O/T : The new Maiden album rules!

nythraxfan

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Feb 10, 2002
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I'm on my 3rd listen.......while I don't like to judge albums this early on, so far, I have to say......HOLY SHIT!
I LOVED Brave New World, and right now to me, Dance of Death is even better.

Here are just a handfull of posts made on the official Maiden message board tonight from people who have downloaded it......
yes, the posts below are accurate at just how killer this album is!






IronNut88
Member

Registered: 22nd May 2003
Location: Ca
Posts: 35
Wow
i love DANCE OF DEATH this is one of the fucking best albums i have ever heard!!!!!





mbflash80
Senior Member

Registered: 6th May 2003
Location: SoCal
Posts: 187
you are so very right, sir!





tomash
The Wicker Man

Registered: 30th June 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 239
Yup. Up until few hours ago I though Brave New World was as good as it gets, but this album is slowly changing my mind.
Seriously, this is some really good shit!





Helldogg
DOD OWNS ALL

Registered: 2nd May 2003
Location: Peoria AZ
Posts: 140
This is that kind of scary good. I haven't freaked that bad over a Maiden album since 7th son. Seriously I think this is a serious contender for best album ever from Maiden.





Satariel
Junior Member

Registered: 28th August 2003
Location:
Posts: 13

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Helldogg
This is that kind of scary good. I haven't freaked that bad over a Maiden album since 7th son. Seriously I think this is a serious contender for best album ever from Maiden.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



You truly wrote what I´m thinking there...




IronNut88
Member

Registered: 22nd May 2003
Location: Ca
Posts: 35
i cant choose which ones are my favorites songs. wen bnw came out i thought that was hard to choose now this. they are kiilling me!!!




powerslave_85
Paschendale owns you all!

Registered: 7th June 2003
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Posts: 457
This album is simply incredible, there is no other way to describe it. Thank you Maiden, you have made another masterpiece.
UP THE MOTHERFUCKING IRONS!!!!!!!!!



holysmoke666
steve's disciple

Registered: 15th May 2003
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 161
haven't listened to all the songs but i must admit that what i listened to really kicks ass!!!!!! far better that BNW and i really love BNW.
i think Montsegur will be one of my fav.
UP THE IRONS!




brazilian_eddie
Senior Member

Registered: 15th June 2003
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Posts: 386
This is VERY different from all the other albums they have recorded..who agree?

NP: New Frontier




mbflash80
Senior Member

Registered: 6th May 2003
Location: SoCal
Posts: 187
I am VERY VERY VERY FUCKING IMPRESSED SO FAR...I am halfway through Paschendale as we speak, and I am not sure if it will ultimately surpass BNW, but one thing I can say for sure is Maiden sure as hell did not just stick to a formula and write another solid Maiden album...they decided to take chances with this one...and I for one FUCKING LOVE IT!!! "AND STILL THE UNDISPUTED KINGS OF METAL: IRON FUCKING MAIDEN"




Helldogg
DOD OWNS ALL

Registered: 2nd May 2003
Location: Peoria AZ
Posts: 140
THIS, and not BNW should've followed 7th son!

I'm buying 50 copies!! Fuck make it 1000!!!




MFS81
Figment of My Imagination

Registered: 3rd July 2003
Location: Golgafrincham
Posts: 195

They seem more comfortable, and the songs more effortless this time 'round. I love BNW too but this surpasses it!




Thomas Davie
Junior Member

Registered: 3rd September 2003
Location:
Posts: 4
That's a pretty big ass to kick....
I ranked BNW second only to SSOASS. Will have to listen to more of this album. But yes, so far there isn't much in the Maiden catalogue that is superior to this.

Tom




Frank McMaiden
Member

Registered: 16th May 2003
Location: The Bronx, U.S.A.
Posts: 80

BNW is a great Maiden album.....DOD is a Maiden masterpiece in my opinion! Iron Maiden have never sounded better and i've been a fan for a good 18 yrs now. Up The Fuckin Irons for 2003 and beyond......

I'M SO HAPPY WITH THIS ALBUM IT'S REDICULOUS..HA!

IT'S IRON MAIDEN, IT OWNS AND PROVES THAT IRON MAIDEN ARE THE GREATEST BAND EVER TO GRACE HARD ROCK-HEAVY METAL! GOD BLESS EM'! NOBODY WILL EVER TOP IRON MAIDEN...THEY ARE JUST TOO FUCKIN' AWESOME!




Helldogg
DOD OWNS ALL

Registered: 2nd May 2003
Location: Peoria AZ
Posts: 143
HOLY SHIT!!! BNW is a joke compared to this!!!!! 7th what??

Mother of god they....I'm speechless.......Fuck everything MAIDEN has just kicked the shit out of me




Satariel
Junior Member

Registered: 28th August 2003
Location:
Posts: 13
Since this is 2003 I can´t help to feel that DOD is a Piece of mind for the 21th Century. I can´t see how on earth they are going to top this though lol. DOD is truly the best album since 7th Son, musically though it´s the best ever, I really didn´t expect this I´m deeply impressed...
 
Did you think something else would be posted on IM board? I have heard few cuts from it so far, and, like, you know, nothing really new to me. Just...Iron Maiden over and over again.
 
Sorry, but I'm not so hot on this album. I usually agree with the reviews from BW&BK, and this is no exception:

Aside from producer Kevin Shirley’s excellent online updates, the follow-up to Brave New World was locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Not a peep has been leaked aside from the band’s live airing of the leadoff cut/first single, ‘Wildest Dreams’, an unmemorable ‘70s-inspired Status Quo/Slade anthem. And with virtually every snapshot in time where leader/bassist Steve Harris’ head is at, the band consistently fire on all cylinders. Trouble is, the vehicle is in need of an oil change.

