Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown - Songs #97-95
Thanks for all the kind words of condolences folks. Much appreciated.
97. Lord of Light (A Matter of Life and Death) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FveF3Q6ScOQ
"Free your soul and let it fly"
As much as I love the band, one thing that I think is disappointing about them is their tendency to overuse a lot of elements in the way they arrange their songs. One overused approach that's a pet peeve of mine in particular is how they often start with a slow and soft intro, which goes on for a while before the track settles into a powerful groove. There are instances where the approach feels fresh and works well; but for a lot of tracks – including this one - it feels like I've heard it too often already.
More often that not though, the transition from soft to heavy delivers a big payoff and “Lord of Light” is no exception. The meek intro is a bit of a monotonous slouch; but once the song gets going, it's a riveting experience. And the song comes into full form when the chorus hits, which is one of the more finely crafted choruses in the Iron Maiden songbook - one that I always look forward to when this song comes into rotation on the playlist.
96. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate (Brave New World) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZs65QhhFrs
"I will hope, my soul will fly, so I will live forever"
There's a few things to love and few things to hate here (pun intended). One thing that the song has going for it is that the melody for the most part is catchy. The instrumental sections are solid and the chorus in particular hooks the listener instantly. The inspired and soaring anthemic way that Bruce delivers the vocal line in the chorus is amazing. That's a brilliant vocal right there, which is sadly not the case for the rest of the song. Much of the other lines are dull and monotone – even robotic to an extent – and that's a lot of lines like that at the start of the track. It makes the first several minutes pass by anonymously and ends up leaving the 8-minute running time of this song slightly unwarranted.
The song is great for the most part though. The middle part clearly stands out for me since it contains a lot of chorus repetitions and guitar work. From then on, it's a steadily rising build-up to a fantastic instrumental climax to close the album. I'm not much of a fan of the soft, melancholic (read: dramatic) lines that are woven into the last few minutes, but I can live with it.
95. The Prophecy (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoWhApJnfXw
"No one believed in my true prophecy and now it's too late"
As brilliant as SSoaSS is, I always get disappointed by its back end. I dropped the closing track a few places back, and now I'll also have to drop this one here as well since I hold it in the same regard as "Only the Good Die Young" relative to the rest of the tracks from that release. This one works much better within the experience of the whole album; but as a standalone song, it's effect is significantly reduced.
The song is no stinker. If it was, it wouldn't be 56 places into the countdown. It's just not as great as the other songs from the band's classic era. It sounds technically impressive but devoid of feeling. I like the tranquil opening melodies as good melodies, but they don't seem to capture any actual emotion. The marching rhythm and galloping groove are trademark Maiden, but the mid-paced nature of the song seems to dampen the intensity that it could have otherwise had. The only part of the track that doesn't feel watered down and average is the undeniably brilliant acoustic outro. It's as if all the soul in the song was siphoned to that Latin-inspired guitar work, which is not just a highlight of the song but one of the highlights of the whole album as well.
I'm not saying that the songs are "misplaced" like what I said about DLttEoaS since they're in the correct vicinity on the list. They will just be the recepients of some minor tweaking 
