Darkest Hour

How good is Darkest Hour on a scale of 1-10?

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    30
The nearly 1-minute long outro is the same as the intro, but it creates a unique atmosphere for the end of the song.

Edit: maybe the intro should have been skipped.
 
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Great intro. The production is especially good on this song.
Great verse. Reminds me of Out of the Shadows. The bridge is kinda like something from CW.
The chorus is suddenly so optimistic and grandiose. Adrian even uses a chromatic "cliche" in the middle, which is atypical for Maiden, but I like it here. The chorus feels to me a bit like slow power metal songs. I like it mainly because it's a bit different for Maiden.

Awesome solo. Adrian really aced it in this album in the solos department.
Dave's solo is good other than one lick which is lifted straight from Coming Home, I'm pretty sure it's even the same two chords behind that.

I usually don't mind the lyrics so much, but here I feel like something more ballad-y would've worked better than WW2.

Overall I really liked it. 30 something seconds of seagulls was an odd choice though.
 
Listening to this one now. God bless Adrian Smith. Take a look at the songs he wrote for this album. All different from another, and you could argue every one of the songs are quite different for Maiden, yet somehow it's Maiden through and through. And his playing is brilliant, still trying new things and evolving.
 
Poto said:
Listening to this one now. God bless Adrian Smith. Take a look at the songs he wrote for this album. All different from another, and you could argue every one of the songs are quite different for Maiden, yet somehow it's Maiden through and through. And his playing is brilliant, still trying new things and evolving.
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It is interesting that the songs co-written by Adrian in the album have Bruce solo albums vibes - only without TWOTW.
 
My least favourite track from the album. It's not bad. It's just the least interesting to me. Adrian's solo is the highlight - very emotional and quite original. I also dig the intro and the chorus is pretty solid.
 
Can anyone else hear Starblind in the intro? I'm pretty sure it's the same chord progression (E-C-A-C) and I keep hearing "Solar winds are whispering, You may hear me call" in my head as it ends.
 
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I'm hearing a lot of borrowings from previous Maiden work* throughout this album. Sometimes I think Maiden create something they like and realise they can repurpose it for a different song, sometimes it even works better. Fallen Angel and Montsegur spring to mind.

*also a bit from, erm, Beckett
 
This one is the biggest grower for me so far. Upon first listen I thought it was a good ballad and nothing more. It's such a beautiful song and probably Bruce's best performance on the album. Haunting verses, dramatic bridge and a massive chorus. The sound fits perfectly to the lyrics, it really sounds like a dark war ballad. The solo section is probably the best on the album imo. Adrian's is amazing and Dave follows up pretty well too, despite the annoying Coming Home lick. Jan also adds so much to the song with those beautiful licks under that last chorus.

While the glorifying of Churchill is a bit meh, I think the lyrics are pretty good and kind of epic. Bruce has said that the beach sounds in the beginning refer to the Dunkirk beach and the ones at the end to the D-Day ones, so it wraps up nicely that period in between when the world was indeed in one of its darkest hours.
 
This is the one that has (surprisingly) clicked with me the least.
I hear everything that others are saying they love, but I’m not feeling it yet.
 
It's a 10/10 song and one of the best songs on the album as well as out of the entire Maiden catalog. It's not complex, has a straightforward structure but it has an enormous vibe and is full of emotions. Moreover, I am not sure if it has been mixed differently, but the guitar sound is absolutely sublime here. Raw, powerful and direct. The solos are top-notch, together with TWOTW, this has the best solo on the album and overall a very well crafted solo. They play the song very well, this is one of the songs where you can hear that either they had a good day or it is produced differently, absolutely spot on.

It has been said previously, it has a Bruce solo material vibe, and I like these types of songs which only Adrian and Bruce can write.

A highlight of the album.
 
I luckily don't know too much about Churchill and ww2, so the lyrics don't bother me. Bruce is by far the best lyricist in Maiden, he has a way with words Steve doesn't come close to. And Bruce sings with great conviction and emotion.
 
Forostar said:
I think it could fit on a Bruce solo record, such as The Chemical Wedding.
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100% true. Even Adrian's solo has a vibe of his solos in Bruce's solo albums. I think this is his best solo in the album (even better than his solo in TWOTW)... although I'm blown away by his 2nd solo in the title track.

One of the highlights of the album. Classic ballad from Maiden!
 
"You sowed the wind and now you reaped the whirlwind" - I presume "you" refers to the barbarians at the gates, aka the enemy?
 
Poto said:
I luckily don't know too much about Churchill and ww2, so the lyrics don't bother me.
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The problem with Churchill is not what he did during WW2, but all the rest.

www.independent.co.uk

Not his finest hour: The dark side of Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill is rightly remembered for leading Britain through her finest hour – but what if he also led the country through her most shameful hour? What if, in addition to rousing a nation to save the world from the Nazis, he fought for a raw white supremacism and a concentration camp...
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
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