IRON MAIDEN...their albums

[Presto-digitation]

[Brooks]

Maiden Japan was my first Maiden album, too (my high school garage band did all of side 1; Wrathchild/Killers/Innocent Exile). I actually prefer Paul's gritty baritone to Bruce's wide vibrato tenor, so the first 2 are my favorite Maiden albums, even Sanctuary & the "terribly overrated" Running Free (I hear ya, it's not a typical Maiden tune; but, it reminds me of being "just 16 in a pickup truck, outta money, outta luck", so I dig it). Wrathchild always gets me pumped up, even today.

 

Even though I personally like the 1st 2 best (due to the vocals), the Number Of The Beast & Piece of Mind are probably the best 2 Maiden albums. This is because these feature the biggest chunck of classic Maiden songs. Piece of Mind is my favorite Bruce era record. "To Tame A Land" has a very killer riff, unusual that it grooves instead of gallops.

 

After starting off w/ one of the best tunes in their entire career (Aces High), Powerslave was the beginning of the end for me personally, and the last Maiden record I bought. The catchy-trying-to-get-on-rawk-radio "2 minutes to midnight" was a sign of the almost complete sellout yet to come (Wasted Years). Still, Powerslave had a few great riffs. My band in Jr College did the end section of "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner".

 

The trombonist in my jazz/funk original band LOVES Maiden, so 4 or 5 years ago I borrowed the rest of their albums from him. Nothing I heard on there changed my mind (although "Matter of Life & Death" was a huge improvement on the post Powerslave output). We went to see Maiden at Ozzfest ~2005, they sounded fantastic live. Bruce's vocals were stronger than they were in their 80's heyday.

 

Maiden was/is a great band, but their sound seems very dated to me; the whole Priest/Maiden/Queensryche operatic-tenor vocal style seems so 80's, yet Rush/Sabs/Zep always sound fresh and timeless.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Brooks

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

I wish I could find a digital version of Maiden Japan. An excellent live EP.

 

As for the other albums, the debut album was the first I had. It is so raw, and rockin'. I remember the first time I listened to it. It was almost punk, but way better. Strange World was the only track I rarely listened to, now I get it all the time on the iPod and it still sounds great to my ear. While this is the roughest sounding IM effort it is near and dear to me. Some guitar tones especially are a bit nasally, but you can't go bck and fix it now. It is what it is, and I am glad for that.

A

 

Killers is definitely a step up. The addition of Adrian Smith I think is key. He and Dave play so well together and counter each other's styles appropriately. Dave is a bit of a flailer and Adrian is very methodical and thoughtful. The harmonies are always clever. The production on Killers is more clean, but still kind of raw and aggressive, especially Steve's tone. This is a classic. Great tunes, though some are from the back catalog.

A

 

Number of the Beast was the first IM album I bought as it was released. I remember hearing Run to the Hills on the radio first and then seeing the video on MTV. I really took note of the Derek Riggs art, then went got Killers and IM out to re-examine. Excellent artwork! Man, I miss albums. There are some great moments on Number, and other songwriters are making it into the mix. I thought the addition of Dickinson was understandable, but still like the material from the first two albums more than this one. Having heard DiAnno recently it was the right move to make. Though I really don't care for Bruce's renditions of the first two albums' material still nor Nicko's takes on the drum tracks. Clive could rock pretty good himself. But I guess he needed to put the coke straw down, hence his exit. This was also the first tour I saw them, with Scorpions and Girlschool. Great show.

B

 

Piece Of Mind starts off with some serious drums. Hello new drummer dude. The trooper is definitive Maiden. This whole record rocks. Songs are getting longer and deal with wider topics. For me this album does not beat out the first two.

B+

 

Powerslave is probably my favorite of the Bruce/Nicko Iron Maiden. This album kicks from top to bottom. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is probably my favorite Maiden song. Sitting next to the title track on the album, almost half the album's length right there. Great stuff, another amazing cover from Riggs too. This album has everything Maiden is known for.

A+

 

Somewhere in Time was the last tour I saw of this era. A solid album with the rare Dave Murray track on it. Another highlight for me is The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Great harmonies. Stranger in a Strange Land is annoying. So is Alexander the Great, Heaven Can Wait and especially Sea of Madness. They are starting to sound formulaic on this one a bit.

B-

 

Seventh Son is where I got off the Iron Maiden train for a while. I bought this album and listened to it a couple times. I lent it to a friend and never asked for it back. Too little variety and/or growth and the formula has become evident. Not to mention I think they just needed a break. Hence Adrian's exit after this record.

F

 

That said, I have seen Maiden probably 3 times in the past 6 years. I especially enjoyed last year's Somewhere Back In Time tour. Wish they would do that more often. Still, they are Iron Maiden. And friend.

