One more Maiden thread

[SoundMaster]

I've decided, after many listens, that this album is best described thusly:

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son + Brave New World + a smattering of Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding + a hint of a few things they've never previously done before (riffs/chord structures/etc.)

That about covers it.....

To my ears, there's a strong "X Factor" element present. I'd say it's a combo of:
X Factor + Brave New World + Accident of Birth

(the Legacy may be one of Maiden's three best songs ever....it's THAT good!!)

 

[ElectricWiz]

(the Legacy may be one of Maiden's three best songs ever....it's THAT good!!)

We are in complete agreement on that. The Legacy is just awesome. It's epic, and not in the wankery way at all.....you have to just listen to it for the mood, not the "guitar work," which is much more what Maiden is about these days. It captures something creepy and dark....and moody. And frankly? it's lyrical theme is relevant......

Yes, the new stuff is wildly different than the old stuff, but I do believe this is the Maiden that Mr. Harris has always wanted. I read an interview not long ago where he was referring to Seventh Son and saying he thought it was one of their better records, and the interviewer mentioned that it was the beginning of the decline in sales in America....and Steve said, rightly so, "See....I think that American has never really gotten us."

And that's not a bag on America. Only that Steve Harris has HUGE prog leanings, but his roots are indeed in Wishbone Ash (for instance), and that is not "shred," music, or metal, or whatever. It's about painting a tapestry with colors pleasing to the eye, and not worrying about whether what you are doing is 10,000 times more technical than the next guy. I don't know when metal became a contest, but that seems to be the base of a lot of the comments I read on the internet. "It's an okay album.....but the solos aren't very fast....." like once you pass a certain threshold EVERYTHING after has to be that fast, or that loud, or whatever. Maiden is a dying breed I think, but this album is for the open minded metal head.....with all due respect to those who just plain don't like it of course. It's not everybody's "thing." But to be frank, I kind of feel for the people who aren't getting a bang out of this record....because they are missing a cool record. I remember when Seventh Son came out, and not a lot of people really liked it. Here's a chance to kind of be there when it happens, rather than relying on hindsight.

Again, all due respect to those open-minded sorts who just plain don't like it.

 

[SoundMaster]

We are in complete agreement on that. The Legacy is just awesome. It's epic, and not in the wankery way at all.....you have to just listen to it for the mood, not the "guitar work," which is much more what Maiden is about these days. It captures something creepy and dark....and moody. And frankly? it's lyrical theme is relevant......

Yes, the new stuff is wildly different than the old stuff, but I do believe this is the Maiden that Mr. Harris has always wanted. I read an interview not long ago where he was referring to Seventh Son and saying he thought it was one of their better records, and the interviewer mentioned that it was the beginning of the decline in sales in America....and Steve said, rightly so, "See....I think that American has never really gotten us."

And that's not a bag on America. Only that Steve Harris has HUGE prog leanings, but his roots are indeed in Wishbone Ash (for instance), and that is not "shred," music, or metal, or whatever. It's about painting a tapestry with colors pleasing to the eye, and not worrying about whether what you are doing is 10,000 times more technical than the next guy. I don't know when metal became a contest, but that seems to be the base of a lot of the comments I read on the internet. "It's an okay album.....but the solos aren't very fast....." like once you pass a certain threshold EVERYTHING after has to be that fast, or that loud, or whatever. Maiden is a dying breed I think, but this album is for the open minded metal head.....with all due respect to those who just plain don't like it of course. It's not everybody's "thing." But to be frank, I kind of feel for the people who aren't getting a bang out of this record....because they are missing a cool record. I remember when Seventh Son came out, and not a lot of people really liked it. Here's a chance to kind of be there when it happens, rather than relying on hindsight.

Again, all due respect to those open-minded sorts who just plain don't like it.

Yes, for many years Harris cited “Seventh Son” as his favorite IM record (not sure if that’s changed over the past few years, or not). Many fans feel the same way. Ironically, I clearly remember many magazines slagging that record upon its release…”Maiden’s run out of ideas”, or “it’s too commercial” (commercial? WTF? Well, this was the height of the thrash era so under that pretense I can almost accept that), or “it sounds bloated”, etc. To my ears, the only song on that record which isn’t a pure classic is “Can I play With Madness” (and that’s still a cool tune!).

At the end of the day, my fav IM record remains “Somewhere in Time”, however. There’s just some intangible majestic quality about that album that places it above their others. It’s a great example of a band firing on all cylinders, ruling the metal world, composing the music that they love (in 1986, the hard rock and metal world was dominated by hair metal & thrash metal….yet Maiden pandered to NEITHER)! The title track is among my all time fav tunes….ever. Haunting beauty for sure. Heck, even the B-Sides from that time RULE (That Girl and Reach Out are great songs).

