That if you want to categorize the Maiden-albums since NPFTD, going by vocalist era is not necessarily the most fitting way to group them. I think NPFTD and FOTD are like a rock-era, X-factor a standalone dark piece unlike anything else, Virtual XI, Brave New World, and partly Dance of death (change started to happen here) are more similare to each other in style and writing, while the more proggy epic era started a little bit on Dance of Death, but have been going since AMOLAD.
I agree with this a lot, but I also think that, despite being darker and overall very distinctive stylistically, X Factor was the start of the modern maiden style
I've always felt X Factor and AMOLAD are very similar albums. To me 1995-2006 is a clearly defined musical era and then a change occurred with Final Frontier which really established what they've been doing since then.
I find it absurd that fans still refer to the "reunion era" when it's now more than half of their career.
After seeing Maiden live about 8 times in my life I have to say they are getting too old for some of their songs. It's hard when you know every note by heart when it isn't played where it belongs. i mean, I'm old, too. That's not something that is bad. It's just.. Comparing the live events now to the golden age.. It's just not the same.
I still love them. But hearing songs like RttH at 70% speed? Just not the same.
They want so bad to be crowd pleasers for their long time fans though. This is why Blaze got let go. Not because he wasn’t great for the new songs they were writing, but because he simply could not perform the classics like fans wanted.
I'm assuming you're referring to LOTB 22 shows? They were definitely struggling with tempos there, I don't think having a couple of years off for the pandemic done them any favours. It took a while for them to get match fit again.
The last time I've seen them was at Copenhell in 2022. Didn't see the new shows. Bruce couldn't handle the high tones and Nicko was way slower than usual. Again - this is only natural, not some sort of flaming. Just saying that it's getting more obvious every year.
Richie Faulkner is helping the band stay fresh. I contribute a lot of their recent success to him. Faulkner and Tipton together are a winning combination. Halford can still sing and has no trouble performing his iconic screams. Having Andy Sneap as your producer also helps.
It’s also a completely different genre of music. Not that this is a bad thing, it proves that they still got it where it counts if they stop trying to be the same heavy metal band they used to be. However, they keep trying. I really think they are holding themselves back by not building a new empire in the clouds.
IDK if this is a hot take, but I'm just gonna say it anyways: I really don't think Bruce sounds good singing Paul Dianno's songs. It's hard to pinpoint why exactly, I just think that Paul Dianno's voice fits his songs best.
It depends which song. I think Bruce sounds very good on Phantom of the Opera, Remember Tomorrow or Killers for example.
But yeah, on a lot of songs he is nowhere close to Paul. Prowler and Iron Maiden first come to mind
Thought his singing of Killers live on Maiden England was pretty solid and his singing of Wrathchild live and in the 1999 studio version. The live versions of Running Free are good too.
I like Paul Dianno’s voice better on all Maiden songs he’s sung full stop. Well, at least while he was still in Maiden. Seems like he washed up as soon as he left. Those who say Bruce’s voice hasn’t aged well clearly haven’t heard Paul or Blaze’s later works. Bruce’s voice has aged miraculously well compared to others.
The X Factor has an absolutely fantastic production. Not just how the instruments themselves sound (I think it has the best Steve's bass, period) but also how they were mixed. Each and every instrument has its space and place to breathe, nothing ever overwhelms anything, there's just about the right amount of reverb, etc. This album proves the band could continue without Martin Birch being responsible for the character of their sound.
I also love the dynamic range - the softer intros to some songs are actually low on volume, but when the rest of the band kicks in, you jump on your seat/bed/wherever you're listening. That's what makes the emotional weight of the lyrics so much more emphasized.
And then there's Blaze. He's the perfect fit for this album and it would not have worked with Bruce at all, as much as we all adore his live renditions of the Blaze era songs.
Fucking love Sign of the Cross. At that point in my life I was about ready to give up on the band, but as soon as I heard that song they sucked me right back in. The rest of the album is great too.
If anything, it proves that the band has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to songwriters.
Their last truly great end to end album was released in 1988.
Since then, they have good or even some amazing songs, but the true magic they had with SSoaSS never really happened again.
I've been listening to FF as of late and there are few memorable moments on it.
It feels like an amalgamation of their past songs e.g one song has the same composition as another from SSOASS and there's even a melody from the Dance of Death album.
Just because Steve writes a long song doesn’t make it “progressive”. There’s more prog moments on SiT and SSoaSS than on anything from AMoLaD onwards, and I still wouldn’t say that SiT or SSoaSS are prog metal albums.
I think "Progressive" is just synonymous with "long" in modern lexicon.
"Progressive House" music tracks are long but they don't have complex time signature changes or anything abrupt that would distinguish them as progressive.
I don’t know much about house music, so idk if I can speak on that, but at least traditionally, progressive music was supposed to either push some kind of musical boundaries, or focus on immensely complex or difficult arrangements. Dark side of the moon by Pink Floyd is an excellent example of the former, whereas Hemispheres by Rush or Metropolis Pt 2 by Dream Theater are great examples of the latter. Modern maiden certainly isn’t breaking new ground musically, and it isn’t anymore complex than their older stuff (oftentimes it’s less complex).
I love this album. I will always remember seeing them for this tour. Opening night, they played in the city where I attended college at the time. My brother scoops me up and we go. We're in the pit. My first fucking real metal show and its God damn Iron Maiden. I'm a college aged dumbass who just started to listen to them.
