Bruce Dickinson

[Black Bart]

Yeah, but Iron Maiden also had plenty of great banger-type songs during their golden years. The question is: why did they stop making them? Why fix what isn’t broken? (I remember Steve Harris saying he’s not really into that style anymore—which is a shame, and a big loss for us as fans.)

Unfortunately, I think this has got to do with the labels' legendary lack of flair: even before ignoring the changes the Internet would bring, they thought that because CDs were longer than vinyls (roughly 75' vs 45' respectively), the bands should fill them to the brim ...while keeping the same demands for tours. Consequently, this led to (relative) plodfests like Fear of the Dark and The X Factor (Maiden were of course not the only band to go down this route, think about Load and Reload for instance). Quantity over quality.

Since most bands had to deal with addiction to keep up, it is not surprising something had got to give after a decade or so at full power.
Thinking about it, the first half of the 90s was particularly deadly for the great hard rock bands: Judas Priest collapsed after arguably their best album - the same can be said about Guns N Roses, Helloween and Queensrÿche; Steve Clark (Def Leppard) died; Duff McKagan almost did so; Eddie Van Halen became a real loony... Magic cannot be entertained forever, sadly, especially when there is business involved.

That being said, it is obvious that Steve admitted to the need to do something "different" to keep the fans interested and possibly getting new ones, which possibly saved the band. Hence The X Factor, which was more relevant than backpedalling Virtual XI (the same goes for Slang and Euphoria). But damn, that was a hard time for 80s hard rockers!

 

[Azas]

Kevin Shirley’s take on Atmos mixes — is it basically pointless for home listening? From his Facebook:

So, this is a bit of a “flame on”! At some point, somebody has to get realistic about Atmos mixes versus stereo mixes for domestic use. Anyone with the Apple headphones or Apple earbuds that think they are getting the immersive experience, i’m sorry to tell you that you are sadly very mistaken. Apple might tell you otherwise but they have a vested interest – they’re trying to steal market share away from Spotify (stereo) and sell their awful and very overpriced headphones! I think it’s as simple as that! Now, I enjoy Atmos mixes, when you are in the sweet spot in the studio. When you are outside the sweet spot, it is as they say in the classics, a “clusterf*ck”! If any of you have checked your Apple iPhone Music settings – you’ll notice that the default listening situation is set at Atmos. So you’re never actually achieving the best possible headphone mix, which is the stereo mix. What bothers me, is that they don’t let the artist or the production company choose the default format. I think we would all choose stereo at that point, but the problem is then all the Atmos data would look like no one uses it, which is actually true. So, if you want to better music experience – set the default listening on your phone to stereo – turn Atmos off, and enjoy music as it’s meant. And if you want to hear true Atmos, go to the movie theaters or a recording studio. OK, flame off! Anyone got any opinions about this? The KS produced track today is “Mind’s Eye” by Joe Bonamassa. (There is also an Atmos mix for this! Mixed by Bob Clearmountain – the greatest ever!).

 

[DorotheaMe]

Once again! Who can explain why Bruce has recently become so fond of the paid photo opportunities?

 

[GhostofCain]

Once again! Who can explain why Bruce has recently become so fond of the paid photo opportunities?

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[Henndrik]

I've been wondering that myself. You mean he has to scrape together all the money he can get? Why?
What is he up to? Another divorce?

 

[dickinson1978]

I've been wondering that myself. You mean he has to scrape together all the money he can get? Why?
What is he up to? Another divorce?

I think he is going to be there,people will ask for a photo and if you advice it would be 150 euros for a picture is a way to keep people away. As far as i know for a few cases he doesnt being recognized on the street or a pub at all

 

[Helmuth Von Moltke]

I honestly think it's safer for Maiden to go "longer songs" route. With longer songs there is more room for creativity (whether they use it or not), but woth shorter ones you kinda have to nail and main riff and chorus and solo to make it worth, otherwise it would become parody of their older self.
My personal opinion onwards:
I know some fans have praised "Days of future past" and it has definitely grown on me, but it doesn't reach NEARLY standards of shorter Maiden hits, would take "Speed of light" any day. If Maiden continued to limit themselves on short cuts, they would end up like Judas Priest. I'm not that huge fan of them, they grew on me a lot, but they are what some are expecting Maiden to be. They did technically experiment more with their sound, but they mostly stayed the same in my eyes. I like last 2 albums from them, but only a couple of songs which I listen for a period then forget totally. To me they kinda became one trick pony lately. You can say that for Maiden too for sure, but it's just my opinion cause I like Maiden better. I think Maiden had better run since reunion, than JP had overall.

Very well explained, I also feel Maiden has slightly lost the knack for writing standout shorter songs over the second half of their recording career. The shorter songs needs that killer main riff and chorus, I agree (like 'Don't Believe a Word' by Thin Lizzy of 'Rainmaker' for that matter). Its just that songs like 'Futureal' and 'Rainmaker' have become extremely rare in Maiden albums (both 10/10 songs for me).

Some of the recently attempted shorter songs (like 'Death or Glory' or 'Stratego') for example are serviceable, enjoyable enough, but just not that good really (more like 6 or 7 out of 10 for me). Maiden have settled into a groove of their best longer songs being much more memorable and better executed than their best recent short songs.

To further validate your point, when Priest have tried to be really epic like 'Loch Ness' or 'Nostradamus' is falls slightly flat. It is just not where their strengths lie.