# Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls



## Force (Jun 18, 2015)

4th of September, folks.

I'm sure there's those who are old fans that are not hyped about new Maiden albums these days but f**k, it's IRON MAIDEN. I for one, can't contain myself.

I love that they've gone for the old long logo. Eddie looks cool but the plain black bg is rubbish.

Your thoughts so far??????????????


----------



## mjbg (Jun 18, 2015)

from what ive read most of the songs will be very long.. one of them will be over 18 minutes..
im not sure why they are making this.. but i have low expectations based on their most recent albums.. long songs dot fit them.. with few exceptions


----------



## bloc (Jun 18, 2015)

Looks like an album cover for a badly produced thrash band


----------



## technomancer (Jun 18, 2015)

Not a fan of African Tribal Eddie... but looking at the writing credits I'm looking forward to hearing the album. I'm a long time Maiden fan, but I'm also in the camp that feels their newer stuff is ok but not as good as their earlier material.


----------



## andyjanson (Jun 18, 2015)

Maiden are my all time favourite band, so consider me stoked. The writing credits look interesting, could Steve have finally relinquished creative control? The Smith/Dickinson partnership is always dynamite. Also, one mariner length song and one even longer both on one album makes me very happy despite the fact that this is possibly worst cover art since dance of death, lest we forget. I think maybe they went with the old style logo because chances are this'll be the final maiden album, and it kind of brings it full circle. Pains me to say it, but they are getting on a bit. I hope I'm wrong!


----------



## JD27 (Jun 18, 2015)

Wearing a Maiden shirt right now. Definitely looking forward to this one. Probably the only band I will drive a good distance to see, they are one of the best live bands of all time.


----------



## mjbg (Jun 18, 2015)

JD27 said:


> Wearing a Maiden shirt right now. Definitely looking forward to this one. Probably the only band I will drive a good distance to see, they are one of the best live bands of all time.



ive seen them live only one time in 1998 i think.. and it was one of the greatest disappointments of my life.
im not sure if was Blaze Bailey (and i do think he is a great singer) but the band just didnt delivered..

and on the other side, ive seen Bruce live with his band 2 times that same year (98/99) and he and Adrian rocked (Im not sure if Adrian was in the band first time ive seen Bruce)..

lol.. just found the the second bruce show i was on youtube..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKdCraSfwn0
great memories


----------



## shadowlife (Jun 18, 2015)

I like the cover, and i hope i'll dig the music. I'm not expecting another Powerslave, just as long as it sounds like classic Maiden i'll be happy.


----------



## JD27 (Jun 18, 2015)

mjbg said:


> ive seen them live only one time in 1998 i think.. and it was one of the greatest disappointments of my life.
> im not sure if was Blaze Bailey (and i do think he is a great singer) but the band just didnt delivered..
> 
> and on the other side, ive seen Bruce live with his band 2 times that same year (98/99) and he and Adrian rocked (Im not sure if Adrian was in the band first time ive seen Bruce)..
> ...



Well that was a rough period. I like to pretend that version of Iron Maiden didn't exist.


----------



## mjbg (Jun 18, 2015)

JD27 said:


> Well that was a rough period. I like to pretend that version of Iron Maiden didn't exist.


well i love the x factor.. for me its the last great Iron Maiden album.. 
but you are right.. this is the show i was:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU-0gQuI03E
you can see the band just "wasnt" there


----------



## Ralyks (Jun 19, 2015)

Bruce Dickinson will outlive us all. That includes Keith Richards.

But yes, stoked. Even the worst Bruce albums are quality.


----------



## AxeHappy (Jun 19, 2015)

I think Brave New World is their best album. And Dance of Death and A Matter of Life and Death were both class. I *hated* the Final Frontier though. 

Pretty excited about this though. Even if the album sucks, at least I will get to see them live again.


----------



## OmegaSlayer (Jun 19, 2015)

Eddie looks like Mario Balotelli.
Iron Maiden showing their love for football once again


----------



## Fraz666 (Jun 19, 2015)

I'm a huge fan of the '80 Iron Maiden but the last one I heard for more than two times was Brave New World: so 0 expectations, but I'm always curious




OmegaSlayer said:


> Eddie looks like Mario Balotelli.
> Iron Maiden showing their love for football once again


ahahahahah


----------



## SD83 (Jun 19, 2015)

AxeHappy said:


> I think Brave New World is their best album. And Dance of Death and A Matter of Life and Death were both class.
> Pretty excited about this though.



Same here. And I usually prefer their longer songs. 18 minutes might be a bit much, but who knows... Octavarium was 24 minutes and it was perfect, so it can be done  Definitly looking forward to it. And hopefully a chance to see them live.


----------



## Sephael (Jun 19, 2015)

Piece of Mind is my all time fav album by them, I think I went through 3 copies of the cassette before I hit high school. Super stoked for the new release and hope I get a chance to finally see them live when they tour for it.


----------



## chopeth (Jun 19, 2015)

I love Iron Maiden for a life, my favourite band ever, but I hope the logical decadence showed in their last albums won't be more evident in their next. The terrible cover sadly makes me think it will.


----------



## Zado (Jun 19, 2015)

Please don't suck.


----------



## Force (Jun 19, 2015)

I had initial disappointment with evey album from Fear of the Dark to now but gave them all a chance & love them all.
I'm not expecting this new one to blow me away, it may or may not, but I can't help pissing myself stupid at the sign of a new Maiden album. There's not another band in existence that evokes so much emotion & excitement that Iron Maiden can create.


----------



## decypher (Jun 20, 2015)

The songwriting credits and the lengths of the songs are pretty interesting, the cover art is - like most of their newer artwork - irrelevant. I do hope that they will use those 18 minutes to do something with a nice dynamic variety instead of repetitive plodding along with an annoying production that makes that plodding even harder to bear (and to top it off - Bruce will sing the song title about 342 times in a row). Maiden are a very capable band but they sound so tired and dull these days due to those productions and extremely repetitive phrases. As a live band, they kill it. It's like night and day, I wish they could capture that energy in the studio instead of that generic, tiring, dull plodding... (with sweet legato stuff by Dave Murray). (and just to say it - Somewhere in Time is their best album, by far. IMHO of course)


----------



## Force (Jun 20, 2015)

This 



decypher said:


> repetitive plodding along with an annoying production that makes that plodding even harder to bear (and to top it off - Bruce will sing the song title about 342 times in a row).



&



decypher said:


> (and just to say it - Somewhere in Time is their best album, by far. IMHO of course)



I will add 'The best album ever made'


----------



## Chiba666 (Jun 20, 2015)

While I agree Somewhere is a great album, its no 7th son, Iron Maiden or Powerslave.


----------



## Richie666 (Jun 20, 2015)

Put me firmly in the Somewhere being their best album camp. Powerslave is right there with it though.

Also, I haven't been excited for new Maiden in forever. I found most of their BNW onwards stuff too bloated but for some reason I'm intrigued by this one.


