Empire Of The Clouds

How good is Empire of the Clouds on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    24
Well the crash part at 14:30 is the obvious climax of the song. it's where the ship is in the eye of the tornado/storm and about to fall to the ground. Then they bring back the opening melody "Here lie their dreams...." until the end of the song is the cathartic part "The empire of the clouds may rest in peace...." etc:)

But there is a sombre mood over the whole thing because it's a forgotten tale. I think they capture that part of it quite well.
 
Just... holy crap.

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Loved this song! This along with The river runs deep are my favorites of the album . Sad part is Bruce in an interview already said they will not play this song live.
 
This is not a song I can tell weather I like it just a bit or a lot, tonight, it's like 3 songs in one, too much to take in. But it's interesting to say the least.
 
Everytime I hear the song I can't believe its 18 minutes long... I love the song from beggining to end and think is a wonderful song... Bravo for Bruce
 
Damn, this is such a mind blowing and amazing song! Bruce sure has developed a ton of song writing talent! WOW! I'd love for him to do a solo album with him EXCLUSIVELY writing EVERY song and just going insane with this type of creativity.
 
I really love this track. I really do. No Maiden track has ever moved me as much as this one (closest being Paschendale).

Most longer songs feel like their duration. Even the ones I love like Echoes by Pink Floyd, feels like 25 minutes.

But because I'm so engrossed in the drama of the story, EOTC feels as though it finishes in five minutes.
 
Damn, this is such a mind blowing and amazing song! Bruce sure has developed a ton of song writing talent! WOW! I'd love for him to do a solo album with him EXCLUSIVELY writing EVERY song and just going insane with this type of creativity.

So Travis, don't you think that throughout EOTC there are music parts/ melodies that are repeated for far too long?
 
So Travis, don't you think that throughout EOTC there are music parts/ melodies that are repeated for far too long?

There is one part that I feel is repeated too long and its noticeable that it drags on. That's the last time that legacy like riff is being played
 
There is one part that I feel is repeated too long and its noticeable that it drags on. That's the last time that legacy like riff is being played

Not saying that this is not a good song! But after the first Morse code part each melody is going on forever. Great melodies whatsoever but each time there is a new one you never get to a new on, do you?!
 
At first I was VERY nervous about an EIGHTEEN MINUTE song... But when I listened to it, I realized not only was it the most beautiful song Iron Maiden has ever done, but it doesn't even feel like 18 minutes. I remember hearing it for the first time saying "I'm probably only halfway done" then I looked at my iPod and saw I was actually near the end.... and I wanted more! It's a great epic storytelling song! One of their best!
 
When I was listening to it yesterday for the first time, I was devastated. This song turned out to be such a letdown...

The intro is great. The melody is beautiful and the majority of parts with vocals are cool. They could build an 8 or 9 minute song around it and it would be very strong. Now... The whole middle part is what I have a problem with. I don't think it's good composing... These guitar parts are boring, overstretched and shockingly uninspired. It has no density. There's just no material here for an 18 minute song, which makes it sound forced. Plus, the reuse of The Legacy riff is outrageous (just like Wasted Years in Shadows of the Valley, but that's a whole nother topic). Maiden tried too much to be as orchestral and cinematic as possible in this song. I would say they just don't feel it, but come on... They've already done proper epics, so I don't know what happened with their taste here. The majority of this song is not epic, it just tries to be bombastic beyond limits. The parts like 6:57, 12:55 or 14:24 are cringeworthy... So cheesy. What the hell. Maiden quite often balanced on the verge of kitsch, but this time, man... They crossed the line.

Fake orchestra sounds so fucking bad. It's so terrible I cringed every time I heard a "cello" or some "horns". The guy didn't even use legato patches - it's fucking 2015, you can do better than that with virtual instruments, man... For God's sake, I think they could easily afford recording real instruments... But I guess they wanted to do it quick. Piano sounds fine at the beginning, but it's unnecessary later on... They have three bloody guitars, and there is no problem with them covering all these lines. The piano doesn't work well when the whole band is playing.

Bruce, I love you man, but this was a mistake.

I'm so mad right now :/ No offence to all the people who liked it. I don't know, maybe this criticism is a bit excessive, but right now I'm a seriously disappointed man.
 
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