Die With Your Boots On

How good is Die With Your Boots On on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    15
7/10. Opening riff is killer, chorus gets a bit silly and annoying, but Bruce does sound great here. I like it, but not a truly great song by Maiden standards.
 
Little substance but it's a fun enough rocker with a nice second solo that's worthwhile to listen out for. Not much to say on this one other than it's good filler.

6/10

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Hallowed Be Thy Name: 10/10
2: Revelations: 10/10
3: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
4: Killers: 9/10
5: Children Of The Damned: 8/10
6: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
7: The Number Of The Beast: 8/10
8: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
9: Flight Of Icarus: 7/10
10: Run To The Hills: 7/10
11: Where Eagles Dare: 7/10
12: Purgatory: 7/10
13: 22 Acacia Avenue: 7/10
14: Wrathchild: 7/10
15: Transylvania: 7/10
16: Prodigal Son: 6/10
17: Strange World: 6/10
18: Die With Your Boots On: 6/10
19: Sanctuary: 6/10
20: Another Life: 6/10
21: The Prisoner: 6/10
22: Prowler: 6/10
23: Gangland: 5/10
24: Genghis Khan: 5/10
25: Iron Maiden: 5/10
26: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
27: Twilight Zone: 5/10
28: Drifter: 4/10
29: Running Free: 4/10
30: Innocent Exile: 4/10
31: Invaders: 3/10
32: Total Eclipse: 3/10
33: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
I like this song, but I never seek it out. Originally I thought this might make it an 8, but then I realized it's a textbook 7. Inoffensive, fun, doesn't break any new ground. It's filler, but the best kind.
 
I really like this definition by LooseCannon. This is exactly how I feel about the song. It's not groundbreaking, but it's not annoying either.

The solos are really nice, and I prefer Adrian's in this song.

The highlight: Adrian Smith solo at 4:06

7/10
 
8/10. This song has been a huge grower for me. I didn't like it at all for a long time, but now I like it quite a bit. My only complaint is the chorus gets a little annoying after a while. Good fun song nonetheless!
 
9/10, always been a favorite since I first heard it on Live After Death. Some nice chord changes, not full of the usual C-D-E.
 
A strong 8. I have always been a fan of this one (there was a time it was actually my favourite track from the album). That bassline leading into the chorus is a killing one, indeed.
 
7 feels appropriate here. Very enjoyable song with an especially strong ending but I find it difficult to rate it higher.

Rankings:

Previous Albums:

1980 - Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

1981 - Killers - 5.91

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
5 - Prodigal Son
8 - Purgatory
6 - Twilight Zone
5 - Drifter

1982 - The Number Of The Beast - 7.56

6 - Invaders
7 - Children Of The Damned
8 - The Prisoner
7 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - The Number Of The Beast
10 - Run To The Hills
6 - Gangland
5 - Total Eclipse
10 - Hallowed Be Thy Name

1983 - Piece Of Mind

8 - Where Eagles Dare
9 - Revelations
9 - Flight Of Icarus
7 - Die With Your Boots On
 
Cool main riff, great solos and harmony guitar part. It is a litte bit slow, I prefer Sonata Arctica's faster version of it! A good song, but nothing outstanding. 8/10
 
7/10

Die With Your Boots On is more upbeat, but less fulfilling. The riffs are cool, the leads are decent, but the pre-chorus is too silly, with chanting backup vocals that sound more humorous than convincing. The whole thing is a bit too jaunty, despite being about soldiers. Personally, I think this song paved the way for some future sillier Maiden tracks like Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter. The guitars are great throughout, but Bruce really strains his upper register on the bridge. Be careful: the chorus isn’t great, but it is an ear worm, especially the last one with the extra “tries” thrown in.
 
In 1983 Bruce said this is his favourite song from the album:

---
What is your personal favourite tune on Piece of Mind?
“Die With Your Boots On”.

Why?
Cause it’s a basic live track. It’s got a great chorus, and I think it sums up our philosophy really.

Which is?
Which is die with your boots on. Whatever you’re gonna do, give it your best shot. Just for the sake of it.
---

Whole interview here:
https://earofnewt.com/2013/08/10/iron-maiden-at-the-coliseum-bruce-dickinson-on-the-phone/
 
Love Steve's bass playing on this track. A great example of what makes Maiden unique, during the verses the guitars take a back seat and Steve gets to have the moving line. Such a great balance between the instruments and a solid example of Maiden doing something interesting with a pretty simple chord progression. This is actually one of the few Maiden songs where the least interesting thing is the vocal part, but that speaks more to the instrumentals than it does to the vocals, which are still top notch.

This is also a good time to mention Adrian's guitar sound on this album. It's so awesome and really recognizable. As far as I'm concerned it's the one thing that best defines this album. Great solos and harmonies throughout this song. It's time for them to play it live again.

9
 
Can only repeat what others have said. It's a bit hit and miss with some catchy parts and I love Bruce's "Well!" bit.

But the melodies aren't strong enough and it's repetitive.

6
 
Love the bass playing, solos and guitar riffs on this one. Used to love it more, though. The choruses aren't big on me. It's a good song.

7/10
 
This one started out high when I first heard it, then dropped, only to slowly ascend again in my rankings. My main problem is the chorus. It's just not up to par. The opening though is fucking incredible, one of the best in their discography. It's enough to pull this out of the 7s and into the 8/10s.
 
It's catchy as hell and overall a great song. On par with "Where Eagles Dare", but not as good as "Revelations" and "Flight of Icarus". Gets an 8 from me.
 
Every time I hear someone complain about newer maiden being repetitive, I think of this song...
Almost every time it comes on I think it's a lot better than I remembered, but before it's over I'm kinda tired of it. They could have made a great 4 minute song of it instead.
 
The riff that kicks "Die With Your Boots On" off is awesome, the verses are cool, but the chorus and pre-chorus aren't Maiden's finest. I do like the instrumental and the "They died... with their boots on!" bit though. The whole thing is well-assembled and flows quite nicely. 8/10.
 
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