Really nice, (explanation?... ) On how FF gets the high spot. It is a cool Rock song. That is as far as I'll go. But you gave it a nice shiny glow with this description, good work.
7 holy paths to hell.. Errr... # 1!! So I suppose for the remaining songs on the countdown, (there"s 7 ways to win) ... So the next song , followed by the "Cleaner Six"...
This has been a really nice post, and I congratulate you, because it's not easy to elaborate such a quality post defending the indefensible.
It's like someone tried to let us believe that he really thinks that Carrick is better than Iniesta or Johnny Manziel better than Brady. I'm sure you can pick one stat here and there but... come on.
We all can say: music is not objetive. Well, neither is soccer, football or literature. But that Paschendale (and 40 others) is better than Final Frontier is as accurate as saying that John Stockton played basket better than I.
This has been a really nice post, and I congratulate you, because it's not easy to elaborate such a quality post defending the indefensible.
It's like someone tried to let us believe that he really thinks that Carrick is better than Iniesta or Johnny Manziel better than Brady. I'm sure you can pick one stat here and there but... come on.
We all can say: music is not objetive. Well, neither is soccer, football or literature. But that Paschendale (and 40 others) is better than Final Frontier is as accurate as saying that John Stockton played basket better than I.
I agree with the sum total of one thing in this post - that music is not objective.
- - - - -
However, let's suppose for a second that it is. How would you measure a song objectively? How would we compare Paschendale and The Final Frontier? I suppose there are a few metrics you could use...
1) Sales Performance / Chart Positions - This would be the most commonly used one. Not really applicable as neither song was a single, but if you compare their respective albums the picture is very clear.
2) Times played live in concert - You'd think Paschendale would win here, given that it's been out a lot longer. Nope! According to http://www.setlist.fm/stats/iron-maiden-3bd6803c.html, it's been played 53 times compared to The Final Frontier's 63.
3) Amount of covers - a brief search for Paschendale covers on Youtube doesn't find any professional covers on the first couple of pages, but The Final Frontier has one by Jorn Lande as the first result.
Well, there we go. Three stats that prove The Final Frontier is objectively better than Paschendale. Your move.
- - - - -
I do want to emphasise here that the above is me being deliberately argumentative. I have repeatedly stated that this list is of my personal favourites and nothing more. I don't think The Final Frontier is necessarily better than Paschendale but I do prefer it more.
Nonetheless, I will mentally log any subsequent times someone on this forum tries to tell me that this is wrong and that some other song they like should somehow be above this for objective reasons - so that I can slap them in the face with a copy of the Run To The Hills single and repeat their exact words to them next time they start slating it.
I'm sure I read Satellite 15 was, apart from Bruce, entirely Adrian's work. No Steve, no Nico, no one else, or did I read that wrong? I believe it was Adrian's demo and it was pretty much left alone.
I'm very fond of TFF but the intro's a pain. I remember buying the cd, sticking it in the car, ready to start 'bangin' and this mood killer comes on, and goes on and on.
I'm sure I read Satellite 15 was, apart from Bruce, entirely Adrian's work. No Steve, no Nico, no one else, or did I read that wrong? I believe it was Adrian's demo and it was pretty much left alone.
I'm very fond of TFF but the intro's a pain. I remember buying the cd, sticking it in the car, ready to start 'bangin' and this mood killer comes on, and goes on and on.
I believe you are right. I wrote that nicko played some runs on the toms, because the other drums on this track sound sampled, while toms sound quite natural.
I'm sure I read Satellite 15 was, apart from Bruce, entirely Adrian's work. No Steve, no Nico, no one else, or did I read that wrong? I believe it was Adrian's demo and it was pretty much left alone.
That's right, it's a drum and bass synthesizer + Adrian's guitar. Wish they would've given it a more proper recording and mixed in elements from the demo as a compromise.
Infinite Dreams is one of those songs that everyone seems to have grown to love with little to no help from the band. There are a few songs that attempt a style similar to this, but this is the absolute epitome. It succeeds like this because of a distinct feel that makes the song consistently enjoyable throughout, as well as much more accessible than such a (comparatively) oddly structured song normally is.
The song is one that progressively builds, but that's only in intensity rather than enjoyment - something other songs sometimes lack. After some tasty opening guitar melodies, we are launched into the absolutely sublime verse. The bass here is absolutely beautiful, and gives it a wonderful swing, a beat that no other Maiden song quite matches. Bruce gives a nice restrained delivery, but this is all in preparation for 1:06, where the song begins to explode. There's some nice guitarwork and stunning vocals from Bruce, with the beautiful swing of the earlier verse still very much present. This all makes for one of the best verses in the bands catalogue.
The chorus is a masterclass too, incredibly catchy with a huge progression through it, and no repetition whatsoever. Keyboards add beautiful tension throughout, especially at 2:18.