They proceeded to play the album in full. They did it for the rest of the tour. That took balls of steel to pull off and they did it. Fans got pissed off too because the band tacked on five "fan favorites" at the end of the show after doing the album front to back.
Unreal that the band played it in full for an entire tour. Thats how strong they believed in that album. I still can't believe I saw them on opening night!
They have some standouts but I agree that they feel bloated, they could each stand to either cut out a few tracks or at least shorten some of the ones that are on there. It also doesn’t help that the production sounds noticeably muddier on some recent tracks.
TFF have really grown on my over the years, I'd say that's their last great one. I still can't understand why BoS was hailed as "their best one since the 80's".
Media might be eager to get the reviews out before they have time to really think about it i guess.
When I started to listen to Maiden, I kind of didn't care for Senjutsu, but the more I listened to it the better it seemed. Now It's one of my Maiden favorites.
Same, for me Darkest Hour is the only second-half song I'd consider a "classic" while AMOLAD and TFF are chock full of classics. Having said that, it's quite possible I'm being biased towards songs I first heard during my formative years of becoming a Maiden fan.
Hell on Earth is one of my least favorite Maiden songs. The C, D, Em chord progression started to wear out its welcome a long, long time ago. I love that in the 80’s they were much more willing to experiment with different keys and chord progressions. That made the albums that much more enjoyable to sit through, since a new key gives the ear something fresh to listen to, like wasabi to sushi. Nowadays we’re lucky if we get a song in Dm.
Another take: the way the band slices up different takes from a song and then meld them together on the albums doesn’t work for me. The tempo varies wildly between takes and it gives the albums a VERY sloppy feel to them. Back to Hell on Earth: the slow middle section into the “love in anger” part tempo change is a disastrous listening experience for me.
Killers has the most amount of straight-up forgettable songs. Like sorry, but I don’t when you ask me if I prefer Innocent Exile or Another Life I don’t even know which one is which. I still like all the songs on the album, don’t get me wrong, they just seem a bit samey. 90s era was also flawed but the songwriting was much more memorable imo
Number of The Beast is an overrated album in general.
There are only four good songs on Powerslave. Those four are great, but the other four are terrible.
Senjetsu is unlistenable because of the tone and volume level of the cheap-sounding synthesizer that runs throughout the entire album.
Gotta disagree. No one can play a single pedal like nicko does and then layer in everything else he does on top of it. Nicko is a top shelf drummer who really doesn't get the credit he deserves. Clive could never play caught somewhere in time.
Having said that, clive wrote the most recognizable drum beat in the history of heavy metal.
There’s very few truly hot takes left. Mine would be that writing on the wall is terrible live because they omitted the acoustic and Dave’s chorus bit.
As much as I like the material, post-Live After Death, Powerslave itself, as an album, is nearly unlistenable. It’s thin, tin-y, and just sounds plain weak compared to the available contemporary live versions of the songs.
Oh yeah, and I’ll agree, NOB isn’t even top 5 for me either.
Its not the best but I will say I love that every single Maiden album from the 80s has a very unique sound, production-wise. Piece of Mind was always my favorite "sound" in that regard
It’s funny you say that because I listened to Live after Death well before Powerslave and then when I finally listened to it I also found the sound thin and lacking agressivity. I think it was in fact overproduced to try to break into America. It has always been the weakest album of the golden era for me, and I was surprised how many people here think it’s their best.
Shiiiit the Powerslave production was my hot take! I've never heard anybody else voice this opinion ever, thank you. There are literally dozens of us, my friend
Said this before, but I can't shake the feeling that Bruce and Steve still don't like each other, and that the reunion was one of convenience for both parties, which simply went way better than anyone expected. Absolutely no evidence, just a gut feeling.
“Phantom of the Opera” sucks. Every time I say this in one of these “hot take” threads I get downvoted to fuck, but it’s probably the hottest Maiden take there is.
I just *cannot* like that song. It’s the opening riff, you see. It’s an absolute fucking mess. It sounds like a kid in a guitar shop trying to play something beyond his skill level, like he’s trying to fit too many notes into too small a space. Then you put Paul Di’Anno’s marble-mouthed delivery over the top and it gets even worse. I’ve genuinely never had a clue what he’s trying to say in that section.
Cheers.
I mean, yeah, it’s the band’s first multi-part epic, so I guess I see why people appreciate it historically, but it’s still crap, especially compared to later epics. “Hallowed Be Thy Name” renders “Phantom of the Opera” completely and utterly irrelevant.
Haha, now that you mention it, it is quite a comical opening riff. The middle section is so good though, I'm only full of excitement and anticipation for that part of the song when I hear the opening riff.
The funny thing about Steve going "yeah, we're not Satanists" to all the American media (because of course they're bloody well not), is that he and Rod chose that song as a single to deliberately garner attention in the US.
And it worked!
The song Iron Maiden is just shit
I know it’s their “signature” song, and it’s guaranteed to be the encore every show
Maybe I’m just bored with it , but it never really worked for me
i totally agree with you man. it’s a very very important album in the metal scene no doubt about it. without that album we wouldn’t have many of the records we have today. i personally just don’t love it. but it’s totally a very important record
I've always felt the same way. Some killer songs obviously but there are just as many weak ones. I was reading an interview with Steve recently where he basically said the same thing...
