2 Minutes to Midnight

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How good is 2 Minutes to Midnight on a scale of 1-10?

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While I thoroguhly enjoy the song and give it a 10/10
I saw it live twice last year and I must say it was a bad performance. It was a very forgettable song. I don't understand why they continue to play this song.
 
10.

Another one of my favorites. The solo section is great, and I love that it takes time to breathe before bursting back into the meat n' potatoes main riff. The lyrics are bizarre, but the chorus is killer.
 
"A song from 1982 I do believe" - Bruce, En Vivo

Hmmm...was Bruce having a laugh? Was he momentarily confused? Or did Adrian create the original riff during the Number of the Beast recording sessions? I'd say he was having a laugh.
 
Is it possible that the boys don't have all the Maiden trivia we are fluent in ready at any given point, especially when adrenaline is rushing through your body on a stage in front of tens of thousands of people?
 
Perun said:
Is it possible that the boys don't have all the Maiden trivia we are fluent in ready at any given point, especially when adrenaline is rushing through your body on a stage in front of tens of thousands of people?
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Nope. Impossible. The likely explanation is that H time warped during the Powerslave recording - Back to 1982, wrote it, and then traveled back right in time for the session.

And thus, 2 Minutes saw the light of day.
 
I think that's pretty unlikely, Yax.

Most likely what happened was Adrian Smith wrote it in 1982, and then Adrian Smith from 1984, realizing he needed a killer riff to follow Aces High, travelled back in time, told his younger self to hold off on the riff, spent a few nights playing the riffs for Gangland and Total Eclipse next to Clive Burr as he slept an enchanted sleep, and then returned to the future, to find that 2 Minutes no longer existed on NOTB but had been replaced by Gangland, thus allowing 2 Minutes to find its true home on Powerslave.

The reason Bruce knows this is he was appointed by H to be the Master of Time, which explains his seeming agelessness.

It should be noted this happens all the time, explaining why Wicker Man from Bruce's solo stuff was suddenly buried and is not nearly as awesome as the BNW The Wicker Man.
 
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Yax said:
Nope. Impossible. The likely explanation is that H time warped during the Powerslave recording - Back to 1982, wrote it, and then traveled back right in time for the session.

And thus, 2 Minutes saw the light of day.
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And also provided the inspiration for Somewhere in Time.
 
My understanding is that Adrian's contract with Urchin prevented him from releasing any music written soley by himself for five years after leaving the band. This may explain the wait until Powerslave for the release of 2 Mins, which by that time was co-written by Bruce anyway who changed the lyrical content from Adrian's original idea about the 1979 Fastnet yachting tragedy to warfare and the bomb.
 
The Mid-Distance Runner said:
My understanding is that Adrian's contract with Urchin prevented him from releasing any music written soley by himself for five years after leaving the band.
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That doesn't sound right. If H wrote something alone, he should be allowed to use it however he wants. Stuff written with Urchin would make sense, but not stuff by H alone. That's a horrible contract, and one that likely could be invalidated by a lawsuit involving copyright law. Why should Urchin have any claim on stuff not written by them?

The Mid-Distance Runner said:
This may explain the wait until Powerslave for the release of 2 Mins
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I believe we have convincingly established that Adrian Smith travels through time at will. You must recall that attempting to understand Adrian Smith requires the use of Occam's Superglue - that's the opposite of Occam's Razor, and mandates that the most outrageous and complex explanation is actually true. Learn to appreciate the wisdom of Yax:

Yax said:
I'm baffled. Makes perfect sense.
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The contemplation of Adrian Smith leads to the same insights as contemplating Yin and Yang, or the original idea of the Christian Trinity before weak-minded popes simplified it for the masses. You are contemplating an object so awesome that by the standards of ordinary life, all paths lead to contradiction. Don't fight it; embrace it. Adrian Smith is the contradiction that lies at the heart of existence.

For future reference, remember the following laws of nature:
Adrian Smith is the Alpha and the Omega, but all He wants is a piece of pi.
Adrian Smith is the False and the Real, but all He wants is a rod and reel.
Adrian Smith is larger than you.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
That doesn't sound right. If H wrote something alone, he should be allowed to use it however he wants. Stuf written with Urchin would make sense, but not stuff by H alone. That's a horrible contract, and one that likely could be invalidated by a lawsuit involving copyright law. Why should Urchin have any claim on stuff not written by them?
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Ok, well I made up the Urchin contract story...but wholeheartedly agree with you that Adrian Frederick Smith is a Time Lord and acquaintance of ET, Alf, Yoda and Bill and Ted. These few immortals are zen masters who can negotiate wormholes and copyright laws.
 
