DAWSON 1 YEAR ON

K

Kurt Barlow

Prowler
Dawson has been with the band a year now, and in my opinion, he simply has not gelled with the band. He does not drive the band in the way a drummer should. Moreover, he drags them back. The band are often trying to charge ahead, but are held back by Dawson.

It’s not only the tempos are all so slow, it’s his lack of power. He doesn’t have the solidity of Clive, nor the flair or the flourishes of Nicko. Often he is lost in the mix, as the engineer cannot gauge one hit to the next, such is his inconsistency.

I’m not alone in this opinion. Look at the YouTube comments on any video of the current line up.

Harris has pulled another Blaze Bayley. A decent musician but who is NOWHERE NEAR equipped to be in a band of this stature.
 
Kurt Barlow said:
Dawson has been with the band a year now, and in my opinion, he simply has not gelled with the band. He does not drive the band in the way a drummer should. Moreover, he drags them back. The band are often trying to charge ahead, but are held back by Dawson.

It’s not only the tempos are all so slow, it’s his lack of power. He doesn’t have the solidity of Clive, nor the flair or the flourishes of Nicko. Often he is lost in the mix, as the engineer cannot gauge one hit to the next, such is his inconsistency.

I’m not alone in this opinion. Look at the YouTube comments on any video of the current line up.

Harris has pulled another Blaze Bayley. A decent musician but who is NOWHERE NEAR equipped to be in a band of this stature.
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Furthermore, drumming is all about the ‘pocket’. It’s the backbone of the band. Never has the phrase ‘the band is only as good as its drummer’ been so clearly illustrated. The band sounds tepid, neutered and impotent, in my opinion.
 
Your observations are most welcome @Kurt Barlow but we already know he`s a pub drummer paid out by Steve in pints of Trooper so you are a bit late to the party. Try slagging off Bruce instead, he`s a karaoke singer in the same pub.
 
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Fozzie4 said:
Your observations are most welcome @Kurt Barlow but we already know he`s a pub drummer paid out by Steve in pints of Trooper so you are a bit late to the party. Try slagging off Bruce instead, he`s a karaoke singer in the same pub.
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Or Janick. He's the very same pub's resident Dancing Girl...
 
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IMO Simon will only really be tested if they enter the studio. The reality is that Maiden 1999-24 rebuilt the band and its reputation.

Maiden 2025-now is the march into the sunset. And I’m not yet convinced Steve wants to march to anything but a steady beat.

Could be wrong and they burst into another gallop, the jury is out.
 
Kurt Barlow said:
Dawson has been with the band a year now, and in my opinion, he simply has not gelled with the band. He does not drive the band in the way a drummer should. Moreover, he drags them back. The band are often trying to charge ahead, but are held back by Dawson.

It’s not only the tempos are all so slow, it’s his lack of power. He doesn’t have the solidity of Clive, nor the flair or the flourishes of Nicko. Often he is lost in the mix, as the engineer cannot gauge one hit to the next, such is his inconsistency.

I’m not alone in this opinion. Look at the YouTube comments on any video of the current line up.

Harris has pulled another Blaze Bayley. A decent musician but who is NOWHERE NEAR equipped to be in a band of this stature.
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Nah. Dawson is good and if anything he's revitalized the band. No one is going to be a Nicko 2.0 and if they wanted that, Joe Lazarus is right there. This is who they chose and he's just fine.
 
I'm not a fan of Dawson's drumming (there needs to be more swing and overall looseness, I think, rather than this more rigorous approach), but I am a fan of Maiden going on a couple of more years.
 
He's not Nicko, but no one is, I don't think anyone would be able to replace his signature feel. The two times I have seen them with Simon, he has done a good job in my opinion.
 
I prefer Nicko's style to Simon. But it's also very clear that many fans aren't actually judging him on how he performs, they simply hate on him for not being Nicko.

There have been so many instances where people criticized Simon for fucking up during a show. I end up watching the video and not only did he not fuck up, in many cases he was the one who managed to save everything from falling apart. Bruce keeps having timing issues and has for many years, prior to Simon joining. Steve likes to make mistakes and skip ahead as well. Adrian is particular about his tempos.

And besides all that, Simon has clearly revitalized the band. Anyone who has seen them live with him should be able to see that. They are having an absolute blast and are full of energy. Definitely the liveliest they've been post-covid.
 
Revitalised the band? They’ve never looked so bored. No interaction.