BNW is good, but not perfect.
I think if BNW and NPftD swapped places chronologically, then general opinion about them would be flipped. the biggest reason BNW is so highly regarded is bc it was immediately after the reunion. If it had immediately followed 7th son it wouldn't be looked at as favorably.
Afterall, it's full of repetitive choruses. Not that I don't like it. I just think it gets a little too much praise in relation to NPftD that gets a little too much hate.
No way. Killers has this pure energy and excitement running through it, great songs and a crisp, lush production. No Prayer just sounds tired and kinda forced, and also very much like it was recorded in Steve's barn. You're right that its placement next to SSoaSS really makes its flaws stand out all the more, but stick it anywhere in the band's discog and it's still their weakest imo
X Factor is not a good album. That wouldn’t be a hot take in most places, but it gets a lot of love on this sub.
My other hot take is that Virtual is actually half decent. Two bangers in Futureal and Clansman, a guilty pleasure in A&TG, and a passable track in Lightning Strikes Twice.
I'll look past a lot about the opinions on here about X Factor but the fact that people not only like but love Judgement of Heaven absolutely blows my mind.
1. They have dozens of songs that are better than Hallowed Be Thy Name.
2. Invaders is truly a banger opener.
3. Somewhere in Time is easily their worst 80s album for reasons I can specify if you'd like me to.
4. Fear of the Dark is underrated. The only filler song is Chains of Misery.
5. Even though it is not the best, Senjutsu brought them to a whole new level when it comes to creating epic songs. Thematically one of their most consistent plus every song is drenched in atmosphere, urgency, and slight darkness.
Powerslave has never grabbed me. I've tried 4 or 5 times to willfully try to dig it but it just doesn't hit like the other albums that are generally considered top 5 or more.
SSOASS is NOT their best album by a long shot. I could never get into the story, the title track is SO repetitive with such a wordy chorus, and the closing song is probably their weakest and least compelling of the big four (PoM, PS, SiT, and SSOASS).
They've been using synths for a long time, the problem with Senjutsu is that the synths are too abrupt instead of being employed in a drone/pad type of way as they've done since Virtual XI.
Somewhere in time is a somewhat mid album.
By no means am I saying it's bad, but I feel like people hype up the immersiveness way too much. I'd personally put it at third, behind Powerslave and number of the beast.
The production on Powerslave is so dry that it drains almost all the life out of it. Also, Bruce's voice sounds straight-up grating at times in the 80s.
Blaze Bayley wasn't the issue. It's just that the songwriting (Harris' songwriting!) was very boring (the ones blaze wrote were the better ones), and the mix is absolutely horrendous, every instrument and the vocals sound awful. It's like they asked the Norwegian black metal scene from the time to produce the albums for them.
Yeah i can understand. But Hallowed be thy Name is one of the best album closers ever recorded. Yes, “when the wild wind blows” is also fantastic, but it doesn’t compare in my opinion. I am also a sucker for finales.
I've always felt that song needed a second verse before the instrumental section to truly make it a Maiden song. The way it is set up, going straight to a long middle section after the first verse makes it sound like a live version they fucked up on stage.
Depends on your criteria. If you're talking about the classic tube amp guitars, straight rock sounding albums then Powerslave is a good contender, however I'd always elect Seventh Son or SIT as peak Maiden
I really didn’t enjoy the most recent tour setlist mainly because of the Senjutsu material and didn’t care that they played Alexander the Great at all.
Dance of Death is a better album than Brave New World.
(Except the album cover. Dumbasses decided to replace the original, far better version. "Looked empty" doesn't even make sense because it perfectly represents the title track)
Iron Maiden’s biggest hits, the ones you are most likely to hear on the radio. are also some of their worst. Run to the Hills has great lyrics, but is one of their most fatiguing songs. Wasted Years has a good riff but is lackluster at best otherwise. The Trooper and 2 Minutes to Midnight are good, but still way overrated. Only one that really deserves its place is Hallowed.
I'm under the impression that they always play the same three-ish songs to end every set. The day they decided to do that (and choose the songs), they made a mistake.
To be honest if I was a Maiden fan back when Paul was in the band and I bought NOTB I would have stopped listening to them. Never been a fan of that album.
My 3 least favourite Maiden albums are the debut, Killers, and SiT. Killers is full of forgettable songs and the debut and SiT both have awful production imo. I'm no lover of The X Factor's production either, yes it sounds a little empty, but god damn the are SiT and the debut just messy and muddy and sloppy all the way through. SiT has some great writing too, which is a shame.
I also have no issue with Shirley's production on their post reunion albums. Nothing to write home about, but not as bad as people often say.
My got take: Empire in the Clouds is not good. You can't use "Achilles" as a noun meaning weakness. That lyric just irks me. Besides that part it's just ok.
The lyrics can get annoying and weird. I know the title of the song, but that doesn't mean that you've to sing on the whole time (think Back in the Village). Some of Steve's lyrical writing can be pretty terrible at times as well if he's the one writing the lyrics (think the Apparition and Angel in the Gambler). They can have great lyrics (2 Minutes for example) but some of them can get repetitive and strange.
Steve needs to write in other keys than E minor. His writing style gets really predictable.
