Holy Smoke

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How good is Holy Smoke on a scale of 1-10?

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"Shit" is definitely the biggest hitter in any Maiden song. Unless you count the songs that make you do a double-take...

"And the ship sails on
Back to the North
Through the fucking fog and ice
And the albatross follows on"

"Nail that fucker Fokker
Shoot that son!"

Otherwise Holy Smoke is Maiden's Most Profane.
 
Number 6 said:
Well, since Fokkers weren't really around during WWII, it's hard to believe Bruce didn't mean it as a lazy replacement for "fucker". :p

Also, isn't it "kill that son"?
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They were, but they were primarily flown by the Dutch, and not in use for very long.
 
Palpy said:
In Fear Is The Key "you're outnumbered by the bastards" and in a sense there are swear words also in Tailgunner and El Dorado.
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Number 6 said:
Isn't "ass" a swear word too? In that case, there's "The Assassin" and "Charlotte the Harlot". Not sure if there're others.
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I'm only counting things at the level of "shit" or higher. Stuff that would get bleeped on U.S. network television (though "shit" is technically allowed, I guess).
 
I would just go by what would be acceptable on radio. Tailgunner and Holy Smoke are the only songs that would be censored on FM at least. Dunno how the BBC rules work.
 
Mosh said:
I would just go by what would be acceptable on radio. Tailgunner and Holy Smoke are the only songs that would be censored on FM at least. Dunno how the BBC rules work.
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What would "Tailgunner" get bleeped for? "Fokker"?
 
A different riff than what many have been accustomed to with Maiden opens up "Holy Smoke", a fun, on-the-nose single about the televangelists of the '80s and '90s. Jeez, I wonder what this song would be like if it was written nowadays... It's pretty catchy and fun overall, but not quite as good as several other Maiden songs. Great music video though. 6
 
Fun verses, fun chorus, the melodies and the solos are good. More of a rock type of song. Overall, this is a fun song. 7/10
 
So which exactly is the censored version? Where was it censored (Country)?
I found this version:
It's sped up and the same version that exists on High Vaultage Vol.2 (and judging by the running time on Brave New Tour too).
On this version the word Shit is garbled.
Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Smoke_(song)) mentions "This is one of the very few Iron Maiden songs with profanity in the lyrics (for example, "Flies around shit/bees around honey" and "I've lived in filth/I've lived in sin/and I still smell cleaner than the shit you're in"), which is replaced by gunshot sounds in censored versions." without citations tho.
 
This is definitely a different Maiden than what we’ve been used to. The riff nods back to “Wasted Years”, but the lyrics are much more politically motivated and Bruce’s delivery is straight out of Tattooed Millionaire. Janick’s soloing is a big step down from that album, but Dave’s is pretty killer. As a whole though? It’s a fun song. Pretty good. 7/10
 
How does Iron Maiden fit all the lyrics from one album onto a single side of the vinyl record's inner sleeve?

Easy. If you're running out of room, just substitute the lyrics of the next song!

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Lyrical misprints aside, I found that the 2015 vinyl remaster of NPFTD has good sound. This is the very definition of "polishing a turd". The badly-written songs with needlessly harsh vocals are presented immaculately. You can hear Bruce choke out classic lines like "ASSASSIN!" so clearly, you can diagnose his throat cancer years in advance. The pungent harmonies of "Fates Warning" will make your eyes water, like a fresh and vibrant fart. "Hooks In You" will make you want those four minutes of your life back (wait, that's not the remaster, it's always been that bad). Any album where a buttnugget like "Public Enema Number One" seems like a middle-of-the-pack song should be ashamed to exist.
 
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This one thankfully deals with a less serious topic and the lyrics fit the vibe and tone of the song far more. It's a great rocker and pure fun. Some of the lyrics ("flies around shit, bees around honey" or "I've lived in filth, I've lived in sin, and I still smell cleaner than the shit you're in") might not be the most sophisticated lines written, but I love them.

We get Janick's trademark harmonic sweep on the G string, which was a revelation to me when I started learning guitar. He uses it far more effectively later in his career, but it's still worth mentioning. Dave's solo is great. Not much else to say about this song. A strong 7.
 
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