Book Of Souls: Rate each song out of 10, give an overall rating!

1. If Eternity Should Fail: 9.0/10
2. Speed of Light: 7.5/10
3. The Great Unknown: 6.0/10
4. The Red and The Black: 9.5/10
5. When the River Runs Deep: 9.5/10
6. The Book of Souls: 8.0/10
7. Death or Glory: 9.5/10
8. Shadows of the Valley: 8.5/10
9. Tears of a Clown: 8.5/10
10. The Man of Sorrows: 6.0/10
11. Empire of the Clouds: 9.0/10

Average rating: 8.27
 
If Eternity Should Fail - 9/10

Speed of light - 9/10

The Great Unknown - 8/10

The Red and the Black - 10/10

When the River Runs Deep - 9/10

The Book of Souls - 10/10

Death or Glory - 9/10

Shadows of the Valley - 8/10

Tears of a Clown - 9/10

The Man Of Sorrows - 8/10

Empire of the Clouds - 10/10

Overall 9/10

Most songs are excellent, though I think I'm being a little over-forgiving to TMoS and TGU. Favorites: TBoS and EOC.
 
If Eternity Should Fail - 10/10

Speed of light - 7/10

The Great Unknown - 8/10

The Red and the Black - 9/10

When the River Runs Deep - 7/10

The Book of Souls - 10/10

Death or Glory - 9/10

Shadows of the Valley - 6/10

Tears of a Clown - 10/10

The Man Of Sorrows - 8/10

Empire of the Clouds - 7/10

Overall 9/10

Im happy to say that there is no real lowpoints, all songs are good just more or less.
 
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PlayClassics! said:
IF ETERNITY SHOULD FAIL - 10/10
SPEED OF LIGHT 6/10
THE GREAT UNKNOWN 7/10
THE RED AND THE BLACK 10/10
WHEN THE RIVER RUNS DEEP 8/10
THE BOOK OF SOULS 10/10
DEATH OR GLORY 9/10
SHADOWS OF THE VALLEY 5/10
TEARS OF A CLOWN 10/10
THE MAN OF SORROWS 9/10
EMPIRE OF THE CLOUDS 10/10

Av.rating: 9,4

Man, that's a better average rating than I originally thought. It spontaneously felt like 8/10 for me, but it's actually higher than 9, which is bloody brilliant. Still a few songs I'm not overly thrilled about. The Great Unknown, as a song, is good, but I hate Bruce vocals in it. They hurt my ears. Speed Of Light is a bit better in the context of the album as the "fun" song of the bunch, but still pretty forgettable. Shadows Of The Valley is pure filler from the word go, and should just have been left off.
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Thought you was this forums harsh critic? Lots of nods to earlier 'classic' songs off BOS, maybe you like that. I do at least, this album have a nice blend of old and new plus some Bruce D solo maybe too. Better sound/prod. than previous three album too which helps.
 
1. If Eternity Should Fail: 10/10
2. Speed of Light: 8/10
3. The Great Unknown: 7/10
4. The Red and The Black: 6/10
5. When the River Runs Deep: 7/10
6. The Book of Souls: 8/10
7. Death or Glory: 9/10
8. Shadows of the Valley: 8/10
9. Tears of a Clown: 7/10
10. The Man of Sorrows: 6/10
11. Empire of the Clouds: 9/10
 
1. If Eternity Should Fail: 9/10
2. Speed of Light: 7.5/10
3. The Great Unknown: 8/10
4. The Red and The Black: 6/10
5. When the River Runs Deep: 6.5/10
6. The Book of Souls: 8/10
7. Death or Glory: 7.5/10
8. Shadows of the Valley: 6.5/10
9. Tears of a Clown: 9/10
10. The Man of Sorrows: 7.5/10
11. Empire of the Clouds: 9.5/10

That comes out as 7.7 overall, but I'm going to remove .2 for the shit production and give it an overall 7.5.
 