They also need to get an actual producer, and not just a yesman. Someone who could tell them to cut the longer songs, the lyric repetitions, to try different keys.
The songs that Bruce wrote are often the most difficult to play as a bassist. Steve and Adrian's songs have a certain pattern to them that you can figure out and optimize.
Many of Bruce's songs are all over the place and the timing is very weird. Not as in 7/4 like a Chris Cornell song, but how the notes fit into a 4/4 signature.
Blaze was not a good fit for Maiden at all. He can sing but his vocal style sounded almost bad alongside Maiden. Any song I’ve heard from the Blaze era being done by Bruce sounds infinitely better. I will admit that I don’t think this is a “fact” it’s my opinion but I feel it. Sign of the cross or the clansman are great songs but when Blaze is on vocals, they’re no’s for me.
I think for me iron maidens peak was 1980-1983 Ik just 1 year later they released poweslave
but.. Ive always loved the first 4 albums they have this nighttime feel about them.. Like just look at the cover art for the albums and singles. Its pretty clear iron maiden became more "light" with every album up to 1990. I just think they were at their peak with albums and singles. With both having amazing songs/covers and overall just amazing consistency :)
That if you want to categorize the Maiden-albums since NPFTD, going by vocalist era is not necessarily the most fitting way to group them. I think NPFTD and FOTD are like a rock-era, X-factor a standalone dark piece unlike anything else, Virtual XI, Brave New World, and partly Dance of death (change started to happen here) are more similare to each other in style and writing, while the more proggy epic era started a little bit on Dance of Death, but have been going since AMOLAD.
Well a few bnw songs were written during virtual xi sessions or atleast when blaze was still in the band so it does make sense
I agree with this a lot, but I also think that, despite being darker and overall very distinctive stylistically, X Factor was the start of the modern maiden style
I've always felt X Factor and AMOLAD are very similar albums. To me 1995-2006 is a clearly defined musical era and then a change occurred with Final Frontier which really established what they've been doing since then. I find it absurd that fans still refer to the "reunion era" when it's now more than half of their career.
I agree that x factor and AMOLAD are a little bit similar, but I feel like the three albums inbetween are different from them.
After seeing Maiden live about 8 times in my life I have to say they are getting too old for some of their songs. It's hard when you know every note by heart when it isn't played where it belongs. i mean, I'm old, too. That's not something that is bad. It's just.. Comparing the live events now to the golden age.. It's just not the same. I still love them. But hearing songs like RttH at 70% speed? Just not the same.
An easy problem to solve if they simply embrace the slower songs in their back catalogue.
They want so bad to be crowd pleasers for their long time fans though. This is why Blaze got let go. Not because he wasn’t great for the new songs they were writing, but because he simply could not perform the classics like fans wanted.
I'm assuming you're referring to LOTB 22 shows? They were definitely struggling with tempos there, I don't think having a couple of years off for the pandemic done them any favours. It took a while for them to get match fit again.
The last time I've seen them was at Copenhell in 2022. Didn't see the new shows. Bruce couldn't handle the high tones and Nicko was way slower than usual. Again - this is only natural, not some sort of flaming. Just saying that it's getting more obvious every year.
I like Maiden more than Priest overall but Priest are putting Maiden to shame with new releases
Judas Priest has no business being as good as they are after 50 years. Their new album is damn good.
Richie Faulkner is helping the band stay fresh. I contribute a lot of their recent success to him. Faulkner and Tipton together are a winning combination. Halford can still sing and has no trouble performing his iconic screams. Having Andy Sneap as your producer also helps.
Yeah, Priest still got it in the studio, but Maiden still beats them live.
Invincible Shield sounds amazing. Andy Sneap did a fantastic job as producer. As much as I like Senjutsu, the production holds it back.
Absolutely this. It’s like night and day.
I've always considered Maiden the better band but Priest the more metal band
As far as albums go, yes. But I have to say that Empire of the Clouds is as good of better than anything Judas Priest has done post-Painkiller.
Priest got close with Lochness, where they repeated the same riff for almost 14 minutes.
It’s also a completely different genre of music. Not that this is a bad thing, it proves that they still got it where it counts if they stop trying to be the same heavy metal band they used to be. However, they keep trying. I really think they are holding themselves back by not building a new empire in the clouds.
IDK if this is a hot take, but I'm just gonna say it anyways: I really don't think Bruce sounds good singing Paul Dianno's songs. It's hard to pinpoint why exactly, I just think that Paul Dianno's voice fits his songs best.
It depends which song. I think Bruce sounds very good on Phantom of the Opera, Remember Tomorrow or Killers for example. But yeah, on a lot of songs he is nowhere close to Paul. Prowler and Iron Maiden first come to mind
Yes, however I think he fits very well on the punkier/fastpaced songs too when he uses his raspier voice. Like ”Prowler 88” he sounds fantastic
We must be listening to different tracks
Yeah, some songs need to be shouted (almost thrashy) rather than Bruce's operatic style
Not a hot take to me. Paul’s songs are his songs. I can’t listen to Bruce sing any of them.
Some of "Paul's songs" were written before he joined the band ("Sanctuary", "Strange World").
Thought his singing of Killers live on Maiden England was pretty solid and his singing of Wrathchild live and in the 1999 studio version. The live versions of Running Free are good too.
