IRON MAIDEN ALBUM RANKING: TOP THREE REVEALED
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
The Sentient
Trooper
I’ve a fondness for NPFTD as I was 13 when it came out and just properly getting into music. I’d got into Maiden by picking up a few of the ‘first ten years’ singles that had been rereleased earlier that year so it was the first ‘new’ album I could go out and buy that was currently relevant.
Looking back, the singles (Bring Your Daughter and Holy Smoke) are very throwaway, but I think Tailgunner, Running Silent and the title track are all very good songs. I also like Hooks In You as a standard uptempo rocker but it does sound a like it should have been on Tattooed Millionaire and not a Maiden album.
Looking back, the singles (Bring Your Daughter and Holy Smoke) are very throwaway, but I think Tailgunner, Running Silent and the title track are all very good songs. I also like Hooks In You as a standard uptempo rocker but it does sound a like it should have been on Tattooed Millionaire and not a Maiden album.
MindRuler
Ancient Mariner
Nice to see appreciation for this great song.
It would fit on TM yes!
So thanks to Vaenyr having empirically the weirdest Maiden opinions on the board, everybody who guessed that VXI was #1 and #17 was correct. Congrats @Diesel 11 @MindRuler, and @Kalata!
MindRuler also came very close to answering #2 and was correct about Iron Maiden and Senjutsu not having a top or bottom spot on any list! The third album was The Final Frontier, which means Kalata guessed all three correctly!
Diesel, MindRuler, and Kalata: PM me a list of THREE bands each that you would like to see a ranking game for after this Maiden game. I will figure out a way to select a winner or just pick one myself, but I will commit to picking off your lists as long as they are reasonable. I will not pick a band that nobody here listens to.
MindRuler also came very close to answering #2 and was correct about Iron Maiden and Senjutsu not having a top or bottom spot on any list! The third album was The Final Frontier, which means Kalata guessed all three correctly!
Diesel, MindRuler, and Kalata: PM me a list of THREE bands each that you would like to see a ranking game for after this Maiden game. I will figure out a way to select a winner or just pick one myself, but I will commit to picking off your lists as long as they are reasonable. I will not pick a band that nobody here listens to.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16: VIRTUAL XI
17: NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING
Highest score: 17 points (@Vaenyr)
Lowest score: 1 point (@Jer @The Dissident @Stardust @Poto @KiDDo @Cosmiceddie )
So our bottom two are flipped compared to the albums survivor, which probably comes as no surprise. It does show the power of this style of voting though, as despite having more 1 point scores than No Prayer for the Dying, Virtual XI benefits from having a greater range. Obviously the 17 points awarded by Vaenyr helped a lot, but it also received 7 points from several members compared to No Prayer, which only had three members score above a 6 and the highest score of 9. Virtual is certainly a more controversial album - there are plenty of Blaze defenders out there and on its musical merits there is a pretty clear shift toward the musical stylings of the reunion era. No Prayer is a pretty strong departure from what most Maiden fans appreciate, but Virtual acts as a prototypical reunion album - further evidenced by the fact that several unused ideas from the album found their way onto Brave New World. Thanks to The Clansman, this album has also enjoyed more live representation than No Prayer. I imagine that song alone won it some points. Funnily enough, prior to Legacy of the Beast, the last time a Virtual XI song or a No Prayer song had been played live was on the same tour - Give Me Ed Til I'm Dead in 2003.*
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16: VIRTUAL XI
17: NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING
Highest score: 17 points (@Vaenyr)
Lowest score: 1 point (@Jer @The Dissident @Stardust @Poto @KiDDo @Cosmiceddie )
So our bottom two are flipped compared to the albums survivor, which probably comes as no surprise. It does show the power of this style of voting though, as despite having more 1 point scores than No Prayer for the Dying, Virtual XI benefits from having a greater range. Obviously the 17 points awarded by Vaenyr helped a lot, but it also received 7 points from several members compared to No Prayer, which only had three members score above a 6 and the highest score of 9. Virtual is certainly a more controversial album - there are plenty of Blaze defenders out there and on its musical merits there is a pretty clear shift toward the musical stylings of the reunion era. No Prayer is a pretty strong departure from what most Maiden fans appreciate, but Virtual acts as a prototypical reunion album - further evidenced by the fact that several unused ideas from the album found their way onto Brave New World. Thanks to The Clansman, this album has also enjoyed more live representation than No Prayer. I imagine that song alone won it some points. Funnily enough, prior to Legacy of the Beast, the last time a Virtual XI song or a No Prayer song had been played live was on the same tour - Give Me Ed Til I'm Dead in 2003.*
JudasMyGuide
The resident reactionary recalcitrant
Definitely an underrated album; not that it is all that stellar, but it is overhated. It is an attempt to make a "more typical" Maiden album with Blaze at the helm and it doesn't fit as well as with TXF (I insist that I am glad they did TXF with Blaze, because he was a better fit than Bruce would have been at the time). Also, there's something weird going on with the production - the sound is weirdly sterile and a re-do would immensely help the album.
