home (#37), When the Wild Wind Blows (#36), The Talisman (#27)

4. Somewhere in Time:  5 songs/155 points – Déjà Vu (#68), Heaven Can Wait (#66), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (#48), Stranger in a Strange Land (#22), Alexander the Great (#21)

5. Piece of Mind:  3 songs/132 points – Still Life (#57), To Tame a Land (#20), The Trooper (#19)

6. The Book of Souls:  4 songs/121 points – If Eternity Should Fail (#64), The Book of Souls (#46), The Red and the Black (#42), Empire of the Clouds (#31)

7. The Number of the Beast:  3 songs/117 points – Run to the Hills (#41), 22 Acacia Avenue (#38), The Prisoner (#32)

8. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son:  4 songs/107 points – Can I Play with Madness (#73), Only the Good Die Young (#59), The Evil That Men Do (#39), The Clairvoyant (#26)

9. Killers:  4 songs/80 points – Prodigal Son (#63), Wrathchild (#62), Killers (#54), Murders in the Rue Morgue (#45)

10. Dance of Death:  3 songs/78 points – Rainmaker (#72), Montsegur (#50), Dance of Death (#28)

11. Powerslave:  2 song/44 points – The Duellists (#74), 2 Minutes to Midnight (#34)

12. Senjutsu:  3 songs/93 points – Death of the Celts (#75), The Parchment (#35), Hell on Earth (#25)

13. Fear of the Dark:  3 songs/76 points – Judas Be My Guide (#67), Afraid to Shoot Strangers (#61), Fear of the Dark (#24)

14. Virtual XI:  1 song/36 points – The Clansman (#40)

15. Iron Maiden:  1 song/21 points – Remember Tomorrow (#55)

16. No Prayer for the Dying:  1 song/7 points – No Prayer for the Dying (#69)

17. The X Factor:

[nobloodyname]

Agree.  Funny thing is that, as I sit here, I can't remember what the #1 was on the Rush countdown.  Xanadu?

Subdivisions.

I think!

[DragonAttack]

Indeed it did

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=57248.0

[Dream Team]

pg1067 - how are you calculating the points total? I'm sure you explained somewhere . . .

[nobloodyname]

And with that, I offer you my college record production class cover of The Trooper (lots of Aqua Net was harmed in the making of this video).

Those backing vocals

Were you one of the guitarists?

[pg1067]

pg1067 - how are you calculating the points total? I'm sure you explained somewhere . . .

Yeah, I did explain in the first post with the standings, but that was a lot of pages ago.  It's simple reverse order.  Song #75 got 1 point; song #74 got 2 points...song #2 will get 74 points; song #1 will get 75 points.

And with that, I offer you my college record production class cover of The Trooper (lots of Aqua Net was harmed in the making of this video).

Those backing vocals

Were you one of the guitarists?

Bass and audio production.  Unfortunately, we were somewhat pressed for time, so we weren't able to do anything with the vocals.  Also, the four of us other than the singer were all metal guys who already knew the song.  The guy who sang was in the class with the rest of us and had done a song earlier in the semester (The Trooper was the final project in the class), but it was more of a jazz fusion thing with vocals.  We liked his voice and thought he could do it, so we asked him rather than try to find someone outside the class.  He learned the song on his own, but we didn't have an opportunity to work with him beforehand and didn't have time during the recording process to change the chorus vocals.  Given his prior lack of familiarity with the song, I thought he did a really good job, but yeah, that part always makes me cringe a bit.  Also, when he showed up to do the video straight from work wearing hospital scrubs....   

[nobloodyname]

I thought it was good. Although obviously can't hold a candle to the Indonesian chaps

[Elite]

Elite, as much as that was a deeply personal analysis of Hell on earth, it was still frighteningly accurate. Kudos. I agree with all of the points. 

Thanks for reading

[romdrums]

So, is To Tame a Land the first song to appear on everyone's list?

[TAC]

So, is To Tame a Land the first song to appear on everyone's list?

No, it’s only on 22 lists.

[Zydar]

It's not on my list.

[Elite]

The Trooper has the most rankings so far.

[devieira73]

The Trooper (#3)
To me, this song is real birth of Maiden's gallop, that it's really the combination of Harri's triplets with Nicko's drumming following it (I guess Stadler said it before me and I totally agree!). It was really a creative solution by Nicko at the time, making his single bass drums sounding like a triplet without never really playing it. And, c'mon, the birth of Maiden's gallop in a song called "The TROOPER", how fuc**** cool is that?!
I love everything albout it: what I said above, the melodies of the guitars unisson, the trade off between vocals and the reast of the band before the verses, the drums fills, the guitars solos and even the china hits placed perfectly along the song. Anyway, it's my #3 just because I love it so much and it never ceases to amaze me every time they play it live.