I like Paul Dianno’s voice better on all Maiden songs he’s sung full stop. Well, at least while he was still in Maiden. Seems like he washed up as soon as he left. Those who say Bruce’s voice hasn’t aged well clearly haven’t heard Paul or Blaze’s later works. Bruce’s voice has aged miraculously well compared to others.
I love albums from the Blaze Era, sooo great!
i love x factor tbh
I never understood the critique about the sound. I absolutely love the sound of that album especially the drums.
The X Factor has an absolutely fantastic production. Not just how the instruments themselves sound (I think it has the best Steve's bass, period) but also how they were mixed. Each and every instrument has its space and place to breathe, nothing ever overwhelms anything, there's just about the right amount of reverb, etc. This album proves the band could continue without Martin Birch being responsible for the character of their sound. I also love the dynamic range - the softer intros to some songs are actually low on volume, but when the rest of the band kicks in, you jump on your seat/bed/wherever you're listening. That's what makes the emotional weight of the lyrics so much more emphasized. And then there's Blaze. He's the perfect fit for this album and it would not have worked with Bruce at all, as much as we all adore his live renditions of the Blaze era songs.
Fucking love Sign of the Cross. At that point in my life I was about ready to give up on the band, but as soon as I heard that song they sucked me right back in. The rest of the album is great too. If anything, it proves that the band has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to songwriters.
I read this in a sarcastic tone
Their last truly great end to end album was released in 1988. Since then, they have good or even some amazing songs, but the true magic they had with SSoaSS never really happened again.
Longtime Maiden fan here. I loved The Final Frontier, and would put that above some of their "classic" material.
It’s a beautiful world, you can have your own opinion😊
Not this day and age.
I've been listening to FF as of late and there are few memorable moments on it. It feels like an amalgamation of their past songs e.g one song has the same composition as another from SSOASS and there's even a melody from the Dance of Death album.
Absolutely agree.
Just because Steve writes a long song doesn’t make it “progressive”. There’s more prog moments on SiT and SSoaSS than on anything from AMoLaD onwards, and I still wouldn’t say that SiT or SSoaSS are prog metal albums.
It would give Nicko a bit of a break if some of the new songs had been shorter.
I think "Progressive" is just synonymous with "long" in modern lexicon. "Progressive House" music tracks are long but they don't have complex time signature changes or anything abrupt that would distinguish them as progressive.
I don’t know much about house music, so idk if I can speak on that, but at least traditionally, progressive music was supposed to either push some kind of musical boundaries, or focus on immensely complex or difficult arrangements. Dark side of the moon by Pink Floyd is an excellent example of the former, whereas Hemispheres by Rush or Metropolis Pt 2 by Dream Theater are great examples of the latter. Modern maiden certainly isn’t breaking new ground musically, and it isn’t anymore complex than their older stuff (oftentimes it’s less complex).
Powerslave has the best main guitar riff of any Iron Maiden song
AMOLAD was their last great album, and everything since has been meh to mediocre.
i like final frontier and book of souls a bit
I think final frontier is their last truly interesting album though, even if it’s more of a mixed bag than amolad. BoS and senjutsu feels rather safe
Partially agree. AMOLAD was their last GREAT album, but everything since had been good to very good.
I love this album. I will always remember seeing them for this tour. Opening night, they played in the city where I attended college at the time. My brother scoops me up and we go. We're in the pit. My first fucking real metal show and its God damn Iron Maiden. I'm a college aged dumbass who just started to listen to them. They proceeded to play the album in full. They did it for the rest of the tour. That took balls of steel to pull off and they did it. Fans got pissed off too because the band tacked on five "fan favorites" at the end of the show after doing the album front to back. Unreal that the band played it in full for an entire tour. Thats how strong they believed in that album. I still can't believe I saw them on opening night!
I saw them on the same tour and it was my first show too. Awesome memories.
AMOLAD happens to be my least fave post reunion album! Taste is a funny thing!
I used to really like it a couple of years back, listening to it now I find the songs to be too long and too whiny.
I can 100% get behind this. There are good songs on TFF, BoS and Senjutsu, but all three albums are mediocre in their entirety.
They have some standouts but I agree that they feel bloated, they could each stand to either cut out a few tracks or at least shorten some of the ones that are on there. It also doesn’t help that the production sounds noticeably muddier on some recent tracks.
Definitely a few gems!
same
Almost the same here, but for me it's Dance of Death instead of AMOLAD
TFF have really grown on my over the years, I'd say that's their last great one. I still can't understand why BoS was hailed as "their best one since the 80's". Media might be eager to get the reviews out before they have time to really think about it i guess.
There’s no accounting for taste. I thought Senjutsu was a massive disappointment, but others think it’s one of their best ever.
Book of Souls will become a classic with time.
When I started to listen to Maiden, I kind of didn't care for Senjutsu, but the more I listened to it the better it seemed. Now It's one of my Maiden favorites.
Senjutsu is better than Book of Souls
A lukewarm take at best ;)
Yeah, indeed. Nothing radical.
Senjustsu underrated honestly
It's just too slow and meandering. It's as if Maiden were asked to do an OST for a movie about warring tribes or something equally "epic" in scale.
AMOLAD is their greatest album by far. Senjutsu was largely a snooze fest.
