Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Well guessed Jonszat and mckindog!




No. 2 - Sea of Madness (see first post for 50-2)
(Smith, 1986 -> on stage-status: last time in 1987)

Just like with Zare (and I assume some other people) this song didn't click at first. The rough riffs in the beginning and the rhythm sounded pretty wild compared to other Maiden songs. But that grew. Excellent from the beginning has always been the music and the vocals, especially after the couplets. I really love Bruce in that pre-chorus, and even more in the chorus itself when he does that beautiful harmony. Later on in the calm part he shows a more sensitive side of himself, and Arry's bass is playing an awesome figure underneath.

Nicko delivers some skillful drumming, this little part is almost great melodic progrock, but without being proggy to be proggy. This is catchy, with a melodic brilliance piercing straight through the heart. When the song continues, it gets more intense again and fluently flows into the Sea of Madness again. Adrian's lead work is significant. Divine.

For years, on the old Iron Maiden newsgroup, this was my sig:

"Out in the dark there burns a dream"
Adrian Smith, 1986

And lately I enjoy this song more than ever, so I decided to use that line again.
 
No. 1 - Rime of the Ancient Mariner
(Harris, 1984 -> on stage-status: last time in 2009)

Rime of the Ancient Mariner is my favourite Maiden song. With reason. It contains lots of nice rhythm patterns, tempo changes, and the song's adventurous nature is unsurpassed. The song is full of bone slicing riffs. We have some spellbinding melodies and also one of Adrian's best solos. Bruce is superb.

There is no song with better atmosphere, the threatening moods are so captivating.

Highlight:

The "..and by the light of the moon.." verses +
....and then down in falls comes the RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNN!

(followed by the coolest music, ever made by mankind)


Thanks for following this. I enjoyed reading your feedback!


01. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
02. Sea of Madness
03. Infinite Dreams
04. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
05. Powerslave
06. Deja-Vu
07. The Unbeliever
08. The Trooper
09. The Duellists
10. Genghis Khan
11. Only the Good Die Young
12. Alexander the Great
13. Caught Somewhere in Time
14. Mother Russia
15. Afraid to Shoot Strangers
16. Prowler
17. Blood on the World's Hands
18. Brave New World
19. The Evil That Men Do
20. To Tame a Land
21. Transylvania
22. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
23. The Clairvoyant
24. Hallowed Be Thy Name
25. Dance of Death
26. Ghost of the Navigator
27. Virus
28. Run Silent Run Deep
29. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
30. Paschendale
31. The Fugitive
32. Aces High
33. Isle of Avalon
34. Fates Warning
35. Judgement of Heaven
36. 22 Acacia Avenue
37. Purgatory
38. Phantom of the Opera
39. Wasted Years
40. Starblind
41. Public Enema Number One
42. Lord of Light
43. Lightning Strikes Twice
44. Die with Your Boots On
45. Flight of Icarus
46. Remember Tomorrow
47. That Girl
48. Childhood's End
49. Sign of the Cross
50. Fortunes of War

Here an overview of the albums featured in my top 50:

Album + amount of songs

Somewhere in Time: 6 (5 in Top 25; 2 in Top 10)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: 5 (all 5 in Top 25; 2 in Top 10)
The X-Factor: 5 (2 in Top 25; 1 in Top 10)
Powerslave: 4 (3 in Top 25; 3 in Top 10)
Piece of Mind: 4 (2 in Top 25; 1 in Top 10)
Iron Maiden: 4 (2 in Top 25)
No Prayer for the Dying: 4 (1 in Top 25)
Fear of the Dark: 3 (1 in Top 25)
Killers: 2 (1 in Top 25; 1 in Top 10)
Brave New World: 2 (1 in Top 25)
The Number of the Beast: 2 (1 in Top 25)
Dance of Death: 2 (1 in Top 25)
A Matter of Life and Death: 2 (0 in Top 25)
The Final Frontier: 2 (0 in Top 25)
Virtual XI: 1 (0 in Top 25)

Non-album tracks: 2

Can't deny I'm satisfied when I see this colourful mix, because my appreciation for all the chapters shines through.
 
Foro, you and I might be the two Iron Maiden fans with the most divergent of tastes when it comes to our favourite band:)... good job with the ratings though... interesting to compare...
 
When Somewhere in Time was new the first song that grabbed me from the album was Sea of Madness.
As the weeks went by, I played the shit out of that album. I still loved Sea of Madness.
The weird thing was none of my friends felt the same way. And as the years went by, that stayed the same.
The radio didn't talk about it. The magazines didn't write about it.
Hell, even the band seemed to ignore it.

