Iron Maiden - new studio album and Tour!!!

[Jind]

Buy the way - I watched both "Rock in Rio" and "Live After Death" last night and both are possibly the best DVD's of a live show ever. The rio show brings goosebumps up my arms every time I see it. When "The Wicker Man" kicks in after the orchestral intro, the audience of over 250,000 is immediately into this show and the boys do not upset. That was the perfect opening track for both an album, but also a live gig - it brought immediate energy to both the band and the audience. I think "Rock in Rio" also contains the bands best version of "Fear of the Dark", and possibly the best version of "Run to the Hills" as it's amazing but the band seems to be even more energetic at the very end of the concert than at the beginning when they simply stormed the stage and pummeled the crowd with energy.

"Live After Death" is a special concert for me, while it was the third time I had seen Maiden live having seen them opening for Priest on the "Number of the Beast" tour and as a headliner on the "World Piece Tour" with Fastway and a band called Coney Hatch, but that third time for the "World Slavery Tour" was simply the best of the bunch. I remember hearing that they would be releasing a VHS made up from the two Long Beach California shows I simply had to have it. I wore the hell out of that VHS, and was extremely happy when they finally re-released it on DVD. Once again - Maiden are the masters of the set list, knowing exactly what to place where for maximum impact. Opening with Churchill's speech and then busting into "Aces High" was the perfect song to start with, and it never let down. the highlight of that show for me was seeing "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" in it's entirety - I remember being worried that perhaps they would play a cut down version live, but nope - they played all 13 plus minutes and then going right into "Powerslave" was perfect.

Both sound stellar for live albums - both have the perfect matching between the band playing live and audience participation. the audience is upfront when it should be and the band sounds great on both DVDs.

I'm getting more and more psyched to both see them live again this year and to add another great Maiden disc to, in my mind, the best discography ever.

UP THE IRONS!!!!

 

[Trevoire520]

I'm going to be twitching uncontrollably till this cd is out. Watched Flight 666 (again!) on BBC4 last night, bloody awesome documentary.

Think I'm going to have to hit Sonisphere this year to see them, even though I normally go to Download for my summer festival. Can't miss an opportunity to see Maiden. I'm still kicking myself for not going to the Twickenham gig!

 

[Nuno Filipe]

I love maiden and it´s one of my fav bands of all time. But for me Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was their last great album. With No Prayer for the Dying began a new time for maiden, much more hard rock and less metal. I still like Iron Maiden but for me it´s not even the same band. Of course they fucking rule live and it´s awesome to see them play the hits with tremendous energy. But they are not the same, well at least for me. The new music is good but I dont feel the same as I felt with Somewhere In Time or Seventh Son albuns. Different times, different music. But I still love them.

 

[Jevil]

I'm going to be twitching uncontrollably till this cd is out. Watched Flight 666 (again!) on BBC4 last night, bloody awesome

Fuck, I bought it when it was released in DVD, but when trying to play it at home, I realized I had bought the Blue ray, and I ain't got a BRay player!

 

[theRev]

You are the only one. Maiden still get it done - so why stop? They still put on the best show you will ever see - if you have never seen them live then do it - it will be worth your time.

UP THE IRONS!!!!!!

Well... I'm one of those that thinks they should stop. I mean, the studio work, not tours and live stuff. I can buy a ticket 20 times for their live shows, because they still kick ass, but on the other hand I can't listen their latest albums... I hear the same old "maiden formula" that they use since 80's... Minus the genial touch they had in the past. There are still a couple of good ideas here and there, but if *insert a lot of other band names here* release an album with only "a couple of nice ideas" they spank their ass off, if Maiden release a boring album with a couple of nice touches than everybody "OMG A NEW MAIDEN ALBUM... IT'S NICE BUT EHY, THEY ARE IRON MAIDEN"...

Well the more I become older the more I loose "nostalgy effect" and will to pretend "something amazing will happen"..

Edit: well something that really amaze me is that Maiden are a REAL institution in regard of music. Older people, young boys, even lots of people that isn't a true "Metal head" likes Maiden and for me it's really what a talented band should have, the ability to reach people emotions with no need to stick to a culture, or a living style. Well I digress...

 

[Virgil.]

Fuck, I bought it when it was released in DVD, but when trying to play it at home, I realized I had bought the Blue ray, and I ain't got a BRay player!