[Rushman14]

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Mar 1 2010, 06:06 PM)

I wish I could find a digital version of Maiden Japan. An excellent live EP. As for the other albums, the debut album was the first I had. It is so raw, and rockin'. I remember the first time I listened to it. It was almost punk, but way better. Strange World was the only track I rarely listened to, now I get it all the time on the iPod and it still sounds great to my ear. While this is the roughest sounding IM effort it is near and dear to me. Some guitar tones especially are a bit nasally, but you can't go bck and fix it now. It is what it is, and I am glad for that. A Killers is definitely a step up. The addition of Adrian Smith I think is key. He and Dave play so well together and counter each other's styles appropriately. Dave is a bit of a flailer and Adrian is very methodical and thoughtful. The harmonies are always clever. The production on Killers is more clean, but still kind of raw and aggressive, especially Steve's tone. This is a classic. Great tunes, though some are from the back catalog. A Number of the Beast was the first IM album I bought as it was released. I remember hearing Run to the Hills on the radio first and then seeing the video on MTV. I really took note of the Derek Riggs art, then went got Killers and IM out to re-examine. Excellent artwork! Man, I miss albums. There are some great moments on Number, and other songwriters are making it into the mix. I thought the addition of Dickinson was understandable, but still like the material from the first two albums more than this one. Having heard DiAnno recently it was the right move to make. Though I really don't care for Bruce's renditions of the first two albums' material still nor Nicko's takes on the drum tracks. Clive could rock pretty good himself. But I guess he needed to put the coke straw down, hence his exit. This was also the first tour I saw them, with Scorpions and Girlschool. Great show. B Piece Of Mind starts off with some serious drums. Hello new drummer dude. The trooper is definitive Maiden. This whole record rocks. Songs are getting longer and deal with wider topics. For me this album does not beat out the first two. B+ Powerslave is probably my favorite of the Bruce/Nicko Iron Maiden. This album kicks from top to bottom. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is probably my favorite Maiden song. Sitting next to the title track on the album, almost half the album's length right there. Great stuff, another amazing cover from Riggs too. This album has everything Maiden is known for. A+ Somewhere in Time was the last tour I saw of this era. A solid album with the rare Dave Murray track on it. Another highlight for me is The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Great harmonies. Stranger in a Strange Land is annoying. So is Alexander the Great, Heaven Can Wait and especially Sea of Madness. They are starting to sound formulaic on this one a bit. B- Seventh Son is where I got off the Iron Maiden train for a while. I bought this album and listened to it a couple times. I lent it to a friend and never asked for it back. Too little variety and/or growth and the formula has become evident. Not to mention I think they just needed a break. Hence Adrian's exit after this record. F That said, I have seen Maiden probably 3 times in the past 6 years. I especially enjoyed last year's Somewhere Back In Time tour. Wish they would do that more often. Still, they are Iron Maiden. And friend.

F for Seventh Son? They also lost me beginning with that album but I think an F is a bit harsh. Any album with that replacement singer gets an F.

[greg2112]

Nice job on the grades and reviews, I agree with most of what you say (P-D). I'll just give a ranking/grade for the albums, sans review:

 

1)Piece of Mind A+

2)Number of the Beast A+

3)Seventh Son of a Seventh Son A+

4)Killers A

5)Powerslave B+

6)A Matter of Life and Death B+

7)Iron Maiden B+

8)Somewhere in Time B

9)Brave New World B-

10)Dance of Death B-

11)Fear of the Dark C

12)X Factor D

13Virtual IX/No Prayer for the Dying F

Edited March 2, 2010 by greg2112

[Ultra]

I'm only familiar with their catalog up to 7th Son and Brave New World. I love their early work and still play them from time to time, but was interested to see how highly rated their post Bayley material rated with you. I loved Brave New World almost as much as the albums they put out in their prime, but for some reason or other, never gave Dance of Death or A Matter Of Life In Death much of a listen (maybe once each). I might have to revisit both of those to see what I've been missing.

[RUSHHEAD666]

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Mar 1 2010, 06:06 PM)

I wish I could find a digital version of Maiden Japan. An excellent live EP. As for the other albums, the debut album was the first I had. It is so raw, and rockin'. I remember the first time I listened to it. It was almost punk, but way better. Strange World was the only track I rarely listened to, now I get it all the time on the iPod and it still sounds great to my ear. While this is the roughest sounding IM effort it is near and dear to me. Some guitar tones especially are a bit nasally, but you can't go bck and fix it now. It is what it is, and I am glad for that. A Killers is definitely a step up. The addition of Adrian Smith I think is key. He and Dave play so well together and counter each other's styles appropriately. Dave is a bit of a flailer and Adrian is very methodical and thoughtful. The harmonies are always clever. The production on Killers is more clean, but still kind of raw and aggressive, especially Steve's tone. This is a classic. Great tunes, though some are from the back catalog. A Number of the Beast was the first IM album I bought as it was released. I remember hearing Run to the Hills on the radio first and then seeing the video on MTV. I really took note of the Derek Riggs art, then went got Killers and IM out to re-examine. Excellent artwork! Man, I miss albums. There are some great moments on Number, and other songwriters are making it into the mix. I thought the addition of Dickinson was understandable, but still like the material from the first two albums more than this one. Having heard DiAnno recently it was the right move to make. Though I really don't care for Bruce's renditions of the first two albums' material still nor Nicko's takes on the drum tracks. Clive could rock pretty good himself. But I guess he needed to put the coke straw down, hence his exit. This was also the first tour I saw them, with Scorpions and Girlschool. Great show. B Piece Of Mind starts off with some serious drums. Hello new drummer dude. The trooper is definitive Maiden. This whole record rocks. Songs are getting longer and deal with wider topics. For me this album does not beat out the first two. B+ Powerslave is probably my favorite of the Bruce/Nicko Iron Maiden. This album kicks from top to bottom. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is probably my favorite Maiden song. Sitting next to the title track on the album, almost half the album's length right there. Great stuff, another amazing cover from Riggs too. This album has everything Maiden is known for. A+ Somewhere in Time was the last tour I saw of this era. A solid album with the rare Dave Murray track on it. Another highlight for me is The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Great harmonies. Stranger in a Strange Land is annoying. So is Alexander the Great, Heaven Can Wait and especially Sea of Madness. They are starting to sound formulaic on this one a bit. B- Seventh Son is where I got off the Iron Maiden train for a while. I bought this album and listened to it a couple times. I lent it to a friend and never asked for it back. Too little variety and/or growth and the formula has become evident. Not to mention I think they just needed a break. Hence Adrian's exit after this record. F That said, I have seen Maiden probably 3 times in the past 6 years. I especially enjoyed last year's Somewhere Back In Time tour. Wish they would do that more often. Still, they are Iron Maiden. And friend.

