Introduction

K

Kromax

Prowler
Greetings from New York City!

I had a very brief flirtation with the music of Iron Maiden when they played Madison Square Garden for the World Piece tour.  I wasn't a fan, but a buddy had an extra ticket, so I went.  I enjoyed the show, and immediately purchased the Piece of Mind and Number of the Beast records (note I said records; CDs hadn't taken over yet).  I wasn't interested in the first two records, probably because after seeing the show, I couldn't think of IM without Bruce.  A few months later, I bought the Trooper picture disc with Cross Eyed Mary on the other side.  As I said, it was a very brief flirtation.  I got off the bus before they released their next album.  Over the years, I ended up buying Number and Piece on CD, put them on iPods, but I never thought of going back for more.

A few weeks ago, they broadcast much of the Flight 666 material on VH-1, and I was fortunate enough to watch it.  The seed was planted!  I bought the blu-ray, plus the CDs and things began to flower.  Now I needed more.  I picked up the DVD for Live After Death, brought it home and became upset.  How did I miss this?  I was a teenager when during this tour.  They were in in top form when I was in my prime.  To make up for past mistakes, I decided to dive straight into the world that I should have been a part of for twenty five years.  So far, in addition to what I've already mentioned, I bought Powerslave, Iron Maiden, Brave New World and Dance With Death, and have listened to nothing except Maiden since early July. 

Any advice, such as next purchase or other suggestions is appreciated. 

Noah "Kromax" Kromaksian
 
Go for Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son. Then X-Factor and No Prayer For The Dying, then Virtual XI and Fear Of The Dark, then go for Killers.
 
I suggest getting into the experimentation era, i.e. Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
Also, have a go at their newest studio release, A Matter of Life and Death, which many fans today consider their magnum opus.
I am also a fan of Fear of the Dark, it was the first Maiden album I listened to. Many fans disapprove of it because it enjoys a lot of filler material - but I too!

If you are willing to grow over the Bruce-fixation, Killers is an excelent album, from the Di'anno era, and The X Factor is an amazing album, highly underrated from the Blaze Bayley period. Good luck with your Maiden voyage ;)

Edit: Hell, Zare, you are too fast for me!
 
You will get many different advice on the order of the cd's, but just do as you like. As long as you get through all of them, it doesen't really matter.
 
I figured the responses would vary a lot, and I'm not looking for any type of consensus (no doubt, there will not be one!).  But as a self proclaimed statistics freak, I figured I'd look for patterns.  Also, if folks feel strongly about a particular album and indicate why, that helps too.  There is a lot of passion on this forum, and I'm enjoying reading all of your thoughts.  Hopefully, I will have something to contribute back at some point.
 
Well, the main pattern is for the majority to enjoy the Bruce Dickinson albums, with some people only liking the 80s period and some only liking everything before Somewhere In Time or Seventh Son.
Then there are people who only like Paul Di'Anno's singing as well.

But otherwise, the tastes of the general Maiden fan are quite varied really, I've heard all 14 studio albums referred to as "the best Maiden album" at least once, though the albums which get little mention are generally the 90s albums.

Just buy everything and you'll be ok, even the worst Maiden album (whichever that may be) is still pretty good at least providing 2 or more very good songs, so you can't really make a bad purchase. At least in my opinion.

Have fun listening to these albums for the first time, and try to ignore the Blaze-bashers  :ok: :D
 
Try to keep this in mind: I didn't like The X Factor upon my first few listens, but after a few weeks or maybe months, it grew on me, and today it is my absolute favourite album.
 
If it is statistics you want, look no further than this thread:  http://forum.maidenfans.com/index.php?topic=7092.0.

In light of the material that has rekindled your interest, I agree with Zare and Pilau and recommend picking up Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son next.  While the band does go in a different direction on those albums (synthesizers!!), you'll probably enjoy them if you like the albums you have purchased so far.  As you will see from the link above, a plurality thinks Seventh Son is the band's greatest album. 

After picking up those albums, next try A Matter of Life and Death, which is the band's most recent studio album and is widely regarded as a masterpiece (including by the band members themselves, as they performed the album in its entirety, in track order, on the supporting tour, something they had never previously done). 
 
Get Iron Maiden and Killers now! This is Iron Maiden in its truest sense. Yes, Bruce IS the front man but Paul is an amazing singer and some of the best and heaviest music you will hear is from these 2 albums. No collection or true fan appreciation is complete without them.
 
Interesting experience of yours, watching live The World Piece Tour and then forget about them on Powerslave era. 

I began listening to Maiden with the so-called subpar albums, like No Prayer for the Dying and X-Factor. I totally agree with Perun, i remember to despize X-Factor,  but after a few years i began listening to it carefully, and my opinion changed, it's a superb album, and really opened a new future to the band.

The real problem of this band, which it's actually very annoying, it's the fact they can't make bad albums.
 
Rotam said:
The real problem of this band, which it's actually very annoying, it's the fact they can't make bad albums.
Click to expand...

That's bizzarely correct. Seriously I wonder how things like that happen. Guns N' Roses, System of a Down and Korpiklaani are the same, by the way.
 
Deano said:
You really think so?
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I really do! I have no problem with any of Maiden's albums. Of course, some I might like more than others but on the whole I love all of their songs. Except maybe a few on Virtual XI...
 
Excluding Chinese Democracy, which personally I don't consider a GNR album and which I have no intention of listening to as of the moment, yes, I do think that all of these bands' albums are good. I never get tired of any Korpiklaani songs and SoaD is SoaD. Regarding GnR I think they have something unique about them which I can't be arsed to get into discussion about on my cell :p
 
With the exception of Appetite for Destruction I think they all suck persoanly. I absolutley despise System of the Down. Don't know the other band.
 
Well, exactly like the qustion whether all of Maiden's are good, it all comes down to personal taste. However, I cannot avoid from suggesting you give Use Your Illusion another try ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top