To Tame a Land (#26)
It is an amazing epic made with a lot of creativity/virtuosity and it puts you perfectly inside the atmosphere of Dune's world.

[TAC]

20 To Tame a Land
Appeared on 22 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 4
Highest Ranking: 1 (pg1067, Tomislav95, Setlist Scotty)

19 The Trooper
Appeared on 24 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 3 (devieira73)

I had To Tame A Land at #99, missing the list. It's probably too low, but this song has always felt a bit off to me.

I had The Trooper at #28. Great song. Never get sick of hearing it. Love the Reunion Era version with Janick and Adrian on the second solo together.



So far...


72 Stranger In A Strange Land
70 Afraid to Shoot Strangers
68 The Nomad
62 Judas Be My Guide
58 Montesegur
57 Still Life
56 Blood Brothers
54 Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
53 Empire Of The Clouds
50 The Evil That Men Do
48 Heaven Can Wait
43 Brave New World
42 The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
38 Run To The Hills
32 2 Minutes To Midnight
29 The Duellists
28 The Trooper
26 Hell On Earth
24 When The Wild Wind Blows
23 The Red And The Black
21 Murders In The Rue Morgue
20 The Prisoner
19 The Clansman
18 Remember Tomorrow
17 No Prayer for the Dying
16 Dance Of Death
15 Lord Of Light
14 For The Greater Good Of God
13 The Book Of Souls
11 Coming Home
8 The Parchment
7 The Talisman
6 22 Acacia Avenue
2 Fear Of The Dark

-------------------

Not Ranked

77 Starblind
79 The Legacy
82 The Longest Day
83 Isle Of Avalon
85 Alexander The Great
87 Deja Vu
90 Rainmaker
92 If Eternity Should Fail
94 Only the Good Die Young
97 Dream Of Mirrors
99 To Tame A Land
101 The Wicker Man
105 Killers
106 Death of the Celts

NR These Colours Don't Run
NR Ghost Of The Navigator
NR The Clairvoyant
NR Prodigal Son
NR Wratchchild
NR Can I Play with Madness
NR The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
NR Out of the Silent Planet
NR The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner


My split is 34/24

[TAC]

25 Hell On Earth - ranked at #1 on mine
I don't really know where to start with this one. It's daunting to write about this track, because there is no way I can do this and justify why this made my #1 without making it personal. Let's get some of the silly hyperboles out of the way (I mean every single one of them). This song is a masterpiece. Musically, this contains some of their best material. Lyrically this song is out of this world. This song touches me and speaks to me on a different level than any of their other tracks. 'Hell on Earth' is a perfect metaphor for how to feel this world. This song is melancholic beyond just being a sad reflection of reality. This song is unlike anything else Iron Maiden has made. This is Iron Maiden's greatest track.

I struggle with my place in this world. I do my best to do my part, but often it doesn't feel enough. There's so much utter shit in this world that it often makes me sad that I'm here to see it unfold without being able to do anything about it. On the other hand, life is beautiful if you make the best out of it and do stuff you enjoy doing. But then we have anger, war, hate, pain, suffering, destroying in other parts of the war. Sometimes it hits close to home; people who feel they're being treated unfairly (that's a hyperbole too), protesting about all sorts of things. I see around me that there's so much lack of understanding between groups of people, but also unwillingness to listen to one other. At the same time, I feel sad for people who are so caught up in their own realities, blinded by fanaticism and to being 'right'. You see this everywhere around the world in protests, in politics, et cetera. Why can't we let people be and not impose our own ideas on others? Contrarily, why can't we accept that some things are the way they are? In a sense, I fear for the future. There's no way our life on earth as it is now is sustainable. This in turn makes me question my own life choices, and my own mortality. Am I willing to put a child on this world, that I think might actually be doomed? This is a very real and tangible thing.

