How do you guys feel about the newer Maiden albums?

Do you like Modern Maiden?

  • Total voters
    60
Come on guys, don't pick the low hanging fruit. :p

Forostar said:
I don't find Weekend Warrior a generic rocker at all. Both in music and lyrics very different from e.g. From Here to Eternity. Nor find I The Fugitive generic either. Again different. That intro, that calm part right after it with the keyboards. Seriously, so different. The songs are mostly midtempo, maybe that's why you find them generic. I am not bothered with that aspect.
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Well we had The Fugitive debate before, unless you want to try and win another medal, I think we should just leave it at us having very different views on that song. ;) With that said, I think Weekend Warrior is far more generic then The Fugitive. As far as lyrics go, I usually don't factor them. A generic rocker with brilliant lyrics, to me, is still a generic rocker.

And as long as that quality aspect is not explained, I take it as a personal opinion (which we all have here ;-) but I feel it doesn't say much about the material itself.
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Well sometimes preference just can't be explained. Sometimes I'll listen to music and even though there isn't anything fundamentally wrong with it, I just don't enjoy it. As for Fear, hardly anything on that album has ever captivated me. It doesn't sound inspired (to me), nothing seems special instrumentally or vocally, and as a whole it's just boring. The general vibe/mood of the album always put me off too. Something about the production irks me, I was never a fan of the guitar sound. It could be the arrangement too.

You are clear about this indeed. Not sure if I find No Prayer one dimensional, because it goes in several directions (both musically and lyrically) but if it feels that way to you, I respect that of course. :ok:
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I'm starting to suspect that we have different definitions for that phrase, which is fine. No Prayer is a very focused effort, most of the songs follow the same formula and for the most part they're trying to achieve the same moods. This isn't the case for albums like The Final Frontier, or Powerslave, or even Somewhere in Time.
 
Travis The Dragon said:
I absolutely love all 4 recent releases and rank them up there with the very best of the 80's material.
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Exactly ... and if I had to pick a reason for that, it is that they are not trying to repeat the 80s. Tons of bands get into trouble by trying to recreate the past instead of what they are now. This is what Maiden is now .. like it or not, they are not trying to make every song Trooper 2
 
BNW is among my Top 5 favorite Maiden albums, with AMOLAD not too far behind, and while DoD and TFF are not that high up for me personally, there are still some high quality songs to be found on each of those albums.
 
I don't listen to them as much as there old stuff,but there are some good tunes on there recent albums.
What ruins the experience for me, is there need to continue with the Celtic slow intro/outro,repetitive chorus ( Virtual XI style) songs like No More Lies, When the Wild Wind Blows.
 
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Total agreement with Travis. I'm a lifelong member of this Maiden trip (saw Somewhere on Tour in 87) but every time I now listen to an album it will always be a reunion album or Somewhere in Time. Ok, Nicko and Steve may have slowed down and steadied themselves musically since 2000 (no more Caught Somewhere in Time drum rolling) but Dave, H and Janick have struck gold and established a new sound. I wish Janick had joined Maiden in the 80s so we cld have this thick thick wall of sound pre-Powerslave but he is near,
 
The Mid-Distance Runner said:
every time I now listen to an album it will always be a reunion album or Somewhere in Time. Ok, Nicko and Steve may have slowed down and steadied themselves musically since 2000 (no more Caught Somewhere in Time drum rolling) but Dave, H and Janick have struck gold and established a new sound. I wish Janick had joined Maiden in the 80s so we cld have this thick thick wall of sound pre-Powerslave but he is near,
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I very much agree. I listen to the newer albums a lot more, simply because they are fresh. There's no knocking the old classics, but I've simply heard them so much! I have recently come to appreciate Janick's inclusion in the band and I think the old songs sound much better live with his additional layering. Granted, some of his live playing is sloppier than a pig trough, but his showmanship and songwriting make up for it. I personally think that Maiden's songwriting has become far more unified and interesting post-2000.
 
I feel the last 4 or 5 albums (even the Blaze ones) are the best things Maiden have done. I feel like since Bruce came back, but mostly on the most recent 2, they have been doing what they've always wanted to do but maybe couldn't due to certain restrictions etc. On FF and AMOLAD they just let all their creative juices flow, and didn't interfere with what their hearts desired. It doesn't feel like they care at all anymore about having a radio song or a short song that's more accessible for the general public. They have their fanbase and don't need stuff like radio singles and videos to let people know they're back.

Neither FF or AMOLAD have anything that's really surprising or unexpected from them, but it doesn't matter. I do wish they toned down on themes like 'war' and historical stores, but at the same time they manage to make me care about these things I usually have no interest in. The lyrics are beautiful and the music just too great to dislike. Bruce knows how to sing the lyrics like they really mean something to him; tons of emotion. And IMHO Bruce's voice has only gotten better with age. I truly think that.

I'd like to see them write more about personal things, life experiences and such, as opposed to war and history. That is my only complaint. Other then that, Maiden's last 4/5 albums are the best of their careers.
 
NotePad said:
I'd like to see them write more about personal things, life experiences and such, as opposed to war and history. That is my only complaint. Other then that, Maiden's last 4/5 albums are the best of their careers.
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You really should check Bruce's Balls To Picasso and Skunkworks out, if that is your fancy. That is if you haven't already.
 
I really like the albums Maiden have released since the 1999 reunion. In fact, AMOLAD is one of my favourite Maiden albums! I rate it higher than some of the 80s so called classic albums.

If I had to rate the Maiden albums from best to worst, this would be my personal list:

1. The Number of the Beast
2. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
3. Piece of Mind
4. Powerslave
5. Iron Maiden
6. A Matter of Life and Death
7. The Final Frontier
8. Brave New World
9. Somewhere in Time
10. Dance of Death
11. Killers
12. Fear of the Dark
13. The X Factor
14. No Prayer for the Dying
15. Virtual XI
 
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