New single: Stratego

I can't get enough of Stratego. I am aware that I can wear it off until the album is released, but it's a good sign I can't get tired of it. Neither of TWOTW. They are nice one after the other, nice subtle difference in production too.

To be honest, I find these two the best singles they released since BNW. Hands down, much better than anything they released in the last two decades. I am looking forward to the other praised songs too, Time Machine and Days of Future Past!
 
To begin with, I do not think that any of us is here just to bash Maiden. And to make a long story short I think that since we are here posting we always give chences to the new Maiden albums. If the sound quality is so depended on the medium used, well this is a first for me. I never expereienced such problems with other bands. don't really care if it is due to the live recording or whatever, it keeps me from enjoying my favorite band and this frustrates me. Maiden helped me through rough periods of my life and it sucks to see them still have sound issues EVEN AFTER HIRING A REAL PRODUCER AS H/Bruce wanted for their return.
I think we have completely lost the plot here while trying to excuse Maiden for their choices.
They want to get the live feel. To mean this mreans that they should also get the right speed for the songs. Thus I would also expect that they would not have to play thme 20% faster live as to get any punch out of them.
for God's sake people, IESF live is 50+ sec faster, keeping in mind that more than too minutes are prerecorded, makes this being 50 sec faster for a 6 minute duration. Are you kidding me?? So IMO they do not even get the live vibe as to cmpensate for the lack of sound clarity.
So this process ends up

1) In a sound quality that is far from ideal, whether we like it or not

2) Songs that sound gutless and slow

3) While also having mistakes and rythm deviations.

IMO there was nothing wrong with what Martin did, with his clear and timeless productions. They can spend as much time they want in the studio, they got all the money in the world. Come on nwo guys, we love them but cut me some sluck, will you???

I read people's comments about the people who just want the classics and moan (like me I guees???). I believe this is barely the case, Maiden is such a huge name that even my mother givres them a chance with every new release and even she can tell that there is something worng with the sound. In here we even went as far as saying that Firepower sounds artificial, are you for real???

We do love Maiden but I think we need to keep a measure somehow!!!
 
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When people does not have a real argument (because clearly there is some issues with the sound), they say "ah, it's the play classics crowd", "you hate modern Maiden". They are for real? :D To me Stratego is a GREAT song. But this is 7th reunion album, and for a band of this level and stature, there still is some issues with the sound. Wtf? Metallica's Ulrich defended his choice of drum sound on St. Anger, but on the next album drums sounded better. He clearly listened to people's opinion. Sure DM was clipping as hell and Ulrich defended his artistic decision, but Hardwared is produced much better. Band clearly heared people's opinions. With Maiden it's different, they still create great songs, but they don't listen to people's moaning about the sound (in general). Please, stop degrading those who feel that Bruce 'sings under the pillow', "guitars are muddy", or "you must buy this super fancy stereo system in order to be able hear Maiden's music in it's full glory" etc. We moan, because we feel, that the band has so much more potential soundwise. It's MIGHTY MAIDEN, for f*ks sake. There is some issues. So far, very minor. I don't have opinion about Senjutsu sound quality yet, I am waiting for album to be released. We will see.
 
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Honestly, Stratego's could have benefited from a couple of tweaks. It's not a dealbreaker though, and you can fix that fairly well with some M/S EQ.
 
This is the reason why i prefer live songs to the albums. Strange thing is that problem started with BoS, all other albums had some issues but I could understand what Bruce is singing. I think that 'capturing live sound' is just an excuse to not focus too much on studio recording while money is on tour
 
I think everyone need to look at their past 30 posts in the forum and see how many posts are positive and how many are negative. I think if your posts are overwhelmingly negative then you should really do a self reflection on what the hell you are doing in a maidenfans forum. One or two gripes are fine but majority of your posts should not be negative.

On the other hand people who cannot control their temper over random negative comments on the internet should try meditation or use the "ignore" function. Excessive swearing and aggressive posturing just makes you look immature
 
Everybody is right. Kevin said it himself. Steve is stubborn and this is how he likes Maiden to sound. That's it :) Be positive, they DID hear the fans and Adrian especially(!) since TFF. It only took them 10 years to add some reverb! LOL I take it as a progress as I recently ran thru BOS which I liked back then, but now I hear it as very flat and lame as a production, recorded and produced in the very same studio! Senjutsu is much better to me, really. I do understand all the complaints, and I accept that people would love a more polished sound. It has not happened in the past 20 years, so what does that say to you?
 
gazda said:
I just hope that this is Bruce natural voice, and it is not polished in mix. Because on last leg of LOTB tour he was really struggling.
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He was sick multiple times and had a torn Achilles’ tendon. I saw him in DC/Bristow on the 2019 leg and he kept running back to the drum riser to grab tissues. He had a hard time physically on the second half of the tour not because his voice was an issue per se, but his health was definitely compromised. I’m expecting Senjutsu to sound as clear vocally as he did on the 2018 leg of the tour since he’s in the studio and doesn’t have to run around. And based on the two songs released so far, I’m right. He sounds great!
 