----------



## starslight (Jun 20, 2015)

I've enjoyed all the albums from _Brave New World_ onward, but none of them have been great from start to finish, and _Final Frontier_ had more misses than hits for me. I'm really not sure they can pull off a solid double-album, but a few good tracks on each side would be more than enough for me.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm curious to hear The Man of Sorrows. The songs Murray wrote have been my favorite since Brave New World, especially Rainmaker.


----------



## Chiba666 (Jun 21, 2015)

Album pre-ordered so we shall see what we shall see, or rather hear what we shall hear.


----------



## thedonal (Jun 22, 2015)

Is it a Stones collaboration? Is that why Keef is on the cover?

Sympathy for the Seventh Son!

Looking forward to this and a new tour.


----------



## metallatem (Jun 22, 2015)

In 1982, I was in 10th grade and I saw these kids at school wearing these awesome looking t-shirts from some band called Iron Maiden. So I went out and bought Number of the Beast at Record World at the mall. That started a 33 year love affair with an amazing band. My personal favorite is Piece of Mind, the beginning of Revelations is still the epitome of metal to me. The 4 albums since 2000 all have their highs and lows. I like Steve's comment about the album having a real "live" feel to it. Hopefully that means limited amounts of synth and other processed effects.


----------



## Andromalia (Jun 23, 2015)

I don't like their latest records as much as I like the old ones, but I still like them. Curious to see what they'll come up with, hoping more Brave New World/Dance of death than Final Frontier though.


----------



## Chiba666 (Jun 23, 2015)

In all fairness hoping for another 7th son or Powerslave but that's not going to happen is it


----------



## Varcolac (Jun 23, 2015)

Album will be good. It's Maiden. It can't _not_ be good.

I've enjoyed their more recent output. There's some very decent tunes on "Final Frontier." Sure it's no "Seventh Son," "Powerslave" or "Somewhere In Time," but so what? "Seasons In The Abyss" or "Divine Intervention" are no "Reign In Blood" either, but they're still quality albums with good songs on them. At least Maiden haven't reached a "St Anger" level of suckiness compared to their back catalogue.


----------



## Jason2112 (Jun 23, 2015)

I'm stoked. Hopefully this time they tie Steve's hands behind his back during the mixing phase. A band with 3 guitar players and yet the bass sits more forward in the mix than all 3 of them put together.


----------



## chopeth (Jun 24, 2015)

Varcolac said:


> Album will be good. It's Maiden. It can't _not_ be good.
> 
> I've enjoyed their more recent output. There's some very decent tunes on "Final Frontier." Sure it's no "Seventh Son," "Powerslave" or "Somewhere In Time," but so what? "Seasons In The Abyss" or "Divine Intervention" are no "Reign In Blood" either, but they're still quality albums with good songs on them. At least Maiden haven't reached a "St Anger" level of suckiness compared to their back catalogue.



I agree that every Maiden album has some very good songs, some albums like the return of Dickinson Brave New World is almost perfect in my opinion. The problem is that the filler is becoming more and more obvious, riffs very similar to earlier albums and utter waste songs.


----------



## ChaNce (Jun 24, 2015)

Funny story: 

My grandmother said I could buy an LP while I was visiting her as a kid. We went to the local general store, and I said I wanted Piece of Mind. She looked at the cover. 

I walked out with Toto IV.


----------



## metallatem (Jun 24, 2015)

ChaNce said:


> Funny story:
> 
> My grandmother said I could buy an LP while I was visiting her as a kid. We went to the local general store, and I said I wanted Piece of Mind. She looked at the cover.
> 
> I walked out with Toto IV.



I had Killers, Number of the Beast and Trooper posters in my room. The day I left for college, my Mom tore them down and threw them away.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Jun 24, 2015)

Hardcore Maiden fan here. Or almost hardcore. They lost me after "Virtual XI". Sure, Blaze may have not been the most suitable singer for the old material, but it was perfect to start something new. They decided to go back to Bruce, and the result is pretty obvious: trying to sound like the old Maiden even though the original spirit is not there anymore.
"Brave New World" was OKish, "Dance of the Death" mediocre at best, "A Matter..." a disgrace, "The Final Frontier" I don't know, I listened to a couple of songs and I was utterly disappointed.
I have zero expectations for this one, and the fact that they have long song make my already zero expectations to go to a negative number... The only album with all long songs being great was "Somewhere" (my favourite), they should have aimed at 4:00-4:30 max. Every extra second is likely to be an extra second of crap.


----------



## andyjanson (Jun 24, 2015)

EmaDaCuz said:


> Hardcore Maiden fan here. Or almost hardcore. They lost me after "Virtual XI". Sure, Blaze may have not been the most suitable singer for the old material, but it was perfect to start something new. They decided to go back to Bruce, and the result is pretty obvious: trying to sound like the old Maiden even though the original spirit is not there anymore.
> "Brave New World" was OKish, "Dance of the Death" mediocre at best, "A Matter..." a disgrace, "The Final Frontier" I don't know, I listened to a couple of songs and I was utterly disappointed.
> I have zero expectations for this one, and the fact that they have long song make my already zero expectations to go to a negative number... The only album with all long songs being great was "Somewhere" (my favourite), they should have aimed at 4:00-4:30 max. Every extra second is likely to be an extra second of crap.



I'd argue that after the reunion they went for a much darker and more progressive sound than trying to sound like old maiden. In fact I can't think of an instance where post reunion era sounds anything like classic maiden at all  Maybe I'm just a fanboy, but I firmly believe that all the albums since Bruce and Adrian's return have been stellar. Yes, there's filler here and there but even those songs like New Frontier or The Alchemist have some fine moments. I don't really know what to say to someone who ranks Virtual XI ahead of AMOLAD


----------



## troyguitar (Jun 24, 2015)

I really like Brave New World for the most part. All of the albums from BNW on have too many extremely repetitive bits but for whatever reason I don't mind them as much in BNW. This is still pretty egregious...

A brave new world, in a brave new world
A brave new world, in a brave new world
In a brave new world, a brave new world
In a brave new world, a brave new world

A brave new world, in a brave new world
A brave new world, in a brave new world
In a brave new world, a brave new world
In a brave new world, a brave new world


----------



## andyjanson (Jun 24, 2015)

I think that seems worse written down. The chorus doesn't last particularly long so I've never really been irked by the repetition in that one. For the greater good of god gets a little wearing in places however.


----------



## Andromalia (Jun 24, 2015)

Well, I lost the count of the seven sons too. 
That's not really something new there.



> I'm stoked. Hopefully this time they tie Steve's hands behind his back during the mixing phase. A band with 3 guitar players and yet the bass sits more forward in the mix than all 3 of them put together.



