To me this blows away every 90's album made
It’s not as good as
The X Factor IMO and I may also rank it below
Virtual XI, but I’m not 100% sure at the moment.
It's like FOTD for the post reunion material
This actually makes a lot of sense, regardless of whether you like or dislike both albums. They both have some songs that stick to their classic style but a lot of others that step outside of their comfort zones. Very experimental records where the band were willing to chuck in the kitchen sink if someone was up for writing it.
Montsegur is an absolute beast.
It is! It’s definitely among the heaviest songs Maiden have ever made. My one issue with it aside from the production (which is a flaw of the whole album) is the final repeat of “as we kill them all” where Bruce sounds like he forgot the lines and just winged it. It confuses me a lot. Beyond that it’s pretty awesome.
Paschendale is a masterpiece.
Definitely.
Rainmaker is a great single.
For sure. I’m still a little confused as to why they used the verse - chorus - post-chorus - chorus structure for the first half on this and “Different World”, but it doesn’t ruin my enjoyment of either.
Gates Of Tomorrow is sneaky good.
It’s underrated as hell. One of the band’s best reunion era rockers. Love the riff callback to “Lord of the Flies”, the jaunty verses, and the catchy as hell chorus.
No More Lies has some of the best mid-section Maiden you can find.
I don’t wanna say it’s a forgettable song because I actually like it quite a lot. It’s got a wonderful atmosphere and I like Steve’s portrayal of Christ at the Last Supper. Still, I think that’s one of the issues with DoD. With so much experimentation happening it’s easy to forget about these songs being part of the Maiden discography because they’re so different from what they normally do (same with TFF in a way). It’s also the weakest solo Harris song of the reunion era, but when the other contestants are “Blood Brothers”, “For the Greater Good of God”, “When the Wild Wind Blows”, and “The Red and the Black”, then there’s no shame in coming last.
The title track can be labeled as borderline Spinal Tap but musically it's a goldmine.
This one I find slightly overrated. Some of the sections feel kind of ham-fisted, particularly that verse where the tempo picks up and Bruce struggles to keep up. Beyond that though it’s really fun, terrific live, and great to sing along to.
Even New Frontier is a fun listen.
Yeah, I don’t mind the somewhat questionable lyrics very much because it’s fun and feels like you’re thrust into the story it’s trying to tell. Underrated definitely.
The only real downer I can find is Age Of Innocence and some of Face In The Sand. Journeyman I can do or do without.
“Journeyman” is another fun experiment and I think it’s pulled off decently well. The chorus repetition borders obnoxious but ends up working in the end. “Face in the Sand” is a dark song for Maiden and another cool experiment that I like quite a bit. “Age of Innocence” is definitely bottom of the barrel stuff though. The chorus is decent but the verses are pretty bad and it’s among the weakest of the reunion era. Dumb lyrics too.
As a whole I think it’s a great album and its off-kilter, experimental nature makes it somewhat endearing. It’s probably #4 for me from the reunion though, just because the other albums are pretty monolithic (aside from TFF which is kinda off-kilter like DOD but slightly worse).