Afraid to Shoot Strangers

How good is Afraid to Shoot Strangers on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    10
It was discussed. Very cool this song came back!
On this forum perhaps, but more causal fans didn't seem to notice at all, and the people critizing the three guitar lineup, should think more of this.

I think "Seventh Son" benefitted from having Janick perform on this tour as well.
 
Hmm, is that so @srfc ? I can only think of Priest and Sabbath (and bands who also do not play 21st century stuff anymore; Maiden is different) doing worse in the nineties department but perhaps I have not realized this well.
 
10 song. Among the best of their 90´s songs too.
I rate it higher than FOTD itself which didn't age that well for me. Live classic: agreed but I prefer the melancholic vibe of ATSS.
 
Solid track, I gave this an 8.

Is Afraid to Shoot Strangers official video the only time Maiden released/made an official video later than when the song was actually recorded? Seeing as they put out the official video way later 3-4 years with the live recording recording from the X-Factour.
 
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Depends on what you call later.

Fear of the Dark was done later than the studio version.

edit:
Did Hallowed Be Thy Name have a vid as well from the 1992 period? Both live versions as well.
 
Depends on what you call later.

Fear of the Dark was done later than the studio version.

edit:
Did Hallowed Be Thy Name have a vid as well from the 1992 period? Both live versions as well.

Yeah I deleted my original post because it couldn't be true but again, wasn't too far off that it hasn't happened many times.!
 
Hmm, is that so @srfc ? I can only think of Priest and Sabbath (and bands who also do not play 21st century stuff anymore; Maiden is different) doing worse in the nineties department but perhaps I have not realized this well.

Not so much the 90's particularly, but bands ignoring their weaker albums is what I'm talking about
 
Black Sabbath after early 80s, although Iommi is Sabbath in a way, it transformed into his solo project. And his solo project transformed back into Sabbath. Harris did not switch the band around, some people left but Maiden remained Maiden in the full, as opposed to what would be if the entire band was gone by 1994 and Harris had 4 different guys in.
 
Hmm, is that so @srfc ? I can only think of Priest and Sabbath (and bands who also do not play 21st century stuff anymore; Maiden is different) doing worse in the nineties department but perhaps I have not realized this well.
Anthrax, too. Belladonna doesn’t want to touch the Bush material.
 
The lyrics of the song
of this refer to
Gulf War,
which broke out in 1990,
when the US, during the presidency
of George Bush Senior
Iraq's expansionist aspirations under Saddam Hussein (1937-)
oil-rich Kuwait (after a lost expansionist war
against Iran), intervened in Kuwait, fighting its forces
Iraq. Major US allies there were Great Britain and Germany.
The lyrics are written in the first person, forming the thoughts
of a soldier fighting in a foreign land. They explore the fear of war, of
whose driving force is political and economic interests, while
executive force is the expendable soldiers.
 
Really lovely, haunting intro, with an emotional Bruce performance bringing to life a soldier trying to justify the acts he’s about to commit, yet knowing deep down that he will always be afraid, afraid to shoot strangers. The song switches gears into a beautiful guitar lead section with dark synths that sounds absolutely awesome, and we enter a chilling chorus. Then it launches into full Iron Maiden force, bringing to life a scene of war, with guns blazing and rockets launching, and the dynamic duo lay down an incredible double guitar line. So fucking good. As repetitive as Bruce’s lines become, they are effective (and the backing synths sound like an organ in that section). The song finally returns to the chorus section for a mournful finale where the soldier meets his fate fully. Fantastic song. I feel like it’s the song that “Infinite Dreams” was trying to be but didn’t quite hit. 9/10
 
One of the best Iron Maiden tracks in the history of the world. First 2-3 minutes haunts you, and gets under your skin. Maybe in the top 5 tracks in the entire history of music in the universe.
 
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