Yeah, and ask Nicko to do double bass and Bruce to growl and write about drakkars.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Jun 25, 2015)

andyjanson said:


> I'd argue that after the reunion they went for a much darker and more progressive sound than trying to sound like old maiden. In fact I can't think of an instance where post reunion era sounds anything like classic maiden at all  Maybe I'm just a fanboy, but I firmly believe that all the albums since Bruce and Adrian's return have been stellar. Yes, there's filler here and there but even those songs like New Frontier or The Alchemist have some fine moments. I don't really know what to say to someone who ranks Virtual XI ahead of AMOLAD



Let's start from the end. "Virtual XI"is a great album, the songwriting is consistent throughout the tracks, the songs are relatively short and in your face (for being Maiden's, of course), and the 3 longer songs are not boring as hell. Maybe and I say maybe "the Angel and the Gambler" is, but it eventually grew on me. Is it a masterpiece? No, but it was something fresh -as was X factor- and showed a potential new direction.

As for the post-reunion, "Brave new world" IMHO was a wannabe-carbon-copy of 'Seventh son" and partly succeeded without being as good as the original. The first time I played "Dance..." I thought it was a slightly darker remake of "Piece of mind" with a disastrous production. "AMOLAD" was a mess, but they tried too hard to get the style of "Phantom of the opera" and "The rhyme..." back.

Having said that, I hope this new album will be a TRUE return to the ol' Maiden style rather than a soulless imitation.


----------



## andyjanson (Jun 25, 2015)

EmaDaCuz said:


> Let's start from the end. "Virtual XI"is a great album, the songwriting is consistent throughout the tracks, the songs are relatively short and in your face (for being Maiden's, of course), and the 3 longer songs are not boring as hell. Maybe and I say maybe "the Angel and the Gambler" is, but it eventually grew on me. Is it a masterpiece? No, but it was something fresh -as was X factor- and showed a potential new direction.
> 
> As for the post-reunion, "Brave new world" IMHO was a wannabe-carbon-copy of 'Seventh son" and partly succeeded without being as good as the original. The first time I played "Dance..." I thought it was a slightly darker remake of "Piece of mind" with a disastrous production. "AMOLAD" was a mess, but they tried too hard to get the style of "Phantom of the opera" and "The rhyme..." back.
> 
> Having said that, I hope this new album will be a TRUE return to the ol' Maiden style rather than a soulless imitation.



Well we clearly have entirely opposite views on this then . For me, Virtual XI was an abomination with The X Factor not far behind at all. IMO of the longer songs on VXI, TAATG is a strong contender for worst maiden song ever (the chorus is repeated *SIXTY SIX* times), The Clansman is very overrated even with Bruce, and Don't Look To The Eyes of a Stranger has the most unintentionally hilarious bridge section I think I've ever heard, along with that super messy repetition of the title at the very end which makes me cringe every time I hear it. I try to mentally block out the Blaze albums when I think about Maiden, even if Sign Of The Cross is fantastic with Bruce on Rock In Rio. 

As for the rest of your post I genuinely can't see where you're coming from. The only similarity I can see between BNW and SSoaSS is the cover being blue. To be honest when you have one main songwriter/co-producer/general captain of the band like Steve Harris over a 16 album career, there's bound to be a few similar sounding bits here and there and I personally feel that Maiden have managed that about as well as they could have. Every album sounds and feels different both in terms of song writing and production, and I think any of the last 4 albums (The Final Frontier _possibly_ excepted) stand up to the 'big 5' from the 80's.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Jun 25, 2015)

andyjanson said:


> As for the rest of your post I genuinely can't see where you're coming from. The only similarity I can see between BNW and SSoaSS is the cover being blue. To be honest when you have one main songwriter/co-producer/general captain of the band like Steve Harris over a 16 album career, there's bound to be a few similar sounding bits here and there and I personally feel that Maiden have managed that about as well as they could have. Every album sounds and feels different both in terms of song writing and production, and I think any of the last 4 albums (The Final Frontier _possibly_ excepted) stand up to the 'big 5' from the 80's.



De gustibus non est dispuntandum, but I really think BNW is the only one that deserve to be in the top 10 and only because there are some "bad" albums like "No prayer..." or "The number..." (yeah, I hate it!).

I also disagree when you say "Maiden have managed that about as well as they could have". It is true if you expect them to play the same music all over again. But, fortunately or unfortunately, there were two albums with Blaze showing that Maiden can play something different and be (IMO) still pretty good. They failed to develop that line and went back to a more classic hard rock/NWOBHM style.And I will never forget them fot this.


----------



## Harry (Jun 25, 2015)

I came in the thread wanting to post an opinion on Iron Maiden, but it seems every opinion has been used already 
Even if the songs aren't crash hot, I always look forward to more Adrian Smith solos. Still some of the best vibrato in the business and always delivers memorable melodies with great phrasing.
I find myself just skipping straight to the solos on most of the songs of the last few albums anyway


----------



## andyjanson (Jun 25, 2015)

EmaDaCuz said:


> De gustibus non est dispuntandum, but I really think BNW is the only one that deserve to be in the top 10 and only because there are some "bad" albums like "No prayer..." or "The number..." (yeah, I hate it!).
> 
> I also disagree when you say "Maiden have managed that about as well as they could have". It is true if you expect them to play the same music all over again. But, fortunately or unfortunately, there were two albums with Blaze showing that Maiden can play something different and be (IMO) still pretty good. They failed to develop that line and went back to a more classic hard rock/NWOBHM style.And I will never forget them fot this.


 
I'll admit to googling the latin, but yeah you're right haha  I still think if anything after the reunion they expanded on the direction of the blaze era and became darker and more progressive rather than returning to the NWOBHM style, but heh, opinions. (Although I can't understand how anyone would think NOTB is a bad album haha - Children of the damned, the prisoner, 22 acacia avenue, title track, run to the hills, HALLOWED?) 



Harry said:


> I came in the thread wanting to post an opinion on Iron Maiden, but it seems every opinion has been used already
> Even if the songs aren't crash hot, I always look forward to more Adrian Smith solos. Still some of the best vibrato in the business and always delivers memorable melodies with great phrasing.
> I find myself just skipping straight to the solos on most of the songs of the last few albums anyway


 
Hell yea bro, Adrian's solos are always a highlight. Dudes phrasing is spot on.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Jun 25, 2015)

andyjanson said:


> Although I can't understand how anyone would think NOTB is a bad album haha - Children of the damned, the prisoner, 22 acacia avenue, title track, run to the hills, HALLOWED?



I only like Children of the damned, which is probably in my Maiden Top 5. All the others, including the album version of Hallowed (which is my fave live song), are meh to me. But again, de gustibus


----------



## ShiftKey (Jun 25, 2015)

Big maiden fan here, agree with most that already been said tho the x factor grew on me back in day day, (had it on repeat when learning visual basic),the thing that always stuck in my mind was that alot of the lyrics must have been written just after watching apocalypse now as they seem to fit with that dark theme of the film. (Or mabe I watched it around that time made I made the mental link )


----------



## starslight (Jun 26, 2015)

Jason2112 said:


> I'm stoked. Hopefully this time they tie Steve's hands behind his back during the mixing phase. A band with 3 guitar players and yet the bass sits more forward in the mix than all 3 of them put together.



I'm not saying it's how their albums should be mixed, but I don't mind it at all. Steve Harris is one of my all-time favorite musicians and I love that you can always hear him loud and clear.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 30, 2015)

The production sound really good.


