THE Iron Maiden Thread

[Mladen]

And you don't have to sing the title over and over again to have an anthem.     Even if you just have two or three lines instead of just one...people will sing along.

The thing is, sometimes there is absolutely no need to add another line or two - the very few words strike you and can sound more than enough for some people. Seventh son of a seventh son and The Final frontier would be the perfect examples for me, I can't get enough of these choruses, and I honestly feel like they would be ruined if they had a couple more different lines in them just for the sake of being more complicated.

Sometimes Lightning

STRIKES TWICE

Which song is this? 

There are only a couple of songs where repeated choruses do nothing for me, and the first two songs that come to mind are No more lies and Don't look to the eyes of the stranger, especially the former.

[Zook]

Oh well I haven't heard it in ages so I'm surprised I knew that much.

[Mladen]

Oh well I haven't heard it in ages so I'm surprised I knew that much.

You should probably fix that.   

[Zook]

No thanks. The only reason I have the album (and I unfortunately bought it twice because of this) is to complete the Eddie face on the remastered albums.

[sneakyblueberry]

No thanks. The only reason I have the album (and I unfortunately bought it twice because of this) is to complete the Eddie face on the remastered albums.

Oh yeah, that was pretty kewl. 

To be honest, the only problem I have with VXI is Angel and the Gambler.  If they had used the single edit, and MAYBE got rid of Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger you'd have another pretty strong album in the same vein as X Factor. 

[NotePad]

I am also one who is a big fan of Virtual X1. I love X Factor, it has a great atmosphere throughout. So sombre and dark, Blaze fit perfectly with those songs. I see why they chose him, because with Bruce they couldn't, or at least wouldn't, write such different new things. And Virtual X1 had much more catchier songs imo. I like all songs on it.

So how do people here stand on the whole Priest vs Maiden thing? Whose better ?
They say Priest started the whole twin guitarist thing, i don't see how that's true. But Maiden created the guitar trio setup haha!
I like Maiden, because they have more metal albums. By this i mean, it seems like a lot of Priest songs and earlier albums seem more Rock orientated. Obviously heavy rock, but more commercial with more of a groove that makes them sounds more rock, less metal. But that may just be the really popular songs. Of course Painkiller was killer and definately metal, some say power metal. I don't listen to that much priest, but Painkiller seems a lot different from what they were doing before. How does Painkiller compare in sounds to what was before, and AoR and Nostradamus?

 
They're histories are quite similar too. I don't think i need to explain why. And i actually love the Ripper albums a lot. People are dumb. Jugulator actually kinda sounds like a pretty natural progression from Painkiller.
But at the present moment, Maiden seem to actually be the more popular band. I see Maiden gaining popularity where i live, whereas people seem to only mention Priest nostalgically.

[jammindude]

I think part of that is that Priest is older....KK is gone, they talk more of retirement.    They just have a feel more like they are...done.

Iron Maiden are about 4-5 years younger (except Janick and Nicko  )...but even so, they just ACT YOUNGER, and they still write like they are out to prove something. 

[TAC]

Iron Maiden are about 4-5 years younger (except Janick and Nicko  )...but even so, they just ACT YOUNGER, and they still write like they are out to prove something.

Yes they do, and that's what makes this reunion run impressive. I'd like a bit more material, but what they have recorded has been top notch.

[wolfking]

I really hope they get into work on a new album this year.

[TAC]

I really hope they get into work on a new album this year.

Amen, Brother.

[NotePad]

Dude, they've done how many? 4 albums since the reunion! That's pretty amazing. I'm impressed, since Bruce came back they have written what is IMHO their best material. AMOLAD was just so great. It felt so Iron Maiden-ish, and that's a great thing. It felt like something they would write, like you expected it, yet also fresh and like a natural progression for them. I also think it's cool how AMOLAD has a much more raw feeling then DoD and BNW. Like the songs could have been polished to sound like something off DoD, but instead recorded live while the material was still fresh. DoD sounded at times like BNW part 2, which is not a great idea since BNW is a masterpiece. But i still love it. AMOLAD was just something you knew Maiden had in them but never let out. Lord of Light is such a great song. Even though it's not, i like to imagine that it's based on the novel of the same name by Roger Zelazny ;p that makes it so much cooler!!! I recommend that book to you guys actually. It's a very unique novel. Zelazny's masterpiece for sure

I have been listening a bit to Final Frontier the last couple days, and I'm afraid to say I'm a little disappointed. I guess what I'm saying goes against what I just said above ;p but whatever. I haven't given the album enough time of course, and i'v yet to play all the songs from start to finish, together. But it isn't giving me the feeling the previous 3 gave me early on. The first song/s Satellite 15 i believe sounds rather tired and uninspired I must say. It also seems to have the same raw production sound as AMOLAD, but i can't say that's a plus since i love BNWs crispness a lot, probably more actually. But considering it's Maiden, it will probably grow on me and my opinion in a few weeks will probably be a lot different. I bet a lot of people were worried when they announced the album title! But those definately have a least a couple more albums in them. In fact, i bet they will never officially disband. They may slow down i would not be surprised, and i would totally respect that decision. They deserve any rest they take. But maybe like Pink Floyd they'll never officially call it quits. (or was it Zeppelin?)

[sneakyblueberry]

I agree with you on FF NotePad, I never got anything out of it.  Save for maybe Starblind? The rest of it just bores me.  I think reunion albums go BNW > AMOLAD > DOD>>>>>FF

[bosk1]

I think The Final Frontier is their best album BY FAR.  I know I've said that already, but it is buried somewhere back in the previous pages, so...

[sneakyblueberry]

I think The Final Frontier is their best album BY FAR.  I know I've said that already, but it is buried somewhere back in the previous pages, so...