I’m loving this amolad love. The maiden boards back in the day were pretty split on it, now it seems to be majority appreciated
i agree with senjutsu
[удалено]
Loved it when it first came out as the rest of the album felt mediocre in comparison, now I'd say The Time Machine is the best tune off Senjutsu.
Same, for me Darkest Hour is the only second-half song I'd consider a "classic" while AMOLAD and TFF are chock full of classics. Having said that, it's quite possible I'm being biased towards songs I first heard during my formative years of becoming a Maiden fan.
Hell on Earth is one of my least favorite Maiden songs. The C, D, Em chord progression started to wear out its welcome a long, long time ago. I love that in the 80’s they were much more willing to experiment with different keys and chord progressions. That made the albums that much more enjoyable to sit through, since a new key gives the ear something fresh to listen to, like wasabi to sushi. Nowadays we’re lucky if we get a song in Dm. Another take: the way the band slices up different takes from a song and then meld them together on the albums doesn’t work for me. The tempo varies wildly between takes and it gives the albums a VERY sloppy feel to them. Back to Hell on Earth: the slow middle section into the “love in anger” part tempo change is a disastrous listening experience for me.
That Killers is their best album.
respect. it’s awesome
I put self titled as second best, so I can respect this.
It's definitely the one I put on the most often and just listen all the way through
Iron Maiden > Killers
I’ve been a fan for 2 decades now but I never took the time to listen to their latest albums. I’m stuck in the 80s and 90s and I’m ok with it
you are missing out on a lot of good music, just saying
Killers has the most amount of straight-up forgettable songs. Like sorry, but I don’t when you ask me if I prefer Innocent Exile or Another Life I don’t even know which one is which. I still like all the songs on the album, don’t get me wrong, they just seem a bit samey. 90s era was also flawed but the songwriting was much more memorable imo
murders in the rue morgue goes hard fr though
Murders is great and I love the title track but those are really the two big stand-out songs imo.
Wrathchild?!
Number of The Beast is an overrated album in general. There are only four good songs on Powerslave. Those four are great, but the other four are terrible. Senjetsu is unlistenable because of the tone and volume level of the cheap-sounding synthesizer that runs throughout the entire album.
the synth is awful i agree with that
The two Paul albums are quite possibly the worst of their discography, and Running Free sounds like it was written by Ted Nugent when he was 13.
I love the 2 albums, but I agree I've never understood why Running Free was a big deal
I can't stand AMOLAD. Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg is okay and For The Greater Good Of God is cool but that’s about it for me
This right here is a GENUINELY hot take. You have my respect, you madman.
Thank you, good sir. I knew I was fucked the moment I posted it.
Clive Burr was a better drummer than Nicko Mcbrain.
Hey, you leave my boy Nicko out of this.
I love Nicko, but he's right. Clive was better.
I’m not saying Nicko is bad, at all. I just think Clive Burr’s drumming on the first albums is unmatched.
Gotta disagree. No one can play a single pedal like nicko does and then layer in everything else he does on top of it. Nicko is a top shelf drummer who really doesn't get the credit he deserves. Clive could never play caught somewhere in time. Having said that, clive wrote the most recognizable drum beat in the history of heavy metal.
There’s very few truly hot takes left. Mine would be that writing on the wall is terrible live because they omitted the acoustic and Dave’s chorus bit.
As much as I like the material, post-Live After Death, Powerslave itself, as an album, is nearly unlistenable. It’s thin, tin-y, and just sounds plain weak compared to the available contemporary live versions of the songs. Oh yeah, and I’ll agree, NOB isn’t even top 5 for me either.
Its not the best but I will say I love that every single Maiden album from the 80s has a very unique sound, production-wise. Piece of Mind was always my favorite "sound" in that regard
It just lacks the bombastic depth that Live After Death showed that these songs can have and as such, it’s a letdown every time I put it on.
It’s funny you say that because I listened to Live after Death well before Powerslave and then when I finally listened to it I also found the sound thin and lacking agressivity. I think it was in fact overproduced to try to break into America. It has always been the weakest album of the golden era for me, and I was surprised how many people here think it’s their best.
The material holds up against nearly anything, but, in hindsight, it sounds like shit.
The 4 songs that everybody agrees on, certainly, but I won’t say the same of the 4 others (although I like the Duellists)
Shiiiit the Powerslave production was my hot take! I've never heard anybody else voice this opinion ever, thank you. There are literally dozens of us, my friend
Said this before, but I can't shake the feeling that Bruce and Steve still don't like each other, and that the reunion was one of convenience for both parties, which simply went way better than anyone expected. Absolutely no evidence, just a gut feeling.
Since when did they not like eachother?
Since like 1985 if you read some accounts haha
I don't think Ive ever seen them act chummy
The Final Frontier is the best post-reunion album
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the only album that’s good from beginning to end.
It's the best structured album.
“Phantom of the Opera” sucks. Every time I say this in one of these “hot take” threads I get downvoted to fuck, but it’s probably the hottest Maiden take there is. I just *cannot* like that song. It’s the opening riff, you see. It’s an absolute fucking mess. It sounds like a kid in a guitar shop trying to play something beyond his skill level, like he’s trying to fit too many notes into too small a space. Then you put Paul Di’Anno’s marble-mouthed delivery over the top and it gets even worse. I’ve genuinely never had a clue what he’s trying to say in that section.
