Lord of Light

How good is Lord of Light on a scale of 1-10?


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    36
melisandre.png

This is the theme to Lady Melisandre who worships "the lord of light"
 
Yeah,the chorus is a disaster ain't it?!Most choruses need to be chopped in half actually...I mean for most part of the reunion albums.
 
I found A Matter Of Life And Death to be the hardest album so write reviews for. The songs is based so much around feeling and the songs are better then the sum of it's parts in most cases.

This song creates some kind of sinister and yet desperate feeling at the same time. The intro is one of the most meaningful intros on the album. Lyrics are interesting and inspired. H's riff is monstrous and and Bruce's vocals on the verses are powerful. I love the chorus and I like that the chorus takes down the dynamics a little bit, it fits the song. The best part of the songs follows, as we go back to the soft part before the heavy bridge kicks in and introduces H's disharmonic solo. The solo builds tensions and goes into Murray's harmonic solo. This is so well done, and Murray's solo sounds so good after H's strange and heavy part. The song enters a nice instrumental section and then goes into the chorus once again. Another nice touch here is that the song ends with a bang and not with a soft outro.

Love this song all the way and it is the second to best song on the album for me.

9/10
 
5.

I love the solo section and the chorus is epic, but the verses quite honestly bore me. Too drawn out, too repetitive.

I agree, but potentially IMO this could have been the best song of the album. Riffs and melodies are great and powerful. But the chours is "damped" by the slowing down. That breaking just before the chours is very unpleasant.
 
This song makes me really emotional. I have no idea why. Is it the guitar, the juxtaposition of the light gentleness of the intro with the rushing, angry speed of the verses. It lulls you into a false sense of security and then goes wild.

I know what it is. It's like having an argument with someone you care about:
"I care about you and I'm trying not to shout, but I'm so freaking angry with you right now." and they don't maintain the gentle voice, the emotion takes over and they end up snapping at you or you at them. "I'm trying to explain as politely as I can, but you just aren't getting it!" Nothing hidden still you fail to see the truth.

Honestly I always feel like I'm going to cry at the end of this song. I don't listen to it very often for that reason.

I've always wondered what these secrets are that this person has entrusted to the protagonist and why can't they reveal them? Why have they made the protagonist so emotional?

"You don't see this strange world quite the same as me." That line always touches me for some reason too. Sad resignation. It's like they've given up and just have to admit that they have to go their separate ways.

It's also the most delicate and polite lyric in any metal song ever.
 
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I find this song to be very underrated. It's hard to follow the epic FTGGOG, but Lord of Light is placed really well. Even though this song carries some proggy bits and a heavy lyric, it feels a bit lighter than the material that preceded it with its catchy choruses and rethink of the classic Maiden gallop.

Another song that plays with what we'd normally expect from a Maiden song when it comes to dynamics. The way it totally switches gears and slows down in the middle is totally unexpected and works perfectly. Especially the way it builds into Adrian's guitar solo. This is one of many moments where we see the three players complementing each other. It has the melodic sense that we've come to expect from Adrian, but it has a bit of the reckless abandon that would normally be associated with Janick. And then it builds yet again to another great solo from Dave. Just like every other instrumental section on the album, it's more than a chance for the players to show off but it actually contributes to the atmosphere and drama of the song.

10
 
At first I didn't quite like this one as I do now. The powerful gallop followed by a slow yet powerful chorus seemed a little bit incohesive. However, after a few listens it became one of my favorite songs ever. Easily in my top 10 Maiden songs list. The haunting intro sets the tone perfectly and the ever changing dynamics of the song just started working perfectly well for me. It's hard to explain.. It's like the gallop takes you through an unexpected ,dark journey and the chorus is like the destination, when you can catch your breath and see the bigger picture, where that journey is taking you and how are you changing because of it. The lyrics are one of the most interesting parts of the song and can be interpreted in quite a few ways. ''Lucifer is just an angel let astray'' is one of my favorite vocal parts. Lord of light and Starblind are one of the most interesting songs in the entire Maiden catalogue for me, it's a shame that they are somewhat underrated. Sorry if it all sounded quite confusing, it's my first review and post for that matter and I'm not a native English speaker, so getting my points across is a rather difficult task.. :)
Anyway, this song deserves a 10, without a doubt.
 
I love the sudden switch in tone when the deep chorus hits. But I find the verses a bit uninteresting. Interesting lyrics

7
 
Another 10/10 for me. The intro is really mysterious, and Bruce sings in a very spooky way. Love the upstrokes in the background before the song kicks in. The verses might be quite ordinary for Maiden, but boy is it powerful. The slow paced chorus is a surprise, but works so well. It's different for Maiden, and really sums up what they did on this album and what makes it special. A lot of surprising twists and use of different chord progressions. I love the way the songs builds up again after the slow middle part, and Adrian's solo is one of Maiden's most unique. Dave's chaotic solo is also really good.
 
10/10

The focus shifts from God to Satan on Lord of Light, the first of two haunting tracks. Bruce delivers his creepiest vocal ever on the verses of this incredibly dark song. The chorus is an exercise in sheer force, with Bruce at his beckoning best playing the role of Lucifer. The final heavier verse is pummeling, H's atonal solo perfect, and the wails of Dave's guitar over a syncopated riff are just incredible (though it feels like he could have gone on a bit longer or passed the lead to Janick before returning to the chorus).
 
"Lord of Light" kicks off very strong, with a quiet, haunting intro and Bruce's vocals as eerie and sinister as ever. The main riff is one of the coolest (particularly the way it kicks in) and once the song gets heavier, Bruce's delivery becomes agressive rather than creepy. The solos are also very impressive. However, the rest of the song don't do much for me. The chorus is weird, Bruce sounds a little out of tune, most noticeably when he sings "[...] to the Lord of Light", and the breakdown reprisal of the quiet intro doesn't work very well. 8.
 
Another song that is too long, especially at this point in the album. Don’t get me wrong, I like long songs too, but I think there are quite a few reunion era songs that drag on for too long. I like the chorus on this one, but the intro feels a bit unnecessary, and I’m not a great fan of some of the vocals. 6/10
 
A haunting clean lead supports an equally haunting soft vocal on the verse. A brief pause, and then a heavier riff kicks off a great heavier version of the verse. A nice harmonized break loops back around to the verse, then we're treated to a slower but catchy chorus.

A great soft vocal bridge eventually kicks into a less successful heavier version, followed by a pretty good solo that builds up into a great solo on top of an uptempo harmonized rhythm part that should've been a little higher in the mix. A return to the chorus and we finish up on a quick percussive outro.

Great stuff with a few noticeable weaknesses. 8/10.
 
The chorus is what truly makes Lord of Light great. It’s so epic, so explosively.... I wanna say evil, but not really that. A true salesman kinda thing. I love it.
 
Oh, what a shame.

A beautiful and haunting intro gives way to one of my favourite riffs from Maiden and Bruce is on fire. Unfortunately, it's completely wasted with the rest of the track. The chorus is jarring given the speed of verses and repeated once too many times. The clean interlude is reminiscent of Brighter Than A Thousand Suns only far less effective, the heavier part that follows this is better but still not great - Bruces delivery of the lyrics however, is. "We are CAST OUT by our BLOODY FATHERS HAAAAAND!"

Adrian tries something interesting with his solo with the use of a whammy pedal, but it's not up to his usual high standard. Daves is pretty standard Dave, one of his better ones on the album, which isn't really saying a great deal. I do like the part that follows the solos, but why is it so quiet? Now we end with another repeat of the bland chorus.

I give this a 7/10, most of which comes from that brilliant introduction.
 
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