Heaven Can Wait

How good is Heaven Can Wait on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    31
6/10. Not a big fan. Way too long, gets boring. Live versions are much better!
 
A great intro, great bassline. It's really overlong and I don't like the chorus so much but the "OooOOooo" part is great. 8/10.
 
10. This has always been a favorite of mine. I think the bass intro is awesome and I also can't get enough of the "Take my hand" part. This is also an awesome live song especially on the Flight 666 movie.
 
Fun live, instantly accessible on the album but not their best song. On the other hand, it gets points for instant accessibility, which I felt was lacking on SIT. 8.
 
10/10 I'm Not the Biggest Fan of the Studio Version, But the Flight 666 Version is Amazing!!!!!!!! Try it Out, Easily My 2nd Favorite from SiT
 
It took me many listens before I got into this one. The bridge is one of the best Iron Maiden moments of all time, but the chorus tends to get annoying.

7.
 
This may be my "least" favorite song on the album, but compared to the filler songs on most albums, it is great. The chorus is a bit repetitive/annoying and that may be its worst quality that holds it back. This song is also faster than most songs on this album and it bothers me for some reason. 8/10
 
I still don't get the dislike some people have for HCW. I've always thought it was just as strong as any other song on that album side. Energetic and fun.
 
I can see what was said about the chorus. The wailing and the melody are among the most irritating of the eighties catalogue.
 
This is where the album drops in quality a little for me. This song doesn't feel as complete as the two last songs, but it's still good.
The verses are rocking, and while the chorus is kind of bland, the bridge is great. The sing along section is cool, and the guitar lines behind it are beast.
The solo work on this album is heavenly, so even if these solos are not bad, they are tame in comparison to other solos on the album.

7/10
 
9/10, and I'm not surprised to be the high vote thus far. I don't get why this song seems so disliked on this forum. It's well-written with good (but not great) lyrics. Memorable chorus melody, if a bit repetitive. However, the bassline in the solo section is one of Steve's coolest. And it's always great and energetic live. Has been one of my favorites on this album from the day it came out.
 
I do enjoy this song, but the chorus isn't great and the whole thing is about 2 minutes too long. The "singalong" section is a particular highlight.

7/10
 
Heaven Can 8.

Don't understand the hate for this; I personally think it's a consistently great song.

Rankings:

Previous Albums:

Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

Killers - 5.91

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
5 - Prodigal Son
8 - Purgatory
6 - Twilight Zone
5 - Drifter

The Number Of The Beast - 7.56

6 - Invaders
7 - Children Of The Damned
8 - The Prisoner
7 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - The Number Of The Beast
10 - Run To The Hills
6 - Gangland
5 - Total Eclipse
10 - Hallowed Be Thy Name

Piece Of Mind - 7.44

8 - Where Eagles Dare
9 - Revelations
9 - Flight Of Icarus
7 - Die With Your Boots On
8 - The Trooper
7 - Still Life
6 - Quest For Fire
6 - Sun And Steel
7 - To Tame A Land

Powerslave - 6.75

8 - Aces High
7 - 2 Minutes To Midnight
3 - Loss Fer Words
7 - Flash Of The Blade
5 - The Duellists
6 - Back In The Village
9 - Powerslave
9 - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Somewhere In Time

8 - Caught Somewhere In Time
9 - Wasted Years
8 - Sea Of Madness
8 - Heaven Can Wait
 
7/10

It must be clear by now that I don’t love upbeat/happy/major-key Maiden choruses and Heaven Can Wait has the mother of all upbeat choruses. There’s big chords, starry arpeggios, and a repetitive vocal line that quickly grows tiresome. The rest of the song, however, is quite good. The verses are a bit reminiscent of The Number of the Beast, Dave’s guitar solo is killer, and the “whoa-oh” bridge is a classic moment. They used to play this part with a crowd on stage (usually a football team, if I’m not mistaken) and it could get pretty epic. Just imagine 100,000 fans singing along to this in Rio. I’m so glad this part exists, too, because the preceding section finds Bruce at his screechiest.
 
HCW is probably my least favorite on the album, but it still has some really good stuff happening. The intro is very atmospheric and the main riff feels like a precursor to 90s Maiden. It's like a riff Janick would write, which is really weird considering that as far as production goes this is as far from the 90s as you could possibly get. And Janick isn't in the band yet. But I don't think it's coincidence that they played it on nearly every 90s tour.

The song has a solid energy, really love some of the riffing on it and the synths blend especially well. And how could you not love the "whoa oh oh" bridge? This song was built for the live performances. The chords that come in toward the end of that bit are also extreme Rush inspired. There's no way they weren't listening heavily to Grace Under Pressure while making this album. All the instrumental moments are solid.

My two main gripes are the chorus and the verses. I'm not fond of the chorus to begin with and the repetition really doesn't do it any favors. The verses feel like Bruce is struggling to keep up with everything else and Steve is giving him a mouthful to sing.

7
 
Can't get into this one at all. The chorus is monotonous and I don't like the abrupt way the solos come in. The whoa whoa bit does nothing for me either although the 'take my hand' lead in is quite cool (but even that shifts into a key which is too high).

5
 
Back
Top