Holy Shit! I can't believe my eyeballs! Don't you mean an "F" FOR FUKKED!

I am totally shocked buy hey, different strokes my friend.

I absolutely love "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son." Their last great record.

 

 

My biased Eddie boner is raging hard at the moment and it needs to explode into "A" sexy IRON MAIDEN!

 

IRON MAIDEN = A+

KILLERS = A+

NUMBER OF THE BEAST = A+

PIECE OF MIND = A+

POWERSLAVE = A+

SOMEWHERE IN TIME = A+

SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON = A+

 

 

Seven deadly sins, seven deadly wins! Seven perfect albums all in a row. Seven "10" ratings these albums will get. If you choose to suck and blow, then in the end you shall regret.

 

Why do you think Maiden did the Somewhere Back In Time Tour?

Because it's a tour that contained their best shit, minus "Fear In The Dark."

I will never understand why they played that Nineties song. WEAK.

 

Signed,

 

FLIGHTHEAD666

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

If the show would have been the Live After Death set then it would have been perfect. It was still awesome. I had a great f***ing time!

[Xanadoood]

Everything up to and including Powerslave is grade A+ 80S Metal. After that, they started sounding the same and i lost interest.

 

I got the comeback album with Bruce, Brave New World, and wasnt that impressed.

 

But those first 5 albums are essential to any Metal Heads collection.

 

Up The Irons!!!

[Rendclaw]

Iron Maiden: This album showed what the band was all about right from the opening riff of Prowler. The only thing that forces me to rate this album down is the production. The sound is tinny, there is barely enough bass to balance out the sound, and by barely I mean the barest minimum to where I can barely listen to it without getting mildly annoyed. I think Steve's style of playing more than the actual bass sound is what makes the difference. Paul's vocals were excellent here, even though from what I have seen he couldn't quite equal his studio efforts live. Rating: B+

 

Killers: As Presto said (and I couldn't agree with him more), the additions of Martin Birch (and slightly more importantly) Adrian Smith make a world of difference. I found out that I am a complete sucker for melodic guitar playing, and Adrian has melody in spades. Even going back to this album, you can find little tasty bits of melodic counter playing, and his bluesy, deliberate style is and remains the perfect counterpoint to Dave Murray's all-out, balls to the wall (and in Steve Harris' words, Hendrix-y)style. The sound is much fuller, and even thought a lot of the older Maiden fans may disagree with this, this album showed that Paul was starting to show that he couldn't keep up with his band, even in studio. My favorite track by far on this album is Purgatory, even though I know how to play Prodigal Son on guitar. Rating : A-

 

The Number of the Beast: Paul's health could not keep up with the touring, and it was showing even more in the live performances. Also, there were other problems within the band that led to his eventual departure. Enter Bruce Dickinson from Saxon. I was able to find a couple of his audition performances, which were I believe Killers and strangely enough, Twilight Zone and all I could say was wow. The power from his voice was just immense. And in a wise move by the band and Martin Birch, they decided to showcase Bruce's operatically trained pipes. The band was already tight as a drum and could destroy on their own, and Bruce was the cherry on top of a NWOBHM sundae. My favorite track on this album is The Prisoner, and not by much either in comparison to the other tracks. I always thought that it was a wonderful little touch that the band added Total Eclipse back onto the album. I remember when I bought the documentary 12 Wasted Years and I saw that performance for the first time, and then found it as a b-side to either Run to the Hills or Number of the Beast (I can't remember which) and as weird as this sounds, this song was a shining example about how good this band is. As I said on my YT page when I did this song (lil bit of a shameless plug there), they take a simple song like Total Eclipse and make it good just by their playing, showcasing everyone's talent. Rating: A

 

Piece of Mind: Unfortunately, Clive Burr's health started taking a serious downturn, and he had to bow out as Maiden's drummer in 1982. Enter Nicko McBrain, who's style was more straightforward than Clive's jazzy leanings. That's no knock on Clive, he was awesome and after seeing some live performances with him in the band, I could really appreciate his contributions to the legacy of Maiden, but it seemed to me that Nicko fit a lot better with the band. And as had become a Maiden staple, Where Eagles Dare took you by the scruff of the neck with the opening drum riff and just does not let go. The guitar sound is more up front, the bass is more ballsy, and its a sound that I just love. From beginning to end, this album is pure Maiden excellence. Rating: A+

 

Powerslave: Okay, I am going to qualify this by saying that there is no way on earth that I can be objective about this album. I remember my high school buddy playing this for me, and it was like Eddie stuck his knife in me and got into my soul. This album got me into Maiden, this album got me into metal, so I cannot possibly be objective.