The band then follows this up with a really nice instrumental section. First up is the Genghis Khan riff. Yes, it's stealing from their earlier catalogue but I've always been of the mind that the band put it to better use here. The increase in tension throughout is a nice touch, as the song rushes towards 3:13. It's one of Bruce's weaker screams initially, but sustains into a glorious wail that's incredibly cathartic.
The following chug is the least memorable bit of the song, but it's followed by some nice guitar melodies and an almost Somewhere In Time esque melody 4 minutes in. 4:26 sees a glorious vocal section from Bruce before the solos begin. The solos are good, but not the bands best.
We get another repetition of the absolutely magical chorus to finish, ending on a haunting note by Bruce and the keyboards. The beginning and ending vocal sections are absolutely the highlight of this song to me, and the reason it gets rated so highly.
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is out, and so I'd like to reflect on it a little more. I've always been a huge fan of the album, with Infinite Dreams, Can I Play With Madness, The Evil That Men Do, The Clairvoyant and Only The Good Die Young all being songs I consider hugely accessible and Moonchild and the title track being big growers. It has a good number of standout tracks as well as being more consistent than any of the bands 80s output except Somewhere In Time. It does have Dance of Death gnawing on its heels though, so whether it retains this spot remains to be seen - but it would take a spectacular effort to knock this out of the top 3.
Top 25:
25 -Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 24 - The Edge Of Darkness
23 - Revelations
22 - Judas Be My Guide
21 - Lord Of Light
20 - Judgement Of Heaven
19 - The Red And The Black
18 - Blood Brothers
17 - Wasted Years
16 - Face In The Sand
15 - The Number Of The Beast
14 - The Talisman
13 - Shadows Of The Valley
12 - Killers
11 - Aces High
10 - Paschendale
9 - Flight Of Icarus
8 - Satellite 15...The Final Frontier
7 - Infinite Dreams
6
5
4
3
2
1
Songs Remaining:
Run To The Hills
Hallowed Be Thy Name Powerslave Fear Of The Dark Dance of Death
Empire of the Clouds
Infinite Dreams at #7? And it's from the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son album, their seventh album? And it was the last remaining song from it as well...
Eh, that's actually pretty clever. Really freakin' clever to be honest. Kudos to you, @DJMayes!
Infinite Dreams at #7? And it's from the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son album, their seventh album? And it was the last remaining song from it as well...
Eh, that's actually pretty clever. Really freakin' clever to be honest. Kudos to you, @DJMayes!
DJMayes' album order of last appearance
01) No Prayer for the Dying (favourite song: Bring Your Daughter .... To the Slaughter, 60)
02) Virtual XI (favourite song: The Clansman, 44)
03) Iron Maiden(favourite song: Prowler, 26)
04) A Matter of Life and Death (favourite song: Lord of Light, 21)
05) The X-Factor(favourite song: Judgement of Heaven, 20)
06) Brave New World (favourite song: Blood Brothers, 18)
07) Somewhere in Time(favourite song: Wasted Years, 17)
08) Killers(favourite song: Killers, 12)
09) Piece of Mind (favourite song: Flight of Icarus, 9)
10) The Final Frontier (favourite song: Satellite 15...The Final Frontier, 8)
11) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (favourite song: Infinite Dreams, 7)
DJMayes' album order of first appearance 01) No Prayer for the Dying (least favourite song: Mother Russia, 160)
02) The X-Factor (least favourite song: Blood on the World's Hands, 159)
03) Powerslave (least favourite song: The Duellists, 158)
04) The Number of the Beast (least favourite song: Gangland, 156)
05) Brave New World (least favourite song: The Nomad, 154)
06) Killers (least favourite song: Innocent Exile, 150)
07) Piece of Mind (least favourite song: Quest for Fire, 149)
08) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (least favourite song: The Prophecy, 148)
09) Iron Maiden (least favourite song: Running Free, 146)
10) The Final Frontier (least favourite song: Isle of Avalon, 143)
11) Fear of the Dark (least favourite song: Fear is the Key, 139) 12) A Matter of Life and Death (least favourite song: The Legacy, 136)
13) Virtual XI (least favourite song: Como Estais Amigos, 127)
14) Dance of Death (least favourite song: New Frontier, 125)
15) Somewhere in Time (least favourite song: Alexander the Great, 104) 16) The Book of Souls(least favourite song: The Man of Sorrows, 102)
Top 100:
There are no full albums in the top 100 of DJMayes complete ranking of Maiden songs.
There are no full albums outside this top 100.
Top 50:
There is one full album outside the top 50 (No Prayer for the Dying). All other albums have at least one song in the top 50.
Top 25:
There are 3 full albums outside the top 25 (No Prayer for the Dying, Virtual XI, Iron Maiden). All other albums have at least one song in the top 25.
