Hi guys, new man here. And for some reason I'm not seeing some smilies on these boards...
I'm from Germany and I got my copy of AMOLAD on Friday when it was released here, and I've had a few days with the album to actually let it sink in a bit. So what I'm about to post is more like a second-listen impression than an initial "whooo new album" rave.
First, I'm 21 and I found out about Maiden at the end of 2004. 2005 was a whole year filled with their music for me as I discovered more and more delicate albums that I loved, starting with BNW and then going back to the "Golden Years". Maiden was the first real metal band I became a fan of because of their melodic and complex songs. Favourite albums include BNW, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time and, after a lot of time to get in, Fear of the Dark. I'm also a long-time drummer and as such pay close attention to Nicko's drumming whenever I hear Maiden.
I was very excited when AMOLAD was announced, naturally, because it's the first new Maiden album I witness. My girlfriend and I will be seeing them in December, so this album is even more important to me. But I still took my time to just listen to the songs when I received the CD. I wasn't totally enveloped with excitement; I had heard the three Internet releases before and thus had some kind of concept of what to expect. And when the album was through, I listened again. Then I took a break and later did it again. After some time I found myself humming some of the song structures (guitar melodies, riffs, lyrics) while I was away, and it was that point when I started to actually understand the songs! On the first listen, of course I was excited to hear new material, but I was also confused by the lengthy songs with all of their time, speed and harmony changes. It just took some time to grasp the songs and get an overview of them. Some people around here who don't know what to make of the album should just come back later and listen again, and take a few days to digest it. It will still sound fresh and new later, but you might think different of it.
To sum up in a sentence what I now think of this album, in relation to how Maiden have developed from the 80s till today, I think that AMOLAD is the band's greatest effort in producing a rock-solid, matured, and concept-true work of music. Seventh Son might have been a good album because it included great songs and it was an attempt to tell a story, but there are no outstanding, epic songs on that album (not in my opinion at least; I know some fans are very fond of the record), and the concept behind it isn't transported too well through the music. AMOLAD might not be a concept album when you look at the lyrics and how they don't tell a story in one flow, but it's musically an extremely consistent and epic piece of work that captures all the modern drama, terror and fear of war, violence and maybe even the fascination about it. When I hear this album, I hear incredibly powerful songs which might not be "the heaviest that Maiden ever wrote", but they are among the heaviest, most complex and effective songs they wrote in their career. It's amazing how Maiden can still evolute and polish their sound!
This is what I think about the songs:
Different World: It's a nice clean opener for a modern Maiden album and for their concerts. While not being particularly spectacular, I think it's up with The Wicker Man and better than Wildest Dreams, and being the only "bright" song on the album, it's one that has to be there to start the show.
These Colours Don't Run: That one took a while until I started to like it, but it's good as #2 because it sets the mood for the rest of the album. The topic is sharp, there is a nice dark tone to it and the chorus is the song's hook. It also brings back the time changes, a Maiden trademark.
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns: When I heard this song on the Internet, I was blown away. This is indeed one of Maiden's best in my opinion, and it's got it all: a great intro with an explosive riff, great rhythm and drumming, a dramatic pre-chorus that Bruce brings on so well, and then there's this thrilling "out of the darkness" part that erupts into the chorus and then goes over into a different, running part to give the song more drive. I never notice how long it actually is and that's a good thing. They filled up the nine minutes with action, drama and wonderful music.
The Pilgrim: Not sure how many people actually dislike this song, but I can't understand why. This is one of the few uptempo songs on the album and it's got great lead guitar melodies to sing along. This song is actually quite close to what we're used to from Maiden's earlier days, and there is also a distinct Powerslave-esque Egyptian guitar part after the chorus which sounds cool. It's one of the songs on AMOLAD that has its strengths in guitar leads, not riffs like the others.
The Longest Day: The long introduction which slowly builds up tension starts off the song with some cool lyrics, then it goes into yet another hook chorus that will be remembered by the fans on concerts. The song sounds wonderfully aggressive and rises the tension with the following verses, and the instrumental part with guitar solos and melodies nicely finished up the piece.
Out Of The Shadows: While this song is probably my least favourite on this album, it is a breather inbetween the loaded music before and after it. It sounds a lot like BNW's musical style, has atmospheric guitar layers and solos above them, and should feel familiar to Maiden fans.
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg: This was the first song we heard before the album was released, and it's also the first single. When I first heard it, I was surprised how straight ahead it went, with no time or rhythm changes at all, no obvious guitar leads and a chorus that was hard to recognize. It's probably the song that takes the most time to sink in, and I didn't know what to make of it and couldn't imagine how the rest of the album would sound. But now, having listened to it more times than I can count, and hearing it in the context of the album, I think it is one of the strongest songs on it. The drumming is extremely cool, spot-on and "forces" the song to constantly progress, although the new "unmastered" sound Maiden chose for this album can be pinpointed the most in this song. Some of the beats/fills and guitar passages sound a little uneasy or imperfect, more like a concert performance, but I guess this is what Maiden were after with this sound. At any rate, it makes this song feel very natural and groovey, and the powerful guitar riffs that go through the whole song give it an edge. It's dark, extremely aggressive, has great vocals and captures the torturous feeling that Benjamin Breeg must have felt if he ever existed as the figure that Maiden describe.
For The Greater Good Of God: Probably the best song on the album, and one of Maiden's most epic and polished songs ever. It took a while until I heard the song along the whole album and thought, "whoa, that sounds fucking great!" I hadn't noticed in my first few listens how much power and emotion this song carried, and how well it was performed. In fact, I get a cold shiver down my spine every time I hear the chorus, which feels like the peak of the song, and the following guitar solos and melodies which make this song so unbelievably good. I think that this song proves how much the band has matured and how creative they are today when they write such a masterpiece.
Lord Of Light: This is a similarly epic song, but it has a melancholic atmosphere not just in the beginning. Bruce's singing drives this song the most in the loud parts. The quiet interlude in the middle is nicely dark and moody before it goes up and then down again to the chorus. The song feels a lot like what Maiden did in the mid 90s with Blaze and I like that, even though I never liked these albums much.
The Legacy: I'm still not very comfortable with this song, but it's got emotion written all over it. I always get a lightly depressed and sad feeling in the beginning, even when it bursts out into the slow main verse. Actually it reminds me a lot of Queensryche at that point; defined, a little aggressive and anxious. The song's most notable sequence is the multi-vocal singing towards its end which sounds a little like folk music, but then the song ends with the same sad mood it began with. It's certainly one of the most complex songs on the album and has a lot of feeling inside, much like The Thin Line Between Love & Hate (which I absolutely love).
Overall, I think AMOLAD is a very interesting and refreshing work from Maiden. It sounds different and new because they never made an album before with this kind of musical concept behind it, yet there are some Maiden trademarks that should stay with every forthcoming album the band will make. Some of the ideas they introduced with this album and others they kept from their previous two albums define what Maiden is like these days and I wished they would keep going in this direction. AMOLAD is a great album, one of the best this band ever made in every aspect, and I'm looking forward a lot to the concert.
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Other than that, I'd obviously prefer a 5-minute brisk walk to work every day 