I hate grunge.

[EternalMetal]

Does anyone prefer the first two Maiden albums, S/T and Killers, over the rest of the stuff they have done? I just find those first two albums to be very unique in sound and style, they don't sound like Maiden with Bruce at all, obviously in vocals but even with the music, it's completely different. I think those first two records to me, really do feel like a true fusion of punk and metal. Just like Motorhead, I think the first 2 Maiden albums were total fusion of punk and metal. But I guess a lot of the early new wave of british heavy metal was kind of like that.
The debut is raw and dark, and it's interesting to hear Maiden at a point where they hadn't quite found their voice, although they were close. It's a great, if slightly flawed album. Killers, imo, is better, more confident, with Maiden having at that point developed what I would consider their trademark sound.

I do. I love the energy of the first two over the polished style they eventually discover for themselves. Im also a bigger fan of Di'Anno's vocals since he sings with more ferocity than Bruce. For example, I feel like the song 2 Minutes to Midnight would sound cooler with if they sounded more like Di'Anno did on Wrathchild.

As for Priest vs Maiden, I never realized that they had a rivalry thing going on back in the day until I did a search on why these two bands always seem to get compared. Id honestly rather not choose because I have yet to catch Judas Priest on tour (seen Maiden 3 times). Though talent-wise id say Priest has Maiden edged out in every category aside from the drumming. Otherwise comparing their lyrical themes and songwriting style is like comparing apples and oranges, coming down to taste. Both bands are top tier though.

 

[Omni]

To this day, I'm unsure how anyone could think that Bruce Dickinson is a better singer than Rob Halford. You might like Bruce Dickinson more, but prime Rob Halford is totally out of his league in terms of actual ability. This isn't me saying that Dickinson is bad, because that's far from the truth.

 

[EternalMetal]

 

[Nate Skalman]

...it’s called “yarl”...

 

[EternalMetal]

As in kill yarlself?

 

[The Ozzman]

Yarl be like

 

[Satanstoenail]

Though talent-wise id say Priest has Maiden edged out in every category aside from the drumming.

And bass playing. Steve Harris is a much better player than Ian Hill and is massively influential, probably far more so than Nicko McBrain or Clive Burr are influential drummers.

 

[Nate Skalman]

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Dio will always be the greatest yarler.

fwiw I know Dave Lombardo said Clive Burr was the guy that really made him interested in metal drumming, and I think there were a few other early thrash guys that said the same. Simon Phillips is definitely the greatest drummer of either band, but he wasn't a member for very long so yeah, Maiden just had the better overall rhythm section.

I'd put Smith and Murray over Downing in terms of overall output and quality, though Downing was still the more influential guitarist, also on Slayer and extreme metal as a whole. Tipton is probably the most technical and fancy guitarist of the four, though Smith comes really close.

 

[Omni]

Simon Phillips and Les Binks are by far my favorite Priest drummers. I always wish that either of them stuck around longer.

Tipton and Downing are probably the most important guitar duo in metal, although Denner and Shermann are probably my overall favorite.

 

[Satanstoenail]

fwiw I know Dave Lombardo said Clive Burr was the guy that really made him interested in metal drumming, and I think there were a few other early thrash guys that said the same. Simon Phillips is definitely the greatest drummer of either band, but he wasn't a member for very long so yeah, Maiden just had the better overall rhythm section.

Yeah I think Lars said the same thing about Clive Burr from memory. Simon Phillips is a phenomenal drummer but he was only a session player hired to play on Sin After Sin and was never actually a member of Priest.

I'd put Smith and Murray over Downing in terms of overall output and quality, though Downing was still the more influential guitarist, also on Slayer and extreme metal as a whole. Tipton is probably the most technical and fancy guitarist of the four, though Smith comes really close.

Smith is amazing. His solos are probably the best thought out and constructed out of all four guitarists.

 

[Blurry_Dreams]

if Cobain hadn't killed himself, Nirvana would be one of those bands that nobody remembers

 

[Omni]

Nevermind sold over 5,000,000 copies in the United States alone before Cobain's death, so I'm pretty sure some people would still remember the band.

 

[morguelord]

if Cobain hadn't killed himself, Nirvana would be one of those bands that nobody remembers

Layne Staley didn't die until 2002, everyone still remembers AIC pretty well.
Chris Cornell died last year, and Soundgarden was still huge.
For fuck's sake, Scott Weiland died in 2015 and STP was still popular, despite being a late-comer to the grunge party, and not really fitting in with the "Big 4" of Seattle. Hell, their first album went 8x platinum in 2001.
Eddie Vedder is obviously still alive (WHOAAA-OHH I'M STILL ALIVE) and Pearl Jam are doing quite well.

To say some of their success sprang from his sensationalized suicide and subsequent idolization is probably true, but to say no one would remember them without it is patently foolish.

 

[EspaDa]

I thought you did not keep track of anything that isn't death metal.

 

[Satanstoenail]

And here comes monoxide_child to troll this thread back to life

 

[Bloopy]

Does anyone prefer the first two Maiden albums, S/T and Killers, over the rest of the stuff they have done? I just find those first two albums to be very unique in sound and style, they don't sound like Maiden with Bruce at all, obviously in vocals but even with the music, it's completely different. I think those first two records to me, really do feel like a true fusion of punk and metal. Just like Motorhead, I think the first 2 Maiden albums were total fusion of punk and metal. But I guess a lot of the early new wave of british heavy metal was kind of like that.

My favourite Maiden songs are with Bruce, but his voice is tiringly theatrical so for albums I prefer the first two. I think the punk influence is fairly minimal though. Steve Harris denies it completely and says punk was the enemy of Maiden. Sounds more like a rock 'n' roll/Thin Lizzy influence to me. If it's louder and faster than the previous generation, that doesn't automatically make it punk. The first thing punk gets credit for is making things more sloppy and simple, so how could Maiden possibly get anything from that?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

The first song Steve ever wrote for Maiden is pretty punky though



Although I tend to believe him in saying that it wasn't an influence, especially since punk in the mid-70s wasn't *that* distinguished from general rock music anyways.

 

[Bloopy]

Apparently he wrote that one in about 1973! So the similarity is there because he was among the pub rock/glam-type stuff that some punk bands transitioned from, such as Cock Sparrer who formed in '72:

 

[Blurry_Dreams]

And here comes monoxide_child to troll this thread back to life

seriously
if i was Monoxide Child, the males and females thread would be full of "whooty" pics by now