Brave New World or Dance Of Death
- Thread starter Forostar
- Start date
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
Forostar said:
Really? That is very interesting. Upon first listen I felt it was a return to roots album, it sounded (and still does) very 80's. Most of the people that I lent it too came to the same conclusion (the rest flat out didn't like it). I think that is what sneaky means by unoriginal. It took all the golden formulas from past albums and smashed them into BNW.
Arran_Ramone said:
Invader answered it for me, but yes, the Mercenary.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Onhell said:
First I'd like to point out that I have never heard something like this before. I don't remember any reviewer, bandmember or anyone else stating something like you did. So I am interested as well!
When talking about music, I always try to respect totally opposed opinions, but it's easier for me to understand them when they are explained a bit more (if possible). Please, don't get too angry by the following (I know you sometimes hate it when someone else says something about your post), I am only doing this because I am curious...
-What's unoriginal about Brave New World?
-What are these golden formulas, taken from the past?
-What sounds 80's on Brave New World?
Has your impression more to do with some kind of positive feeling than with analyzing music? A feeling can be fed by a broader range of things. Perhaps your friends and you like this album very much, thus comparing it automatically with Maiden's work you like from the 80's?
To put it in a somewhat exagerated and ridiculous manner:
*Beavis and Butthead voices on*
"Yeah the 80's. Those were the golden years, that was good stuff. BNW is good stuff too. H did good stuff in the 80's. H is back! Bruce is back! He sounded great in the 80's. They are back! Yeah, so because they are back, and because Brave New World is as good as Maiden was in the 80's, it must sound like the 80's"
*Beavis and Butthead voices off*
My own pick: Maiden never used formulas, they just did what came up. Yes, they have an own recognizable sound and style, with trademark ingredients. But in my ears BNW certainly sounds like something new, something different compared with previous albums. I hear new things (as explained: miles away from stuff on their eighties albums) on this record. Instead of being in a nostalgic mood, and leaning on classic albums, the band was simply injected by new energy.
I don't hear they repeated/recycled their earlier melodies or riffs, except the couplet riff in Ghost of the Navigator which reminds me of the couplet riff in Can I Play With Madness.
Invader
Ancient Mariner
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Laughing about my memory eh? 
Well, I am getting old! Fair enough, must have forgotten about it.
Mav talks about the lyrics (his strongest point) and other technical matters such as
- the overall style and mix of the synthesizers
- the guitar sound
- the vocals of Bruce (in top form)
I can imagine that these elements may remind us of the 80's. I disagree somewhat with the synthesizer style (especially sound) and the vocals of Bruce remind me more of his own solo career which I followed closely than his earlier vocals.
More importantly, when I look at the songwriting of most songs (I thought this was meant in the first place by Sneaky and Onhell - forgive me if I was wrong), for me the bodywork of the album, and the structures, the build-ups, the use of clean guitars, the pianosound, the style of Blood Brothers, all these original aspects, then I forget the 80's instantly.
Well, I am getting old! Fair enough, must have forgotten about it.
Mav talks about the lyrics (his strongest point) and other technical matters such as
- the overall style and mix of the synthesizers
- the guitar sound
- the vocals of Bruce (in top form)
I can imagine that these elements may remind us of the 80's. I disagree somewhat with the synthesizer style (especially sound) and the vocals of Bruce remind me more of his own solo career which I followed closely than his earlier vocals.
More importantly, when I look at the songwriting of most songs (I thought this was meant in the first place by Sneaky and Onhell - forgive me if I was wrong), for me the bodywork of the album, and the structures, the build-ups, the use of clean guitars, the pianosound, the style of Blood Brothers, all these original aspects, then I forget the 80's instantly.
SneakySneaky
Trooper
Well basically I was talking about what Onhell said. Don't know how to explain it though. There just use patterns that have been used before. Intros, chorus styles, synths used, they just sound redone. Let's look at it the other way. What do you find original?
Invader
Ancient Mariner
Forostar said:Laughing about my memory eh?
Well, I am getting old! Fair enough, must have forgotten about it.
Nah, I just laughed because it happened to be the IMC. I remembered that comment because I never really agreed with it, I don't think even the sound of Brave New World is that similar (maybe some riffs, but definitely not the whole album).
Stuff like Dream of Mirrors, Blood Brothers, The Nomad, and The Thin Line Between Love and Hate have elements that surfaced in the 80s (e.g. slow intros, "epic" feel, long instrumental sections, progressive song structure) but really came into their own in the 90s, as well as some very new elements (use of keyboards/piano/synthesizers etc.). There's some continuity from Virtual XI, as well as elements from The X Factor and the 80s, and there's also some touches from Bruce's solo career. I can hear influences from many different eras, not just a rehash of the 80s, as well as some new elements; all these combined make an excellent and definitely not "old-sounding" album. Brave New World is fairly unique, if for no other reason than I can't pinpoint any single album that sounds like it (then again, that's hard to do for many Maiden albums
). 
Forostar said:
That's far too articulate for Beavis and Butthead.
This is what Beavis and Butthead would say:
"Huh huh. Huh huh. Maiden. ... RUUUUUUN TOOOOO THEEE HIIIIILLLLS! ... Huh huh. Huh huh. Yeah. Didn't they, like, die or something? Hehe. Hehe. ... Errr ... I don't know. They're like zombies. Like ... uhhh ... Eddie. YEAH! ED-DIE! ED-DIE! ED-DIE! <smack> Shut up, buttmunch."
Habberdasher
Trooper
Kuroda said:
While Face in the Sand may be my favorite Maiden 2000 song, Brave New World has a deeper bench an therefore gets my vote.
ShadowWave
Prowler
BNW. Most of it is fantastic, with a few exceptions.
kwok fu seng
Prowler
i guess that i'm the only one who adore DoD so much .. until nowadays (even they've already came out with AMOLAD and FLIGHT666), this "worst-album-compared-to-BNW" DoD still become my daily playlist! .. can't describe by words why does this happen, coincidentally that this is exactly the only one Maiden's 3-guitar-line up album that feature a fair share of guitar solos between the 3 guitarists throughout the album whereas in BNW, H seems so discriminated by the band, guitar-solo wise!!!
plz don't fuck me for my horrible english, i'm only just saying my heartfelt opinion! .. and i'm alone here
plz don't fuck me for my horrible english, i'm only just saying my heartfelt opinion! .. and i'm alone here
Genghis Khan
Ancient Mariner
BNW. Hands down. Easily.
It has the guitar crispness of SSOASS and the relentless riffage of Powerslave. Besides most of my favourite songs are from BNW (when comparing the two).
It has the guitar crispness of SSOASS and the relentless riffage of Powerslave. Besides most of my favourite songs are from BNW (when comparing the two).