 

That being said, even if I didn't love this album as much as I do, I would still say its Maiden's best effort during their heyday in the 80s, and quite possibly of all time. The guitar tone is perfect almost to the point of being alien (listen to when they play open G chords... it sounds to me like they overdub some feedback which makes it sound wild), Steve's bass tone is perfect, including the slapping of the strings against the pickups which became his signature), and enough cannot be said about either Nicko's drumming nor Bruce's singing. This was Maiden at their peak of their power, the height of their ability, and nowhere was this on display better than Live After Death, though I think the live video is a better performance than the album. My favorite track here is the instrumental Losfer Words (Big 'Orra), because that is what caught my ear to start this long journey in the world of metal. Rating: A++

 

Somewhere in Time: This album was a little bit of a departure from why Maiden had come to be known for, by the way of adding guitar synths and having a bit of a progressive bent to their playing. I remember at the time there was something of an outcry about Maiden going away from "true metal", whatever the hell that meant. As usual, Maiden grabs ahold of you from the beginning synth and bass chords and guitar harmonies of Caught Somewhere in Time, and takes you on a roller coaster ride. This album I think showed that the band could add a new dimension sonically and not miss a beat doing it, which of course set the table for full keyboards in the next album. As I had said in another post, I had a chance to see them when they came to New Haven CT, but I didn't and I still regret it to this day, especially seeing some live performances earlier in the tour before exhaustion started to take its toll on Bruce. I have the video of their performance in Paris and I could tell how tired Bruce was. I remember him talking about that when they were talking in part 2 of their documentary. My favorite song on this album is Sea of Madness, and barely so over Wasted Years, Heaven Can Wait and Stranger in a Strange Land. Rating: A+

 

Seventh Son of Seventh Son: If I have a complaint about this album, its that the guitars sound a touch too processed. Aside from that, I love it. the fact that they added full keyboards in addition to synths in order to display a full palette of sound. It wasn't overused thankfully, though by this time a *lot* of Maiden fans were crying foul about it... To me, it showed me that they were not willing to rest on their laurels. The fact that this was a concept album also scored major points with me, despite the dark and depressing ending. The band was extremely tight by this time, and it seemed there was little they could not do that wouldn't sound good.

 

This is the tour I was able to see them, and they brought the f***ing house down. I also was able to relive some of those moments when I bought the Maiden England video, which has the best rendition of the album title track I have ever heard. My favorite track on this album is Can I Play With Madness, again, with them taking a simple song and making it shine through their musicianship, even though there really isn't a weak track on the album. Rating: A.

 

No Prayer for the Dying: Okay, this album didn't make me happy, because my favorite member (Adrian Smith) had left, but I was willing to give Janick Gers a fair shake as his replacement. They were VERY smart by going with a stripped down sound and not being quite so serious with their material (Hell, the last time they did a song that was all in fun was a B-side off of Somewhere In Time, The Sheriff of Huddersfield, which was a playful slam on their manager, Rod Smallwood). I think another reason they might have gone that way was in order to give Janick a chance to get his feet wet. Good thing, because if there is one thing I have never liked about Janick but especially on this album is the fact that his solos rarely make sense. 80% of the time it sounds like guitar wanking that barely stays in key. This is something that still bothers me about him to this day, to the point where I almost wish he would step aside and the band continued with the classic lineup.

 

But getting back to the album, the rhythm playing is crisp and on the money, and Dave's playing has never been better, perhaps due to the fact that he had to carry a slightly heavier load because of Adrian's departure. I won;t go so far as to say that he was carrying Janick, but lets just say that Dave had a little extra zip on most of his solos. Despite the negatives perceived by me, somehow the album works. I was also able to see them on this tour, and they put on a great show, despite my skepticism at the time. My favorite track on this album is Tailgunner. Rating: B.

 

Fear of the Dark: This was a much better effort from the band. Janick sounded much more comfortable on this album, and as my buddy and I both agreed, he had learned to play more melodically on this album, which paid immediate dividends. The lyrics were more serious as well (the exceptions being the fun romp, From Here to Eternity, and Steve Harris' almost obligatory nod to a movie or book, The Fugitive) with a lot of social commentary. The guitars sound good, the drumming is sharper, the bass sound is good as well, and there is a something of a return of the harmonies that was a signature of the band as well.

 

This was of course, Bruce Dickinson's last album until his triumphant return in 1999, along with Adrian Smith (yay!). I saw some performances from this album tour, and you could tell by the end that he had checked out after he had made his decision to leave Maiden, especially in the concert video Raising Hell. It seemed to me that he was rushing through his lyrics at points, as if he couldn;t wait to get his money and tip on out the door. I remember this was being pushed pretty hard on pay-per-view, as well. I think that the whole theatric element could have been scrapped, including the "murder" of Bruce by Eddie at the very end of the concert. But whatever, thats a minor gripe of mine. My favorite track from this album is Afraid to Shoot Strangers, barely beating out the title track and Wasting Love. Rating: B+.

