Brave New World

How good is Brave New World on a scale of 1-10?


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'brave New World'

I don't know. This one seems to be too much standart of Maiden's progressive recipe. It is a good song nevertheless, but it does not stand out. The lyrics make me shiver though:

All is lost
Sold your souls
To this brave new world


When listening to this song, and much of the album, an image of our modern-day urban society appears before my eyes. Very little lyrical and prosaic words manage to do that. That is why I love Iron Maiden so much.

Rating: 4
 
'brave New World'

This song made me read the book, which is quite unusual for me. It's a good song with strong lyrics and a great chorus. However, they did not have to repeat the chorus that often.
 
'brave New World'

4.5/5 - only got brave new world this week, and this song, as well as ghost of the navigator, and the endlessly repetitive blood brothers stood out as three songs that made me glad I had done. The sudden contrast at 1:28, with the change from the slow intro, which, try as I might I cannot sing in tune [!--emo&:rolleyes:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/rolleyes.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'rolleyes.gif\' /][!--endemo--] to the heavier pre-chorus that follows it is [hard to think of the word to describe at this time of night!]. In short, it's one hell of a song, and deserves it's spot in my top 5!
 
'brave New World'

The fact that 'Brave New World' was the only album song to be played on both former tours is evident enough that it has already become a classic and it does deserve it by all means!Great chorus and top guitar solos make this song most special and to be honest I couldn't imagine upcoming tours without the band keep playing it!
 
'brave New World'

This song is the one who made me discover Iron Maiden so I cannot put anything but 5 stars. I had found the introduction simply superb. The whole song is speedy but light; I like this mix. And it's perfect for live with the catchy chorus. The solo is one of the best from Maiden. I like everything in this song.
 
'brave New World'

This is one of those songs that instantly resonates with me, and I have hitherto not been able to understand why. Textual analysis, therefore, might be useful in explicating its meaning.

As an environmentalist, the song presents an image of a planet after some kind of holocaust (be it nuclear, environmental, or just old fashioned genocide).
After the disaster chaos reigns, there is nothing in life to strive for except survival.

Dying swans twisted wings, beauty not needed here
Lost my love, lost my life, in this garden of fear


The swans, a traditional symbol of purity and beauty, are not needed in the new world, they serve no purpose and are, by definition, weak. Purity has no use in a land where only the strong surrvive. The ruthless and grotesque thrive because of their brute strength.

I have seen many things, in a lifetime alone
Mother love is no more, bring this savage back home


The protagonist has, obviously, been able to live through the horrors, but only at the expense of losing the essence of what makes him human. The purest love, from mother to child, is non-existent, and sorely missed. "This savage" wishes to turn back the clock to the way things were (and presumably are now). In short, he misses his mommy and childhood. Innocence is gone, and the cold hard realities of life set in.


Wilderness house of pain, makes no sense of it all
Close this mind dull this brain, Messiah before his fall
What you see is not real, those who know will not tell
All is lost, sold your souls to this brave new world

The key lines in this stanza are 2 and 4. In the chaos, people have turned away from religion (the Messiah about to fall). By religion I don't mean Christianity or Islam or Buddhism, I mean they have stopped believing in a better future. There is no hope, as indicated by the fourth line, for those people who have bought in to this brave new world.

Dragon kings, dying queens, where is salvation now
Lost my life lost my dreams, rip the bones from my flesh
Silent screams laughing here, dying to tell you the truth
You are planned and you are damned in this brave new world


The dragon can have multiple meanings - it could be a reference to the serpent of the Bible (in medieval literature snakes and dragons were often interchangeable). If this is to be believed, then the "king dragon" is Satan, and the "dying queen" could be Eve after she ate the forbidden fruit. She did not physically expire, but her soul died a little inside for disobeying God. Eve and Adam lost their (and humanity's) chance at salvation, casting humanity into a brave new world in which we are all "planned and damned".
If this is indeed the case, then the "brave new world" is Earth and the Apocalyptic event I wrote of earlier is that of the expulsion from Eden - a subtle biblical allusion which demonstrates the complexity and depth of Iron Maiden's lyrics.