chaosapiant said:
He was sick multiple times and had a torn Achilles’ tendon. I saw him in DC/Bristow on the 2019 leg and he kept running back to the drum riser to grab tissues. He had a hard time physically on the second half of the tour not because his voice was an issue per se, but his health was definitely compromised. I’m expecting Senjutsu to sound as clear vocally as he did on the 2018 leg of the tour since he’s in the studio and doesn’t have to run around. And based on the two songs released so far, I’m right. He sounds great!
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So on Mexico album he was sick?
 
gazda said:
So on Mexico album he was sick?
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If he wasn’t sick he was absolutely recovering from just being sick and his ankle/heel was still torn/compromised. For someone who moves around as much as he does and sings with as much energy as he does, and his age, he really needs to be at 100% health wise to sound his best. I’ve gotten over colds and still had lingering coughs and such for weeks. Then following his cold he was hit with some stomach flu shit in S America.

I think he was past his illness by the Mexico show, but it still would’ve absolutely affected his singing.

Edit: Just looking at the dates, the Mexico City shows happened just two months after I saw them. As sick as Bruce appeared to be, and he didn’t have any time time to really rest and heal, combined with his age, which makes healing slower and the aforementioned torn ankle, his singing would’ve absolutely been compromised on the NotD album. His actual high notes on that album sound really good. He doesn’t sound strained or pitchy. But he does sound short of breath, which is what I’d expect. It’s noticeable during Where Eagles Dare how short of breath he is.
 
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chaosapiant said:
If he wasn’t sick he was absolutely recovering from just being sick and his ankle/heel was still torn/compromised. For someone who moves around as much as he does and sings with as much energy as he does, and his age, he really needs to be at 100% health wise to sound his best. I’ve gotten over colds and still had lingering coughs and such for weeks. Then following his cold he was hit with some stomach flu shit in S America.

I think he was past his illness by the Mexico show, but it still would’ve absolutely affected his singing.

Edit: Just looking at the dates, the Mexico City shows happened just two months after I saw them. As sick as Bruce appeared to be, and he didn’t have any time time to really rest and heal, combined with his age, which makes healing slower and the aforementioned torn ankle, his singing would’ve absolutely been compromised on the NotD album. His actual high notes on that album sound really good. He doesn’t sound strained or pitchy. But he does sound short of breath, which is what I’d expect. It’s noticeable during Where Eagles Dare how short of breath he is.
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This whole "singer X was sick on Y date" has become such a meme in the metal scene. It is mostly used as an excuse for a bad performance. No, Bruce was not sick from 86-89 for a thousand days in a row. He was just burned out by excessive singing. The same can be true nowadays, no sickness needed. Anyone who sings understands that the vocal cords are very fragile and will fail on you for the most pathetic reasons.

You didn't drink enough water two hours before the show? Too bad, now you'll sound worse and possibly strain. You didn't pay enough attention to your diaphragmatic support last time you sang? Too bad, now you'll feel more fatigued. No time for warmup? Good luck. All these things matter and vocal fatigue can happen fast when you tour. Let's not kid ourselves that Bruce is perfect and only has a bad night when he's sick. He's a human and will occasionally sound bad when singing some of the hardest material in metal. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
 
Yah I feel sorry for these negative comments on the production. .. mix , etc. thank god I haven’t gotten in too deep with and don’t fully grasp all that. Cuz this new song is killer! I’m enjoying the crap out of it. Too bad some are looking for issues, or have musically educated themselves to point where the best song released by any any artist in decades “doesn’t sound right”!!! That sucks!!
 
The_17th_Son said:
This whole "singer X was sick on Y date" has become such a meme in the metal scene. It is mostly used as an excuse for a bad performance. No, Bruce was not sick from 86-89 for a thousand days in a row. He was just burned out by excessive singing. The same can be true nowadays, no sickness needed. Anyone who sings understands that the vocal cords are very fragile and will fail on you for the most pathetic reasons.
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Riiiight, but nobody was excusing Bruce's 80's performances. They were specifically pointing at his health during the LOTB tour, which wasn't great near the end. I saw the band twice on that tour, and Bruce had a lot more vocal gusto at the first show. He went after it so hard that he ended up blowing out his voice around Fear of the Dark, and struggled. The second time, he never went as hard and made it to the end. But yeah, he was not well - because of the cold, because of the foot, because of lots of things - and just singing every second night for months at a time is hard on anyone, let alone a 61 year old throat cancer survivor with a torn Achilles tendon and a cold.
 
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