 

The X Factor: Okay, I have to say from the get-go that I wasn;t a big fan of Blaze Bayley stepping into Bruce's shoes, but I can understand the choice. But as me and my friend said at the time, Blaze's nuts needed to go into a vise in order for him to hit the higher notes, because he just didn;t have that extra vocal gear to go to. But at the same time, I doubt anyone could have done a better job short of a Bruce Dickinson knock-off coming in. I think I have listened to this album all the way through maybe five or six times since I bought it in 1995. The best part was when I saw them when they came to Orlando in 1996. I enjoyed that concert, even though it was in a medium-sized club. I noticed that people, mostly older Maiden fans were looking puzzled when they started playing Blood on the World's Hands, and some assholes outright booing when they played new material. My highlight of the night was catching Dave Murray's wristband when he tossed it into the crowd. I still have it and I am very proud of it. My favorite track is Man on the Edge. Rating: C+.

 

Virtual XI: Not surprisingly, this is my least favorite album in the Maiden catalog. I think I have listened through it twice, maybe three times. There are only two decent tracks on the album in my opinion, those being Futureal and The Clansman, and even those are eclipsed by Bruce's stunning live renditions of these songs. Rating: D+

 

Brave New World: Okay, when I had heard Bruce and Adrian were coming back to Maiden and they were making a new album, I could not have been happier. I think all parties involved realized at that point that they were better together than they were apart. Bruce's solo albums were interesting to listen to, as were Adrian's efforts with ASAP (and I will testify to my dying day as to the quality of that effort), Psycho Motel, and finally his collaborations with Bruce. But at the end of the day, everyone knew that Maiden was where they truly belonged.

 

From the opening chords of The Wicker Man, I was blown away. I had wondered how they were going to make a three guitar setup work, especially rhythmically. There is only so much sonic space before you start stepping on the other instruments, but I should not have worried. I don;t have a complaint about any tracks on this album, as they make it work beautifully (by having Adrian play a detuned guitar most of the time in a rhythm part), and Bruce's vocal work was the best I had heard from him in years. Even in his middle forties, he still had it and then some. I remember I downloaded their live Rock in Rio performance before the annoying DVD came out (this was taped directly from the Brazilian PPV), and I was floored by how on everyone was. Its as if they never parted ways and had this lineup for years instead of months. My favorite track on this album is Ghost of the Navigator. Rating A-.

 

Dance of Death: This was where the they started stretching out a little bit, as if they said "hey wait, we have three great guitar players, a great rhythm section, and one hell of a singer. Let's take some risks!" And they did. And for the most part, they pulled it off. The sound, while different than Brave New World, was not lacking in the slightest. The three-part harmonies work very well, and Bruce continued to amaze me with his excellent vocal work. Steve has never stopped for one second being one of the best bass players in rock music and as always, Nicko's drumming was the bedrock on which everything was built. I do think that Maiden is a better band live, and maybe with one exception (Live After Death) nowhere was this on display more than Death on the Road. Simply excellent work. My favorite track on this album is Rainmaker, barely edging out the title track. Rating A-.

 

A Matter of Life and Death: Man, there is nothing positive I can say about this album that hasn't been said already. I adore this album, and as most do, I put it right up there with the best Maiden had done 20-25 years earlier. Not bad for a group of blokes well into their fifties. As good as their sound had been the last two albums, they nailed it perfectly this time. You can hear each guitar clearly against each other, even when they are playing the exact same thing. The rhythm section stands out more and this time it seems to me that its Bruce's vocals that tie everything together. I saw them when they decided to do a tour to promote that album and nothing else, and even though a lot of people at the concert were going I thought they did one hell of a job playing that album start to end. My favorite track on the album is Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, barely beating out Different World and The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg. Rating: A+.

 

Sheesh, this is my longest post to date, it took me almost three hours to gather my thoughts together about each album. Hope you all like what I had to say.

Edited March 2, 2010 by Rendclaw

[Presto-digitation]

Really great breakdown Rendclaw. A thoroughly enjoyable read. You and I seem to have nearly identical opinions about the band, the members, and the albums as well...so not much to identify (specifically) that we both didn't touch on.

 

Well done!

 

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Mar 2 2010, 09:34 AM)

Really great breakdown Rendclaw. A thoroughly enjoyable read. You and I seem to have nearly identical opinions about the band, the members, and the albums as well...so not much to identify (specifically) that we both didn't touch on. Well done!

I just want to say that both you and Rendclaw wrote some great missives and I found myself smiling and nodding in agreement a lot!

 

Well done, gentlemen!

[ReRushed]

What a coincidence! My nephew is a big Iron Maiden fan and I recently decided to give them a listen. (In my youth, I was anti-metal. At the time, I liked U2 and R.E.M.)

 

Anyway, I gave the debut a listen and I loved it! The energy and musicianship is fantastic.