I still love Sea of Madness.
For all the reasons you state and more, I love Sea of Madness.
And it appears I finally found someone who may love it more.
I salute you. :notworthy:
(Number 21 on my list.)

Rime is what it is, a classic. Number 12 for me and a worthy choice for top spot.
And I'm sad this thread is over.

Thanks for a great read Foro.
Most enjoyable.
 
Thank you guys. It was a pleasure.

@mckindog, and others:
Looking forward to your lists(s); even without reviews we could see how the albums are "represented".

edit: interesting story about Sea of Madness, mckindog. I think a few others of us like that song a lot as well, and one of them started his favourite songs-topic a while back *Zare, kick your own butt and continue* ;)
 
I love Sea Of Madness. One of the best SIT songs, and SIT songs are some of the best Maiden songs. Great list Foro!
 
Firstly, let me congratulate you on a job well done. This thread has been a delight to check back at every couple of days or so, and a hell of a lot of work and dedication has gone into it, and seeing it in its completed state is a joy.

Sea of Madness is one hell of a bold choice, but in a way its placement kind of represents the list as a whole, in that there were a lot of curveballs in there. Sea of Madness (and Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner) were the last two that clicked into place for me, and when they did, Somewhere in Time became (more or less) my favourite album.

Rime is obviously one of the best songs Maiden have done, but I never appreciated it the way others do. Flight 666's live version kind of helped its cause for me, and of course seeing it live at Twickenham I couldn't help but think to myself "****! Thank you Universe for giving me this beautiful moment". Listening to Maiden as a kid I assumed Rime was never coming back out again, mainly because I assumed Bruce was never coming back.

Don't know if I dare try one of these threads myself. Would the forum want to see another one?
 
Nice countdown Forostar. It was good to see 'The Unbeliever' chart so high even though I'm not all that keen on it myself! However, your ranking of 'Hallowed be thy Name' still gives me great displeasure! :down:

Now I think everyone should turn their attention to My Top 50. :D
 
I wish you get to do a top 50 maiden albums some day. Of course won't happen but I can't think of the band quitting! Just not yet.
 
My 6 year old son's top 100! A while back he started out with pointing out his favourite songs. These were 16 songs standing out above the rest. 15 of these were 4 stars rated (indicated with one asterisk *). 1 had 5 stars (indicated with two asterisks **). That's his number 1: Aces High! Then he wanted to continue. At some point he had 57 songs and the idea arose to post them here. I did that. I think @CriedWhenBrucieLeft saw it but accidentally it got deleted. Now he continued and made a top 100 and wanted me to post it here, again. So here it is! Below the top 100 you see some stats. (The Fear of the Dark album did really well!)



01. Aces High**
02. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner*
03. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son*
04. The Clairvoyant*
05. Run To The Hills*
06. Powerslave*
07. The Trooper*
08. Speed Of Light*
09. Fear Of The Dark*
10. Deja-Vu*
11. Be Quick Or Be Dead*
12. Brave New World*
13. Ghost Of The Navigator*
14. Judas Be My Guide*
15. The Man Of Sorrows*
16. Blood Brothers*
17. 2 Minutes to Midnight
18. Caught Somewhere In Time
19. Invaders
20. Dance Of Death
21. Wasted Years
22. Flight Of Icarus
23. The Prisoner
24. Prowler
25. The Evil That Men Do
26. 22, Acacia Avenue
27. Alexander The Great
28. Bring Your Daughter... ...To The Slaughter
29. Tailgunner
30. The Wicker Man
31. Holy Smoke
32. Flash Of The Blade
33. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
34. Journeyman
35. Hallowed Be Thy Name
36. Still Life
37. The Nomad
38. Sea Of Madness
39. Sign Of The Cross
40. Heaven Can Wait
41. Coming Home
42. The Talisman
43. Transylvania
44. Phantom Of The Opera
45. The Clansman
46. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
47. If Eternity Should Fail
48. Running Free
49. The Book Of Souls
50. Satellite 15...The Final Frontier
51. When The Wild Wind Blows
52. When The River Runs Deep
53. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
54. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
55. Empire Of The Clouds
56. These Colours Don't Run
57. Moonchild
58. The number of the Beast
59. Only the Good Die Young
60. Futureal
61. Total Eclipse
62. Run Silent, Run Deep
63. Stranger in a Strange Land
64. Out Of The Silent Planet
65. Wildest Dreams
66. To Tame a Land
67. Revelations
68. Die With Your Boots On
69. Sun And Steel
70. Dream of Mirrors
71. Where Eagles Dare
72. Quest For Fire
73. Infinite Dreams
74. Can I Play Madness
75. The Prophecy