 

[-J-]

So - I just noticed that once again Maiden returned to Compass Point Studios to record the new album and after looking over the studios home page I fully understand why. What other studio in the world has the atmosphere that this one has - damn, if I had my options of studios to choose I'd probably go there as well.

Look at it - it's on the beach!!!

awesome - where they did somewhere in time, right? I know that one was in the bahamas, just not sure of the name offhand.

 

[Jevil]

awesome - where they did somewhere in time, right? I know that one was in the bahamas, just not sure of the name offhand.

Nop. I think they did Piece Of Mind and Powerslave. When i get home I will take a look at my vynils.

 

[-J-]

Nop. I think they did Piece Of Mind and Powerslave. When i get home I will take a look at my vynils.

you had to make me wiki, didn't you check the stats under the pic on the right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somewhere_in_Time_(album))

here's a tougher one - was this where Anthrax recorded Among the Living, or was it State of Euphoria? I know one of those was in the bahamas.

how freakin cool would that be to fly to the bahamas to jam, record and album, and sip on coronas?!?!

 

[Jevil]

you had to make me wiki, didn't you check the stats under the pic on the right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somewhere_in_Time_(album))

Well, POM, Powerslave and SIT then. I hope next album would be half of any of those.

 

[Jind]

Well, POM, Powerslave and SIT then. I hope next album would be half of any of those.

Yup - those three at Compass Point. given the track record of those three we can only hope inspirations hits for this next album.

For anyone interested here are all the Maiden studio albums with Name - Studio - Producer:

Iron Maiden - Kingsway Studios, England - Will Malone
Killers - Battery Studios, England - Martin Birch
The Number of the Beast - Battery Studios, England - Martin Birch
Piece of Mind - Compass Point Studios, Bahamas - Martin Birch
Powerslave - Compass Point Studios, Bahamas - Martin Birch
Somewhere in Time - Compass Point Studios, Bahamas - Martin Birch
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Musicland Studios, Germany - Martin Birch
No Prayer for the Dying - Barnyard Studios, England - Martin Birch
Fear of the Dark - Barnyard Studios, England - Martin Birch
The X Factor - Barnyard Studios, England - Steve Harris and Nigel Green
Virtual XI - Barnyard Studios, England - Steve Harris and Nigel Green
Brave New World - Guillaume Tell Studios, France - Steve Harris and Kevin Shirley
Dance of Death - Sarm West Studios, England - Steve Harris and Kevin Shirley
A Matter of Life and Death - Sarm West Studios, England - Kevin Shirley
The Final Frontier - Compass Point Studios. Bahamas - Kevin Shirley

 

[Trevoire520]

I hear the same old "maiden formula" that they use since 80's.

Personally I'm gonna disagree with you here man, I feel the last 3 albums have sounded quite different to the older stuff. Sure you can obviously hear it's the same band, but you honestly can't say that run to the hills and the pilgrim sound the same? If anything I think notb through to seventh son albums all sound fairly similar, and after that they started experimenting a bit.

Don't get me wrong Maiden have always had their own sound, but to try and change style would be retarded. It's not like we want them to start screaming, downtuning and doing breakdowns in an attempt to sound "more modern and relevant" is it?

 

[kev]

Maiden are one of the true, decent and musical bands left in this dire excuse for a music industry, and this album will kick ass! Fuck this screaming crap, what started that shit anyway. Compass Point = Great vibes = great album!!!!

 

[Jind]

Maiden are one of the true, decent and musical bands left in this dire excuse for a music industry, and this album will kick ass! Fuck this screaming crap, what started that shit anyway. Compass Point = Great vibes = great album!!!!

I could not have said it better - While you can always tell a Maiden tune, they are great musicians through and through, they explore melodic ideas and are not afraid to break from the mold and be experimental and progressive. The last thing I would call Maiden are repetitive. Listen to most bands today that are churning out the same crap over and over, lacking in originality from release to release - not willing to take chances and sound different from the latest fad in their musical genre. While many bands can cite Maiden as a major influence, I can think of no other band that when I hear them I confuse their music for Maiden - I can't say that of many bands these days.

Maiden is Maiden - unapologetically so to a man. They know how Maiden music is supposed to sound, but they still take chances from album to album. I'm sure this new one is going to be different from the last, but I'll still be sure it's Maiden when I hear it.