However, there's Como Estais Amigos, one of my favourite Maiden tracks (I honestly don't get why this doesn't get more love) and songs like Futureal and The Clansman are great and I'd even add The Educated Fool to the "really good" category.
The main problem is the insane repetitiveness of the two monster tracks and Lightning Strikes Twice, which just sounds really clumsy, especially the chorus with that "maaaaybe liiightning chwa-chwa". as he tries to fit too many consonants there. When Two Worlds Collide is okay, "not great, not terrible".
There is this thread called turn Maiden albums into 4-track EPs and this album would be perfect for that. A 4 track XVI album, with only Futureal, The Clansman, The Educated Fool and Como Estais would be better than at least some of the 80s albums given the same treatment.
However, there's Como Estais Amigos, one of my favourite Maiden tracks (I honestly don't get why this doesn't get more love) and songs like Futureal and The Clansman are great and I'd even add The Educated Fool to the "really good" category.
The main problem is the insane repetitiveness of the two monster tracks and Lightning Strikes Twice, which just sounds really clumsy, especially the chorus with that "maaaaybe liiightning chwa-chwa". as he tries to fit too many consonants there. When Two Worlds Collide is okay, "not great, not terrible".
There is this thread called turn Maiden albums into 4-track EPs and this album would be perfect for that. A 4 track XVI album, with only Futureal, The Clansman, The Educated Fool and Como Estais would be better than at least some of the 80s albums given the same treatment.
I wonder about the world where Maiden makes Virtual XI in 1990 instead of No Prayer. With Martin Birch at the helm and Bruce on vocals, I wonder if it would be ranked among the classics or if it would be just as maligned as it is today. As it is I do enjoy listening to it typically more than the two 90s albums with Bruce.
Siddharth
Long Distance Trooper
The production plays a big part. For example, just listen to 'Dream Of Mirrors' which was written during the Virtual XI sessions (I personally feel it sounds more in the lines of The X Factor) which is much better produced, the guitar parts are much clear sounding, no matter who's on vocals, though Bruce sounds magnificent in it and it does capture that epic feel.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Hooraaay!
VXI is underrated and one of my favorite albums. The repetition of 2 songs is what holds it back. The album has that classic Maiden vibe and it's like a bridge to the Reunion era style/sound. I have no problem with the production. I love the melodies on the album a lot, some of Maiden's best imo.
The way I see it:
- Futureal and Clansman are classics.
- When Two Worlds Collide is a classic galloping Maiden with an anthemic chorus.
- Educated Fool is another solid song with a slightly different feel for Maiden.
- Como Estais Amigos is a good and probably unexpected ballad with no acoustic parts.
- Lightning Strikes Twice is a more rock-type of song with a TXF vibe (like Educated Fool) and with full energy. The album needs this song.
- Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger has a great vibe, build up and an amazing instrumental section.
- The Angel And The Gambler is Maiden having fun, but it should not have been 10 minutes long. 4/5 at most. They could have one more song on the album instead.
Idk. The production suits the album. I think the album with Bruce in 1998 would have been better received. Released in 1990? It would have been a natural continuation of the SSOASS sound (it's a fusion of SIT & BNW sound imo), so it should have been good/satisfying for the fans. I enjoy the album a lot.
Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
By now everyone knows that I'm quite biased on that subject, but I genuinely believe that it would've been much more popular than it is right now.
I've mentioned it before, but other than the debut-Killers duo, VXI-BNW are the albums that are closest to each other on so many levels. They are basically twin albums; different sides of the same coin. The latter obviously features a much better production and better performances thanks to Adrian and Bruce returning, but the songwriting itself is quite comparable. Shouldn't be surprising, since some of the ideas were from the VXI days.
Funny thing, VXI gets a lot of hate for excessive repetitions, and while nothing can beat TAATG in that regard, many of the songs on BNW repeat their choruses a bunch of times as well, yet those don't get half as much hate as anything on VXI.
