Aces High

How good is Aces High on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    17
I think this song was amazing as it wasplayed in 1999. It will however be the song where half of the metal bands took inspiration from since it was released.Simply amazing
 
A perfect way to kick of the album. The song is full of energy and the chorus is anthemic! Short but really effective solos by Dave and Adrian. Bruce's performance is stunning and the end of the last chorus are one of the coolest vocal perfomances I've heard.
What makes my adrenaline pumping are also the constant tonality changes. The song shifts from Am in the opening riffs to Em on verse, to Gm on the second part of the chorus to even Bm on the solo. I love stuff like that!

9/10
 
10/10. Aces High has always been a favorite of mine since I 1st heard it about 10 years ago while I was 1st discovering Maiden. Between the Egyptian themed album and the very interesting song title I was just destined to love the song lol.
After all this time I could never get tired of Aces High. Everything from the drums to the vocals is amazing! I especially like how they used Churchill's Speech > Aces High live. I was blown away by how awesome that was when I 1st heard it (Live After Death).
 
This is my favourite Iron Maiden song in the entire catalogue, and I can't exactly pinpoint the exact reason why. Is it because of the concise energy that is contained in an <5 minute package? Is it its immaculate representation of atmosphere? Or maybe is it because the song itself has helped through some dark times in my life and it holds special meaning to me?

Whatever the reasoning is, this song is a masterpiece, every performer gives his all, and it's positioned perfectly on the album. It's also my favourite song that comes in at 5 minutes or less, my favourite album opener of all-time and currently sits at #5 on my favourite songs of all-time list.

10/10.

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Aces High: 10/10
2: Hallowed Be Thy Name: 10/10
3: Revelations: 10/10
4: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
5: The Trooper: 9/10
6: Killers: 9/10
7: Children Of The Damned: 8/10
8: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
9: The Number Of The Beast: 8/10
10: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
11: Flight Of Icarus: 7/10
12: To Tame A Land: 7/10
13: Still Life: 7/10
14: Run To The Hills: 7/10
15: Where Eagles Dare: 7/10
16: Purgatory: 7/10
17: 22 Acacia Avenue: 7/10
18: Wrathchild: 7/10
19: Transylvania: 7/10
20: Prodigal Son: 6/10
21: Strange World: 6/10
22: Die With Your Boots On: 6/10
23: Sanctuary: 6/10
24: Another Life: 6/10
25: The Prisoner: 6/10
26: Prowler: 6/10
27: Gangland: 5/10
28: Genghis Khan: 5/10
29: Iron Maiden: 5/10
30: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
31: Twilight Zone: 5/10
32: Drifter: 4/10
33: Running Free: 4/10
34: Innocent Exile: 4/10
35: Invaders: 3/10
36: Total Eclipse: 3/10
37: Sun And Steel: 2/10
38: Quest For Fire: 2/10
39: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
A great album opener. So much energy, great vocals, brilliant soloing. Doesn't quite do enough for me to get a 10, but a very solid...

9/10
 
8/10, suffering from an overdose of VI-VII-i. Needs more chords. Good vocals, great vocal harmonies on the chorus, guitars are on fire. Performance saves the lazy writing.
 
Maybe it's not the technically best song, but it's a blistering attack of a track, made absolutely incredible by being the first track of one of the best performed albums they have. One of the reasons I have always loved Powerslave is an energy I perceive, similar to SSOASS and BNW.

If this isn't Bruce's best vocal performance on an Iron Maiden album ever, I'll eat my hat.

Great topic, great music, great song. Churchill's Speech should be on the album.
 
10/10 Amazing song. And together with Churchill's Speech, it's one of the most epic show openers ever!
 
8. It's a great song but I don't rate it higher than that.


Rankings:

Previous Albums:

1980 - Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

1981 - Killers - 5.91

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
5 - Prodigal Son
8 - Purgatory
6 - Twilight Zone
5 - Drifter

1982 - The Number Of The Beast - 7.56

6 - Invaders
7 - Children Of The Damned
8 - The Prisoner
7 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - The Number Of The Beast
10 - Run To The Hills
6 - Gangland
5 - Total Eclipse
10 - Hallowed Be Thy Name

1983 - Piece Of Mind - 7.44

8 - Where Eagles Dare
9 - Revelations
9 - Flight Of Icarus
7 - Die With Your Boots On
8 - The Trooper
7 - Still Life
6 - Quest For Fire
6 - Sun And Steel
7 - To Tame A Land

1984 - Powerslave

8 - Aces High
 
10/10

Aces High is energetic and intense from the get-go, with Bruce outpacing all of his previous vocals in sheer speed and agility. Guitars and vocals weave back and forth like two fighter jets locked in a vicious dogfight. The chorus is rousing and anthemic, leading into a masterful solo duel (the first of many on this album).
 
This one definitely gets points for being such a great opener, both live and on the album, but on its own it isn't a song I think of as a favorite or something I'll listen to by itself. It feels a bit less adventurous than other Maiden songs. Especially compared to Where Eagles Dare on the previous album. The energy is there but it feels like Steve sacrificed songwriting for it. I've also grown to dislike a lot of the vocal melodies (with the exception of the awesome chorus) over time. A lot of comments have come up recently on the forum voicing dislike over the vocal melody in many of Steve's songs being doubled on guitar and while that has never bothered me, I can definitely understand where those people are coming from because I really dislike when it's power chords following the vocal melody. It's such an unpleasant sound to me and it is in the verses of this song.

Negatives aside, there are still some cool things about this song. The mirrored structure is really neat and unique for Maiden, can't think of another song Maiden song that is almost perfectly mirrored that way. Both solos are great, I tend to gravitate more toward Adrian's solos but Dave really nails it on this one. And of course the energy is definitely there. Despite its flaws, it's hard to listen to song without getting a bit of excitement.

6
 
What a vocal from Bruce. This is among my favourites of the more straightforward Maiden stuff, mainly due to the exhilarating build and superb chorus.

9
 
"Aces High" is one song I like better now than I did when I've first gotten into Maiden back in early 2001, Steve Harris is really on fire with his bass, I give the song a 9/10 (I originally gave the song a 6/10 when I've first heard of it).
 
A perfect opening track, Maiden full throttle agressive guitas/bass/drums and high Bruce vocals. I just love the chorus and the guitar solos.

Easily 10/10
 
Starting the 2nd day of my Maiden marathon with possibly the best opening track of any album. Always loved the overall feel of this one. Adrian's solo is a thing of beauty. I'll clasify this track as amazing.

9/10
 
It's only about four minutes long, and yet Aces High is a true masterpiece. It ends as soon as it begins, and yet every second is enjoyable. Is it any wonder it's so well-liked within the metal world? Fast and metallic, it's a 10/10. Duh.
 
Fabulous opener to a fabulous album. The lyrics are some of Harris' best, and it's musically fantastic. Fast, energetic and purely Maiden! 9.
 
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