DJMayes' Complete Ranking Of Maiden Songs

Which song will win?

  • Run To The Hills

    Votes: 10 62.5%
  • Empire Of The Clouds

    Votes: 6 37.5%

  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
The album version of FOTD is shit. I never listened to it. In my opinion the best versions of the song are RIR and the one that appears on Best Of The Beast.
 
As much as I dread the locked in set list spot for fotd, and always wish to hear a rare song in its place.... Fear always crushes live. No denying it.
A live staple and super star of the Maiden catalogue. Btw, a really interesting and diverse top 3 man!! Quick iconic, metal rocker. The ass kicking Title track of the most polarizing reunion album ( my pick)....and the longest and latest unique as all hell epic off this years release!!! Crazy cool trio!
 
I don't care how overplayed it is or how there's no way it should have been on two 80s retro tour set lists but Fear of the Dark rules. Both live and on record. Take a poll of non Maiden die-hard fans and it's probably their last classic song in their eyes.
 
So, wait, you're saying that you haven't heard the studio version??
I'm saying that I can't listen to the studio version. I got so used to the involvement of the crowd in this song. Also they play it differently live. There is a lot more feeling in the song live, especially the clean part at the beginning.
 
I'm saying that I can't listen to the studio version. I got so used to the involvement of the crowd in this song. Also they play it differently live. There is a lot more feeling in the song live, especially the clean part at the beginning.
Well, if you say "never listened to it" in past tense like that, I think it's pretty obvious why I was confused about that.
 
The song to me has two lives. No jeckyl and Hyde though, as both succeed big time. live, it is a b-12 shot that feeds off the energy of the crowd. It has a vastly different feeling on the studio version. Smooth and chilling . Either way it is a killer song.
 
I will admit, I enjoy a good song pun. You'll know for sure that you're behind me at a Maiden show if I flash 4 fingers on each hand during this song.

You know, Vier of the Dark.

Again, great song!
 
Comic book vibe?
Yep. Action/war comics like the Victor and Hotspur. They probably trawled through them for song ideas at one time.

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And 3rd place (bronze, if you will) goes to...

3 - Dance Of Death

Dance of Death is one of my favourite Maiden albums of all time - 3rd, maybe 2nd but Seventh Son is a mighty beast to fell. Many of the tracks are quite controversial, but I'm a big fan of many and don't think any tracks come close to unlistenable. It's got a nice variety to it - not 10 songs of "quiet intro, heavy song" as well as some nice variations of length, with two of the best short songs Maiden have done in quite a long time. And, of course, it has the best pair of epics on probably any Maiden album, period. That Paschendale is not the best song on its album (in my humble opinion) is a testament to just how good Dance of Death is.

Above I gave a bit of a quip about the songwriting recently (specifically aimed at AMOLAD) and yet here the song that emulates it most is sat at #3 and the best on the album - let me back that up. You can certainly accuse Dance of Death of falling into the same structural trap here, but in this case I feel the song is a much more fluid, natural progression that I enjoy much more. Like Infinite Dreams, it manages to make every section of this progression endearing to the listener. The result? The best song Janick has ever written, though the man is generally on pretty good form with songwriting so I wouldn't count him out of making a comeback just yet.

The song works off of a really nice, folksy riff that's quite odd for Iron Maiden. It's soon joined by some beautiful bass from Steve, as well as other guitar melodies. This is another one of those songs with a lot of texture - not even considering the orchestral version - and it really benefits from it. Bruce joins in early on with some nice delivery - appropriate to atmosphere, and leaving plenty of room for progression - and 0:50 sees an added bit of texture underneath.

The riff soon switches at 1:10, to a haunting little ditty with some nice subtle drumming underneath from Nicko and tasteful guitar lines. 1:44 sees another shift, with Bruce slowly but subtly upping the vocal intensity, and the drums and keyboards giving more overt texture this time round. 2:36 ("And I danced, and I pranced...") sees Bruce fully up the ante with some powerfully delivered lines.

A short pause, and we're back into one of the delightful little guitar flourishes that permeate this song at 2:59, quickly accompanied by the band proper less than 10 seconds later. At 3:30, we see another increase in ante, with the guitars coming in fully alongside Bruce. 4:00 sees another repeat of the melody at 2:59 at a higher intensity, with Bruce joining in on the vocals alongside it to minimise on repetition. This breaks at 4:37 for a very triumphant guitar line as the first guitar solo happens.

Do you remember earlier when I said Powerslave might only have the 2nd best solos of any Maiden song? This song is its competition, with an utterly magical instrumental section the whole way through. For solo #1, we get a short piece of lovely melodic phrasing, followed by a full pelt sonic attack at 4:46. This, and 4:54, would be my favourite parts of solos if they were on any other song.

Solo #2 focuses more on melody than speed, which is fine because #1 and #3 do that part fine anyway. It's succeeded by a delightful flourish at 5:16, with a triumphant guitar line over the top of a wonderful gallop. It's all build up for Janick's solo, the centerpiece of the song and my favourite.

At 5:46, it hits. A change in the rhythm is Janick's cue as he lets loose a beautifully melodic piece before launching into a ripper of a solo, with the keyboards building up behind him as the solo approaches the climax at 5:59. This point is absolutely magical. I mean, it's not the only solo of this type I've heard before, but it feels thoroughly earned here with all the build-up. Complaints? Other than it being too short, none. The solo has to end very shortly after, because there's no following it up.

We return to a more standard verse section with Bruce singing, before segueing back to that beautiful gallop again one last time, then transitioning back into the 2:59 jig. There's some more vocal flourishes from Bruce, but this is just a matter of bringing the song back down after the massive build-up its had. Bonus points for the very subtle extra layer underneath the last repetition of it though, before we return to the intro riff for the quiet outro.

I adore watching the live version of this from En Vivo. Part of it is Bruce's acting during sections, but mostly it's Janick - watching him go from his usual prancing to suddenly the most intense solo ever, and then back again.

- - - - -

And now we are down to our final two songs:

Run To The Hills
Empire of the Clouds


One must win; one must lose (but not really losing when it's come this far). Which do you think will make it? I've attached a poll asking the same question to see the results. I'll give it an extra day for this, not least of all because I will need to write up a write-up for each of these phenomenal songs.

Top 25:

25 - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
24 - The Edge Of Darkness
23 - Revelations
22 - Judas Be My Guide
21 - Lord Of Light
20 - Judgement Of Heaven
19 - The Red And The Black
18 - Blood Brothers
17 - Wasted Years
16 - Face In The Sand
15 - The Number Of The Beast
14 - The Talisman
13 - Shadows Of The Valley
12 - Killers
11 - Aces High
10 - Paschendale
9 - Flight Of Icarus
8 - Satellite 15...The Final Frontier
7 - Infinite Dreams
6 - Powerslave
5 - Hallowed Be Thy Name
4 - Fear Of The Dark
3 - Dance Of Death

2
1

Songs Remaining:

Run To The Hills
Empire of the Clouds
 
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