Alternatively, the dragon could just be a beastification (if that's a word) of the evils which plague the new society. If biblical allusions are discounted, it does allow for an interesting hypothesis about the album Brave New World - the argument for a recurrent theme in at least four songs, almost creating a tetrarchy of plot.

"The Mercenary" could be viewed as the beginning of the apocalypse, with a small number of people triggering the series of events which would lead to the ultimate disaster in "Out of the Silent Planet." "Brave New World" shows the post-apocalypse era in which all that makes humans good and pure is gone. Finally, hope for the future is restored in "The Fallen Angel;" the chosen one, whoever that might be, has been sent by God to act as a scourge – he will purify the world of its evils so that it may be saved. I’m not suggesting BNW is a theme album, I just think there is a continuity of though among at least four of the songs.

Dying swans twisted wings, bring this savage back home


Let us pray we never experience a complete end of civilization such as depicted, because once the "savage" is gone, we can never bring him back home. We have the ability to destroy the planet – let’s be sure it is never used.

This post was thought up on the spot, so a lot of editing and revising will be required to make the arguments stronger, but I think the “tetrarchy case” I mentioned above is worth exploring.

Cheers,
Duke
 
Re: 'Brave New World'

Great intro and a great song overall.
The first verse is the one which really hits the spot....absolute class.
Bruce is at his best on this album as well.
 
Re: 'Brave New World'

Possible Michael Moorcock influence? Just floating the idea given the band members interest in fantasy and Sci-Fi.

Thinking of these lines in particular:-

Dragon kings, dying queens, where is salvation now
Lost my life lost my dreams, rip the bones from my flesh
Silent screams laughing here, dying to tell you the truth
You are planned and you are damned in this brave new world

It brought to mind the Elric saga of Michael Moorcock, where dragon kings and queens do feature.
 
Daily Song: Brave New World

Welcome to the Daily Vote Thread! Rules are here.

Remember, only a decent review will count towards the contest.

Today's song: Brave New World

Yesterday's song remains open for voting! You can find it here.

YES. This song is one of the best mid-length Maiden songs there is. It builds up slow, with a gorgeous intro. Bruce sounds incredible. The song is a little less complex, perhaps, but the instrumental bit just seems to rock hard. Should be played live every time.

10/10
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

10/10. Really freaking good song! That is all I have to say.
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

Agreed. The build-up is great, the three guitars being used very well. The solos are fantastic, and the song is a joy to sing along to. This song deserves to be a live staple. Let there be 10.
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

Thought about giving it a 9, but a 10 seems to fit perfectly. It's a great song! I agree with everything that has been said.

I'm not sure how I feel about Dave's solo though. It's great, but it really does sound like he took Jan's guitar right before he started playing.
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

After dissecting this one and Ghost of the Navigator, I'm more convinced than ever before that Ghost of the Navigator-Brave New World-Blood Brothers is my favourite three-in-a-row from any Maiden album.
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

Without a doubt a new classic. Amazing solos, not overly long (a major complaint of mine re: 2000s Maiden) and even the repetitive chorus has enough emotion and differentiation to prevent it from getting boring.
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

I hate to be a Debbie Downer here but this song rates about a 7 with me.  I love the intro, the verses, the solos, and particularly the lyrics, but the repetitive nature of the chorus and melodies has never sat well with me.  I feel similarly about a lot of the songs on this album. 
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

Donner said:
I love the intro, the verses, the solos, and particularly the lyrics, but the repetitive nature of the chorus and melodies has never sat well with me.  I feel similarly about a lot of the songs on this album. 

I see where you are coming from,but the only song from the album where I feel repetitiveness becomes an issue, is The Mercenary - where that "show 'em no fear, show 'em no pain" line makes up a large chunk of the song. I feel that the segment which is repeated, is short enough not to bother me in those other songs.
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

Everything shines, apart from the chorus. It's not that annoying, but it does shit up the perfect score. 9
 
Re: Daily Song: Brave New World

Beautiful opening — beautiful melody, period. Nothing gets the bleachers bouncing like the chorus, the solos are orgasmic, Bruce and Nicko are spot on. Perfectly mixed, perfectly performed with a blend of power and emotion…everything works. My favourite off the album. Ten
 
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