Gk1 said:
:)
Well, the album is a double one. You reckon there is a single album's worth material. So this more or less makes TBOS to worth around 5/10 doesn't it??
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If I simply average the individual song ratings, it's a 7. If I average them weighted by length, it's an 8. Drop the weakest 4 tracks, it's 9.

Note that Iron Maiden has been producing longer albums in the 25 years. In minutes:

58 FOTD
71 TXF
53 VXI
67 BNW
68 DOD
72 AMOLAD
77 TFF
92 TBOS​

While TBOS is a "double album", it's only 20% longer than TFF.

These "recent" longer albums have been less consistent than Maiden's output in the 1980s. So I don't let a few skippable tracks drag the experience down... instead I give them some mulligans with the overall rating.

And to be fair, even the shorter albums from their sales heyday weren't perfect. Going backwards, I don't care for Can I Play with Madness, Stranger in a Strange Land, Two Minutes to Midnight, Die with Your Boots On, 22 Acacia Avenue, or Number of the Beast (not a fan of Total Eclipse either).

My favorite Maiden albums from the 1980s (Seventh Son and Piece of Mind) each have 40 minutes of strong material, so that's my benchmark.

Of course that's a somewhat sterile way to look at music. To me and probably many of us, a new Maiden album is a life event... we listen to it over and over, analyzing every note. But ultimately, an album is more than the sum of its parts. How it makes us feel is what matters.
 
1) if eternity should fail 10
2) speed of light 7
3) the great unknown 9
4) the red and the black 9
5) when the river runs deep 9
6) the book of souls 10
7) death or glory 10
8) shadows of the valley 10
9) tears of a clown 10
10) the man of sorrows 9
11) empire of the clouds 10
 
Time to play critic!

If Eternity Should Fail - 8.5/10

Speed of light - 6/10

The Great Unknown - 9/10

The Red and the Black - 8/10

When the River Runs Deep - 9/10

The Book of Souls - 10/10

Death or Glory - 10/10

Shadows of the Valley - 10/10

Tears of a Clown - 7/10

The Man Of Sorrows - 9/10

Empire of the Clouds - 10/10

overall: 8.7/10
 
So, let's elaborate on our overall scores a little bit. To you grade an album by averaging every songs ranking, or do you grade an album based on how it hits you as a whole?
 
Brave New Pilgrim said:
So, let's elaborate on our overall scores a little bit. To you grade an album by averaging every songs ranking, or do you grade an album based on how it hits you as a whole?
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For me the strength of an album depends on both its strongest and weakest songs, and then how it fits together for bonus points. If an album has a few killer tracks but a notable number of bad ones I can't fairly rank it too highly as an album but if it is consistently listenable with nothing special what is the point of listening to it?
 
01 - If Eternity Should Fail - 10/10
02 - Speed Of Light - 9/10
03 - The Great Unknown - 8,5/10
04 - The Red And The Black - 9,5/10
05 - When The River Runs Deep - 9/10
06 - The Book Of Souls - 9/10
07 - Death Or Glory - 8/10
08 - Shadows Of The Valley - 7,5/10
09 - Tears Of A Clown - 9/10
10 - The Man Of Sorrows - 7/10
11 - Empire Of The Clouds - 8/10
 
DJMayes said:
Perhaps it is a rookie thing to do but I for one would much rather be a rookie able to appreciate twice as many songs as the jaded veteran still stuck in the 80s.

As far as this being my favourite Maiden album is concerned, it has my favourite Maiden song (Empire of the Clouds), a couple of songs I consider standout tracks, and a massively solid bedrock of enjoyable songs where even the few weaker tracks are nowhere near as bad as the filler some of the other albums have. I doubt you'll agree with the spoilered stuff below but hopefully it clarifies my viewpoint on the matter.

Number of the Beast - Undeniably the most hits but as an album? It has a gaping chasm of quality in the middle called Gangland and Total Eclipse.

