Favourite Album, and why?

moonchild457

Prowler
I liked Seventh Son the best for ages, right up 'til the releasse of The Final Frontier. I grew up with Seventh Son, but I met my favourite St. during The Final Frontier in 2010.
 

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...I'll go with Fear Of The Dark (just ahead of Brave New World) purely because it was the first Maiden album I had and I listened to that thing to death! It's not the best album but its a special one for me. BNW is my usual 'go to' Maiden album though, I never get tired of that one.
 
Favorite album: Piece of Mind

Why: The Trooper, Still Life, Revelations, To Tame a Land, Die With Your Boots On, Flight of Icarus, Where Eagles Dare, Sun and Steel, and Quest for Fire

I know the last two are not anyone's favorites, but they are better than most of the "short rockers" that Maiden have done over the past 25 years.
 
Quest For Fire is a super little song that's grown on me lots in the past couple of years. Supremely comic book silly, with a cheeky little instrumental. Nice 80s Maiden.
 
SIT -

For me it's the perfect blend of rockers, anthems, and epics. I love the lush/ethereal production and the sci-fi theme/cover. Plus, they were at their "80s zenith" in terms of popularity (at least where I was) so I also have great memories from that period.
 
The Book Of Souls.

Why? As a relatively new listener I don't have any particular attachment to older albums. For me this album achieves two things very well that make it special:

1) Songs that make me want to listen to the album: Empire, Shadows, TRATB, TOAC - the album contains several personal favourites (the first of which is my favourite of theirs full stop).

2) There are no songs I don't really get into: Many other albums have a weak link that just means I find them difficult to rate as highly as this.

As an example of two albums that suffer from each of these in my opinion, Somewhere In Time is incredibly consistent with no songs I would skip but few that I consider Maiden's best. By contrast Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son would definitely still be my favourite if it didn't have The Prophecy slap bang in the middle.
 
Seventh Son was easily my favourite for a long time, but I think I got too much of it in the Maiden England tours over the past few years. And it not being a fully-fledged concept album started to bug me a bit too. I'm tempted to say TBOS too, now, this album means a lot to me: not least that I like every single song, but its place in Maiden's discography, coinciding with Bruce's battle against cancer, makes it a stronger statement. And the Paris trip with Bruce, seeing where it was made, makes this album very special to me.

For those who don't already know, Dance of Death is at No.2. Love the feel of this album.
 
Seventh Son was easily my favourite for a long time, but I think I got too much of it in the Maiden England tours over the past few years. And it not being a fully-fledged concept album started to bug me a bit too. I'm tempted to say TBOS too, now, this album means a lot to me: not least that I like every single song, but its place in Maiden's discography, coinciding with Bruce's battle against cancer, makes it a stronger statement. And the Paris trip with Bruce, seeing where it was made, makes this album very special to me.

I disagree with the choice, but I love the reasoning.

As far as my favourite album is concerned, I'll copy and paste my earlier post regarding that...

Okay, so I've heard all albums at least once more, some of them twice. And it's AMOLAD. To quote 'Arry - "All of my life // I have believed // Somewhere in Time is just perfect for me..." and it was my choice the last time, but overall, AMOLAD is a stronger experience to me. TBOS won't get higher than around #5, and I think it'll stay that way.

... Well, maybe I should write some more about why AMOLAD, right? (Maybe I shouldn't, but then again, what are forums for, anyway?)

So... It's been my first Maiden album I've experienced as a fan. I mean, my first (?) experience with Maiden was the FotD album, which my father played to me when I was about four, then it was BNW/Rock in Rio, which was again my father trying to hook me on to the music he listened to at the time... And then I remember Rainmaker in the radio and listening to the whole of DOD some time later (and thinking the beginning of Paschendale sounds like a 90's mobile phone ringtone... oh, silly me :facepalm: ). Then something clicked and I've decided to listen to Maiden more seriously... And right after that, a new album has been announced and I could eagerly wait for it, enjoy it, listen to Benjamin Breeg with anticipation on the radio... Listen to the album secretly in school during the boring lessons... This "nostalgia factor" is unfair, but it can't be beat.

But that's not all. The album is perfect as a whole. It just fits together so nicely. The themes and everything... I like the fact it's mostly about war - I don't believe many bands would and could handle it with such grace as Maiden have. The cover fits too - I like the style and I like the way it really compliments the essence of the album. Also - and this is the first time I've written about this and I've never read any opinion regarding this, but it's very important to me - I can't help but to hear connections in the music contained within. Listen to the riff on BTATS, at around 3:35 (under the solo). Doesn't it remind you of the chorus of LOL? And now, please, listen to the riff in FTGGOG, at about 6:57. Isn't it really similar to These Colours Don't Run? I think so. Maybe I'm wrong, but it helps me to appreciate the album more, so won't convince me so easily otherwise. :)

The strength of the material is another aspect. I mean, the songs are just amazing. Both DW and The Pilgrim are fast and incredibly catchy rockers, the like of which I can't help but to adore. We have the "dark" epics, BTATS and LOL, both of which contain great riffs and they sound complex and creative to me. We have the Harris epic, FTGOG, which is semi-complex, but mostly emotional and it works. It just works. We have These Colours Don't Run, a song which is very "easy listening", but it's one of my "secret favourites" - from the first moment I've heard the track #2 on this album, I just knew it'll be a wonderful and joyous ride.
We have The Longest Day, which is the small climax of the album. From the ominous beginning, it gains momentum, it raises higher... and it culminates in a perfect way, again being very emotional and - in a way - tear-jerking. It tells the tale of the D-Day... and it tells it in an excellent way. You are there. Really.
Of course, The Legacy is the climax, the masterpiece. From the "lullaby" beginning, to the scary 8-note riff (reocurring throughout the song), after which it gets mysterious and Oldfieldish, then it's time for some slow'n'heavy mudwalk, which works as a tension-raiser, then Janick's greatest solo of the album (and one of the best overall) and then the finish, which concludes the album in a nice way - a hope and a frustration present at the same time, the nice guitar work supports the lament of the common decency, as it says goodbye to us and closes the album, nicely finishing the overall theme.