 

[kev]

Damn straight Jind One figures with a name like the final frontier, it will be their last... but who knows. Any confirmation of this at all?

 

[Eddy]

No confirmation that I know of. With a name like that, I guess we're getting a space opera of some sort.

 

[Trevoire520]

They're probably going to hold off answering that question for a while to encourage good ticket sales for the tour.

Steve has always said that he thought Maiden would do 15 albums. But he's also said that the band will keep going for as long as they enjoy doing it. To be honest they're seeming more popular than they've ever been right now and I can't see them throwing in the towel quite yet.

 

[Jind]

Since this news broke I have been going Maiden crazy and pulling out their DVDs and watching them as well as making sure the entire catalog was on my USB Stick for my car, and also on my MP3 player in high quality format. I've loved every minute of this little Maiden flashback I'm going through.

I'll tell you one thing that has really grown on me is their most recent disc - "A Matter of Life and Death". When I first heard it and upon a few subsequent listens, I liked it, quite a bit, but it was not up their in my top echelon with "Powerslave", "Piece of Mind", and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". But even before this recent resurgence in my Maiden interest I had given it a few spins lately and even more over the past week and I tell you what - it has grown on me immemsly. I love the non-mastered production; it sounds so natural, so dynamic; it breaths with soft passages into loud. Take a song like "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" with it's soft intro and Bruce singing "We are not the sons of God. We are not His chosen people now. We have crossed the path He trod. We will feel the pain of His beginning" sung over the soft slightly distorted arpeggiated pattern that then explodes into one of the heaviest riffs Maiden has ever put to tape (I was jamming away to this track last night and it made me grin like a little child on Christmas.) That's a perfect example where this production shines - it breaths and it roars when it needs to.

The whole album is littered with wonderful lyrical passages, great songs about the sorrows of war; it's dark and it's brooding. The guitar work is some of the best Maiden has done - you can tell it has been orchestrated for three guitars. It's intricate like nothing else they have done. The leads are wonderful and are well thought out to fit right in with the flow of each song. Nicko's drumming shines on this disc as well, but I should mention that I'm a huge Nicko fanboi first. I'm my world of metal he is king - he's not dependent upon pounding double bass and blast beats, he does it all with one bass drum and a fast foot. He has a sound that is all his own - just like hearing a Maiden song and knowing it's them, you also know right away that Nicko has not been replaced. He always seems to play the right thing for just that song. He is not the flashiest of drummers, but he is rock solid steady, no slouch performances out of that man. He hits the drums hard and on time - every time. There are many a Maiden tune that I remember as much for the drum beat as I do the galloping guitars. I can't finish this almost mini review of sorts without some praise for the man at the bass - does Steve Harris ever fail us on bass? Sure some songwriting stuff has gone a miss over the years, but his playing is always dead on - just like the rest of Maiden - you always know `Arry is handling the bottom end. I've always loved the tone he has on bass - it's been a consistent bedrock of Maiden music for thirty years.

This album has become one of my favorite Maiden albums ever. Listening to it over and over again the past several days it has got me stoked for the new disc. For those saying Maiden should call it quits? NEVER!!!! Well at least not for a while if they keep producing new music like shown on "A Matter of Life and Death". It's original, it's not a repeat of anything they have done before, but it's still Maiden from top to bottom. I hope the title "The Final Frontier" is just a hint to the subject matter of the album and less a final stamp on their carrier as a band. If it was, they will always be number one for me, but I hope it's not. Maiden has become an industry - some hate that aspect of their recent releases, but I say Hell Yes!!! they deserve the success they have gotten, they work harder than any band at making sure people are aware they are still here, still making great music after thirty years - good for them!

UP THE IRONS!!!!!

 

[Felix Neumann]

Jind, I couldn´t agree more about all you´ve written. "A Matter of Life and Death" also had to grow for me first. But for me the last three songs of the album is even better than the whole "Dance of Death" (In my opinion, a real disappointment, because I expected an album similar to the qualities of "Brave new World") So A Matter of...absolutely went in the right direction for me. My expectation for the new record is infinitely high! I hope this will not be the last Iron Maiden album.

 

[kev]

^^ hard album to get into I reckon Felix. Dance of death was easier access I think.