The Official Maidenfans.com Rankings results (2004-2016)

LooseCannon said:
T143: Tailgunner - No Prayer For the Dying (Harris, Dickinson)
Average score: 6.24/10
No Prayer For the Dying 3/9

Welcome to the Meh Zone! Six of our next ten songs, including this little ditty, will be from the early 1990s, so you had better get used to hanging out here! Fun fact, this is the only Iron Maiden studio song to be marked as Explicit on Spotify. I guess Bruce's Fokker joke didn't pass muster in Sweden. Maybe they just didn't get it. Speaking of not getting it, most Maidenfans didn't. A lot of critique of the early-90s Bruce singing style here, the raspy, harsher sound, but a few people really dug it. This one was in the 6-and-lower range for most of the early 2000s, but has recovered to mid-6s since 2011, meaning this could be a few ranks higher up in a decade or so.

Choice comments:














Statistics
Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 5.76; 119/123
2005: 4.96 -0.80; 120/124 -1
2006: 5.04 +0.08; 116/124 +4
2008: 6.00 +0.96; 125/134 -9
2011: 6.70 +0.70; 117/144 +8
2012: 104/144 +13
2014: 6.65 -0.05; 122/144 -18
2015: 6.79 +0.14; 121/144 -1
2016: 6.52 -0.25; 129/155 -8

Overall
145 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
147 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
148 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
The Number of the Beast 1/9
Piece of Mind 1/9
No Prayer For the Dying 3/10
Fear of the Dark 5/12
Virtual XI 1/8
Dance of Death 1/11
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Ahhhh "tail gunner"... the poor, no, homeless mans' "Aces high". For me this song represents the early 90's Maiden catalogue Perfectly: what could have been another rocking aviation themed single, wound up crash and burning on the runway.
If Aces High celebrates the victory at the Battle of Britain, Tailgunner clears the skies for the Nazis To follow through successfully with operation Sea Lion.
Damn I remember wanting to love this song too. I argued in vein that it was vintage Maiden, except different. In hindsight that may be true to some. But it belongs down here in the countdown...
 
LooseCannon said:
Fun fact - this is the first time during this process that I have seen a Forostar post using the word "couplets"!
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Officially, the first recorded instance is all the way back in 2007!

Forostar said:
As said it the topic, it was a commercial of Sony HD (High Definition). A lot of weird things going on. A dog in a car and a lot of floating things (all computer generated of course) ;)

There was a voice presenting the product but clearly the first couplet and the chorus could be heard.
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I hope you guys are reading the comments I'm posting. Some of them are absolutely insightful, some are savage, and some are just straight-up hilarious.
 
What?! Iron Maiden at only 140?! Impossible!!

Truth be told, I love this song, it's my favorite from the debut - and this is going by the studio version. I love it, one of the few times a repeated verse works. How is it this low...?!
 
139: The Assassin - No Prayer For the Dying (Harris)
Average score: 6.46/10 Deviance 3.90
No Prayer For the Dying 6/10
Top 50: 2005, 2006
Top 100: 2008

Honestly, going through the bottom ten songs on this list, you would have thought The Assassin is a benchmark for atrocious Iron Maiden songs. Seems like this one is truly hated by a lot of people, so you might have expected it earlier. However, this song had an incredibly strong performance in 2005 and 2006 - ranking, and I am not kidding, at 8.98 at the highest. It once ranked as the 44th best Iron Maiden song.

I'll just let that sink in for a moment. 44th. The Assassin. The song that is ranked 150/155 now. Suffice to say it's been all over the rankings. Officially the lowest ranking song to ever score in the Top 50, which it did twice. This is why I decided to start using rolling rankings.

Choice comments:

Wrathchild666 said:
Bruce's rough voice really match the mood of the song. It gives us the atmosphere of how a brutal killer thinks. Musically its not bad but they could improve on the chorus.
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Kynisk Sokol said:
The part when Steve says "better watch out, better watch out" is simply :puke:
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Perun said:
This song is pretty dull by Maiden standards. It promises an atmosphere of dark tension, but fails to deliver it. The chorus could be good if it was sung better.
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Forostar said:
The Assassin lyrics, done by Steve Harris, if it were released on Killers or Iron Maiden:

(Harris)

Now that you are out
They've put the word about
It feels so good, baby

I'm gonna get my song
Till I can't go on,
I want to understand the way you think

I am gonna get you tonight
I feel my hands go tight
Excitement running through my veins, yeah!

I feel adrenalin rush
It's just the final touch
You can kiss your arse goodbye

Chorus
I want you to kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you as hell
I want you to kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you as hell
(repeat)

Now that you are out
They've put the word about
It feels so good, oh oh

I'm gonna get my song
Till I can't go on,
I want to understand the way you think

I am gonna get you tonight
I feel my hands go tight
Excitement running through my veins, yeah!