----------



## JD27 (Jul 30, 2015)

Haha, NOTB a bad album! Crazy talk! That's like instant Maiden fan membership revocation right there. 

I was so happy last time I saw them live and they played The Prisoner.


----------



## Force (Jul 31, 2015)

This short clip has made me very happy despite the crap quality. I'm hearing a mix of Piece Of Mind & Somewhere In Time, guitar tone wise with current Maiden drum production which is very pleasing.

This part of the song is not far removed from what they've been doing the last 15yrs but really cool. My only gripe is they should be adding harmonies to those melodies. I played one along with it & it was the final piece of the puzzle. 3 guitarists playing the same damn thing most of the time, come on..........

This snippet has made the wait even more painful, never been so psyched for a Maiden album.


----------



## Andromalia (Jul 31, 2015)

Those Nicko rolls.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 14, 2015)




----------



## Chemical-Pony (Aug 14, 2015)

This didn't really do it for me, which is a shame. There's nothing memorable or catchy here. All just a bit "meh" as the youngsters say these days. Just very bland. And Bruce really seems to be struggling now.


----------



## SD83 (Aug 14, 2015)

If the rest of the record is like this I'll probably love it.


----------



## p0ke (Aug 14, 2015)

The video was pretty cool, but the song sounded like a filler to me...


----------



## Force (Aug 14, 2015)

I love it, great song, cheesy but clever vid. There's a few things I could gripe about but won't because I'm over the moon about finally hearing some new Maiden & think they've done a good job.

Bring on 4th Sept............fvck yeah


----------



## andyjanson (Aug 14, 2015)

Yea, as expected really, fairly standard up-tempo maiden rocker, nothing wrong with it, but nothing that blows my mind yet. Not worried at all though, maiden have a history (at least in the post-reunion era) of releasing solid if unremarkable radio friendly singles. Nice Adrian and Dave solos though, sounds very Powerslave era to me. That's one of the things I love most about maiden, you can instantly identify which guitarist is playing which lead, they all have such unique styles and tones.


----------



## JD27 (Aug 14, 2015)

In all seriousness, I would play the .... out of a video game featuring Eddie.


----------



## efx1138 (Aug 14, 2015)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Hunter


----------



## AxeHappy (Aug 14, 2015)

I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, but I loved the chorus and the whole song came together for me! I am very excited!


----------



## Force (Aug 14, 2015)

JD27 said:


> In all seriousness, I would play the .... out of a video game featuring Eddie.



There's a petition doing the rounds to get Eddie into Mortal Kombat, how awesome would that be....................


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Aug 14, 2015)

The song is not bad, I love the riff starting at 0:53 (pre-chorus) in the video above.
Bruce, however, is the weak link here. I have never been a great fan of his vocals, but in this song his voice is pretty bad.


----------



## morestrings111 (Aug 15, 2015)

I'm not likin' it. They started falling off with Final Frontier, and now this.


----------



## Alimination (Aug 15, 2015)

that.... was.... awesome.....


----------



## shadowlife (Aug 15, 2015)

I think it's just "okay". Hopefully with the new record being a double album, there will be at least a few gems on it. At this point in Maiden's career, that's all i'm expecting.


----------



## electriceye (Aug 18, 2015)

I've only heard one song so far (have they released any more?). It was OK. The intro sounds like very vintage Maiden. The rest was lackluster. Frankly, the last album was a major letdown and the time between albums with them is wayyyyy too long. Crossing fingers for a nice surprise.


----------



## holy ghost (Aug 18, 2015)

Love all classic Maiden and I'm a huge fan of the last 4 records. Great comeback. Thus song took me a few spins to get into, but screw it. I dig it. Totally looking forward to the new record and a TOUR.


----------



## jovima69 (Aug 18, 2015)

I am hoping for the best. Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and 7th Son = best 4 album run in metal IMO.


----------



## Force (Aug 20, 2015)

Fixed that for ya, mate



jovima69 said:


> I am hoping for the best. Iron Maiden, Killers, Number Of The Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Live After Death, Somewhere in Time, 7th Son & No Prayer For The Dying = best 9 album run in metal IMO.


----------



## andyjanson (Aug 20, 2015)

Force said:


> Fixed that for ya, mate



Well, Fear of the Dark > No Prayer, so I guess that means....



jovima69 said:


> I am hoping for the best. Iron Maiden, Killers, NOTB, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Live After Death, Somewhere in Time, 7th Son, No Prayer For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark = best 10 album run in metal IMO.


----------



## chopeth (Aug 20, 2015)

andyjanson said:


> Well, Fear of the Dark > No Prayer, so I guess that means....



True, but FOTD and NPFTD are imo not even close to the first 7 which are the best in a row and most pure Maiden as I see it.


----------



## Force (Aug 21, 2015)

I included NPFTD because I feel it is highly underrated with a similar format to previous albums despite having Janick & a rawer production. FOTD took me a bit to get into & while I love it, this one definitely isn't up to the task.


----------



## chevymeister (Aug 22, 2015)

I'm not gonna lie this is probably the closest they've sounded to powerslave in ....ing ever. I like old maiden, new...not so much. This was rather refreshing. Can't say it was a great song but I think they've finally realized how formulaic everything has been on their past records and are removing that.


----------



## crushingattack (Aug 22, 2015)

Unfortunately there is nothing worth remembering for me in this first single. I hope that it is not the best track on the album...


----------



## JD27 (Aug 28, 2015)

An Iron Maiden Arcade game!

Iron Maiden: Speed of Light


----------



## Rock4ever (Aug 28, 2015)

TFF has some several great songs but overall was a little meh. I've liked every album since Bruce's return save for A matter of life and death.


----------



## TREYAZAGHTOTH (Sep 4, 2015)

got the album today.
anyone else?

it has a nice 'fear of the dark' meets 'seventh son' feel to it.

what do you guys think?
dinesh


----------



## RobbYoung (Sep 4, 2015)

Been playing through the first half, up to The Book of Souls. As a big fan of TFF and BNW I thought this album was really, _really_ good. It also seems that many media outlets are giving the album top reviews too (Kerrang, Blabbermouth etc)

Can't wait to hear these songs live on the tour!


----------



## ManOnTheEdge (Sep 4, 2015)

Listening to Empire of the Clouds now (with what i have left of my lunch break). Love it - It's not classic maiden, but it may just be a maiden classic!


----------



## Yeah_man (Sep 4, 2015)

I will ALWAYS remember my seventh son time - Crazy uncle in UK - Crap guitar, many beers

We sat there for hours upon hours playing to try and get a part right

Thats what Maiden is to me.. I have seen live a few times but nothing can replicate that time and feeling. Im glad they are still playing but its just one of those things that stays with you


----------



## jahosy (Sep 4, 2015)

Got the digibook edition today as a father's day gift for myself LOL 

Easily one of their strongest album since 7th son. Loving it.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Sep 4, 2015)

I had a quick sneak peek at the album on YT, less uninspired than the latest stuff, yet for from being a classic. I like the mood, though. As someone said here, it has some 7th Son resemblance here and there.
The major problem is Bruce's voice, he clearly struggles here.