 

Just another band I missed out on in my youth. In the meantime, I'm giving The Number of the Beast and then Powerslave a listen in the near future.

[RUSHHEAD666]

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ Mar 2 2010, 01:28 AM)

If the show would have been the Live After Death set then it would have been perfect. It was still awesome. I had a great f***ing time!

True. It was still a great fukking time!!!

Were you at the Concord Pavilion too dude?

 

[RUSHHEAD666]

QUOTE (Rendclaw @ Mar 2 2010, 06:37 AM)

Iron Maiden: This album showed what the band was all about right from the opening riff of Prowler. The only thing that forces me to rate this album down is the production. The sound is tinny, there is barely enough bass to balance out the sound, and by barely I mean the barest minimum to where I can barely listen to it without getting mildly annoyed. I think Steve's style of playing more than the actual bass sound is what makes the difference. Paul's vocals were excellent here, even though from what I have seen he couldn't quite equal his studio efforts live. Rating: B+ Killers: As Presto said (and I couldn't agree with him more), the additions of Martin Birch (and slightly more importantly) Adrian Smith make a world of difference. I found out that I am a complete sucker for melodic guitar playing, and Adrian has melody in spades. Even going back to this album, you can find little tasty bits of melodic counter playing, and his bluesy, deliberate style is and remains the perfect counterpoint to Dave Murray's all-out, balls to the wall (and in Steve Harris' words, Hendrix-y)style. The sound is much fuller, and even thought a lot of the older Maiden fans may disagree with this, this album showed that Paul was starting to show that he couldn't keep up with his band, even in studio. My favorite track by far on this album is Purgatory, even though I know how to play Prodigal Son on guitar. Rating : A- The Number of the Beast: Paul's health could not keep up with the touring, and it was showing even more in the live performances. Also, there were other problems within the band that led to his eventual departure. Enter Bruce Dickinson from Saxon. I was able to find a couple of his audition performances, which were I believe Killers and strangely enough, Twilight Zone and all I could say was wow. The power from his voice was just immense. And in a wise move by the band and Martin Birch, they decided to showcase Bruce's operatically trained pipes. The band was already tight as a drum and could destroy on their own, and Bruce was the cherry on top of a NWOBHM sundae. My favorite track on this album is The Prisoner, and not by much either in comparison to the other tracks. I always thought that it was a wonderful little touch that the band added Total Eclipse back onto the album. I remember when I bought the documentary 12 Wasted Years and I saw that performance for the first time, and then found it as a b-side to either Run to the Hills or Number of the Beast (I can't remember which) and as weird as this sounds, this song was a shining example about how good this band is. As I said on my YT page when I did this song (lil bit of a shameless plug there), they take a simple song like Total Eclipse and make it good just by their playing, showcasing everyone's talent. Rating: A Piece of Mind: Unfortunately, Clive Burr's health started taking a serious downturn, and he had to bow out as Maiden's drummer in 1982. Enter Nicko McBrain, who's style was more straightforward than Clive's jazzy leanings. That's no knock on Clive, he was awesome and after seeing some live performances with him in the band, I could really appreciate his contributions to the legacy of Maiden, but it seemed to me that Nicko fit a lot better with the band. And as had become a Maiden staple, Where Eagles Dare took you by the scruff of the neck with the opening drum riff and just does not let go. The guitar sound is more up front, the bass is more ballsy, and its a sound that I just love. From beginning to end, this album is pure Maiden excellence. Rating: A+ Powerslave: Okay, I am going to qualify this by saying that there is no way on earth that I can be objective about this album. I remember my high school buddy playing this for me, and it was like Eddie stuck his knife in me and got into my soul. This album got me into Maiden, this album got me into metal, so I cannot possibly be objective. That being said, even if I didn't love this album as much as I do, I would still say its Maiden's best effort during their heyday in the 80s, and quite possibly of all time. The guitar tone is perfect almost to the point of being alien (listen to when they play open G chords... it sounds to me like they overdub some feedback which makes it sound wild), Steve's bass tone is perfect, including the slapping of the strings against the pickups which became his signature), and enough cannot be said about either Nicko's drumming nor Bruce's singing. This was Maiden at their peak of their power, the height of their ability, and nowhere was this on display better than Live After Death, though I think the live video is a better performance than the album. My favorite track here is the instrumental Losfer Words (Big 'Orra), because that is what caught my ear to start this long journey in the world of metal. Rating: A++ Somewhere in Time: This album was a little bit of a departure from why Maiden had come to be known for, by the way of adding guitar synths and having a bit of a progressive bent to their playing. I remember at the time there was something of an outcry about Maiden going away from "true metal", whatever the hell that meant. As usual, Maiden grabs ahold of you from the beginning synth and bass chords and guitar harmonies of Caught Somewhere in Time, and takes you on a roller coaster ride. This album I think showed that the band could add a new dimension sonically and not miss a beat doing it, which of course set the table for full keyboards in the next album. As I had said in another post, I had a chance to see them when they came to New Haven CT, but I didn't and I still regret it to this day, especially seeing some live performances earlier in the tour before exhaustion started to take its toll on Bruce. I have the video of their performance in Paris and I could tell how tired Bruce was. I remember him talking about that when they were talking in part 2 of their documentary. My favorite song on this album is Sea of Madness, and barely so over Wasted Years, Heaven Can Wait and Stranger in a Strange Land. Rating: A+ Seventh Son of Seventh Son: If I have a complaint about this album, its that the guitars sound a touch too processed. Aside from that, I love it. the fact that they added full keyboards in addition to synths in order to display a full palette of sound. It wasn't overused thankfully, though by this time a *lot* of Maiden fans were crying foul about it... To me, it showed me that they were not willing to rest on their laurels. The fact that this was a concept album also scored major points with me, despite the dark and depressing ending. The band was extremely tight by this time, and it seemed there was little they could not do that wouldn't sound good. This is the tour I was able to see them, and they brought the f***ing house down. I also was able to relive some of those moments when I bought the Maiden England video, which has the best rendition of the album title track I have ever heard. My favorite track on this album is Can I Play With Madness, again, with them taking a simple song and making it shine through their musicianship, even though there really isn't a weak track on the album. Rating: A. No Prayer for the Dying: Okay, this album didn't make me happy, because my favorite member (Adrian Smith) had left, but I was willing to give Janick Gers a fair shake as his replacement. They were VERY smart by going with a stripped down sound and not being quite so serious with their material (Hell, the last time they did a song that was all in fun was a B-side off of Somewhere In Time, The Sheriff of Huddersfield, which was a playful slam on their manager, Rod Smallwood). I think another reason they might have gone that way was in order to give Janick a chance to get his feet wet. Good thing, because if there is one thing I have never liked about Janick but especially on this album is the fact that his solos rarely make sense. 