Even Out of the Shadows, undisputely the song I like the least here, fits. BTW, I belive the only reason I doesn't like it that much is it reminds me of Wasting Love. Well, no. It doesn't remind me of it; it's a pure rip-off. But it isn't an offensive one and like I've said - it fits the album. I can't imagine the transition between TLD and TROBB without this one.

And the production. I mean - as I've already mentioned earlier here on this forum, I know jacksh** about production. But this album just sounds great. Nicko's drums, Bruce's vocals, 'Arry's base is just high enough in the mix to be noticeable but not overbearing... And the guitars are just perfect. In fact, thanks to the guitars this album is quite heavy, too. Breeg and BTATS in particular - I don't remember Maiden being quite this heavy before or after.

I'm sorry for the long post, but this is the way I feel right now. It might - and probably will - change. But right now I proudly vote for A Matter of Life and Death. Because it showed me that the band after nearly thirty years of existence can release its masterpiece and reach its peak. It's like a movie - it's a almost a blasphemy to dissect it into its songs, just as is a blasphemy to dissect a movie into various scenes. Judas out. :D :D

I would tweak a statement here or there nowadays, but I'm still more or less satisfied with that as it is. My sentiments have been pretty much the same for quite some time now.
 
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Seventh Son and Brave New World - I believe they both have the highest level of melody, power, scope, and performance of any albums.
 
@JudasMyGuide Lol, Paschendale intro would indeed make the coolest retro ringtone.

I think AMoLaD would be my pick too. In short - it's the most even, most mature, most epic, best sounding... I'm probably slightly more nostalgic about a couple of different albums (though the whole Maiden is a giant nostalgia fest for me) but I can't deny all the reasonal 'mosts' and 'bests'. I'm pretty confident about this choice.

And generally I don't put classic and newer albums in the same category, so in order to narrow it down to AMoLaD I had to pick my favourite era. And that's undoubtedly the reunion era. If I were allowed to pick a favourite classic, that would be... SiT or SSoaSS. Probably SiT. These two are extremely close.
 
It's piece of mind by a mile. The best mix of everything I love about maiden. There isn't a second on the album I don't love. As for quest for fire; it is a killer song. It works perfectly in the grand scheme of the album. I don't care that the lyrics are a little funky. Their cool Plus One of my favorite solos ever. POM is my go to and always will be.
And I'm with you Briggs. Dance of death is the 'piece of mind of the reunion era'. For me, Miles ahead of the other 4 reunion era offerings. Of course, they all kick arse!
 
My avatar gives it away. Just everything about it blows my mind-the technicality, the sheer sci-fi themes so abundant, the performances.. my all time favorite album.
 
Number Of The Beast is my favourite album, it's also in my opinion the greatest album ever made. None of the tracks are fillers as they all fit perfectly. Run To The Hills and the title track are the highlights, in my opinion the two greatest Maiden songs.
 
That is a very hard question, there is the temptation to cheat and say, Live After Death, which is definitely my favourite live album of all time. But for studio album, Fear of the Dark was my first, listened to it loads then and still do now and think it is great, but hand on heart, probably not their absolute best. For a long time in the 90’s when I was first getting into Maiden and metal, Somewhere in Time was my favourite, the two singles from it are so catchy, while Alexander the Great is an immense song. But I find that Heaven Can Wait and the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, just grate with me now & I can give or take Deja Vu, so it is no longer at the top of my list.


Which leaves me with Powerslave as my current favourite Maiden album, the title track is amazing, especially the tempo change for the solo sections. Rhyme for me is their greatest epic song, though I do prefer the Live After Death version. 2 Minutes to Midnight is such a good commercial single and Aces High is such an amazing opener and song. The other three tracks maybe pale in comparison to these, but not enough to detract from the album, which is where I think Powerslave gets the nod over Piece of Mind, which for me falters in the last three tracks.
 
Powerslave can't be topped in my opinion. The epic finish of Village-Powerslave-Rime is unbeatable. Rime is far and away Maiden's greatest work.

I always felt that after this album Maiden could have ended, because they had peaked and could never top this work. But I'm glad they didn't!

Somewhere in Time and Piece of Mind aren't far behind. Seventh Son isn't quite at the same level, in my opinion. Fear of the Dark and The Final Frontier are my dark horse favorites. But overall it's Powerslave, hands down.
 
Fear of the Dark is my number one. Coincidently been listening to it today. Awesome. So underrated and so many classic underplayed live tracks.

Notb to 7son all great but with the exception of SIT the overplaying of a number of tracks on these albums has diminished my enthusiasm for them.

Love the post reunion era. Dance of Death is quality and again disappointingly underplayed live.
 
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

There's not much to choose from between TNOTB, POM, Powerslave and Seventh Son. But the weakest songs on SSOASS, Can I play with Madness and The Prophecy aren't weak songs.
 
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