----------



## efx1138 (Sep 4, 2015)

Not sure I agre with the strained part. Yeah, it's not like he's singing the high notes like he did on NOTB and POM but for me his upper register has always had that timbre since after the powerslave tour.

Really loving the new album though, got the vinyl and special edition cd and having been a fan since 1989 and this has the potential to be my clear favorite since SSOASS.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 4, 2015)

It doesn't sound strained, but you can finally tell his voice is aging now. Sorta how dUg Pinnick's and Rob Halford's voice slightly changed overtime, considering they're also in their 60s.


----------



## andyjanson (Sep 4, 2015)

Just got in from work with my new deluxe version waiting for me. Time to put the kettle on and get settled for that glorious first listen through. Nothing beats a new maiden album, and at their current bi-decadely output rate, you gotta make the most of times like these. I'll be back.


----------



## Force (Sep 4, 2015)

I'm so in the minority here, I got it early & only played through a couple of times. I'm struggling to listen anymore, I think for the most part it's terrible.

There's a few good songs (the short ones) & others had loads of potential but it has too much .... that spoils it.

The worst thing is how badly it's played, it's the sloppiest performance they've ever done.

I've been a 'love everything' fanboy since my childhood but no more.


----------



## andyjanson (Sep 4, 2015)

Just finished - definately enjoyed myself. I'm not the best person to review maiden albums since I'm incapable of disliking anything they do (classic line-up that is. Don't get me started on the blaze era). I'm not awestruck, but it sounds like it'll be a grower at this stage. I'm also interested to see how it turns out live - for me, El dorado, when the wild wind blows and particularly the talisman only really made sense to me on En Vivo. A couple of tracks stood out as being a bit weaker - death or glory and the man of sorrows were a little meh, but overall I'm pretty happy. If eternity should fail is already stuck in my head. I didn't notice the playing being particularly sloppy apart from the completely unecessary bass bit at the beginning and end of the red and the black. I think a lot of the perceived 'sloppiness' is down to the recording being done live, and I actually think they sound very tight considering that and the lack of absolute clinical precision gives it character. About on par with the final frontier for me at this stage, so I'm giving it a tentative 7.5/10 for now, but I do reckon it'll grow on me a bit yet.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Sep 5, 2015)

OK, first listen was pretty much positive.
Second listen, well, no. I highly dislike the album. The only song I "like" is Speed of Light, the opening is not bad (except the ugly title), the rest is way too long and gets boring.
I agree it is played BAD.
5.5/10 for me, which makes it their second worst album in my ranking after The Final Frontier.


----------



## crushingattack (Sep 5, 2015)

I just couldn't get into this album at all - started listening it and after a few tracks I stopped without regrets. I will try to listen it once again, but as for now it is too similar to Final Frontier, which is one of the worst Maiden's album.


----------



## big_aug (Sep 5, 2015)

I only got through the first half so far. I thought it was pretty solid. I like Bruce's low growl type stuff he does on Book of Souls. I'm not a big Maiden fan or anything. I haven't listened to many of their albums all the way through. Manly just listened to the well known stuff. Maybe that's why I kind of like it. I had no expectations.

I think the title track is really good. When that opening riff kicked in I was driving in my car and said ".... yes" out loud.


----------



## Andromalia (Sep 5, 2015)

Got a physical copy from amazon and downloaded it since I won't get the delivery before monday.
So far liking it, I'm currently listening to my first play.

Edit; finished, overall average but I like the red and the black a lot. Not a bad album, I actually like the production.


----------



## OmegaSlayer (Sep 5, 2015)

I didn't expect much, but this was less than I expected, the songs are not that bad, but the performance and recording are the worse Maiden ever had...another album that did NOT made 2015 memorable.

Now, if Gorod fails too, this year is to burn for me.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Sep 5, 2015)

Andromalia said:


> Edit; finished, overall average but I like the red and the black a lot. Not a bad album, I actually like the production.



Worst track of the album IMO, funny


----------



## Fat-Elf (Sep 5, 2015)

Haven't listened the whole album yet but from what I've heard from other people and what I've heard myself, the one of the biggest problem with the the album is that the playing is horrible. Nicko's playing is so "tired" and guitars are out of sync at times. I don't really like the mix either. I can't understand the whole live concept they're trying to do with their albums when the end result sounds completely the opposite. Playing off-time doesn't equal live playing.


----------



## RobbYoung (Sep 5, 2015)

Fat-Elf said:


> I can't understand the whole live concept they're trying to do with their albums when the end result sounds completely the opposite.



In a world of quantized drums, auto tune and edited takes making everything sound perfect, I find it refreshing that these tracks sound as if the band got together, and played their ....ing tracks in one go. Yes that means it sounds how a live performance would, with all the slips, slight off beat hits and sloppiness you get from that, but that's Maiden.

I personally love the fact the album sounds how it does. Give me this kind of recording over a Death Magnetic overly produced sound any day.


----------



## Andromalia (Sep 5, 2015)

Especially since I didn't like how Death Magnetic sounded anyway. (I listened to it only once, and i was the biggest Metallica fan from my teens to the Load era even if the latter weren't balls-to-the-wall MOP-like thrash they sounded good) I'm fine with processed production if it sounds good.
Maiden has gone for a live production feel for a few albums now, it's not really a new thing of theirs.


----------



## drmosh (Sep 5, 2015)

I'm not convinced, but I have only listened to half of the first disc. So I guess I should stfu really.
pretty generic riff, "nice" melody work, some ....ing blatant "here is steve harris bass production" in some parts.
I guess I need time.
as always, smith has BY FAR the best solos, because he's a boss


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Sep 5, 2015)

I think I'll give this a listen just as soon as I get tired of Killers, Number of the Beast, and Peace of Mind.


----------



## OmegaSlayer (Sep 6, 2015)

Andromalia said:


> Especially since I didn't like how Death Magnetic sounded anyway. (I listened to it only once, and i was the biggest Metallica fan from my teens to the Load era even if the latter weren't balls-to-the-wall MOP-like thrash they sounded good) I'm fine with processed production if it sounds good.
> Maiden has gone for a live production feel for a few albums now, it's not really a new thing of theirs.



I don't mind the live sound live, as Maidens always had the mojo live to compensate the lack of tightness, but on the record the mojo doesn't come out in the same way and if you don't have the tightness, it sounds...sloppy 

(To clear any doubt about my love for Maidens...I purchased Powerslave the day of my 8th birthday, for the cover but loved the music, and that record took me into hard rock and metal...it was 29 years ago...)


----------



## chopeth (Sep 6, 2015)

High Plains Drifter said:


> I think I'll give this a listen just as soon as I get tired of Killers, Number of the Beast, and Peace of Mind.



That must be a joke. You NEVER get tired of those albums.


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Sep 6, 2015)

chopeth said:


> That must be a joke. You NEVER get tired of those albums.