80% of the time it sounds like guitar wanking that barely stays in key. This is something that still bothers me about him to this day, to the point where I almost wish he would step aside and the band continued with the classic lineup. But getting back to the album, the rhythm playing is crisp and on the money, and Dave's playing has never been better, perhaps due to the fact that he had to carry a slightly heavier load because of Adrian's departure. I won;t go so far as to say that he was carrying Janick, but lets just say that Dave had a little extra zip on most of his solos. Despite the negatives perceived by me, somehow the album works. I was also able to see them on this tour, and they put on a great show, despite my skepticism at the time. My favorite track on this album is Tailgunner. Rating: B. Fear of the Dark: This was a much better effort from the band. Janick sounded much more comfortable on this album, and as my buddy and I both agreed, he had learned to play more melodically on this album, which paid immediate dividends. The lyrics were more serious as well (the exceptions being the fun romp, From Here to Eternity, and Steve Harris' almost obligatory nod to a movie or book, The Fugitive) with a lot of social commentary. The guitars sound good, the drumming is sharper, the bass sound is good as well, and there is a something of a return of the harmonies that was a signature of the band as well. This was of course, Bruce Dickinson's last album until his triumphant return in 1999, along with Adrian Smith (yay!). I saw some performances from this album tour, and you could tell by the end that he had checked out after he had made his decision to leave Maiden, especially in the concert video Raising Hell. It seemed to me that he was rushing through his lyrics at points, as if he couldn;t wait to get his money and tip on out the door. I remember this was being pushed pretty hard on pay-per-view, as well. I think that the whole theatric element could have been scrapped, including the "murder" of Bruce by Eddie at the very end of the concert. But whatever, thats a minor gripe of mine. My favorite track from this album is Afraid to Shoot Strangers, barely beating out the title track and Wasting Love. Rating: B+. The X Factor: Okay, I have to say from the get-go that I wasn;t a big fan of Blaze Bayley stepping into Bruce's shoes, but I can understand the choice. But as me and my friend said at the time, Blaze's nuts needed to go into a vise in order for him to hit the higher notes, because he just didn;t have that extra vocal gear to go to. But at the same time, I doubt anyone could have done a better job short of a Bruce Dickinson knock-off coming in. I think I have listened to this album all the way through maybe five or six times since I bought it in 1995. The best part was when I saw them when they came to Orlando in 1996. I enjoyed that concert, even though it was in a medium-sized club. I noticed that people, mostly older Maiden fans were looking puzzled when they started playing Blood on the World's Hands, and some assholes outright booing when they played new material. My highlight of the night was catching Dave Murray's wristband when he tossed it into the crowd. I still have it and I am very proud of it. My favorite track is Man on the Edge. Rating: C+. Virtual XI: Not surprisingly, this is my least favorite album in the Maiden catalog. I think I have listened through it twice, maybe three times. There are only two decent tracks on the album in my opinion, those being Futureal and The Clansman, and even those are eclipsed by Bruce's stunning live renditions of these songs. Rating: D+ Brave New World: Okay, when I had heard Bruce and Adrian were coming back to Maiden and they were making a new album, I could not have been happier. I think all parties involved realized at that point that they were better together than they were apart. Bruce's solo albums were interesting to listen to, as were Adrian's efforts with ASAP (and I will testify to my dying day as to the quality of that effort), Psycho Motel, and finally his collaborations with Bruce. But at the end of the day, everyone knew that Maiden was where they truly belonged. From the opening chords of The Wicker Man, I was blown away. I had wondered how they were going to make a three guitar setup work, especially rhythmically. There is only so much sonic space before you start stepping on the other instruments, but I should not have worried. I don;t have a complaint about any tracks on this album, as they make it work beautifully (by having Adrian play a detuned guitar most of the time in a rhythm part), and Bruce's vocal work was the best I had heard from him in years. Even in his middle forties, he still had it and then some. I remember I downloaded their live Rock in Rio performance before the annoying DVD came out (this was taped directly from the Brazilian PPV), and I was floored by how on everyone was. Its as if they never parted ways and had this lineup for years instead of months. My favorite track on this album is Ghost of the Navigator. Rating A-. Dance of Death: This was where the they started stretching out a little bit, as if they said "hey wait, we have three great guitar players, a great rhythm section, and one hell of a singer. Let's take some risks!" And they did. And for the most part, they pulled it off. The sound, while different than Brave New World, was not lacking in the slightest. The three-part harmonies work very well, and Bruce continued to amaze me with his excellent vocal work. Steve has never stopped for one second being one of the best bass players in rock music and as always, Nicko's drumming was the bedrock on which everything was built. I do think that Maiden is a better band live, and maybe with one exception (Live After Death) nowhere was this on display more than Death on the Road. Simply excellent work. My favorite track on this album is Rainmaker, barely edging out the title track. Rating A-. A Matter of Life and Death: Man, there is nothing positive I can say about this album that hasn't been said already. I adore this album, and as most do, I put it right up there with the best Maiden had done 20-25 years earlier. Not bad for a group of blokes well into their fifties. As good as their sound had been the last two albums, they nailed it perfectly this time. You can hear each guitar clearly against each other, even when they are playing the exact same thing. The rhythm section stands out more and this time it seems to me that its Bruce's vocals that tie everything together. I saw them when they decided to do a tour to promote that album and nothing else, and even though a lot of people at the concert were going I thought they did one hell of a job playing that album start to end. My favorite track on the album is Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, barely beating out Different World and The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg. Rating: A+. Sheesh, this is my longest post to date, it took me almost three hours to gather my thoughts together about each album. Hope you all like what I had to say.