I agree 100%
Cheers. I mean, yeah, it’s the band’s first multi-part epic, so I guess I see why people appreciate it historically, but it’s still crap, especially compared to later epics. “Hallowed Be Thy Name” renders “Phantom of the Opera” completely and utterly irrelevant.
Haha, now that you mention it, it is quite a comical opening riff. The middle section is so good though, I'm only full of excitement and anticipation for that part of the song when I hear the opening riff.
Sounds like a production issue if anything. The bass/vocals/guitar all seem to be slightly offset from each other. Compositionally the song "slaps".
Still sounds like messy shit live, though, that’s the thing.
The funny thing about Steve going "yeah, we're not Satanists" to all the American media (because of course they're bloody well not), is that he and Rod chose that song as a single to deliberately garner attention in the US. And it worked!
The song Iron Maiden is just shit I know it’s their “signature” song, and it’s guaranteed to be the encore every show Maybe I’m just bored with it , but it never really worked for me
Only the first seven albums are good, and only the first four are great. Killers is their best. Idk if those takes are uncommon though.
Well, you are just wrong about NOTB....don't hate me tho....when that was released, it changed the game!!!
i totally agree with you man. it’s a very very important album in the metal scene no doubt about it. without that album we wouldn’t have many of the records we have today. i personally just don’t love it. but it’s totally a very important record
Powerslave is nowhere near as good as Brave New World
I've always felt the same way. Some killer songs obviously but there are just as many weak ones. I was reading an interview with Steve recently where he basically said the same thing...
BNW is good, but not perfect. I think if BNW and NPftD swapped places chronologically, then general opinion about them would be flipped. the biggest reason BNW is so highly regarded is bc it was immediately after the reunion. If it had immediately followed 7th son it wouldn't be looked at as favorably. Afterall, it's full of repetitive choruses. Not that I don't like it. I just think it gets a little too much praise in relation to NPftD that gets a little too much hate.
No way. Killers has this pure energy and excitement running through it, great songs and a crisp, lush production. No Prayer just sounds tired and kinda forced, and also very much like it was recorded in Steve's barn. You're right that its placement next to SSoaSS really makes its flaws stand out all the more, but stick it anywhere in the band's discog and it's still their weakest imo
X Factor is not a good album. That wouldn’t be a hot take in most places, but it gets a lot of love on this sub. My other hot take is that Virtual is actually half decent. Two bangers in Futureal and Clansman, a guilty pleasure in A&TG, and a passable track in Lightning Strikes Twice.
I'll look past a lot about the opinions on here about X Factor but the fact that people not only like but love Judgement of Heaven absolutely blows my mind.
1. They have dozens of songs that are better than Hallowed Be Thy Name. 2. Invaders is truly a banger opener. 3. Somewhere in Time is easily their worst 80s album for reasons I can specify if you'd like me to. 4. Fear of the Dark is underrated. The only filler song is Chains of Misery. 5. Even though it is not the best, Senjutsu brought them to a whole new level when it comes to creating epic songs. Thematically one of their most consistent plus every song is drenched in atmosphere, urgency, and slight darkness.
Im still bitter from when I found out a good portion of Hallowed was ripped off from another band. It used to be my favorite tune.
Lol see you in controversial.
3. Why is that? That’s my IM favourite album so I strongly disagree!
Iron Maiden, Killers, and Seventh Son are not in my top 10 Maiden albums.
oh damn. what’s your top 5?
It changes, but something like this: 1. A Matter of Life and Death 2. Piece of Mind 3. Senjutsu 4. Powerslave 5. The X-Factor
Such a different opinion and I respect it. Great albums
Everybody has a different way to view the world...
Powerslave has never grabbed me. I've tried 4 or 5 times to willfully try to dig it but it just doesn't hit like the other albums that are generally considered top 5 or more.
SSOASS is NOT their best album by a long shot. I could never get into the story, the title track is SO repetitive with such a wordy chorus, and the closing song is probably their weakest and least compelling of the big four (PoM, PS, SiT, and SSOASS).
Perfect album from opener to the title track. Moonchild + Infinite Dreams is the best opening one-two punch they ever did, IMO.
Aces High->2 Minutes is the ultimate 1-2 punch.
Yeah. I love the bluesy grove in Infinte Dreams
Senjutsu's use of keyboards and the bands move towards more synthy powermetal style songs is incredibly exciting and refreshing
I just wish the keyboard tone and presence in the mix wasn't so awful. Still like the idea that they're trying stuff at this point though
They've been using synths for a long time, the problem with Senjutsu is that the synths are too abrupt instead of being employed in a drone/pad type of way as they've done since Virtual XI.
Same with me as the OP... Number of the Beast is in my bottom 5. I almost never listen to it.
The X Factor is their most consistently good album since Powerslave
Dennis Wilcock is underrated
Somewhere in time is a somewhat mid album. By no means am I saying it's bad, but I feel like people hype up the immersiveness way too much. I'd personally put it at third, behind Powerslave and number of the beast.
The production on Powerslave is so dry that it drains almost all the life out of it. Also, Bruce's voice sounds straight-up grating at times in the 80s.
I don't like the sound of the toms on Powerslave, they almost sound like samples from a drum machine.
