I've discovered lately that a lot of threads are really testing my ability to comment in terms of music beyond Maiden because I am fairly new to being into music and I don't have an incredibly large budget on which to buy music (I usually buy two or three albums per month). In fact, Maiden is the only band of which I have a complete discography, or even all the studio albums (well, if you count British Lion, but that's only one album, so I wouldn't).
Regardless, I do have a few comments on this topic, and I'll share what I like about these albums as briefly as I can. I'm going to discuss these through the viewpoint of the general community of these bands' fanbase so I can actually mention some of these.
Iron Maiden - No Prayer for the Dying - Despite shorter songs and new vocal style, this album has some very brilliant musical moments that stand up easily next to the 80s such as "Run Silent Run Deep" and "Mother Russia".
Iron Maiden - The X Factor - Perhaps their best album and definitely a heavy metal classic. Bayley's vocals and the dark songwriting by Harris and Gers perfectly set the mood that permeates this album. Highlights: "Blood On the World's Hands", "Sign of the Cross", "The Unbeliever"
Iron Maiden - Virtual XI - TXF's even more maligned little brother album. While not being as good as its predecessor, VXI gets more listens from me because of its more accessible mood. Though it is not a flawless album, it is a very strong, fun and consistent album with no weak tracks (yes, I did say that). Highlights: "Futureal", "The Clansman", "When Two Worlds Collide"
Dream Theater - Train of Thought - This album's detractors are correct when they say that this is a case of Mike Portnoy pulling the band in a more modern metal direction. And they are correct to say that it is no Images and Words. But this still has to be considered one of the most brilliant albums in prog, if only for the "Stream of Consciousness" instrumental and the "In the Name of God" epic. I also love the pure aggression of "Honor Thy Father", particularly the midsection.
Not sure if these qualify, but one I feel I must mention since Metallica came up and this album is very much maligned. And the other is just another much hated album. And also because I feel self-conscious about the fact that my list is short and almost entirely Iron Maiden. So here it is:
Metallica - Metallica - "The Black Album" is, in many ways, a parallel to No Prayer. Both Maiden and Metallica had moved in very progressive direction by their standards on their previous album, and both bands felt that, at the time, they could not move further in that direction. They both decided to strip down their sound. The only true difference between No Prayer and the Black Album is that the former is the better album and that the latter was a mainstream commercial success. Highlights: "Sad But True", "The Unforgiven", "Through the Never"
Rush - Caress of Steel - This is, of course, the album that almost killed Rush. It was a commercial failure compared to Fly By Night and the success of 2112 came on the heels of a warning that Rush would be cut from the label if they produced another failure. This album very clearly fits under the heading of "Flawed Masterpiece". Side-long epic "The Fountain of Lamneth" is certainly a highlight despite probably being the least brilliant of Rush's three songs of that type. Still, in theme it is the most ambitions and it very successfully captures the various moods that it attempts to evoke throughout. Another highlight is opener "Bastille Day", which is of course majestic.