When was the last time someone walked offstage and skipped 2 songs?

Dawson does not drive the band. He does not have the chops. Every song is at least 15 bpm too slow.
 
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
IMO Simon will only really be tested if they enter the studio. The reality is that Maiden 1999-24 rebuilt the band and its reputation.

Maiden 2025-now is the march into the sunset. And I’m not yet convinced Steve wants to march to anything but a steady beat.

Could be wrong and they burst into another gallop, the jury is out.
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You don’t think performing in stadiums all over the world is a sufficient enough test?

He can’t do it. The band is compromised. And they know it.
 
Vaenyr said:
I prefer Nicko's style to Simon. But it's also very clear that many fans aren't actually judging him on how he performs, they simply hate on him for not being Nicko.

There have been so many instances where people criticized Simon for fucking up during a show. I end up watching the video and not only did he not fuck up, in many cases he was the one who managed to save everything from falling apart. Bruce keeps having timing issues and has for many years, prior to Simon joining. Steve likes to make mistakes and skip ahead as well. Adrian is particular about his tempos.

And besides all that, Simon has clearly revitalized the band. Anyone who has seen them live with him should be able to see that. They are having an absolute blast and are full of energy. Definitely the liveliest they've been post-covid.
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I don’t hate him, and I certainly don’t wish he was Nicko.

I wish he were capable of making the band sound as powerful and vital as Iron Maiden are supposed to. That’s not personal. It’s not a vendetta. It’s musicological discourse. Making it personal or political is just silly.
 
Kurt Barlow said:
Revitalised the band? They’ve never looked so bored. No interaction.

When was the last time someone walked offstage and skipped 2 songs?

Dawson does not drive the band. He does not have the chops. Every song is at least 15 bpm too slow.
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But also...naaah. We're clearly hearing two very different bands.
 
Mate who are you trying to convince? How many hate posts will get it out your system.

Nobody thinks Simon is amazing. Everyone knows it's a huge downgrade but Maiden are all about 70 years old. What do you expect them to sound like?
 
UpTheIrons said:
He's not Nicko, but no one is, I don't think anyone would be able to replace his signature feel. The two times I have seen them with Simon, he has done a good job in my opinion.
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He doesn't need to be nicko, he just needs to be faster and more tight (he messes the tempo trying to do the fills and seems tired during a few moments in the show). But it seems neither he nor the band is interested in that. It sounds weird for me. If that’s how it’s going to be, I wouldn’t mind if they called it quits at the end of this tour.
 
Kurt Barlow said:
Revitalised the band? They’ve never looked so bored. No interaction.
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That's just objectively wrong lmao

Have you seen the band live? Not videos on youtube, but actually attended a concert in the last years? I saw them in 2022 where they barely interacted with the audience or with each other. In 2023 they had issues with Nicko's health, so they were constantly worried about that. In 2025 they were having a blast, bantering with each other, smiling ear to ear and having tons of fun. Hell, Adrian was bantering with the front row, which he didn't do at any of the previous shows I saw them.

Kurt Barlow said:
When was the last time someone walked offstage and skipped 2 songs?
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How the hell does that have anything to do with Simon? You're being completely irrational and throwing a fit. Not a good look, mate.

Kurt Barlow said:
Dawson does not drive the band. He does not have the chops. Every song is at least 15 bpm too slow.
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Simon is not the one who dictates the tempos. Many of the songs were already slowed down when Nicko was still in the band.

Funnily enough, I've seen the same exact nonsensical arguments in the Maiden subreddit, so now I'm wondering if you've posted there as well.
 
weebaggy said:
Mate who are you trying to convince? How many hate posts will get it out your system.

Nobody thinks Simon is amazing. Everyone knows it's a huge downgrade but Maiden are all about 70 years old. What do you expect them to sound like?
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I’m sorry, I thought this was a forum to discuss Iron Maiden.

With the right drummer, they could’ve been revitalised. Dawson’s playing is lumpy, clunky and clumsy. Everything is simplified, which dials down the excitement inherent in the song.
 
Kurt Barlow said:
I’m sorry, I thought this was a forum to discuss Iron Maiden.

With the right drummer, they could’ve been revitalised. Dawson’s playing is lumpy, clunky and clumsy. Everything is simplified, which dials down the excitement inherent in the song.
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Someone obviously didn't see any videos or shows from the Future Past tour ;)
 
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