Considering your favourite Megadeth album is Risk, I'm not surprised at this controversial opinion.

[bosk1]

Funny. 

[sneakyblueberry]

 

Each to his own.  I really wanted to like Final Frontier, its just nowhere near as good as any of the other reunion albums, and the sci-fi theme is just the cheesiest shit...

[bosk1]

If by "nowhere near as good as any of the other reunion albums" you mean "vastly superior to anything in their entire catalog," I wholeheartedly agree.  Now go listen to Risk, silly boy.

[wolfking]

Risk is good.

FF grew on me a lot of the last couple of years.  The production kills it, but as time goes by I find myself going back to it a lot.

[sneakyblueberry]

Risk IS a good album, its just the worst Megadeth album. 

FF might just be the worst Maiden album after VXI. 

[wolfking]

DOD gets the prize for worst reunion album.

[sneakyblueberry]

I would say it had a stronger tracklisting than FF.  Paschendale and Montsegur alone are better than anything on FF.  Even the 'weaker' songs on DOD are still quite good, and Journeyman is brilliant even if just for the fact that it was something completely new for Maiden.

[The King in Crimson]

DoD is half brilliance and half utter shit. It is probably one of the most wildly inconsistent Maiden albums, IMO.

AMoLaD is my favorite reunion album, but TFF comes in second. I didn't like it that much at first, but it really grew on me over time. The production really is the worst part about it and it is easily the worst sounding reunion album.

[NotePad]

Each to his own.  I really wanted to like Final Frontier, its just nowhere near as good as any of the other reunion albums, and the sci-fi theme is just the cheesiest shit...

Yea, there is definitely a science-fiction theme running though a lot of the song. And of course it's in the cover too. I think it's kinda cool, and it's not overly obvious either, but a lot of the lyrics have element of SF to it. I usually hate fantasy based metal and shit like that. I'v always said Blind Guardian has an awesome sound, but i can't get too into it due to the fantasy themes. 

[The Curious Orange]

DoD is half brilliance and half utter shit.

Agreed. For me it's AMOL&D=BNW>TFF>DOD

[Zydar]

Brave New World
Dance Of Death
A Matter Of Life And Death
The Final Frontier

[TAC]

Brave New World
The Final Frontier
A Matter Of Life And Death
The Final Frontier

Wow, you like The Final Frontier that much!!

[Zydar]

Haha oops, fix'd

[El Barto]

I think The Final Frontier is their best album BY FAR.  I know I've said that already, but it is buried somewhere back in the previous pages, so...

Did you ever get around to listening to the Dianno material? I know you were blowing off the non-Bruce stuff at first. I listened to Killers working in the shop yesterday and I still maintain it's their best overall album (and I'm not the only one here who thinks that).

Anyhoo, TFF is the bottom of the reunion era stuff, by a considerable margin. In fact, it might be my least favorite Maiden album overall. Strange since AMoLaD is among my very favorites; huge drop off there.

[Perpetual Change]

Couldn't disagree more. I think TFF would be at the top of the reunion stuff for me, too. And, the reunion stuff is by-and-large ahead of the classic stuff for me.

[bosk1]

Did you ever get around to listening to the Dianno material? 

Yeah, I picked Killers up awhile back.  Wasn't my cup of tea. 

I have all of the Bruce-era albums except for No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, and I feel like I'm about good.

[TAC]

Couldn't disagree more. I think TFF would be at the top of the reunion stuff for me, too. And, the reunion stuff is by-and-large ahead of the classic stuff for me.

I with you on TFF, Perp, and I have also thought the same about the Reunion era vs. the Classic era. It's pretty controversial, but it might also be correct.

I feel like each Reunion album has built upon the previous. But you know what, they are all excellent.

I have all of the Bruce-era albums except for No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, and I feel like I'm about good.

Bosk, I really feel that you would love at least HALF of Fear Of The Dark. It was their first album in the CD age and they filled it up with...filler But if they widdled it down to an LP time length, it would be actually quite good, only if they cut the right songs.

If Fear Of The Dark had THIS tracklisting:

Side A:
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key (sorry I love this song! Holy Ian Gillan, Batman!)
Wasting Love

Side B:
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

That's about 44/45 minutes of solid goodness!

[El Barto]

Did you ever get around to listening to the Dianno material? 

Yeah, I picked Killers up awhile back.  Wasn't my cup of tea. 

That's too bad. I greatly prefer Bruce to Dianno, but I think the material from Killers is outstanding. Hell, the guitar solos from Prodigal Son alone make it better than half their later output.

[bosk1]

Bosk, I really feel that you would love at least HALF of Fear Of The Dark. It was their first album in the CD age and they filled it up with...filler But if they widdled it down to an LP time length, it would be actually quite good, only if they cut the right songs.

I don't doubt you.  And I likely will pick it up at some point.  But for the time being, I just don't feel any desire to.  Keep in mind that I picked up 10 studio albums, one live CD, and two live DVD's of theirs in a span of about 8 months.  Not to mention all the other great music that came out from other bands toward the end of 2013.  I don't feel like I've even been able to fully digest what I already have.  No need to get anything new just yet.

[Perpetual Change]

Did you ever get around to listening to the Dianno material? 

Yeah, I picked Killers up awhile back.  Wasn't my cup of tea. 

That's too bad. I greatly prefer Bruce to Dianno, but I think the material from Killers is outstanding. Hell, the guitar solos from Prodigal Son alone make it better than half their later output.

Some of the live videos from that era are amazing. Maiden were playing everything at double speed, it feels like.

[Zydar]

I'm one of the few that thinks their 80s stuff is above and beyond the reunion albums. I don't know why their recent albums hasn't convinced me, they are solid but not much than that.