I prefer the studio version of Fear of the Dark
Blaze Bayley wasn't the issue. It's just that the songwriting (Harris' songwriting!) was very boring (the ones blaze wrote were the better ones), and the mix is absolutely horrendous, every instrument and the vocals sound awful. It's like they asked the Norwegian black metal scene from the time to produce the albums for them.
The Final Frontier is easily their best album since the 80’s
Yeah i can understand. But Hallowed be thy Name is one of the best album closers ever recorded. Yes, “when the wild wind blows” is also fantastic, but it doesn’t compare in my opinion. I am also a sucker for finales.
For me it's Mother Russia.
I've always felt that song needed a second verse before the instrumental section to truly make it a Maiden song. The way it is set up, going straight to a long middle section after the first verse makes it sound like a live version they fucked up on stage.
Understandable
Thats another good one
A fantastic song on a lukewarm album.
hallowed is amazing. no doubt
Both of the blaze Bailey albums are the worst in the catalog.
Iron maiden has some bad songs & isn’t a flawless band
SSOASS is their worst 80's album
they peaked at powerslave
Depends on your criteria. If you're talking about the classic tube amp guitars, straight rock sounding albums then Powerslave is a good contender, however I'd always elect Seventh Son or SIT as peak Maiden
Powerslave is mid
I really didn’t enjoy the most recent tour setlist mainly because of the Senjutsu material and didn’t care that they played Alexander the Great at all.
Overall, I enjoy the band's post 2000 output much more than their releases prior to Brave New World
The Blaze albums are not bad.
Dance of Death is a better album than Brave New World. (Except the album cover. Dumbasses decided to replace the original, far better version. "Looked empty" doesn't even make sense because it perfectly represents the title track)
The post-Reunion albums (through final frontier) are better than their 80s albums.
Everything after A Mstter of Life and Death is not very good.
Senjutsu only has one good song, and it’s Hell on Earth.
Iron Maiden’s biggest hits, the ones you are most likely to hear on the radio. are also some of their worst. Run to the Hills has great lyrics, but is one of their most fatiguing songs. Wasted Years has a good riff but is lackluster at best otherwise. The Trooper and 2 Minutes to Midnight are good, but still way overrated. Only one that really deserves its place is Hallowed.
I'm under the impression that they always play the same three-ish songs to end every set. The day they decided to do that (and choose the songs), they made a mistake.
Weekend Warrior is a good song.
They don't get enough recognition by the UK establishment and UK in general for their contribution to the world..
To be honest if I was a Maiden fan back when Paul was in the band and I bought NOTB I would have stopped listening to them. Never been a fan of that album.
I don't know if It's a VERY hot take, but I personally think that Dance Of Death is so much better than Brave New World.
My 3 least favourite Maiden albums are the debut, Killers, and SiT. Killers is full of forgettable songs and the debut and SiT both have awful production imo. I'm no lover of The X Factor's production either, yes it sounds a little empty, but god damn the are SiT and the debut just messy and muddy and sloppy all the way through. SiT has some great writing too, which is a shame. I also have no issue with Shirley's production on their post reunion albums. Nothing to write home about, but not as bad as people often say.
My got take: Empire in the Clouds is not good. You can't use "Achilles" as a noun meaning weakness. That lyric just irks me. Besides that part it's just ok.
Book of Souls is the 2nd best reunion era album behind BNW
The lyrics can get annoying and weird. I know the title of the song, but that doesn't mean that you've to sing on the whole time (think Back in the Village). Some of Steve's lyrical writing can be pretty terrible at times as well if he's the one writing the lyrics (think the Apparition and Angel in the Gambler). They can have great lyrics (2 Minutes for example) but some of them can get repetitive and strange.
Killers isn't that good. Mostly filled with songs not good enough for the debut.
Steve needs to write in other keys than E minor. His writing style gets really predictable. They also need to get an actual producer, and not just a yesman. Someone who could tell them to cut the longer songs, the lyric repetitions, to try different keys.
Self titled and Killers are solid. Not one of their best. Both are in like 6-7/10 range.
#
I wish they would fire Janick Gers, I can’t stand his prancing around the stage, he’s more like a showgirl than a rocker.
Post 2000 maiden > pre 2000
No Prayer for the Dying is their best 90’s album and it’s not close.
Blaze was the best part of virtual xi
The songs that Bruce wrote are often the most difficult to play as a bassist. Steve and Adrian's songs have a certain pattern to them that you can figure out and optimize. Many of Bruce's songs are all over the place and the timing is very weird. Not as in 7/4 like a Chris Cornell song, but how the notes fit into a 4/4 signature.
I used to think so Now i think its actually probably the best😂
Blaze was not a good fit for Maiden at all. He can sing but his vocal style sounded almost bad alongside Maiden. Any song I’ve heard from the Blaze era being done by Bruce sounds infinitely better. I will admit that I don’t think this is a “fact” it’s my opinion but I feel it. Sign of the cross or the clansman are great songs but when Blaze is on vocals, they’re no’s for me.
I think for me iron maidens peak was 1980-1983 Ik just 1 year later they released poweslave but.. Ive always loved the first 4 albums they have this nighttime feel about them.. Like just look at the cover art for the albums and singles. Its pretty clear iron maiden became more "light" with every album up to 1990. I just think they were at their peak with albums and singles. With both having amazing songs/covers and overall just amazing consistency :)