I knew there was a reason that I liked this forum.


----------



## p0ke (Sep 7, 2015)

I like this new album. I need to listen to it a few more times to be able to separate the tracks a bit better though. That's how much better than A matter of life and death this is: I didn't even want to spend the time to get into that one after the first spin 

The songs definitely work better as an entity rather than separate songs. I didn't like "Speed of Light" when I saw the video (well, I did like the actual video ), but now, hearing it after "If Eternity Should Fail", it just sounds super energetic. I like it!

But yeah, I agree the performance is quite sloppy. For example, the end of the solo section on "The Great Unknown" is just plain bad, sounds like whoever played the solo didn't practice enough.

I also kinda wish they'd mordenized their sound a bit, but yeah, whatever.


----------



## Cake Machine (Sep 7, 2015)

This makes 5/5 "reformation" albums I can't get with. And this is from someone who likes 'No Prayer For The Dying'... 

Subjective side, I just think it's eggy. It think it mainly comes from the lyrics/hooks - they've never been amazing, things have gotten a bit hairy at times throughout their career, but they used to be able to make it work somehow. There was a tension, or a membrane, that kept it all together. That surface tension is what has gone from all the reformation material. The glowing hot core of Maiden has been exposed, spilled and cooled..

But objectively, I think there is a lot to criticise about a lot of the new material. Especially the long songs, they're contrived and pointless. They're never ever going to even come close to 'Alexander The Great' or 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner', and just clocking a 14-minuiter made up out of crowbarred-together song sections for the sake of it is not going to make it so. The rest kind of sound like they've come out of a "Random Maiden Generator" of some kind..

It's not for me. I hate the single as well.


----------



## efx1138 (Sep 7, 2015)

I think that apart from BNW the reunion albums have not held up well compared to the 80's stuff though I think they in part beats out the 90's stuff.

This one however I don't agree with being contrived as far as the longer songs go. In fact, this is the most coherent I found them to be for a long while. And as far as being "pointless", I think that's highly subjective.

Nothing on this album sounds "random" to me and while some of the performances are a bit raw in places I think the songs hold up better than anything post-ssoass.

It's not perfect throughout but none of the maiden albums are to me. Filler has always been there on the albums but it's been the many incredible highs that more than makes up for it and while this album has stuff like speed of light & the great unknown which isn't my cup of tea, stuff like the red and the black, the book of souls and shadows of the valley to name a few more than makes this the best maiden album in over 25 years imo.


----------



## Cake Machine (Sep 7, 2015)

It's not "random" per se, it's more that it's super safe, and feels like an exercise in making another Maiden album. I do think the long tracks just seem thrown together for the sake of them just being there... really. 

It's infinitely better than "V***** XI", that was an absolute embarrasment, but I still don't like it. It's not working for me at all..


----------



## andyjanson (Sep 7, 2015)

I've given it another few plays now and as I suspected it's really grown on me to the point where I really like it now. I mean, REALLY like it. If Eternity Should fail is the best opener since Moonchild, and Empire Of The Clouds gets better with every listen. As for the talk of the performances being bad, if you've ever seen one of the 'making of' documentaries they've done with the post reunion albums, you'll know that Steve often discards what would be described as 'tighter' takes in favour of ones that have more vibe or mojo to them. That's something I can really appreciate, as there are literally thousands of bands out there that do the ultra tight, polished thing but there's only one band where I can listen to Adrian, Dave, Janick, Bruce, Steve and Nicko rock out and feel like I'm in the room with them. That band is Iron ....ing Maiden, and that's all I want from them.


----------



## p0ke (Sep 7, 2015)

andyjanson said:


> As for the talk of the performances being bad, if you've ever seen one of the 'making of' documentaries they've done with the post reunion albums, you'll know that Steve often discards what would be described as 'tighter' takes in favour of ones that have more vibe or mojo to them. That's something I can really appreciate, as there are literally thousands of bands out there that do the ultra tight, polished thing but there's only one band where I can listen to Adrian, Dave, Janick, Bruce, Steve and Nicko rock out and feel like I'm in the room with them. That band is Iron ....ing Maiden, and that's all I want from them.



I get what you're saying, but I still think some parts should've been played tighter. IMO you don't have to choose between tightness and "vibe or mojo", you can get both. Especially a band like Maiden shouldn't have to, anyway. I'm not trying to say they should play machine-tight like Fear Factory etc, it wouldn't even suit their songs, and I think Steve and Bruce pretty much nailed their parts, but some guitar and drum parts here and there should've been played tighter, some just a tiny bit and others a bit more.


----------



## mgh (Sep 7, 2015)

andyjanson said:


> I've given it another few plays now and as I suspected it's really grown on me to the point where I really like it now. I mean, REALLY like it. If Eternity Should fail is the best opener since Moonchild, and Empire Of The Clouds gets better with every listen. As for the talk of the performances being bad, if you've ever seen one of the 'making of' documentaries they've done with the post reunion albums, you'll know that Steve often discards what would be described as 'tighter' takes in favour of ones that have more vibe or mojo to them. That's something I can really appreciate, as there are literally thousands of bands out there that do the ultra tight, polished thing but there's only one band where I can listen to Adrian, Dave, Janick, Bruce, Steve and Nicko rock out and feel like I'm in the room with them. That band is Iron ....ing Maiden, and that's all I want from them.



I'd agree with you that this album is pretty good. Especially from the title track on other than the embarrassing Wasted Years rip off! There are also too many quiet beginnings and endings to some songs. 
However it is generally very solid and nice to see a much greater spread of songwriters. ..even Dave and Janick get credits! 
The closing epic is excellent can't understand the dislike for that. Overall probably my fave of the reunion albums (I'd have gone AMOLAD then BNW then FF then DOD )


----------



## big_aug (Sep 8, 2015)

Yea, I like Empire of the Clouds. It doesn't feel like an 18 minute song to me, so I think that means it's good. I like the album overall. That said, Bruce's vocals really do sound very strained (as someone previously put it). Strained is a perfect description. It's a shame he didn't go for more of the low growl stuff heard a few times on Book of Souls. I really liked that and thought he sounded great there. I also thought there was a real lack of great, memorable guitar harmony work. Maybe I just wasnt paying attention though.


----------



## metallatem (Sep 8, 2015)

Iron Maiden is my all time favorite band, I've been a fan since the early 80s. On the newer stuff I keep in mind that nothing they do will be able to touch the first 7 albums. So as objectively as possible, here's my list of pros and cons on Book of Souls.

Pros:
Minimal keyboards and synth processing
Raw and fresh guitar sound, and the bass is the right volume in the mix
Good variety of rhythms and tempo
They do achieve a more live, immediate, non-overproduced sound as they stated they were going for
I really like Tears of a Clown, it's a well crafted song with intelligent lyrics.