Top 20:
There are 4 full albums outside the top 20 (No Prayer for the Dying, Virtual XI, Iron Maiden, A Matter of Life and Death). All other albums have at least one song in the top 20.
Top 15:
There are 7 full albums outside the top 15:
1. Iron Maiden 2. No Prayer for the Dying
3. Virtual XI
4. A Matter of Life and Death 5. The X-Factor 6. Brave New World 7. Somewhere in Time
All other albums (9) have at least one song in the top 15.
There are 8 full albums outside DJMayes' Top 10. In execution order:
1. No Prayer for the Dying 2. Virtual XI 3. Iron Maiden 4. A Matter of Life and Death 5. The X-Factor 6. Brave New World 7. Somewhere in Time 8. Killers
All other albums (8) have at least one song in the top 10. These albums are, in order of release:
The Number of the Beast
Piece of Mind
Powerslave
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Fear of the Dark Dance of Death The Final Frontier The Book of Souls
Three colours are present: Eighties with Bruce (50%), nineties with Bruce (10%) and music from the current line-up (40%). No Di'Anno era material, no Blaze era material.
DJMayes' non-album song order of appearance
01) Invasion, 153
02) Virus, 151
03) Burning Ambition, 135
04) I Live My Way, 132
05) Justice of the Peace, 124 06) Judgement Day, 114
Having never been to a Maiden concert before, there's a lot to be excited about. My first time seeing Eddie live, chanting along to Number Of The Beast, singing the guitar line to Fear of the Dark with nearly 100,000 other people... there's a lot to look forward to. And yet, the thing that got me hyped beyond anything else was the fact they decided, against my expectations, to pull out this song.
After the haunting cackle and drum beat that kicks off this track (or ends the previous one, if you're one of those people) the song hits us with a wonderfully sharp riff. I'd like to say it's one of their best gallops, but it's more of a march here, with tastefully abrupt endings mixed in with atmospheric guitar melodies. As with any of the songs that made it this far, Powerslave really nails the theme it's going for. However, there are plenty of bands who can make a song with stereotypical Egyptian/Arabian themes; it's a fairly common thing. The trick is pulling it off within the framework of the bands established sound, and that's the real success here. The lyrics help out a lot, and Bruce's delivery fits nicely.
The pre-chorus is another thematic piece of music before launching into the true masterclass here that is the chorus. It's one of the bands best, with Bruce's wonderful delivery second only to the wonderful guitar work going on underneath. It's a style of chorus I'm hugely fond of, and was also used by Scorpions to great effect on their 1990 song Crazy World. And, before I forget, Nicko is absolutely amazing on this track. The fact that I can tell he's knocking it out of the park here is testament enough, as usually I'm not very observant regarding the drumming in general.
After a short bass piece, in a bold move, the rapturous energy of this song is set to one side after the second chorus for a beautiful, soulful solo of the style I'd expect from something like Strange World. It's an odd contrast, but it works as Dave delivers perhaps his best solo here, with some deeply tasteful guitar phrasing leading up to a fantastic moment at 3:33 where the pace picks up again. This second solo is similarly fantastic, with the juxtaposition between it and the much more melodic solo that preceded it a particular source of catharsis. It leads into a triumphant bass section, which similarly segues into another wonderful solo. The transition from this solo back into the verse is perhaps not quite as smooth as the transitions beforehand in the song, but that's a very minor issue in what is easily the bands 2nd best solo section, if not their first.
And... Powerslave the album. Honestly, this album has always made me feel a little controversial, because whilst it has some of Maidens absolute finest work on it I get a slight twitch every time someone says it's perfect cover to cover. I'm in the Fillerslave camp. I don't think it's alone in this problem - Piece Of Mind and The Number of the Beast suffer from it too to varying degrees - and I think it's probably exacerbated by how frequently the band were outputting albums back then, but both of the other albums get healthy amounts of flak for it from the likes of Gangland and Quest For Fire, which this album has managed to avoid.
- - - - -
And then there were 5. Yes, we are down to the top 5! They are:
Run To The Hills
Hallowed Be Thy Name Fear Of The Dark Dance of Death
Empire of the Clouds
Top 25:
25 -Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 24 - The Edge Of Darkness
23 - Revelations
22 - Judas Be My Guide
21 - Lord Of Light
20 - Judgement Of Heaven
19 - The Red And The Black
18 - Blood Brothers
17 - Wasted Years
16 - Face In The Sand
15 - The Number Of The Beast
14 - The Talisman
13 - Shadows Of The Valley
12 - Killers
11 - Aces High
10 - Paschendale
9 - Flight Of Icarus
8 - Satellite 15...The Final Frontier
7 - Infinite Dreams
6 - Powerslave
5
4
3
2
1
Songs Remaining:
Run To The Hills
Hallowed Be Thy Name Fear Of The Dark Dance of Death
Empire of the Clouds
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