A good song overall and more of the great IM catchiness. It has some of the radio-friendly feel to it I don't like though, but then lines like "to kill the unborn child in the womb" say otherwise. Not one of the best on this album, but that's not saying much. 7 out of 8 are good songs IMO. 9/10
 
Riffy,catchy,technical,well executed and filled with power.A bit overplayed and thus most people kind of don't really care much for it after all.I however adore it and would love to see something as well played as this by Maiden.
 
I thought Bruce said 2 years too early because of the title 2 minutes to midnight, but that might be my brain making stuff up to confuse me...
 
Aces High - 2 Minutes To Midnight must be the most iconic one-two punch of the band and I believe that is for a reason, it's insanely good!
2 minutes kicks off right where Aces ended, with a mighty riff by H. (Same key as Aces ended in, work really well). Then Bruces vocals kicks in, and this is according to me one of his best 80's lyrics. The chorus are one of Maiden's most known, but this chorus doesn't gets old as Run To The Hills for example have become, no this chorus gets me everytime. Solos are great and I love how they take down the dynamics and then builds up to the riff, a great moment!
One of Maiden's best rockers, if only the album could have continued like that...

9/10

BTW, here is a video of me doing a live cover of the song; check it out if you want to:
 
10/10. I liked this song before I really knew who Maiden was back in the days of GTA Vice City lol, but then I went a long time without liking the song. I listened to the album a couple years ago and this song suddenly clicked and I've loved it ever since! This song is just signature Iron Maiden!! Awesome guitar riff and solo, phenomenal vocals, great drums, everything is awesome on this song!
 
This is the song that actually got me into Iron Maiden. When I first listened to The Trooper, I wasn't accustomed to Maiden's style and couldn't grow immediately fond of it. This song though got me into my favourite band of all-time, which should be a testament to how awesome this song is.

Actually, giving it a re-listen, I actually think it's the weakest of the Powerslave 4 (you know the tracks I'm talking about.) It does its job perfectly as the Track 2 of the album, the lyrics and commentary are some of the very best in the catalogue, and there's something about the music that portrays a sense of inevitability, and acceptance.

But removing my fanboy goggles from this album for a serious outlook, I just don't think it does enough to get a 10. Aces has some of the best atmosphere in a song ever, Hallowed is Steve's storytelling at its very best and Revelations is their most beautiful work to date. As great as 2MTM is, it isn't quite 10/10 worthy to me anymore. As sad as it is...

9/10.

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Aces High: 10/10
2: Hallowed Be Thy Name: 10/10
3: Revelations: 10/10
4: 2 Minutes To Midnight: 9/10
5: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
6: The Trooper: 9/10
7: Killers: 9/10
8: Children Of The Damned: 8/10
9: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
10: The Number Of The Beast: 8/10
11: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
12: Flight Of Icarus: 7/10
13: To Tame A Land: 7/10
14: Still Life: 7/10
15: Run To The Hills: 7/10
16: Where Eagles Dare: 7/10
17: Purgatory: 7/10
18: 22 Acacia Avenue: 7/10
19: Wrathchild: 7/10
20: Transylvania: 7/10
21: Prodigal Son: 6/10
22: Strange World: 6/10
23: Die With Your Boots On: 6/10
24: Sanctuary: 6/10
25: Another Life: 6/10
26: The Prisoner: 6/10
27: Prowler: 6/10
28: Gangland: 5/10
29: Genghis Khan: 5/10
30: Iron Maiden: 5/10
31: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
32: Twilight Zone: 5/10
33: Drifter: 4/10
34: Running Free: 4/10
35: Innocent Exile: 4/10
36: Invaders: 3/10
37: Total Eclipse: 3/10
38: Sun And Steel: 2/10
39: Quest For Fire: 2/10
40: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
10/10. The chords aren't too complex, but the arrangement is interesting. (For more, see my quote in the Commentary on Mav's site.) Steve lays down a wicked bassline full his signature fills and Bruce delivers his lyrics with venom; the raspiness, when present, works here. Remember my post about symphonic parallels in Maiden songs? I'd say the buildup to the return of the main riff in the fourth minute, and the impact of that return, is full-on symphonic.
 
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