Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown

Completely agree with the other 2 but the alchemist is probably maidens best rocker since rainmaker or possibly the wicker man. It would certainly make my top 75
 
I just have to say that I disagree 100% with your assessment of The Alchemist.  IMO this song beats the crap out of almost all 90s and 2000s rockers, including Be Quick or Be Dead, Montsegur, and Man on the Edge.  The only better ones I can think of are The Wicker Man, Futureal, and maybe Lord of the Flies.  What you said about being a token fast tune, I would say that more about Different World than The Alchemist.  If there's a song that feels out of place on TFF, it's the obligatory war song, Mother of Mercy, and definitely not The Alchemist.
 
The other things are a matter of taste, so I guess it would be no use to argue that I disagree. But why do you feel that MoM feels out of place on TFF? I don't comprehend right now how being "the obligatory war song" would cause it to be out of place as opposed to The Alchemist which has quite the stylistic difference from most of the other tracks.
 
I also disagree with The Alchemist which is a great song. When I listen to the album it really sets up the last 5 epic length tracks well.
 
valacirca said:
The other things are a matter of taste, so I guess it would be no use to argue that I disagree. But why do you feel that MoM feels out of place on TFF? I don't comprehend right now how being "the obligatory war song" would cause it to be out of place as opposed to The Alchemist which has quite the stylistic difference from most of the other tracks.

To me, Mother of Mercy feels like leftovers from AMOLAD.  IMO it's by far the weakest track on the album, and the "war song" theme is really quite unnecessary since we just had almost an album dedicated to it.  Don't get me wrong, AMOLAD is my favourite album and I like the theme, and I also like MoM.  I hardly ever skip it, and it's probably one of the  best weakest tracks on any Maiden album. As for The Alchemist being musically different, I don't find that bothering.  Songs like this are what Maiden have always done, and at best they do it damn well. 

So, to answer your question, it boils down to The Alchemist being (IMO) a better song. 
 
I also think The Alchemist is one of the more refreshing tunes that the album needed and it doesn't feel like filler (as opposed to Different World, Wildest Dreams, New Frontier, to name a few).

As for MoM, it does feel like "we had this idea for AMOLAD, but didn't need it since we already had 10 songs, so let's do it now".
 
Invader said:
To me, Mother of Mercy feels like leftovers from AMOLAD.
Ranko said:
As for MoM, it does feel like "we had this idea for AMOLAD, but didn't need it since we already had 10 songs, so let's do it now".

I agree with this about MoM though, even if I have opposing opinions about The Alchemist.
 
Babo 91 said:
Completely agree with the other 2 but the alchemist is probably maidens best rocker since rainmaker or possibly the wicker man. It would certainly make my top 75

Yeah I'd give higher rankings on 'The Alchemist'.  No TFF tune would be this low, but oh well, opinions differ.

valacirca said:
There's really very little that separates the songs at this point in the countdown; and usually, the decision of what song goes next comes down to whether or not it has a saving grace that makes me think “yeah... this deserves to be higher on the list because of this brilliant bit.” I just can't find that bit on this song.
I do like your rationale though, this is how I separate songs when everything else seems pretty equal.
 
Sorry if this seems redundant after what came above, but the Alchemist is probably the first time this ranking has gone off the rails.
There are far too many OK and solid songs to be ranked before we get into the good-to-great ones.
Even if you consider its fast pace kinda been-there, done-that (I don't) it has a killer melody and a very cool lyric that elevate it.
I'd be very surprised if this isn't in my top half or even top 50.
 
Yeah, I'm on board with everyone on The Alchemist.
Also, I like Judgement day more the of the peace, and I think BA is a really nice song.
 
The Alchemist intro is one of my fave ever by Maiden, but the song is as good as The Apparition or Bring your Daughter...To The Slaughter. I'd place it on the bottom, too.

Well, this is no surprise, either, that the song is getting praised when songs like The Duellists, Back In The Village and Flash Of The Blade are considered 'fillers'.
 
Jeffmetal said:
Well, this is no surprise, either, that the song is getting praised when songs like The Duellists, Back In The Village and Flash Of The Blade are considered 'fillers'.

Maybe if they weren't on albums that has such classic songs, they wouldn't... :)
 
  As stated before almost unanimously, the Alchemist doesn't belong here yet.  It is your list man, but I can't agree with you on this one.  It DOES fit nicely on FF, and is a totally refreshing bang in the middle of the other songs.  Really way to low...but  Again, your list!!

 
 
Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown - Album #13

Album #13 - Virtual XI

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One good thing about Iron Maiden during the Blaze era is that they knew how to play to the strengths of their lineup, which was most evident in terms of the frontman they had at that time. Bruce was certainly the most skilled and talented vocalist the band ever had, but he didn't always perform like it. Blaze on the other hand, used his gurgling baritone extensively during his short stint to color songs with a gritty dark hue and complement the bleak, gloomy mood of that period. In doing so, he ended up helping the band reinvent its sound during that awkward phase in the 90's instead of trying to force himself into a style and image that Bruce had already established. Even though it was still not so graciously received by a lot of people, I believe things would have even been worse if he tried to be “the replacement for Bruce” instead of “the new vocalist.”

With respect to this new sound, The X Factor certainly had much more of it and featured it better than this record. However, the bigger shortcoming of Virtual XI is how much it feels like a bunch of half-baked ideas that were painstakingly stretched out to their limits. And considering that this is a follow-up to what felt like an overabundance of ideas that were crammed into a single album, it just makes the flaws all the more pronounced.

If not for the short, quick and energetic album opener, the remaining songs on VXI actually end up averaging over seven minutes each: An average that's par for the course when it comes to post-rock and prog-rock bands, but not for a heavy metal band like Iron Maiden at that time. None of the reunion-era albums have averaged past seven minutes either – and those are the longest, most progressive albums that band has ever released, which is pretty much what I'm pertaining to when I talk about lengthy albums that are “filled with ideas.”

Ultimately though, for all of its weaknesses, it's a grossly underrated album. Many people consider it to be the band's worst album by a mile, but it actually has a little bit of everything that could have made it a good album: There are good melodies and clever use of dynamics with the calm moments and adrenaline-pumpers. It also features catchy riffs, enjoyable solos, the trademark gallops, and not even the people who hate it could deny that peaks that the album reaches rank among the highest highs that the band has reached in the studio. So really, the only thing it lacks is actual content. Without any excessive stretching and repetition, this album could have clocked in at a modestly lush and meaty 40 minutes. Instead, it's filled  with a lot of sections that extend longer than they should have as well as loads and loads of repetitiveness.
 
As a compulsive listmaker myself, I love reading stuff like this. While I have totally disagreed with a good number of your early picks, I found your opinions valid and entertaining to read.

I really hope you finish this. I will refrain from wishing you luck until you get to the top 30 or so, because that is when you will seriously struggle!
 
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