A drumbeat opens the weirdest song Maiden have ever written. Literally stuffed to the gills with lyrics (with the most lines of any song on this album), "The Apparition" is a nearly four minute track that has a unique style all to its own - Verse / False Chorus / Verse / False Chorus / Instrumental / Verse / False Chorus / Verse / False Chorus ("false chorus" because it doesn't feel like a typical chorus but that's clearly what it acts as here). Bruce's performance is all over the place and that only adds to the wackiness on display. The instrumental does several different shades of things with its time, including a rare Janick wah solo. As wacky as it all is, I can't not help but love this song. It's so weird that there's a really charming attraction to it, and it'll be a cold day in hell before I give it anything less than top marks. This is still a Top 20 Maiden song for me. 10