"The Book of Souls" - Official pre-release thread (CONTAINS ALBUM SPOILERS)

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Maturin said:
After listening extensively to Speed of Light, I think this: My initial bad impression remains in parts. The main riff is B-side material. Sounds like Maiden jamming Deep Purple. The verses and pre-chorus also suffer from that jam-feel. It's fine for extended parts in epics, but for a rocker like this? I do however like the chorus. A lot. It's catchy, powerful, and very Maiden. I do also like Dave's solo, while Adrian's seems like a repeat of a past solo a little to much for it to feel fresh. Production sounds like a continuation of the last one, with a bit clearer drums, quieter bass and about the same guitar tone. The vocals do not sit well in the mix, being too loud, something which I can't seem to get over after having listened to it at least 25 times.

Still excited for the album, but I'd rather have had the whole thing than a single that suffers from the "El Dorado" syndrome.
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To be honest, I think Dave's solo especially has some literal earlier work, although I can't remember which. Still, there are other cool "flying out of the bend" moments that make up for it. Adrian' start and end sound a bit generic but the third quarter is really cool.
 
I wonder where to order this issue of MH. Does anyone has any links?

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I am pretty sure someone will get it and scan it for us! It is a good collector's item for sure but I also got a bit confused when trying to understand how can this be ordered.
 
The Nomad said:
Oh man what a lovely post. I absolutely think Maiden would be fantastic if they explored lower range sounds. Slow it all down and make it heavier. If Maiden were to make heavier and slower albums I would feel they would have progressed and finalized their sound to it's final form. Don't know how to put this into words...
It would feel like the ultimate progression of their style.
I personally find it a bit odd at a subconscious level that they are still making fast paced super energetic songs.
Maybe they don't want people to say that Maiden has gotten old and don't have what it takes to be soaring fast and upbeat anymore but I personally believe that it's actually almost clining on to their past legacy with the way they still try to make a point of "we still got it you guys! fast songs!"

Hope I explained my point well.
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I think that the post reunion IM is actually the normal evolution of the SSOASS period , the only thing missing being a brilliant producer like Martin Birch . "Lower range" sounds in now a thing of the past and if maiden didn't follow that road during the nineties , when other big bands unfortunately did , why would they do that now ?

Oh and some people should actually consider why Roy Z became a nobody after he stopped collaborating with metal legends . Where is his own mega band , if everything he did was a "masterpiece" ? Not only that but he was even rejected as a producer of metal bands after just a few albums he produced . Hell, a heavier IM should employ a producer like Andy Sneap , whose production are ultra crisp and extremely heavy without using the downtuned method , instead of embracing the outdated sound that was dominant in metal in the nineties .
 
johnglen said:
I think that the post reunion IM is actually the normal evolution of the SSOASS period , the only thing missing being a brilliant producer like Martin Birch . "Lower range" sounds in now a thing of the past and if maiden didn't follow that road during the nineties , when other big bands unfortunately did , why would they do that now ?

Oh and some people should actually consider why Roy Z became a nobody after he stopped collaborating with metal legends . Where is his own mega band , if everything he did was a "masterpiece" ? Not only that but he was even rejected as a producer of metal bands after just a few albums he produced . Hell, a heavier IM should employ a producer like Andy Sneap , whose production are ultra crisp and extremely heavy without using the downtuned method , instead of embracing the outdated sound that was dominant in metal in the nineties .
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My point actually was that,in my opinion, letting H loose and getting another producer would,most probably result in a better overall sound. I don't think Bruce solo records sound 90s at all. They sound timeless exactly as most Maiden albums sound like. Sneap's production is pretty artificial if you ask me. This is one end while the other is the inexplicably muddy sound of the Maiden records. I believe there is no need for such bad sounding records....having actually paid a real producer for 15 years now.
 
Gk1 said:
My point actually was that,in my opinion, letting H loose and getting another producer would,most probably result in a better overall sound. I don't think Bruce solo records sound 90s at all. They sound timeless exactly as most Maiden albums sound like. Sneap's production is pretty artificial if you ask me. This is one end while the other is the inexplicably muddy sound of the Maiden records. I believe there is no need for such bad sounding records....having actually paid a real producer for 15 years now.
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I don't want to complete cuss KS, but I agree. BNW was actually great and a few live shows, but that's about it.
 
Birch was great at that point time but I doubt that he could pull off new Maiden albums. Everyone has own style of production and to be honest - it's possible that post-reunion era albums could sound like parody of 80's albums. Problem with current production is that there is no progression in sound, at least not for me.
 
Maybe a bit out of the thread's spec but even BNW had the drum sound too high in the mix. I understand that this might as well be due to Steve's quest for a big drum sound since FOTD.

Edit: Steve plays a major role to the production as well,thus there is a great possibility any producer would end up doing what Steve wants anyway.
 
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Another review of TBOS (in italian, sorry), from Metalitalia.com
http://metalitalia.com/articolo/iron-maiden-the-book-of-souls-traccia-per-traccia/

So, in extreme synthesis, it seems that the highlights for them are the title track, Empire Of The Clouds, but especially Shadows Of The Valley, while Death Or Glory would have been a great opener instead of If Eternity Should Fail. Tears Of A Clown seems to be the more distant from the classic "Iron-sound", while The Red And The Black is the song they liked the least, with sections that taken singularly can be ok, but seen as a whole leave an unpleasant "collage effect".
All these considerations, anyway, came after just one listen, so they are to be taken lightly.
 
Thanx for that ABandOn.....It is like a conspiracy indeed. All track by track reviews are never in English.

EDIT: Here comes that headache again. :facepalm:
 
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ABandOn said:
So, in extreme synthesis, it seems that the highlights for them are the title track, Empire Of The Clouds, but especially Shadows Of The Valley, while Death Or Glory would have been a great opener instead of If Eternity Should Fail. Tears Of A Clown seems to be the more distant from the classic "Iron-sound", while The Red And The Black is the song they liked the least, with sections that taken singularly can be ok, but seen as a whole leave an unpleasant "collage effect".
All these considerations, anyway, came after just one listen, so they are to be taken lightly.
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Thanks! Can you tell me how in comparision SOL stand on album? Worst song? Best song?
 
Meliegree said:
Thanks! Can you tell me how in comparision SOL stand on album? Worst song? Best song?
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From what I read, it seems that the guy considers it as an average song, that maybe doesn't fully meet expectations; a two-faced song, that could satisfy fans tired of longer songs in the last two albums, while it could be considered not so spontaneous and heartfelt. Definitely not the highlight of the album, maybe one of the lows.
 
I would like it if the guitars experimented with different tunings, which isn't "outdated" in any way. However, neither drop tunings nor key signatures have an impact on whether or not a song is in a difficult register to sing per se. For example WTWWB is in a higher key (E) than The Talisman (D). It just has to do with the actual register the singer has to sing in, which of course can be lower in a "higher" key.
I must also add that Bruce sounds great on SOL.
 
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