Bruce Dickinson - pro-shot footage from Sunflower Superjam 2012

Does that mean Iron Maiden is now officially a classic rock act?
 
Always thought Maiden had more in common with Purple, Zeppelin, Yes, Priest etc than all of their metal contemporaries in the 80s and 90s. So yes, in my opinion Iron Maiden is classic rock/metal. They are more classic rock than they are power metal that's for sure :D
 
Of course, Maiden have strong Purple, Lizzy, Zeppelin and The Who influences. But I think it's a different thing to acknowledge the input from those bands, and putting them on the same stage. Thing is, I'm not a big fan of the 'classic rock' label, so while I did greatly enjoy those clips, they leave a bittersweet taste in my mouth.
 
Hmm, I don't really see the problem in that. Bruce Dickinson might represent Maiden in some way but we also know he is a massive fan of The Who and Deep Purple with Gillan being his favorite vocalist. This felt pretty natural to me. Perhaps we sometimes forget how old of a band Maiden really are?! :p. And well..classic rock is just a big blanket label that is being thrown over any rock band from the 60s and 70s....hardly useful at all anymore :)
 
I just can't see Maiden as a "classic rock" band. Their music owes almost nothing to rock'n roll in terms of structure, ryhtmic pattern and so on. To my ears, most of their songs are heavy metal ; for other songs, I can hear the connection with Tull or even Yes, not really with Lizzy. But, to me, their music is (Harris one at least) a genre in itself.
 
"Classic rock" is just a really lame term to me. It brings up images of artists like The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, and Steppenwolf. Bands that haven't been relevant in decades and play the same material night in and night out. I probably think like that because of the classic rock stations out here, but either way it's something I definitely don't want to associate with Maiden (or even Queen for that matter).
 
@harrisdevot - the connection to Thin Lizzy are Maiden's "trademark" twin guitar melodies which were first introduced by Phil Lynott and the guys in a lot of Lizzy songs.
 
I think all harrisdevot is saying is that, besides a few things here & there, they sound fuck all like any rock acts of the 70's. I broadly agree with this (i.e. the words I've just put into his mouth! :D) "Owes almost nothing" might be a slight exaggeration tho'...;)
 
Yes, Ranko, you're right, Lizzy and Maiden have this in common, but I think Harris borrowed this to Wishbone Ash, which was a great influence to him.
 
Definitely a Wishbone Ash thing more than a Lizzy thing, but the twin guitar leads aren't the only thing that Maiden took from Lizzy. The Fallen Angel has a very modernized Thin Lizzy feel, for example.
 
Angel of Death is the definite proto-Maiden song.

Even if it was recorded in 1981.
 
I think Angel of Death was Lizzy taking from Maiden.
(Love that song, BTW)
 
To me it sounds more like Lizzy evolving organically to something that sounds a lot like Maiden.

And yeah, it's bloody amazing. I'm still pissed that Maiden cheated us out of the cover they did for the AMOLAD B-Sides.
 
I had forgotten this Perun. You are right, this would have been great to hear that. As for Angel of Death, this is a kind of strange object in Lizzy's discography ; even on Chinatown, there is no other song that sounds like this. I'm terribly disappointed by the cover of Emerald whose video has been posted earlier : the music should be driven by the bass guitar, which gives some extra smoothness to it, and Bruce doesn't get the right aproach to this marvellous song.
 
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