Interesting article on the Blaze Years

Damn, that's one long article. I'll bookmark iut and rad it when I can open my eyes some more.
 
I tried reading it last night but nearly fell asleep. Gonna try again this afternoon. It was a very good article so far though.
 
Read it.


Can't say I agree with some of the things, but he raises some valid points.
 
A lot of it, I call bullshit.  He didn't even get some basic facts right ("The ClansmEn", Bruce not writing anything on FotD, not sure whether Sign and Clansman are on Rock in Rio). 
 
Here's the thing I think the article is missing: this era was important not in that it reminded Steve what he was missing without Bruce/H, but also in that it let Janick come to prominence as a song writer. Removing the two biggest non-Steve writing influences gave him the time to shine, and now we get great Gers tracks, such as Dance of Death.

The "Rejuvenation" years (as Mav puts it) let everyone recharge their batteries. Blaze did a good job with what he was given, and some great songs came out of it. But what man can stand in the footprints of giant?
 
Well I read it and I think the typos in there were a little too much. There were some sentences I couldn't understand at all.

This is what I got out of it. He seems to be a big fan and obviously loved Bruce's solo work. He even defends Fear of the Dark and No Prayer. He honestly explains why he doesn't like the Blaze albums and explains why without being a troll. And you can't really do much besides respect his opinion. He gave those albums multiple chances, room to grow and had an open mind going in every time. You can't force people to like the same things as you.

I don't think the point of the article was the era's effects on future maiden, I think it was a retrospect of an era for maiden that was quite some time ago and is commonly overlooked. It was a critical look at Bruce's albums and the 2 Blaze albums. I think the main question was 14-15 years later, how do those albums stand today?

For example,I love Virtual XI, I think it is better than X Factor and was a leading point to Brave New World. I didn't buy the album until about 2-3 weeks before The Final Frontier came out. It did a good job pacifying me before TFF. I loved Virtual from the first listen, there wasn't a song that I didn't like. I even liked AATG. Did listening to it for the first time in 2010 have anything to do with me liking it so much? I couldn't answer that, maybe someone else can. There was just something about that album that grabbed me instantly and for those few weeks that was all I was listening to. (Including Accident of Birth which I also had just bought.)

I'm not gonna "call bullshit" on this one because for the most part, I agree with this guy. He raised valid points but just because he got some facts wrong doesn't affect what his main point was. The Blaze albums seem to be a love or hate thing and this guy happens to be on the other side of the fence. Is there really anything wrong with that?
 
LooseCannon said:
Here's the thing I think the article is missing: this era was important not in that it reminded Steve what he was missing without Bruce/H, but also in that it let Janick come to prominence as a song writer. Removing the two biggest non-Steve writing influences gave him the time to shine, and now we get great Gers tracks, such as Dance of Death.
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Good point about Jannick.
My biggest problem with The X Factor is one of balance, in which the article writer mentions. The X Factor is frustrating because it contains some of the greatest ideas and concepts, but it's just not pulled together properly.
VXI may not be as bold, but it feels far more balanced and cohesive.
 
TAC said:
Good point about Jannick.
My biggest problem with The X Factor is one of balance, in which the article writer mentions. The X Factor is frustrating because it contains some of the greatest ideas and concepts, but it's just not pulled together properly
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How so? X Factor (even though I do not like it as much) is deep and more lyrics/vocals centered than other albums. I don't see any loose ends. Every feeling Steve was trying to convey is on there. You just have to pay more attention.
 
The X Factor is kind of a "handshake album" for Maiden fans. It is usually overlooked/forgotten by most people when talking about the group, but many fans recognize that it has some amazing material and was probably never really given a fair chance. And those who like this album have a special bond that other Maiden fans don't share.

Virtual XI is good musically, but it's very weak lyrically.
 
MaidenCanada said:
Virtual XI is good musically, but it's very weak lyrically.
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Not really. There are some great subjects and it is refreshing to hear the new diversity from the depressing X Factor. Much like TFF and AMOLAD.
 
Stallion Duck said:
Not really. There are some great subjects and it is refreshing to hear the new diversity from the depressing X Factor. Much like TFF and AMOLAD.
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The excessively repetitive choruses on a couple of the songs, and rhyming "tonight" with "tonight" in the opening verse of When Two Worlds Collide are examples of the laziest and weakest lyrics in the entire Maiden catalogue.
 
Ok the repetitiveness is on two songs. The lyrics are very good on Two Worlds Collide and I like to call it a refresher from X Factor. (I think I mentioned this already) The lyrics on every song are unique in subject matter and don't flow in a theme and every now and then it is good to have an album like that. AMOLAD is much worse as far as repetitiveness goes.
 
TAC said:
Good point about Jannick.
My biggest problem with The X Factor is one of balance, in which the article writer mentions. The X Factor is frustrating because it contains some of the greatest ideas and concepts, but it's just not pulled together properly.
VXI may not be as bold, but it feels far more balanced and cohesive.
Click to expand...

Funny, i have the exact opposite opinion: the VXI was a huge step backwards of what XF promised. The idea of photographing the team of West Ham doesn't make any sense at all (except the games they made, but this is external to the album itself).
 
Rotam said:
Funny, i have the exact opposite opinion: the VXI was a huge step backwards of what XF promised.
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Lets consider what was going on at the time. Steve was going through a really rough time and thus, his music reflected it. VXI shows that he was able to move on and go back to making music that wasn't as dark. Although some would argue that it is not as good, it still is a move forward and a leading point into Brave New World which lead to all the 2000's albums and The Final Frontier. It is still leading to something much bigger and I look forward to it. No Steps backward since No Prayer.
 
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