I feel adrenalin rush
It's just the final touch
You can kiss your arse goodbye

Chorus
I want you to kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you as hell
I want you to kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you as hell
(repeat)
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Vortex said:
Far from Maiden's greatest song but far from their worst. I found it to be the catchiest song from NPFTD.
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Night Prowler said:
I really like this song. Everything is great, starting from the verse solos and the chorus. It's in the better half of the album.
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Mosh said:
Lots of guitar layering in the verses, which is a bit unusual for Maiden. Cool instrument section. Chorus is a bit silly, but it works for the song.
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MrKnickerbocker said:
I love the dark tonality of the riffs, but the lyrics and melodies are just abysmal. It sounds like the first song that every metal band writes together, before firing their lead singer because he can't write lyrics.
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BeThyJames said:
Just 2 years before he wrote this, Steve wrote 7th Son, which is a masterpiece. What on earth happened inbetween I can't imagine.
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Statistics
Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 6.62; 115/123
2005: 8.76 +2.14; 44/124 +71
2006: 8.98 +0.22; 49/124 -5
2008: 8.00 -0.98; 89/134 -40
2011: 5.76 -2.24; 138/144 -49
2012: 138/144 NC
2014: 5.77 +0.01; 137/144 +1
2015: 5.65 -0.12; 137/144 NC
2016: 5.08 -0.57; 150/155 -13

Overall
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 1/9
The Number of the Beast 1/9
Piece of Mind 1/9
No Prayer For the Dying 6/10
Fear of the Dark 5/12
Virtual XI 1/8
Dance of Death 2/11

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
 
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LooseCannon said:
I hope you guys are reading the comments I'm posting. Some of them are absolutely insightful, some are savage, and some are just straight-up hilarious.
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Also, yeah, love the comments. Gives this list that extra pizzaz. :ok:
 
That quote from @Forostar about 'The Assassin' is glorious! :lol:

It's such a dire song though. Iron Maiden's worst in my opinion. That quote from Kynisk Sokol sums it up really.
 
138: The Fugitive - Fear of the Dark (Harris)
Average score: 6.54/10 Deviation 1.52
Fear of the Dark 6/12
Top 100: 2004

Unsurprisingly, The Fugitive means Fear of the Dark has deployed half of its songs in our rankings, joining only its early-90s compatriot No Prayer For the Dying in doing so very early on. Our stats for this album look like a U - it starts out high, getting a Top 100 mention at 97 in 2004, bottoms out at 135 in 2012, and works up to 120 by last year. Some people really like this track, and some people seem to agree that it's a little basic. Most comment that Bruce does a pretty good job on it for the Fear of the Dark album, however.

Choice comments:

LooseCannon said:
I rather like this song. It has a great driving back end and Bruce is in good form. The lyrics are a little shallow. For some reason, writing about a TV show just doesn't have the same impact as the literary and movie subjects of previous and later efforts, and reminds me forcibly of the early years, which at this point, are well behind the band without emulating the rest of the atmosphere.
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Jeffmetal said:
Musically, it's simple, but effective with great Bruce performance.
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mckindog said:
Call this one a wasted opportunity. The introduction, the early verses and the break into the fast section set you up for a good, possibly epic track. Then that’s it. The chorus is mediocre at best. And the rest of the track barely struggles to reach mediocre.
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Donner said:
I love the intro riff and the ominous verses but aside from that it's not a song I listen to much.
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Mosh said:
This song just annoys the hell out of me. Besides the cool intro I can't give this song a high rating. Isn't forgettable which is good but it just annoys me. I can't even listen to it.
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Dave_Murray_rules said:
Pretty good solo by Janick. I LOVE Dave's short ((but passionate) solo, which clocks in at only 9 seconds or something.
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BeThyJames said:
Very forgettable track although deserves some credit for its attempt to be complex.
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Statistics
Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.50; 97/123
2005: 6.92 -0.58; 105/124 -8
2006: 7.00 +0.08; 103/124 +2
2008: 7.06 +0.06; 116/134 -13
2011: 6.12 -0.94; 131/144 -15
2012: 135/144 -4
2014: 5.98 -0.14; 133/144 -2
2015: 6.00 +0.02; 135/144 +2
2016: 6.79 +0.79; 120/155 +15

Overall
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 1/9
The Number of the Beast 1/9
Piece of Mind 1/9
No Prayer For the Dying 6/10
Fear of the Dark 6/12
Virtual XI 1/8
Dance of Death 2/11

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.52 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
 
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I'm shocked there are no Killers tracks yet. All of them over a half of Bruce's 90s? Damn.
 
This is great. My only real gripes so far is Quest For Fire and The Fugitive are way too low. They definitely belong in the top 100 at the very least.

Other than that, I can agree with the placement of ever other song so far. :)
 
fekso2017 said:
To be fair Fear of the Dark is a horrible album. Just to think how many people that wanted an introduction to the band and played this album because of its association with the song... :facepalm:
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Fear of the Dark is not a "horrible" album. It's half great songs and half decent songs. Overall it's very good.
 
Operations666 said:
Fear of the Dark is not a "horrible" album. It's half great songs and half decent songs. Overall it's very good.
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Diesel 11 said:
It is?
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Its all opinions ;) I would say the same thing if someone called The X Factor horrible, so I guess I should be more delicate with my words. My point was that it has the name of one of their most popular songs and dont hold up to it. Title track and ATSS are amazing songs. The first Maiden songs I heard were Relevations and Childhoods End.
 
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