Black Bart
Ancient Mariner
A very good song overall, despite an instrumental part (including the part with the voice-over) that lacks focus. One of the best verse-chorus sequence in Maiden's catalogue.
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Kind of an unique song for Maiden. There is something very weird about it but I can't quite tell what it is. 7
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Amazing and unique 10
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
A strong opening riff moves into an intriguing verse about AIDS and everything feels rather decent if not outstanding. Then the acoustic thing comes around and it's all sorts of wonkers. Average Maiden song, nothing really too offensive, but it's not one of their best by any stretch of the imagination. 5
Eliot1988
Educated Fool
According to Dickinson, the lyrics refer to his epidemic
AIDS, which, since its inception, has radically changed the way
which sexual intercourse is treated, having established its fear
HIV infection. As inspiration for the lyrics, he mentioned him
death of Queen singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991)
from AIDS, which the Maiden were informed of during the period
composed the songs of the album. As
inspiration also Dickinson mentioned the
example of Ervin "Magic" Johnson (1959-
), the American star player of the NBA, o
who in 1991 announced that he is a player
of HIV.
Although the lyrics are not related to
plot of the book of the same name (1961)
Alistair MacLean (see "Where Eagles Dare"),
the general lesson of the book is that the
fear, in the right hands, can
be a powerful weapon of control. The
book was also transferred to a film of the same name
in 1973.
AIDS, which, since its inception, has radically changed the way
which sexual intercourse is treated, having established its fear
HIV infection. As inspiration for the lyrics, he mentioned him
death of Queen singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991)
from AIDS, which the Maiden were informed of during the period
composed the songs of the album. As
inspiration also Dickinson mentioned the
example of Ervin "Magic" Johnson (1959-
), the American star player of the NBA, o
who in 1991 announced that he is a player
of HIV.
Although the lyrics are not related to
plot of the book of the same name (1961)
Alistair MacLean (see "Where Eagles Dare"),
the general lesson of the book is that the
fear, in the right hands, can
be a powerful weapon of control. The
book was also transferred to a film of the same name
in 1973.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
A great hard rocking number about the AIDS crisis, “Fear” starts out with great riffing and builds to a tremendous chorus. The bridge refrain slaps, that solo section is WILD, and then… the hell is that middle section? Bruce is just ad libbing, the guitars are mutating between electric and acoustic, the fuck where they smoking? An eastern solo pulls us out of that piece and we end with that cool bridge. Man, the majority of this song rules, but that mid-section… oof. It’s still a good song, but it would’ve been so much better with that piece cut. 7/10
Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
This song took literal years until I warmed up to it. I couldn't properly appreciate what it was going for. Nowadays I like it quite a bit. It's a step down from the opening trio, but it continues the trend of offering a ton if variety.
The song immediately starts with a strange and alien melody, before transitioning to a rather rock-y verse. Normally not a huge fan of stuff like that, but here it works very well. Especially when we get the classic VI VII i progressions. We weave in and out of the intro lead to get back to the verses and another round of choruses. This time with some added lead melodies.
Quick transition, then some guitars that almost resemble sirens, before we get the VI VII i with some beautiful leads. Then to a super weird, creative, strange and interesting passage. I love the interplay of distorted bursts and acoustic strums. Bruce has some vocal lines that go all over the place and make you feel like you're running out of time while losing your mind. Almost feels like a fever dream, like paranoia. One more unique thing we haven't heard before with Maiden. We get a few screams, the second of which doesn't work that well for me. Finally, another reprise of the intro, with a continuous solo and some soaring vocals by Bruce.
Quick note about the lyrics. The subject matter was highly topical during the time and might seem strange from today's POV. I'm glad that we got some stuff like that though. Unlike Tailgunner, which backfired completely for me, FITK's social commentary works. There's enough room for songs like that as well as songs about history, books and movies. Some of the lines might be somewhat questionable, but all in all I grew to really like the song. It's not quite enough for an 8 as the previous three songs, but it gets a strong 7.
The song immediately starts with a strange and alien melody, before transitioning to a rather rock-y verse. Normally not a huge fan of stuff like that, but here it works very well. Especially when we get the classic VI VII i progressions. We weave in and out of the intro lead to get back to the verses and another round of choruses. This time with some added lead melodies.
Quick transition, then some guitars that almost resemble sirens, before we get the VI VII i with some beautiful leads. Then to a super weird, creative, strange and interesting passage. I love the interplay of distorted bursts and acoustic strums. Bruce has some vocal lines that go all over the place and make you feel like you're running out of time while losing your mind. Almost feels like a fever dream, like paranoia. One more unique thing we haven't heard before with Maiden. We get a few screams, the second of which doesn't work that well for me. Finally, another reprise of the intro, with a continuous solo and some soaring vocals by Bruce.
Quick note about the lyrics. The subject matter was highly topical during the time and might seem strange from today's POV. I'm glad that we got some stuff like that though. Unlike Tailgunner, which backfired completely for me, FITK's social commentary works. There's enough room for songs like that as well as songs about history, books and movies. Some of the lines might be somewhat questionable, but all in all I grew to really like the song. It's not quite enough for an 8 as the previous three songs, but it gets a strong 7.
Black Bart
Ancient Mariner
Maiden songs with good choruses that do more than just repeating a phrase are scarce, but this is one of them. 