Cons:
I don't hear enough backing vocals, I always loved when Adrian would harmonize with Bruce
As stated, Bruce's voice is a bit off, but the guy did have a tumor in his throat
The guitar harmonies are not mixed that well, the higher pitched notes are too prominent
Some of the solos are definitely a bit sloppy
Definitely some recycled riffs, but that's difficult to avoid at this stage of their career
Janick (just kidding, sort of)

Overall, I think this is a good effort and I'm looking forward to hearing some of the songs live. I don't think I can effectively compare it to the other new 4 albums for a while yet until I've listened a lot more.


----------



## ArtDecade (Sep 8, 2015)

Allow me to fix that for you... 



metallatem said:


> Iron Maiden is my all time favorite band, I've been a fan since the early 80s. On the newer stuff I keep in mind that nothing they do will be able to touch the first 7 albums. So as objectively as possible, here's my list of pros and cons on Book of Souls.
> 
> Pros:
> Minimal keyboards and synth processing
> ...


----------



## DC23 (Sep 8, 2015)

big_aug said:


> I also thought there was a real lack of great, memorable guitar harmony work.



Great point. I feel the same. I'm not sure if maybe the mix did a disservice to this aspect, as there were quite a few times where I heard some great melodies, but it seemed like all of the guitars were playing the same notes. 

I don't know if I'm biased because this is Maiden we're talking about here, but I figure if there are three guitarists, there should be a lot more harmonies. haha.

That aside, I have to say the album has really grown on me the more I listen to it. The Book of Souls, When The River Runs Deep, and If Eternity Should Fall are great songs, in my opinion. I've already listened to this album a fair bit more than I ever listened to their other recent albums.


----------



## metallatem (Sep 8, 2015)

I don't dislike Janick personally, I just feel that having 3 guitars muddies up the sound rather than enhances it. There aren't enough times when all 3 guitars are doing different and complimentary parts. And even though Janick has been in the band 25 years, he's still the new guy to me.


----------



## Cake Machine (Sep 8, 2015)

metallatem said:


> I don't dislike Janick personally, I just feel that having 3 guitars muddies up the sound rather than enhances it. There aren't enough times when all 3 guitars are doing different and complimentary parts. And even though Janick has been in the band 25 years, he's still the new guy to me.



This is something else about the 'reformation' albums. The absolute lack of advantage taken of the presence of 3 guitars is so confusing. I get why all 3 guitarists are there (why _not_?!), I get that it's like Team Maiden and everyone's involved, it's all good big family vibes, but they are missing a trick seemingly to the point of stubbornness. Why no really tasty triple guitar work? See what I mean about the feeling that it's an exercise in adding to the catalogue?.. Why not make it more luxurious, detailled and carefully crafted etc..

I've listened to it again today. I don't hate it, whereas I did actually hate AMOLAD and Dance of Death (I think they're both dire), and I do think this is better than The Final Frontier, but I still don't like it. I just can't think of better way to describe the problem I have with it than saying "it's EGGY". I probably won't bother with it again, or post in here about it hehe..


----------



## stevexc (Sep 8, 2015)

Cake Machine said:


> This is something else about the 'reformation' albums. The absolute lack of advantage taken of the presence of 3 guitars is so confusing. I get why all 3 guitarists are there (why _not_?!), I get that it's like Team Maiden and everyone's involved, it's all good big family vibes, but they are missing a trick seemingly to the point of stubbornness. Why no really tasty triple guitar work? See what I mean about the feeling that it's an exercise in adding to the catalogue?.. Why not make it more luxurious, detailled and carefully crafted etc..



I'm pretty sure Janick's not actually supposed to be in the band and they're just too polite to tell him to leave. Don't think of them as a 3 guitar band, think of them as "2 guitars and Janick, too!"

For serious, though... the album's growing on me. The first half wasn't too exciting (although The Red And The Black stood out for me) but the second disk picked up. It's getting better on repeat listens though.

For perspective, my top 3 Maiden albums are Brave New World, Seventh Son, and Powerslave (in that order).

The thing I really like about Maiden is that there's so many solid choices for "favorite album" and almost everybody seems to have a different one.


----------



## ArtDecade (Sep 8, 2015)

Janick has written all of the best epic songs and acoustic passages for the last 20 years. He stays.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Sep 8, 2015)

stevexc said:


> For perspective, my top 3 Maiden albums are *Brave New World*, Seventh Son, and Powerslave (in that order).



BRAVE NEW WORLD? B R A V E N E W W O R L D ?

To each his own, but NO, BNW is not even close to be a great album. By the way, I dislike The Number of The Beast, so who am I to judge you 

Talking about The Book of Souls, I just finished my third take on it and still it is a big NO. It works as a whole, but I can't find a memorable passage, a great catchy lick (except Speed of Light's pre-chorus), a singable chorus... it's pleasant, but I think I will forget about this album pretty soon.

EDIT: I think that this album would be great with Blaze on vocals, it would really suits his style.


----------



## electriceye (Sep 8, 2015)

Sorry, but BNW is a GREAT album. And it's really the only good one they've done since reuniting.

That being said, I'm just getting around to listening to the album this afternoon. It's OK. The opening track is great. But, overall, sloppy playing and the same old horse-galloping rhythms and same endings to the songs. So far, nothing is saying to me "HOLY SH*T! THIS IS AMAZING!" 

"Speed of Light" is awful, btw.

I hope to come around on this after a few listens the next few days. This album is getting TREMENDOUS publicity and it irritates the f*ck out of me that albums from bands like Machine Head and Priest get a big "Eh" from the world and they move on. Even Sirius turned one of its metal channels into IM Radio this week. I don't know if it's justified because of this album. We'll see.


----------



## bloodblind (Sep 8, 2015)

Like it a lot as well but feel it would have benefited from a couple less long tracks and a few more faster shorter songs like Speed of Light, Wicker man , Man on the Edge etc.. The best bit of the album is the losfer words riff that re-appears in the title track haha! I love the new maiden stuff but it did loose a bit of momentum somewhere around 2/3 of the way through the album. Enjoying it though, maybe it's a lot to take in, only on my 3rd or 4th listen. Found it really funny that they used a song title that is already in one of Bruces solo albums, Man of Sorrows ... Man of Sorrow. Wonder what Brucey had to say about that one. I am really liking it but think the press have got carried away with maybe over-generous reviews, that's my take anyway. They always do this with new Maiden albums, give them 9/10 or 10/10 then turn round a few years later and slate them a bit putting them low in the rankings of the discography. I remember Dance of Death got raving reviews and now gets slated, I thought it was a great record. Same goes for Final Frontier it got great reviews and now they talk about it as a dissapontment retrospectively. Honestly... I prefer Final Frontier to Book of Souls at the moment. I liked it more on first few listens than the new one overall but the Book of Souls might overtake it once I give it a few more spins. Really like the live feel and loose production, seems a few folk are critical of it but I think it's the best production since Brave New World..
I'll give it an honest rating of 7/10 right now


----------



## Andromalia (Sep 8, 2015)

finished what is likely my 10th play or so. Still not getting Empire of the clouds but confirming that although the first part is a bit weak, "the red and the black" instrumental second part is the most epic maiden song i've heard in a long while. Not to the level of Hallowed be thy name but not far behind either.

summary: yeah, I'll buy another Maiden show ticket. Band I've seen the most in my life, actually, 22 shows if i count properly.


