Brave New World

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


  • Total voters
    28
10/10

The title track further develops the new sound of Iron Maiden. Having three guitarists could easily become cluttered, but that’s never the case here. Dave Murray plays a beautiful rhythmic pattern, Janick guides the vocal melody, and Adrian Smith fills in the background with reverb-drenched accent chords and arpeggios. The previous two records had a tendency to sound empty, but that lack of depth is gone forever with the return of Adrian, whose ear for guitar textures is second to none. Brave New World is possibly the best utilization of the three guitarists on the record. The interplay during the bridge is phenomenal, including a triple guitar harmony section! Not to mention, Bruce sounds mind-blowing on this track. It’s a classic Maiden heavy hitter, combining a songwriting approach that would have fit on Seventh Son with an emotional depth that began on The X Factor. Steve Harris' soul-searching and dark lyrics are still present on this album, as are the quiet intros, but the songs have a new resonance. Bruce’s conviction and Kevin Shirley’s production bring everything into the foreground.
 
Gonna be honest, I don't get how this song is so popular. It's a weird track, the verses and music feel really out of place and not all that good, though the lyrics are pretty good. But then you come to the chorus and it's great. I'll give it a 7/10 because the chorus is amazing and the weirdness is slowly growing on me.
 
I just came to think of that the Rock In Rio version sounds so different because Dave's clean part is moved to the middle of the mix after the drums kicks in. On the studio version it's the opposite, his guitar is moved to the left after the intro.
 
Not as good as the two previous tracks, but still a very strong title track (and one of the best). Beautiful intro, feels almost like a lullaby, before kicking off into something a lot faster and far heavier. 8.
 
Up until the first chorus it’s absolutely perfect. However, I think the chorus really brings the song down, with its repetitiveness. It’s still a very good song, but it could have been so much better. 8/10
 
A surprisingly soft opening leads into an equally soft verse. Bruce sounds great here. This soon escalates into a harder version of the verse that's a little less successful. Not a fan of the guitar doubling the vocal here.

And then, boom, there's that classic Maiden feel on the chorus. While the lyrics are repetitive, Bruce mixes up the melody enough for it to not get tiring.

Another round of verse and chorus, and then Janick delivers another surprisingly good solo. Why wasn't he doing this on the previous three albums? Did Adrian's return make him step up his game?

A great solo from Dave and then a very nice harmonized guitar section before returning to that classic chorus. Perhaps more than any other song on the album, this one truly announced that the Maiden we loved was finally back. 9/10.
 
A surprisingly soft opening leads into an equally soft verse. Bruce sounds great here. This soon escalates into a harder version of the verse that's a little less successful. Not a fan of the guitar doubling the vocal here.

And then, boom, there's that classic Maiden feel on the chorus. While the lyrics are repetitive, Bruce mixes up the melody enough for it to not get tiring.

Another round of verse and chorus, and then Janick delivers another surprisingly good solo.

A great solo from Dave and then a very nice harmonized guitar section before returning to that classic chorus. 9/10.

Other than that, we have the same opinion on this song!

(Maiden weren't "back" for me, because I didn't get into them until some time after :D)
 
Maiden were never "back" because they never went away. People call this current period "the reunion era", which I just hate because they never split.
 
I think TXF is very strong, VXI starts off well but takes a bit of a dive after The Clansman, though things pick up with Como Estais Amigos.
I think the only songs that are ‘weaker’ are Collide and Fool, but they’re still integral to the album and the feel and I enjoy them when they play.
 
Janicks solos (Daves too, but mostly Jans) are some of the highlights of the previous albums! :eek:
Nah, Janick sounded pretty good on No Prayer For The Dying, but he slacked off hard for the next three albums and was really sloppy. He even got Dave to start playing sloppily. Maybe you like that sloppy style, but I hate it.
 
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