Everything I wrote down above is in this song, whether directly or indirectly in the lyrics, or in the meaning I draw from the lyrics. I'm almost 30 years old. I realise fully that I have a 100% responsibility for my own life decisions, but often it feels as if I don;t know where to go. I recently started working less to actually study again, because I want to. Because at this point, that's what will make me a happier person than by working lots. I'm definitely counting my blessings to be alive and be part of this world. I'm not a sad person in general, though I do struggle with my own feeling. Putting this to words was more difficult than I thought. At times, and usually this gets triggered by stuff happening in the world, I just feel very sad for the current state of this world. The way this song manages to capture both these feelings in one song is exactly what I needed.  And can we please, FFS, make sure that we don't ruin our home planet beyond any repair. We're in this together, let's stop making this a hell on earth.


24 Fear of the Dark - ranked at #2 on mine
For the longest time I thought Fear of the Dark would end up at #1 on my list. Remember when this one got compared to that other great live staple of theirs that will still show up before the countdown started? I do.. There's was no doubt I would rank this one higher, because my God, this is Maiden's finest hour up until the release of Senjutsu. I've seen people mention that they would rate this as the #1 live song and I've stated repeatedly that I'm considering the whole 'idea' of a song, including other versions when making my list, and following that there's no denying the greatness of this massive, anthemic track. Fear of the Dark holds a special place for me as well. When I was 15 years old, I worked in a supermarket and I had to work saturday mornings, before football matches. My dad lived quite far away, so I had to take the bus there. It was early in the morning, still pitch dark on the way to the bus stop and (you know what's coming up), Fear of the Dark came up on my small mp3-player. I had recently started listening to Iron Maiden's music, got some of their songs (probably downloaded them illegally, I don't know) and the first time I heard this song was while walking alone in the dark. Half a year later I first (and last) saw Iron Maiden live and they played this song. I sang along and shouted my lungs out to all the sing-along melodies. It took me years to actually hear the rest of the album, but I have the album cover on a shirt, mainly because I thought this was the greatest thing ever.

Great post Rich! Appreciate the sharing.

[Ben_Jamin]

#20 - To Tame A Land - #57

I enjoyed this one when I bought Piece of Mind. I liked the energy, the bass in the intro, and especially the middle section. I did not really enjoy the DT cover version much, because it sounds slower to me, plus I prefer the way Bruce's vocal delivery is on this song. As time went on, I discovered other songs and this one went down in my ranking placement. It could be higher, but the ranking determined it to be in 57.

#19 - The Trooper - #66

This is a short, simple, fun, rocking song. It sums up Iron Maiden in a nice short track. It still ranked for me because I like the vocals and it's a great song live because of that sing a long vocal part.

[romdrums]

So, is To Tame a Land the first song to appear on everyone's list?

No, it’s only on 22 lists.

Whoops.  I misread that then. Carry on!

[senecadawg2]

To Tame a Land did not make it on my list, and The Trooper came in at 52. I think I've heard The Trooper too many times by now, and I no longer appreciate it as much as other songs on the album, whereas To Tame a Land was never one of my favorite songs on the album. I much prefer the tracks on the first side, hopefully a couple of them are coming up later in the list 

[Dream Team]

To Tame a Land did not make it on my list, and The Trooper came in at 52. I think I've heard The Trooper too many times by now, and I no longer appreciate it as much as other songs on the album, whereas To Tame a Land was never one of my favorite songs on the album. I much prefer the tracks on the first side, hopefully a couple of them are coming up later in the list 

It’s guaranteed.

[Glasser]

I have To Tame A Land at #5.

[The Realm]

20 To Tame a Land
Appeared on 22 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 4
Highest Ranking: 1 (pg1067, Tomislav95, Setlist Scotty)

19 The Trooper
Appeared on 24 of 27 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 2
Highest Ranking: 3 (devieira73)

Two from Piece of Mind today! With more and better tracks still to come over the next few days...

To Tame a Land - this is a weird one for me. When I first got into the Piece of Mind album (way back in the day) I was never much of a fan. Then I remember reading an interview with Steve Harris, I think it was from a guitar mag or something where he said that To Tame a Land in the best song he has ever written (replacing a song from debut we haven't seen in the countdown yet). I was shocked to read this and over the years the song has grown on me enough that I ranked it at 50 but this is still the lowest ranked song by far from Piece of Mind on my list.

The Trooper - 21 for me. Always loved it, a genuine classic.

My split is currently at 44/13 and I'm optimistic that I have the remaining 18 songs on my list but could still be a surprise or two.

[pg1067]

I thought it was good. Although obviously can't hold a candle to the Indonesian chaps

That goes without saying.  They're untouchable!   

Wow, 3 people had TTAL in the top spot.  Surprising.

Yeah! Struggling to wrap my head around that one.

Even more baffling is that 5 people don't have it as a top 75 song!  Shame, Tim!