A+++++++++++++++++++++++ POST!

 

 

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 2 2010, 03:39 PM)

What a coincidence! My nephew is a big Iron Maiden fan and I recently decided to give them a listen. (In my youth, I was anti-metal. At the time, I liked U2 and R.E.M.) Anyway, I gave the debut a listen and I loved it! The energy and musicianship is fantastic. Just another band I missed out on in my youth. In the meantime, I'm giving The Number of the Beast and then Powerslave a listen in the near future.

God I ENVY you!!

 

Enjoy!

[Barchetta82]

I'm a huge fan of Maiden..love all thier albums.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2010 by Barchetta82

[Brooks]

QUOTE

Enter Bruce Dickinson from Saxon.

 

sampson, not saxon.

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Mar 1 2010, 04:09 PM)

A Matter Of Life And Death is one of their best.

this surprises me to hear anyone say this.......for me this would be in the lower half of their catalog for sure.....

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Mar 2 2010, 08:58 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Mar 1 2010, 04:09 PM) A Matter Of Life And Death is one of their best.  this surprises me to hear anyone say this.......for me this would be in the lower half of their catalog for sure..... You're in a bit of the minority on that one and I'm curious why it strikes you as low ranking. (Or why the high ranking surprises you, more accurately).

[Rendclaw]

QUOTE (Brooks @ Mar 2 2010, 08:54 PM)

QUOTE Enter Bruce Dickinson from Saxon.   sampson, not saxon. I always get those two mixed up, and it was like 7 AM and I had had no sleep as of yet.   WCFIELDS: Consider your well-advertised dislike for Snakes and Arrows, I'm not surprised you dislike AMOLAD.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Rendclaw

[Presto-digitation]

Re: Blaze years (silver lining moment)

 

Even disliking those Bayley albums, one bit of good fortune were the Bruce records that came while he was gone. I'd certainly rank both Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding as better than any Maiden album in the 90s.

 

In the spirit of this thread, I listened again to The X Factor last night. I have to confess there's just a part of me that can't get past his voice, no matter how hard I try. I kept hearing these verses and choruses with Dickinson inflections...and what I was actually listening to was so monotone and sterile. There's very little passion in Bayley's delivery to me. There's drama...it sounds like he's speaking a lyrical part in a play, but there's no melodic conviction there.

 

These also aren't the best collection of Maiden songs in the writing department either, however. Lyrically they're pretty damn compelling, but I think that effort is largely wasted on often uninteresting compositions and certainly fall flat with Blaze's vanilla deliveries. He has power, but very little about his voice is interesting to me. It's a misuse of some really good wordsmithing.

 

I keep trying...

Edited March 3, 2010 by Presto-digitation

[ReRushed]

Okay, I gave The Number of the Beast a first listen. Question, they made better albums than this? If so, oh boy!

[metaldad]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 3 2010, 03:26 PM)

Okay, I gave The Number of the Beast a first listen. Question, they made better albums than this? If so, oh boy!

Listen to Powerslave...

[ReRushed]

QUOTE (metaldad @ Mar 3 2010, 04:19 PM)

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 3 2010, 03:26 PM) Okay, I gave The Number of the Beast a first listen.  Question, they made better albums than this?  If so, oh boy! Listen to Powerslave... Powerslave is next.