----------



## big_aug (Sep 8, 2015)

electriceye said:


> Sorry, but BNW is a GREAT album. And it's really the only good one they've done since reuniting.
> 
> That being said, I'm just getting around to listening to the album this afternoon. It's OK. The opening track is great. But, overall, sloppy playing and the same old horse-galloping rhythms and same endings to the songs. So far, nothing is saying to me "HOLY SH*T! THIS IS AMAZING!"
> 
> ...



Jesus Christ I wanted to wrap my car around a tree after the god damned SiriusXM Iron Maiden radio bull..... My new car came with a trial of Sirius and I love Liquid Metal and Jose. It was totally ruined by that god damned Iron Maiden take over for like 10 damn days. ....!!!!


----------



## Smoked Porter (Sep 9, 2015)

EmaDaCuz said:


> BRAVE NEW WORLD? B R A V E N E W W O R L D ?
> 
> To each his own, but NO, BNW is not even close to be a great album.



WHAT ARE YOU?

Just kidding, but I seriously can't even comprehend any Maiden fan not _at least_ liking that album  It's the best.

I think this is their most solid album to come out since then. If Eternity Should Fail, The Great Unknown, and The Red and the Black are just awesome. My first impression of Speed of Light was basically, "wtf, that main riff sounds like Motley Crue", but it's grown on me some. I didn't notice any of the mentioned sloppiness on the record, it just sounds organic to me.


----------



## EmaDaCuz (Sep 9, 2015)

BNW is a honest album, which I devoured when it came out (had to buy another CD, as I basically burned mine after having played it too much) but now I find meh. Still their best post-reunion effort.

As for the sloppy playing, I find the solos UNBEARABLE on this album. On the one hand they want to give the "live feeling", on the other hand the solos are clearly overdubbed and played without any soul and quite poor technique. IIRC, the middle part of Book of Souls features a sequence of 3 solos, each of which makes me say "Who the hell is playing this? A kid from Guitar Center?". And I normally like Maiden's solos, despite being idiosyncratic to whatever gets played past the 12th fret.

One last thought, The Red and The Black is probably the worst song on the album, how can you guys like it so much?


----------



## chopeth (Sep 9, 2015)

I second BNW is the best album far from the rest after seventh son. BNW is the best come back after the demise of a band (blaze bayley era in case somebody missed that) ever. I don't know about the last one yet, but not any album in 15 years reach that greatness level imo.


----------



## drmosh (Sep 9, 2015)

Having given it more plays I must say it's actually really good. IMO the weakest song is speed of light, no idea why they chose that as a single.


----------



## p0ke (Sep 9, 2015)

EmaDaCuz said:


> One last thought, The Red and The Black is probably the worst song on the album, how can you guys like it so much?



I don't know. I haven't really analyzed it, I just like it. Why don't you like it?



drmosh said:


> IMO the weakest song is speed of light, no idea why they chose that as a single.



Yeah, but even that works when it comes after If Eternity Should Fail, imo. I think it's the weakest song too, though. They should've made Tears of a Clown the single instead.


----------



## jahosy (Sep 9, 2015)

Been listening to bos since release day and its awesome. Can already imagine If eternity should fail being a ripping opening to the tour! Hope they play empire of the clouds.


----------



## ArtDecade (Sep 9, 2015)

Bunch of whining wankers around here. It's a new album - it's Maiden - it's great.


----------



## metallatem (Sep 9, 2015)

Bottom line for me is that you can't fully judge a Maiden album for years after it comes out. I remember when Powerslave came out, it was the beginning of my senior year of high school. I got the record and remember feeling a little disappointed by it. Now I think it's obviously one of their best. 

P.S. Yes, I am that old...


----------



## electriceye (Sep 10, 2015)

metallatem said:


> Bottom line for me is that you can't fully judge a Maiden album for years after it comes out. I remember when Powerslave came out, it was the beginning of my senior year of high school. I got the record and remember feeling a little disappointed by it. Now I think it's obviously one of their best.
> 
> P.S. Yes, I am that old...



Uhhhhh.....WHAT? I was in 8th grade that year and the release (and following tour) was MASSIVE. How can you even say that? The Powerslave tour was the biggest metal tour ever put on up to that point in history. Aces High was a HUGE hit single. And Live After Death is still one of the greatest live albums EVER. 

Maybe for you, you can't judge for a few years. But you must have been sleepy if PS took years to click with you. 

Sadly, that's the album that set the standard for me with them. And, other than a few close calls (SIT was great), nothing has come close to it.


----------



## ArtDecade (Sep 10, 2015)

electriceye said:


> Uhhhhh.....WHAT? I was in 8th grade that year and the release (and following tour) was MASSIVE. How can you even say that? The Powerslave tour was the biggest metal tour ever put on up to that point in history. Aces High was a HUGE hit single. And Live After Death is still one of the greatest live albums EVER.



I think I know what the other guy means. Powerslave is fantastic, but its a different sound than the albums that led up to it. If you were expecting a Piece sequel, you didn't get it. The band grew and their musicianship grew. That said, it was a massive tour, but it wasn't because of Aces High being a big single.

Iron Maiden Tour > Killer World Tour > Beast On The Road > Piece Tour

All of those tours were pretty friggin' big. Each was played to a 100+ venues in cities all over the world. By the time they were headlining on the World Piece Tour, they were already playing huge arenas. It wasn't Powerslave that suddenly made them huge. It was already a long time coming. The World Slavery Tour solidified it.


----------



## electriceye (Sep 11, 2015)

ArtDecade said:


> I think I know what the other guy means. Powerslave is fantastic, but its a different sound than the albums that led up to it. If you were expecting a Piece sequel, you didn't get it. The band grew and their musicianship grew. That said, it was a massive tour, but it wasn't because of Aces High being a big single.
> 
> Iron Maiden Tour > Killer World Tour > Beast On The Road > Piece Tour
> 
> All of those tours were pretty friggin' big. Each was played to a 100+ venues in cities all over the world. By the time they were headlining on the World Piece Tour, they were already playing huge arenas. It wasn't Powerslave that suddenly made them huge. It was already a long time coming. The World Slavery Tour solidified it.



I actually meant Two Minutes to Midnight as the bigger single.



Also, the more I listen to the album (I'm on my 7th listen or so), the two songs I like most are Tears of a Clown and Empire of the Clouds. The funny thing is, those are Bruce SOLO songs, not IM songs, IMO.


----------



## metallatem (Sep 21, 2015)

I'm really digging Tears of a Clown and If Eternity Should Fail. Can't wait to see them on the next tour. They already announced South Africa, Australia and New Zealand dates.


----------



## shadowlife (Sep 26, 2015)

Really liking the album. Maybe their best album since reuniting with Bruce and Adrian.The title track is my favorite song of theirs since "The Evil That Men Do"...


----------

