If you could wish one thing back from Maiden that has gone & is no more

I'd say the closest they ever came to that kind of sound again was some parts of Brave New World and maybe something on The Final Frontier?

...does Ghost of the Navigator have flanger or have I been hearing it wrong all these years?
 
Ascendingthethrone said:
1-2 8+ minute songs on an album.
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This will never happen again. We have to go back to the VXI album for such a feature. And frankly, I don't want that since Maiden are too talented, but a couple more short rockers in the albums would be great for the balance. I think some fans don't like the long songs just because they're not fast.
Siddharth said:
The thing that I find with Maiden's music is that, even their shorter songs have enough technicalities and is filled with their signature gallops/harmonies. Even their "hard hitting" Metal stuff are gonna be full of melodies and interesting dynamics, so not exactly going for the lowest denominator with even shorter songs.
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Agreed. That's why the riffs are not the most prominent in their sound.
Diesel 11 said:
I'll say it would be cool to hear modern Maiden attempt a SiT kind of production.
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It would be curious to hear a new song with a SIT vibe inspired by the current tour. Edit: SIT's production and tone are unique and special. A sign of times.
 
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Even if not the production, the TONE from Somewhere In Time would be nice to hear again. To some extent, they did recreate it on Seventh Son. Their guitar tone from that time period (late 80s) was just magical, even the re-recorded songs from that era (Prowler '88, Charlotte '88 and Massacre) have the imprint on it. So yes, that's a good point on something that has been done before by the band but is seemingly unlikely as of present.
 
Personally I don't want to hear the Somewhere in Time tone make a return (outside of those songs on The Future Past tour, obviously). I absolutely love it but it's just so eighties that I think an attempt at using it now would either sound really dated or like a cheap throwback.

While I'm also on the "moar harmonies" team, I also feel the style of melody Steve writes now doesn't work so well with them. I jam along to lots of modern Maiden and occasionally throw some classic third-harmonies and they just don't seem to fit. Though I found that some lines of The Parchment sound really cool with a fourth or fifth harmony, something about Eastern-sounding stuff seems to really gel with those kinds of harmonies.

Derek Riggs' art style is awful now, I'm glad he doesn't draw for Maiden anymore.

As for production, eh, I don't really want a new (or old, or resurrected) producer. While I can certainly notice the flaws and it'd be nice if they were ironed out, they just don't bother me so much.
 
BludBrutha said:
It was a return to writing The Clansman again, anyway.
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I've said it before but it bears repeating: aside from being based in similar subject matter, Clansman and Death of the Celts are not at all similar songs. They sound absolutely nothing alike. Particularly because DotC is a complex song and Clansman, though long, is rather simple. It has more in common with lengthier repetitive songs like Fear of the Dark or No More Lies than DotC.
 
chaosapiant said:
I've said it before but it bears repeating: aside from being based in similar subject matter, Clansman and Death of the Celts are not at all similar songs. They sound absolutely nothing alike.
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They’re not similar in structure, with DotC being a winding story and Clansman an anthemic epic, but there are plenty of similarities in the music, especially the instruments being used. I do think it’s over exaggerated though.
 
"Nothing" is an exaggeration. Both feature similar rhythms and use similar modes throughout the songs.
 
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Both have an acoustic bass intro with Steve playing a similar riff. Both have a similar anthemic guitar harmony. I fail to see how anyone with a serious interest in music can’t hear it. Maybe it’s my years in a Maiden tribute band. Seems obvious to me.
 
Vaenyr said:
"Nothing" is an exaggeration. Both feature similar rhythms and use similar modes throughout the songs.
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Nothing is an exaggeration, that's fair. But that's because every Iron Maiden song is similar on some level. But if I had to compare Clansman closely with any other song, it wouldn't be Celts. I'd pair it more with songs like No More Lies, Fear of the Dark, or maybe even something like Talisman. I fully believe that if the song was called like "Death of Britney Spears" or something, the Clansman comparison would likely have never been made.
 
chaosapiant said:
Nothing is an exaggeration, that's fair. But that's because every Iron Maiden song is similar on some level. But if I had to compare Clansman closely with any other song, it wouldn't be Celts. I'd pair it more with songs like No More Lies, Fear of the Dark, or maybe even something like Talisman. I fully believe that if the song was called like "Death of Britney Spears" or something, the Clansman comparison would likely have never been made.
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I gotta disagree. Again, Clansman and DOTC use similar modes (FOTD and NML use the minor key) and similar rhythms (the other two are in 4/4). The verses of the two are quite similar, just in different tempos.
 
Vaenyr said:
I gotta disagree. Again, Clansman and DOTC use similar modes (FOTD and NML use the minor key) and similar rhythms (the other two are in 4/4). The verses of the two are quite similar, just in different tempos.
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I don't know what any of that shit means, I'm not a musician. I'm strictly a "listener of music."
 
chaosapiant said:
I don't know what any of that shit means, I'm not a musician. I'm strictly a "listener of music."
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The modes and keys means that the melodies use the same notes and thus sound the same. Pretty nonsensical example but hopefully it kinda illustrates the point: if the songs were paintings DOTC and The Clansman use the same set of colours, NML and FOTD use a second set of colours and the two sets are mostly the same but a couple of colours are unique to each set. The overall composition is similar, but there are certain characteristics found in each pair but not between them.

As for the rhythms, there are certain songs by Maiden that have a "triplet feel", with examples being Transylvania, Quest For Fire, Losfer Words, The Duellists, The Prophecy and many more. And of course The Clansman and parts of DOTC. Neither FOTD nor NML feature this recognizable rhythm during any part.

Then there's also the fact that both feature quiet acoustic bass intros before turning to distortion at some point. I guarantee you, DOTC could be called "The Adventures of Humpty Dumpty" and people would still recognize the similarities, just like you noticed certain similarities in many post-FOTD Harris epics (quiet and clean intro, singable guitar melodies without harmonies, a chorus that can be easily chanted, and so on).
 
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