Piece Of Mind - Probably the best 5 song run in Maiden history but once The Trooper ends there is nothing much I'm listening for anymore.

Powerslave - Fantastic opening and ending with Flash of the Blade being the only great track in the middle.

Somewhere In Time - This is the strongest competition The Book Of Souls has for me as every track is consistently great. Why do I not pick it? Because whilst it doesn't have a low (and I'd say its worst tracks are better than or equal to the worst on TBOS) it doesn't have a high for me either.

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - Kind of like Somewhere In Time except with having a couple of weaker tracks (For me, Moonchild, thanks largely to the chorus, and The Prophecy) but added cohesion as an album.

No Prayer For The Dying - I don't hate anything on this but I don't think there's anything particularly stunning either. It's an album for when I'm in the mood.

Fear of the Dark - So many bad songs I don't really listen to this as an album, though it does have a few songs I regularly listen to on their own.

Brave New World - In my mind the most overrated album Maiden have done. I get it was their reunion but this was before my time as a fan so I don't have that, and without it the album is a few great tracks with the rest ranging from decent to filler.

Dance Of Death - Opposite of the above in that I rate it much more highly than other people tend to; consistently enjoyable with a couple of standout tracks though a couple I'd rate as worse than the bottom of TBOS.

A Matter of Life and Death - Consistent, cohesive album which is good pretty much all the way through (I will never understand the love for the snoozefest that is These Colours Don't Run, but that's for another thread) but rarely great.

The Final Frontier - Some fantastic tracks unfortunately interspersed with a fair few weak ones as well.
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Rookie mistake as in not giving the new album much time before naming it your favorite.
To me that sounds as if you hardly gave the other albums a thorough listen, comprende?
 
Official Maidenfans.com rankings will be open in appx 6 months for The Book of Souls.

These rankings will not be considered for the ongoing forum aggregate.
 
desultory said:
Rookie mistake as in not giving the new album much time before naming it your favorite.
To me that sounds as if you hardly gave the other albums a thorough listen, comprende?
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I have relistened to the other albums fully at least a couple of times each in the time since TBOS has been released.

Any other issues?
 
After a little over a week and probably a good 20 listens, I'd rank them like this -

1. If Eternity Should Fail: 9/10 - spoken word ending is the only thing I don't like here
2. Speed of Light: 7.5/10 - fun rocker
3. The Great Unknown: 7.5/10 - seems padded but the good parts are good
4. The Red and The Black: 7/10 - first half is a bore, second half is awesome
5. When the River Runs Deep: 7/10 - decent rocker
6. The Book of Souls: 10/10 - total highlight and a great song. Best song on this album for me.
7. Death or Glory: 8/10 - good bouncy rocker
8. Shadows of the Valley: 8.5/10 - love the chorus and melodies
9. Tears of a Clown: 9/10 - good song
10. The Man of Sorrows: 8/10 - biggest grower by far for me
11. Empire of the Clouds: 9.5/10 - only not a 10 because I feel like it could have been a bit shorter even though it's amazing
 
I've listened to the album with headphones on and off while reading the lyrics and studying each member's individual performance and their sound collectively enough times to the point that I feel comfortable to give it a rating that I know deep inside it is not going to change drastically in the future. Unfortunately the initial excitement has subdided and I no longer think it is a masterpiece that I did think it was when I first listened to the album. Overall a good Maiden album much better than TFF.