76. Back in The Village
77. No prayer for The dying
78. Purgatory
79. Mother Russia
80. Wasting Love
81. Children of the Damned
82. Rainmaker
83. From Here To eternity
84. The Red and The black
85. Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)
86. Gangland
87. Childhood's end
88. Ides of march
89. Fear is The Key
90. Different world
91. Murders in the Rue Morgue
92. The Duellists
93. No More Lies
94. Public Enema Number One
95. The Fugitive
96. WeeKend warrior
97. Lord of the Flies
98. The pilgrim
99. The Apparition
100. The Fallen Angel


Album + amount of songs: chronological order

Iron Maiden: 4
(4 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Killers: 3 (0 in top 50)
The Number of the Beast: 9 (5 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Piece of Mind: 9 (3 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Powerslave: 8 (5 in top 50; 4 in top 25; 3 in top 10)
Somewhere in Time: 8 (7 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: 8 (3 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 2 in top 10)
No Prayer for the Dying: 7 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Fear of the Dark: 11 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
The X-Factor: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Virtual XI: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Brave New World: 8 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Dance of Death: 5 (2 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
A Matter of Life and Death: 5 (0 in top 50)
The Final Frontier: 4 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
The Book of Souls: 7 (4 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)


Album + amount of songs: total songs order
Fear of the Dark: 11 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
The Number of the Beast: 9 (5 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Piece of Mind: 9 (3 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Somewhere in Time: 8 (7 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Powerslave: 8 (5 in top 50; 4 in top 25; 3 in top 10)
Brave New World: 8 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: 8 (3 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 2 in top 10)
The Book of Souls: 7 (4 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
No Prayer for the Dying: 7 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Dance of Death: 5 (2 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
A Matter of Life and Death: 5 (0 in top 50)
Iron Maiden: 4 (4 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
The Final Frontier: 4 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Killers: 3 (0 in top 50)
The X-Factor: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Virtual XI: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)


Album + amount of songs: top 50 order
Somewhere in Time: 8 (7 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Powerslave: 8 (5 in top 50; 4 in top 25; 3 in top 10)
The Number of the Beast: 9 (5 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Fear of the Dark: 11 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Brave New World: 8 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
The Book of Souls: 7 (4 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Iron Maiden: 4 (4 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: 8 (3 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 2 in top 10)
Piece of Mind: 9 (3 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
No Prayer for the Dying: 7 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
The Final Frontier: 4 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Dance of Death: 5 (2 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
The X-Factor: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Virtual XI: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
A Matter of Life and Death: 5 (0 in top 50)
Killers: 3 (0 in top 50)


Album + amount of songs: top 25 order
Powerslave: 8 (5 in top 50; 4 in top 25; 3 in top 10)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: 8 (3 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 2 in top 10)
Somewhere in Time: 8 (7 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
The Number of the Beast: 9 (5 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Fear of the Dark: 11 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Brave New World: 8 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
The Book of Souls: 7 (4 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Piece of Mind: 9 (3 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Iron Maiden: 4 (4 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Dance of Death: 5 (2 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
No Prayer for the Dying: 7 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
The Final Frontier: 4 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
The X-Factor: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Virtual XI: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
A Matter of Life and Death: 5 (0 in top 50)
Killers: 3 (0 in top 50)


Album + amount of songs: top 10 order
Powerslave: 8 (5 in top 50; 4 in top 25; 3 in top 10)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: 8 (3 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 2 in top 10)
Somewhere in Time: 8 (7 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
The Number of the Beast: 9 (5 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Fear of the Dark: 11 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
The Book of Souls: 7 (4 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Piece of Mind: 9 (3 in top 50; 2 in top 25; 1 in top 10)
Brave New World: 8 (4 in top 50; 3 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Iron Maiden: 4 (4 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
Dance of Death: 5 (2 in top 50; 1 in top 25; 0 in top 10)
No Prayer for the Dying: 7 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
The Final Frontier: 4 (3 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
The X-Factor: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
Virtual XI: 2 (1 in top 50; 0 in top 25)
A Matter of Life and Death: 5 (0 in top 50)
Killers: 3 (0 in top 50)
 
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