With all of this said, I really think the reunion albums are fine additions to the Maiden catalogue. These records are great in their own right offering many classics to the Maiden catalogue (Ghost of the Navi, Nomad, Rainmaker, Face In the Sand, Thin Line Between Love & Hate, The Legacy, Paschendale, The Longest Day, etc, etc). Just great, unique, epic metal with tons of melody!!
To my ears, these albums are more ‘epic’ than they are ‘progressive’. Of course, the term ‘progressive’ is wildly subjective. Heck, I’ve heard people call bands such as Dream Theater and Symphony X regressive for the reasons Wyz cited in his post above.

Maiden: thanks for continuing to soldier on and blessing us with great music 30+ years since your inception.

 

[ElectricWiz]

I do understand people not liking the new stuff because it is a very different animal. So, it's not a given that if you like Piece of Mind......

In any case, I think few would argue against Maiden's legend/legacy being one of the most secure in the field at this point. They could put out 5 bad records in a row (I mean really bad) and they will still be remembered fondly. Frankly, even above Sabbath, I think of them as the premiere metal band. Sure, there are a lot of Sabbath clones, but it's really Maiden (and Priest, I realize) that are THE foundation and inspiration for 80% of what's out there. Freakin' Maiden....man.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

I do understand people not liking the new stuff because it is a very different animal. So, it's not a given that if you like Piece of Mind......

Piece of Mind has always been my favorite Maiden album, and I agree that this new album has that same feel and production style. Same crunchy guitar riffs sprinkled throughout, same energy and emotion. I've never heard Bruce sound better, except maybe on his solo albums. I've never been a huge Bruce fan because I feel he's often tried to sing beyond his range. That's another thing that Piece of Mind and A Matter of Life and Death have in common. Bruce is dead on with his vocals.

 

[EVERLOSTINDEADETERNITY]

Americans are always looking for the next big thing. Thats hwy I like all kinds of metal and not just one form. Sometimes Im in the mood for justa good solid hard rocking/metal album like a Hammerfall album, sometimes i want something speedier ala Dragonforce. Sometimes Im pissed and I want a Deicide record , etc. Thats why im really digging this album its a mood piece thats for sure and mood pieces always sit well in my cd rack. Now my metal core collection is just me when im being close to listening to the radio for poppyness but still wanting something heavier, if that makes any sense. Bottom line great album.

 

[Priest of Evil]

like Wiz said no offence to those who just plain dont like this album but Maiden fans bitched when Paul left, they bitched when SSOASS was released they bitched constantly throughout the 90's - I was one of the bitches then - now they still bitch even with the formula basically back to what we always wanted. HAH!

 

[SickBoy]

I'd say it's a combo of:
X Factor + Brave New World + Accident of Birth

Just curious, what AOB elements do you hear in new Maiden?

 

[SoundMaster]

Just curious, what AOB elements do you hear in new Maiden?

I hear the more epic songs from AOB (Taking the Queen, Darkside of Aquarius) in the new Maiden (and not the heavier, faster tracks). It's the feel or atmosphere of that Bruce record which pops up on the latest Maiden. And the tune "Out of the Shadows" would have fit perfectly on either AOB or Chem Wedding, IMO.

 

[ElectricWiz]

Out of the Shadows, in particular, has a VERY AOB chorus.

 

[Thoth-Amon]

I've decided, after many listens, that this album is best described thusly:

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son + Brave New World + a smattering of Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding + a hint of a few things they've never previously done before (riffs/chord structures/etc.)

That about covers it.....

Yes I noticed that the album sounds at times like Bruce's solo work which I like very much.

 

[Thoth-Amon]

Well, it's a grower, so don't expect BAM on first listen. For me it went like this, more or less...

First spin - Cool, yeah...pretty good here.
Second spin - Wait a second. This is pretty damned good.
Third - Wow...okay...wow, holy shit, this is cool
Fourth - Man, there is no weak track on this....

And at this point I'm basically starting to think of it in the larger Maiden canon if you will, and it ranks very high. It could easily be one of their five best (for me).

Be for warned though, this is probably not going to be true for people whose whole idea of Maiden is "Run To The Hills," type songs. Now, that's a fine thing to love about Maiden, but this consists more of the obscure, long tracks. If you love Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner, or say The Prophecy from SSOASS, or maybe even the Duellists from Powerslave, then you are gonna love it. It's metal for metal's sake, if that holds any water for ya.

It is a grower. First listen I was like "eh". After a couple more it's like "damn this is a really good album". Doesn't touch the classic 80's stuff though.