Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
''Creeping Death'' is the best Metallica song IMO.
GREATEST METAL ALBUM CUP - Winner: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
This is true, Killers has 7.
I mean they call Powerslave "Filler Slave" but at least it doesn't commit a crime as heinous as Deja Vu.
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
We have big 4 on the Powerslave and then we have others.
Personally, and without any exaggeration, I'd say there is one filler track on the album, and it's the instrumental. This track is last of its kind for Maiden, and it shows why. Furthermore, we have two swordfighting songs which is not a topic a lot of people can immerse themselves in. The songs also use simple structure and beat outside of the two wonderful instrumental sections. The base of both songs, chords riffs grooves and lyrics, isn't really something special for me and severely lacks behind famous 4 of the album.
Back in the Village I see as a great song. Not top tier, but great.
I believe I cover most of the fanbase when I say the opinion of the other 4 tracks is very diverse and almost no-one sees them as worthy as the main 4.
Personally, and without any exaggeration, I'd say there is one filler track on the album, and it's the instrumental. This track is last of its kind for Maiden, and it shows why. Furthermore, we have two swordfighting songs which is not a topic a lot of people can immerse themselves in. The songs also use simple structure and beat outside of the two wonderful instrumental sections. The base of both songs, chords riffs grooves and lyrics, isn't really something special for me and severely lacks behind famous 4 of the album.
Back in the Village I see as a great song. Not top tier, but great.
I believe I cover most of the fanbase when I say the opinion of the other 4 tracks is very diverse and almost no-one sees them as worthy as the main 4.
I think that's fair. Everyone seems to like at least one of the four other tracks, and many people like more than one, but they all seem to understand that they're reduced by proximity - how can you be as good as the bookend tracks? It seems almost impossible.
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
Exactly.
Unfortunately it is also a reason why I seldom listen to it top to bottom, the very best is the beginning and the end of the album. The middle is hit and miss, compared to what's around it.
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Okay, The Duellists probably belongs in the better half as well so let's make it 5 against 3. That being said I still believe that every track on SIT is better than The Duellists.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Spot on the other tracks are not fillers at all, not in the slightest. It's just in the context of maybe Maiden's strongest ever quartet-on-the-one-album they only appear to be filler.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
I have never thought of any song on Powerslave as being "filler," nor do I understand why anyone would. It is literally inaccurate -- they did not need to add a track or fill time anywhere, as the runtime pushes up against the limits of a vinyl LP. They could have dropped, say, "Losfer Words" or "Flash of the Blade" from Side 1 and "Back in the Village" from Side 2, and they still would have had a 40+ minute album, which is a normal runtime. Obviously, at least some band members felt strongly about each song and viewed it as essential, because they didn't NEED to add a filler track at all.
Plus, all the songs are solid. I love "Losfer Words" and "The Duellists" and would rate them higher than "2 Minutes," "Flash of the Blade" has a solid chorus, and though I don't love the chorus of "Back in the Village," the pre-chorus is cool and Adrian's guitar riffs are great.
By the way, even "filler" can be legendary. The song "Paranoid" was literally a filler track that Black Sabbath wrote in a few minutes because they needed to fill space on Side 1.
Plus, all the songs are solid. I love "Losfer Words" and "The Duellists" and would rate them higher than "2 Minutes," "Flash of the Blade" has a solid chorus, and though I don't love the chorus of "Back in the Village," the pre-chorus is cool and Adrian's guitar riffs are great.
By the way, even "filler" can be legendary. The song "Paranoid" was literally a filler track that Black Sabbath wrote in a few minutes because they needed to fill space on Side 1.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
In the strictest definition of fillers, i.e. tracks written at short notice to fill out the album, tracks like Murders in the Rue Morgue and Killers fit that definition.
The tracks I reckon you mean as being weak, are not fillers, all long established live tracks
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Your definition is technically correct, but some of the best and biggest songs by a ton of bands were written at the last minute to “fill out the record”.
True filler is about quality and, especially in the case of Killers, lazy compositions (repeating the same verses and choruses over and over again). Just because a song was established live doesn’t mean it was good enough to make a record.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Yes you have a valid point, and the trump card for your argument is they were all songs not considered for the first record.
Killers is probably an exceptional album, in the sense very little of it was written brand new.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
What I love about Powerslave is its energy. Every single song on there has bite and power. The middle four are on the same tier as the bookending four, and I would take some of them over “Midnight” actually. The guitars are just zipping along with each other, twisting and turning and constantly pushing each other further on. Bruce gives a tremendous perfection. All of them are legendary. And Steve went above and beyond with the epic. From front to back, it’s a perfect album.
EDIT: It’s also what everything had been building up to with the previous four albums. A finally stable lineup really helps, because now everyone has had time to groove with each other and it’s fantastic. Nicko’s drumming is next level. Also spawned one of their definitive tours with one of their definitive live albums. It’s no wonder they switched things up afterwards, there was no way they could top it like they were before.
EDIT: It’s also what everything had been building up to with the previous four albums. A finally stable lineup really helps, because now everyone has had time to groove with each other and it’s fantastic. Nicko’s drumming is next level. Also spawned one of their definitive tours with one of their definitive live albums. It’s no wonder they switched things up afterwards, there was no way they could top it like they were before.
Yax
Ancient Mariner
I positively love Powerslave, but it's not my favorite ever album or even my favorite Maiden album. I will say this, if you combine the best half of Powerslave with the best half of Piece of Mind, two fairly similar albums style wise, I would consider it the best album in the history of metal without a shadow of a doubt - It would even stomp Operation Mindcrime, which is my favorite ever album.
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Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
People talk about combining albums a lot and I have a hard time getting it. Every album is so distinct, unless it’s like Use Your Illusion I & II, which is just one album packaged as two. But POM and PS don’t sound close enough to throw them together IMO.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
Anyhoo, back to THIS matchup: I'm cool with either album advancing [EDIT: placing third], though I voted for Rising. RtL is a more consistent album start to finish, but the highs on Rising are higher and give it the edge for me. Plus, bonus points for featuring Ronnie.
Yax
Ancient Mariner
Obviously, the production set them apart, but style, songwriting and performance wise? Revelations would fit like a glove on Powerslave and Flash of The Blade could easily replace Sun and Steel or something like that. I think most on either album could fit on the other.