Dance Of Death is undeniably classic Maiden. And Sanctuary knows if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But that’s the problem. Aside from the orchestral bits that are peppered throughout the record, the writing template remains a constant. And there’s just way too much meat on the bone. Chop the record down by a third and release the follow-up in late 2004, not 2006. Never thought I’d see myself complaining about the length of a Maiden record, but in this case the UK heroes dilute the overall appeal of Dance Of Death by filling the mother up and the cup spilleth over. If you want epic, you’ve got it - nine cuts over five minutes plus, six of them over six minutes plus. Nonetheless, the event gets extremely tiring.

Looking at the pure quality on Dance Of Death and not the inherent filler, ‘No More Lies’ is the first eyebrow lifter, although it fills the same shoes as ‘Blood Brothers’ from the last record. The chorus sees frontman Bruce Dickinson quite feisty, his lungs failing to wane as the years go by, whilst guitarists Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers solo up a three-headed gun fight. The excellent ‘Rainmaker’, ‘Gates Of Tomorrow’ and drummer Nicko McBrain’s lone inscription, ‘New Frontier’ (his first writing credit in 20 years!) are galloping dustups with memorable choruses to boot. ‘Age Of Innocence’ coulda been pulled from Bruce’s debut solo effort Tattooed Millionaire, it’s swing-like chorus adding a lighter tone to an overall somber record. A strangely refreshing guitar riff from Adrian Smith permeates ‘Paschendale’, a memorable epic detailing the historic World War I battle. Although the cut is one of many in Harris' repertoire that begin with a noodling bass intro, it quickly unites the six-piece in instrumental glory. The title track signals Harris storytelling time once again, but lyrically the longwinded tale is just too much to swallow. It's described as the centerpiece of the record, moreso it's a lesson in patience as the words smother the music. Finale ‘Journeyman’, the mellowest cut on the record, is a bizarre twist, but quite refreshing. It sees Maiden stretching themselves far into the future with never-ending acoustics, passion-filled orchestration and an autobiographical theme. Shame it took so long to get to this point.

www.bravewords.com/hardwares.html?id=1000565
 
DoctorX3 said:
Sorry, but I'm not so hot on this album. I usually agree with the reviews from BW&BK, and this is no exception:

I agree with this Kerrang review of it............




It's all just a painful memory now, but Maiden conoisseurs had to endure a lot of gritting of the teeth during the 1990's.The albums the band produce during that period ranged from half-baked 'No Prayer For The Dying' through to the turgid 'Virtual XI'; the bands knack of making exhilarating heavy metal records seemingly knackered by the loss of guitarist Adrian Smith and, later, frontman Bruce Dickinson.

But how times have changed.One timely reunion, and one magnificent comeback album later, and suddenly Iron Maiden are just about the coolest thing on the planet.The number of bands currently aping that trademark gallop and those scintilating twin-guitar harmonies has risen dramatically in recent years, with everyone from blatant worshipers like Iced Earth and In Flames through to more unexpected acolytes such as Atreyu and 3 Inches Of Blood ass 'fessing up to the self-evident fact that there is no sound on this earth more glorious and celebratory than Iron Maiden on top form and in full flight.

All of Which means that 'Dance Of Death' marks the point where the pressure on Steve Harris and co to deliver a blinder has increased tenfold.2000's 'Brave New World' was a strong return to form.The tension between Dickinson and Harris was crackling once again, and the edge that Adrian Smith brings to the band's songwriting made the band's 12th album an enormously satisfying experience for die-hards and newbie fans alike. But was it a false dawn? Was it bollocks!

Put simply, 'Dance Of Death' is Iron Maiden's best album since 1988's
'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son'. Heavier and darker than 'Brave New World' and with none of that albums long winded-rambling, this is as passionate and fired-up as the band have EVER sounded.

First single and opening track 'Wildest Dreams' is arguably the weakest
thing here. But it is a grower; a thunderous heads-down race to the finish with a deceptively catchy chorus and the kind of dramatic, rythmic flourishes that have been conspicuous by their ansence from Maiden albums for far too long.
'Rainmaker'. with it's explosion of triple-guitar harmony histrionics and
another devasting chorus, is one of the finest songs Maiden have ever
recorded.'No More Lies' is the kind of song that Steve Harris has been
attempting to pull off for years: a punchy and progressive seven-minuter that trounces the lumbering durges of the Blaze Bayley era.Three tracks in and anyone still doubting that Maiden have recaptured the magic of their heyday should be foaming at the mouth by now.
'Montsegur' is the heaviest thing to appear on a Maiden album since the
band's early days; a brutally melodic anthem that strongly recalls 'Where Eagles Dare' from 1983's 'Piece Of Mind' album.The title-track is another one of Harris' convoluted epics, with strong shades of 70's prog legends Jethro Tull and a faint, but forgivable, whiff of Spinal Tap.'Gates Of Tomorrow' and 'New Frontier' follow; both surging, mid-tempo bursts of muscular melody and percussive bluster. The latter features the first ever writing credit for drummer Nicko McBain and positively reeks of single potential. Next comes 'Paschendale' another epic and possibly the finest thing here; eight minutes of structural invention, cavalier aggression and lyrical poignancy.
The final three tracks on 'Dance Of Death' are all stunning. First come
'Face In The Sand' - a stately, kick-drum powered waltz with a dash of
orchestral elegence.Then 'Age Of Innocence' delivers the album's most
gripping affecting melody, allied to a crafty, world-weary lyric.
'Journeyman' brings the album to a close with sweeping strings, understated dynamics and another chorus to die for.

It's all stupendous stuff and concrete proof that Maiden are as electrifying and important as they have been in a long time. Ten years ago, it was unthinkable that they could make more albums of this quality. This is their second out-and-out belter in a row. Long may they reign.