Can we see some reasons why, maybe?
1. Paschendale - absolute masterpiece, still holds its head high among all of Maiden's work. I've said it before but the music and lyrics are damn near perfectly blended, the intensifying music and words all coming to a horrible head. There's a Steve-ism in the lyrics that really annoys me but other than that, perfect, perfect, perfect.
2. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - same thing, you can see the explosion in your mind. Mournful in all the right ways. Someone should use Oppenheimer and make a music video, really.
3. The Book of Souls - this one always grabbed me. A little rougher on the lyrics and Bruce has to race to get the words out, and maybe it's the nostalgia for seeing TBOS tour as much as I did, but yeah, a true masterpiece. Janick's best contribution to Maiden overall, it's where his "style" of long songs truly paid off. Probably one of the reasons I find The Time Machine to be a little bit of a disappointment, I don't think we can go anywhere higher than TBOS for his epic style.