El Dorado

How good is El Dorado on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    12
That gallop might be the best they've ever done, certainly in the reunion era! Seriously that bass riff is one of the catchiest I've ever heard and I love Bruce's understated vocals in the verses. The chorus does stretch Bruce's voice too far though, much like Mother of Mercy. It's still a blistering track though.

8
 
7/10

El Dorado opens with a dramatic smashing of all the instruments before a Barracuda-like riff cuts through. We see the first fault in Steve Harris’ arrangements here. Word is that Steve began having more fun arranging riffs by his band mates into full songs and writing lyrics over them than he did writing songs all on his own. It shows on El Dorado, where the different parts sound slightly off, like they don't fit together. Some great Dickinson lyrics, told from the point of view of a deceitful shyster, save the day. His voice sounds oddly compressed, though. It's a strange choice of single, but a solid song. El Dorado also boasts a great bridge and triple solo section. The dynamics of this album are already quite varied, with the songs taking a lot of time to breathe in between chunky chord riffs.
 
Wow. Just... wow! "El Dorado" is a really special song for me because The Final Frontier was the first album I was actually waiting to come out, and this immediately was an astonishingly good listen. Really strong offering, and a great choice for a lead (actually only) single (since "The Final Frontier" got a video, but not a proper release to qualify as a real single). Very agressive riff, and angry lyrics to fit. Steve's bass intro to the main riff is particularly good, as is the whole galloping rhythm, and the chorus is very catchy. Overall, an 8.
 
Much better than The Final Frontier on every aspect. Bruce sounds much better, Steve has one of his most notable performances in the reunion era, the lyrics are very interesting, and the song is much more interesting and enjoyable overall. 9/10
 
Even though the last song ended with a big rock ending, this one begins with a big rock opening(?) before a driving beat kicks off an OK main riff. Bruce delivers a decent verse and a better, tension-building pre-chorus.

Another verse with some nice harmonized guitar accents. Bruce's voice sounds really dry here for some reason. Then we break into a pretty good chorus, though Bruce is obviously straining to hit the notes.

A guitar-driven interlude leads into a trio of strong solos before returning to the initial driving beat. Another round of verse through chorus, then the main riff takes us out to yet another big rock ending.

There are good elements here, but nothing particularly great; and the weaknesses are noticeable enough to round this down to a 6/10.
 
"El Dorado" used to be a favorite of mine, but it's slipped a ways. It's got a good instrumental section (with the Three Amigos trading off solos one by one! Wow!) but I don't think Bruce's performance on here is that great, though the chorus is still kinda cool. Overall, it's merely an above average track for me now. 6
 
A unique great intro starts this song, Steve's bass intro is immense and the galloping riff is fantastic. Three solos which are top-notch, especially Adrian's one, which has a Egypt feel to it (to me at least). The chorus is catchy, good verses. The song is maybe a bit longer, but I'll give it a 8/10.

Let's not forget that ''El Dorado'' won a Grammy in 2011 !

Edit: Tbh, I think some of the other nominated Maiden songs for a Grammy Award through the years should have been the winners:

Fear of the Dark (live version from ARLO) in 1994
The Wicker Man in 2001
Blood Brothers (live version from En Vivo!) in 2013
 
Last edited:
Kalata said:
Let's not forget that ''El Dorado'' won a Grammy in 2011 !
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Hate to say it, but that's not because of any sort of merit for the song or the band. The reason is simple: They figured Maiden sold a lot of records, they needed to give Maiden a Grammy because they were obliged to some sort of recognition, and they looked for the most recent single release. If Maiden's recent single had been a techno remix of The Apparition or a live version of Run to the Hills, that's what would have gotten the Grammy.
 
Perun said:
Hate to say it, but that's not because of any sort of merit for the song or the band. The reason is simple: They figured Maiden sold a lot of records, they needed to give Maiden a Grammy because they were obliged to some sort of recognition, and they looked for the most recent single release. If Maiden's recent single had been a techno remix of The Apparition or a live version of Run to the Hills, that's what would have gotten the Grammy.
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Yeah, maybe you're right. Otherwise, almost every Maiden single from the 80's probably would have won a Grammy Award.

Strange how BYD... TTS do not won in 1990 - the song was #1 in the charts (the only Maiden song to do that!).
 
Kalata said:
Yeah, maybe you're right. Otherwise, almost every Maiden single from the 80's probably would have won a Grammy Award.

Strange how BYD... TTS do not won in 1990 - the song was #1 in the charts (the only Maiden song to do that!).
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It wasn't eligible for the 1990 Grammys because it peaked at #1 in December 1990, whereas the awards were held in February of that year. And before you ask, it didn't receive the 1991 Grammy because a) it only hit #1 in the UK, which the Grammies don't care for, and b) Metallica had subscribed to the 1990-1992 Metal Grammy because in 1989, the first Metal Grammy went to Jethro Tull, which was a publicity disaster for the NARAS.

Again, when it comes to heavy metal (I don't know about any other category), the Grammies have nothing to do with art and music, but are all about business.
 
Perun said:
Again, when it comes to heavy metal (I don't know about any other category), the Grammies have nothing to do with art and music, but are all about business.
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That, and bias across all categories. I was looking at the nominees for this year's ceremony and there were quite a few albums that seemed obvious wins which didn't even get a nomination, while stuff nobody's even heard of, or even that weren't that successful among critics, were nominated.
 
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