[TAC]

Wow, 3 people had TTAL in the top spot.  Surprising.

Yeah! Struggling to wrap my head around that one.

Even more baffling is that 5 people don't have it as a top 75 song!  Shame, Tim!

To Shame A Man..


You know what..they have too many awesome songs.

[wolfking]

25 Hell On Earth - ranked at #1 on mine
I don't really know where to start with this one. It's daunting to write about this track, because there is no way I can do this and justify why this made my #1 without making it personal. Let's get some of the silly hyperboles out of the way (I mean every single one of them). This song is a masterpiece. Musically, this contains some of their best material. Lyrically this song is out of this world. This song touches me and speaks to me on a different level than any of their other tracks. 'Hell on Earth' is a perfect metaphor for how to feel this world. This song is melancholic beyond just being a sad reflection of reality. This song is unlike anything else Iron Maiden has made. This is Iron Maiden's greatest track.

I struggle with my place in this world. I do my best to do my part, but often it doesn't feel enough. There's so much utter shit in this world that it often makes me sad that I'm here to see it unfold without being able to do anything about it. On the other hand, life is beautiful if you make the best out of it and do stuff you enjoy doing. But then we have anger, war, hate, pain, suffering, destroying in other parts of the war. Sometimes it hits close to home; people who feel they're being treated unfairly (that's a hyperbole too), protesting about all sorts of things. I see around me that there's so much lack of understanding between groups of people, but also unwillingness to listen to one other. At the same time, I feel sad for people who are so caught up in their own realities, blinded by fanaticism and to being 'right'. You see this everywhere around the world in protests, in politics, et cetera. Why can't we let people be and not impose our own ideas on others? Contrarily, why can't we accept that some things are the way they are? In a sense, I fear for the future. There's no way our life on earth as it is now is sustainable. This in turn makes me question my own life choices, and my own mortality. Am I willing to put a child on this world, that I think might actually be doomed? This is a very real and tangible thing.

Everything I wrote down above is in this song, whether directly or indirectly in the lyrics, or in the meaning I draw from the lyrics. I'm almost 30 years old. I realise fully that I have a 100% responsibility for my own life decisions, but often it feels as if I don;t know where to go. I recently started working less to actually study again, because I want to. Because at this point, that's what will make me a happier person than by working lots. I'm definitely counting my blessings to be alive and be part of this world. I'm not a sad person in general, though I do struggle with my own feeling. Putting this to words was more difficult than I thought. At times, and usually this gets triggered by stuff happening in the world, I just feel very sad for the current state of this world. The way this song manages to capture both these feelings in one song is exactly what I needed.  And can we please, FFS, make sure that we don't ruin our home planet beyond any repair. We're in this together, let's stop making this a hell on earth.

Rich, this is beautifully said, and I relate to so much about what you've written here, and I feel a lot of these things too within the track.  Mate, I understand and don't feel bad, I'm 38 and have no fucking idea where I'm going.  I've had a near death experience and still haven't changed a thing in my life yet.  I get that feeling of helplessness and being lost even though, you know everything you do is 100% up to you.

I share your views on this world, I've never had the intention of children and at 38, that hasn't changed.  I too feel it would be a wrong to bring children up in this current climate with the world falling down around our feet, so it feels.

I could keep going, but thanks for sharing that, it means a lot you sharing your thoughts here and remember, you're definitely not alone in your thinking even though in day to day life you look around and think you must be the only one who thinks how you do.  I think this everyday.

[wolfking]

TTAL - 35 - Still shocked at 3 having this in the top spot, but it's a cracker.  Love the structure and musically what's going on here.  I used to be able to play this one but haven't dabbled it in from a while, but from memory the sections in the verses which sound like key changes follow the Phrygian Dominant mode I believe, very cool and does give that shifting keys feel.  The buildup is great and a shame they didn't play this one live after the tour.  I predict Bruce note hitting the money note live would have something to do with it.  The second half is classic Maiden though.  Love the Gary Moore lick Adrian throws in his solo too.

Trooper -  61 - I probably should have had this higher, but the overplayed factor probably comes in.  The song without a chorus, and just a classic Maiden harmony.  Nice gallop as always and always a great song live.

[KevShmev]

I cranked To Tame a Land on the drive home from work today thinking, "Okay, this will be the money listen, the one where the light bulb goes on." Instead, it went the other way. Musically, it is really good, but the vocal melodies are all bland as hell.  I can't help but think that it got the "DT covered it" bump in this countdown.