Brighter Than A Thousand Suns

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date

How good is Brighter Than A Thousand Suns on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    46
If I didn't know the lyrics, I would have no idea what Bruce sings about, because his vocals are so buried here. Still a very great song. 9
 
Last edited:
I noticed something. According to Wikipedia, Adrian has used a guitar synthesizer on the song BTATS ->

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Matter_of_Life_and_Death_(album)

I know that Steve has done all of the keyboards parts on all reunion albums and 3 songs on VXI album - M.Kenney on TBOS and from NPFTD to TXF + the other songs on VXI. Steve and Adrian (synthesiser, string synthesiser) on SSOASS album and Steve, Adrian and Dave (guitar synthesiser, bass synthesiser) on SIT album.
 
He plays the main riff an octave higher on the synth during the verses. Can't remember if there are any other parts.
 
A masterful behemoth written about the Manhattan Project, "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" is a contender for the heaviest song of Maiden's career. A dominating riff drives this hulking giant, and some of Bruce's more aggressive vocals are at play here. The lyrics are great at invoking the images of destruction and debris, and there are plenty of shades here to like. My one issue is that Bruce is often at odds with the music, but overall it's quite a strong song. 8
 
9/10. It's close to perfect, but like Diesel said, there are weird parts where Bruce's vocal melody just sounds off with the music. Repetitive choruses hurt it, but not enough to bring it too far down. Also: they used E=MC^2 as a lyric and it doesn't come across as awkward, and really works in that heavy/fast section.
 
Great song, one of the best on an already stellar album.

The main riff in the intro and verses is in 7/4 time, but it doesn’t feel gimmicky or strange on purpose. Instead it flows very naturally and works well under the vocals as well.

Not a 10 because it’s a bit too long and the faster part isn’t that great.
 
Amazing intro - it sets the mood perfectly. One of the heaviest Maiden songs (very heavy main riff). The melodic riff is pure gold, the verses are quite solid and the chorus is very good. Both solos are fantastic. Thunderous drums from Nicko. Bruce completely destroys the vocals - so powerful performance from him. The calm parts of the song also sound right in place and they add a nice climax to it. The fast part after Adrian's solo is a highlight. Maybe it's a bit too long, but overall, a fantastic epic! 9/10

I love the performance of this song from Abbey Road (of HBTN too).
 
Last edited:
Amazing intro - sets the atmosphere perfectly. One of the heaviest Maiden songs. Very heavy main riff. The melodic riff is pure gold, the verses are quite solid, the chorus is very good too. Adrian's solo is fantastic. (maybe the only song where only Adrian and Janick have a solos and, Dave not). Thunderous drums from Nicko. Bruce completely destroys the vocals - so powerful performance from him. The calm parts of the song also sounds right in place and they add a nice climax to it. The fast part after Adrian's solo is great. I love the performance of this song from Abbey Road (so as DW and HBTN). Maybe it's a bit too long, but overall, a fantastic epic !

9/10.
They didn't play Different World at Abbey Road.
 
5/10 because I don't find it annoying or ridiculous +1 because the first solo is particularly inspired. Other than that, this supposedly great song doesn't click with me.

6
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gk1
This is the best song they have done since Infinite Dreams.

Not sure if I quite agree with the above, but admittedly - just my opinion of course - Brighter Than a Thousand Suns is one of the strongest efforts of the past two, almost three decades. The tempo changes are actually very good here, it has great, dark and heavy vibe, great lyrics and one of the better riffs of the "modern" era. Quality collaboration by the Smith/Harris/Dickinson. Not sure if I'd score it as 9 or 10, but it's a brilliant, outstanding song indeed - for me anyway.
 
Last edited:
In my opinion, it's one of the best songs they ever wrote. Top 5. Well above Infinite Dreams, which I've never found impressive.
 
Back
Top