1. If Eternity Should Fail: 8,5/10
I love the drop-D sound. I wish they would experiment more with it more as it fits Bruce's current vocal range brilliantly .Amazing vocal delivery and lyrics by Bruce. Fucking amazing verse and chorus. I love the contrast eerie synth intro/demonic acoustic outro. Only the bridge is a bit of a let down. I remember listening to Nicko's short drum roll and Steve's ride on the bass thinking oh fuck shit come on Three amigos give it to me I am ready!! I am ready for this amazing guitar lick/twist but of course that never came. I was expecting something a little bit better!!
2. Speed of Light: 7.5/10
I love this song now more when I hear it in context of the album. I understand it better if that makes sense.
More fitting than death of glory as the second song as the lyrics here do not deviate much from the lyrics of IESF . Again it's bruce contemplating the subjects of universe, eternity, space travel , humanity but the tone is much happier brighter and rockier
3. The Great Unknown: 8/10
"Winter softly falling to the GROUUUND"Good song. It sounds very AMOLAD to my ears. Love the lyrics.
4. The Red and The Black: 6/10
Let me get this straight . I love long instrumental sections in Maiden songs especially Harris epics. In this particular case however I feel he really lost the plost. The song should have been at least 3-5 min shorter. It is a shame because it features possibly the best solos of the abum and some really memorable grabbing melodies/harmonies but it just drags for too long unnecessarily.
5. When the River Runs Deep: 8/10
Amazing rocker.I am a sucker for Adrian's riffs and rocking intros I think he is the best of the three. I know that I am in the minority when I say this is a great song and that I wish for this song to be part of the live set next year. Really looking forward to somebody posting a decent guitar-pro tab on songster.com. I know it's going to take me a good 3-4 days to learn just that amazing intro!!!
6. The Book of Souls: 9/10 Great song. Centerpiece of the album. It deserves all the praise it has received on this board.
7. Death or Glory: 6.0/10
Great 80s heavy/power metal type intro riff. I wish the whole song was as monstrous and heavy as the intro but I've been disappointed enough times to know H is only teasing us. i know the heavy intro is not going to last long and it is going to turn rockier. I like the music. I hate the lyrics, the title of song and the chorus is beyond cheesy. Aces high is untouchable and if you want to do a similar type of song then I am sorry you have to try harder...like you did with Silver wings by Bruce .it is so much better in comparison. Heavier production, heavier riffs, soaring vocals, better lyrics and no sight of monkey!!
8. Shadows of the Valley: 7/10
I love it when Maiden plagiarize them selves. I don't think it has got to do so much with lack or shortage of ideas as with them nodding at their past teasing us . I would like to have seen Adrian's face when Janick said to the rest of the guys hey I've got an idea for a song do you want to listen to it? here It goes like this-----> enter wasted years riff slower and missing notes.
9. Tears of a Clown: 7/10
Atypical lyrics and music for Maiden . good mid paced rocker
10. The Man of Sorrows: 7.0/10
Bruce once said that Dave Murray writing a song is similar to giving birth to an elephant. It's long painful laborious process. If you bring only one song to the album after 5 years then it had better be a masterpiece like The Thin line between love and hate. I am very disappointed with Dave
11. Empire of the Clouds: 7/10
Bruce goes Meatloaf on this one. I had my reservations about this song from second one because the lack of a Harris credit and hints from early reviews meant that this was most likely never going to be a heavy fully blown epic like Rime. And this is actually what my heart yearned for. The story telling is good . I love the piano .I am happy that Bruce feels comfortable and confident to bring in his ideas without fearing he is going to get rejected, confident to carry the weight of a 18 min long epic on his shoulders alone . He certainly stepped up and proved his progress as a composer. It's just not heavy enough for my liking

Overall 7.5/10
 
01. The Book Of Souls 10/10

02. The Great Unknown 9/10
03. If Eternity Should Fail 9/10
04. Tears Of A Clown 9/10
05. The Man Of Sorrows 9/10

06. Empire Of The Clouds 8/10
07. Speed Of Light 8/10
08. Shadows Of The Valley 8/10

These 8 songs above would have made a really great 1 CD album.

What's next below is just filler and embarrasing material not worthy to belong on a Maiden album.

09. Death Or Glory 4/10
10. When The River Runs Deep 3/10

11. The Red And The Black 2/10
 
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