I truly believe that most material on VXI could shine live with Bruce on the helm. He is great a crowd control. The songs are filled with great sing-along melodies and I'm sure even something like TAATG could be pulled off live and lead to a really fun experience. Unfortunately it is likely that we'll never hear another Blaze-era song live, except maybe The Clansman and/or SOTC if they ever decide to do a final hits/farewell tour.
JudasMyGuide
The resident reactionary recalcitrant
Repetitive choruses are a given with Maiden, it's a much bigger problem if the song is bloated to 8 or 10 minutes with more or less only the chorus repetitions. Even a very repetitive and long song like No More Lies gets a pass from me because it is both shorter (7 minutes) and has what feels like more variation within, especially with the superb instrumental section. The Wicker Man has what is essentially a non-chorus, but it is a short opening song that's energetic enough so that I don't mind.
I guess maybe you could say Dream of Mirrors might come close, with both "the dream is true" and "I only dream in black and white" being repeated ad nauseam, but it still isn't the same. For what its worth, despite the repetition, Dream of Mirrors is probably my second favourite on the BNW album (after Ghost of the Navigator), whereas Angel and Stranger are the bottom two of VXI. And I don't actually hate the songs, I think they both have their merits, but the flaw are really inescapable.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
I always say that it depends on how the repetition is used, and whether I end up liking it or not will always be subjective. I like TAATG, and I’m fine with the repeats during the first section, but in the outro it does get a bit much. There’s not enough going on extra. Meanwhile I love how DLTTEOAS uses the repetition to build up a tension and atmosphere in the bridge. (The chorus proper maybe gets repeated one time too much though.) I don’t mind the LST chorus, I like WTWC but the ending does start hammering the repeats in too much, and I think that Futureal, Clansman, and Amigos are perfect as is. The worst offender is Educated Fool just because I hate the chorus so any time it comes up is bad.
Meanwhile I like pretty much all the repetition on BNW because it’s so much fun to sing along with, and it feels so live ready. RiR helps prove that, definitely. I won’t get into all the songs but for instance the title track is a bit of a meme, but that simple repetition is so much fun to me. I groove with it. It’s a bit dumb, but get an audience latched onto it and it’s an experience instead.
Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
I get your overall point and I'm not trying to defend TAATG here, I was mostly talking about the rest of the album which isn't as blatant in the repetition department, but still gets ripped a new one regularly. The Mercenary for example has two choruses that both get repeated a ton. The Fallen Angel repeats its chorus a bunch as well. That's why I think that if some of the VXI songs were on BNW they would've been received far better.
Generally agree with your comment. What I tried to say in my previous comment was that songwriting-wise BNW is incredibly similar to VXI (in my opinion) and that I genuinely believe that the VXI could work just as well in a live setting, but that we only got Futureal and The Clansman with Bruce on the vocals.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
I agree yeah. The thing with BNW and VXI is that logically I can note the similarities between the albums, but when I listen to them it’s night and day for a variety of reasons (and I just like BNW more anyhow).
I think if they framed it right TAATG could be a fun concert inclusion. You just have to play along with how hated that track is.
JudasMyGuide
The resident reactionary recalcitrant
Now that you mention it, with TAATG being this simplistic hard rock track... I wonder if the idea wasn't a bit fuelled by the tradition of extending the just as primitively hard rock-ish, just as repetitive Running Free to a ridiculous degree live - I recall it being so even on the official live albums (LAD, Donnington, probably En Vivo as well? I don't remember right now). They quite obviously must think it's a good idea.
In the live context and with the audience participation it is somewhat more palatable - though also annoying, IMHO, but just like with the various "whoahs" (I look at you, The Red and the Black), it is not a good idea trying to bring this into the studio.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Never say never. Songs like Futureal, Lord Of The Flies and even Man On The Edge have their ''little'' chances.
I agree.
Yep. BNW is a perfect example of how to make great use of repetition in songs. Angel And Gambler have great guitar licks in the outro. Agreed about Two Worlds and Fool (here the repetition is like for Sea Of Madness outro, but without enough variety).
This.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
I think it would be marginally less maligned than it is today, but it would still be a bottom tier album.
Having Bruce on board would make Blaze's constantly whiffed notes a moot point, and having competent production would eliminate things like the crackling and out-of-sync guitars on "The Clansman". But unless you extend Birch's role to lobbying for fundamental changes to the arrangements, you're still left with a raft of turgid, repetitive, melodically uninteresting noodling with boring drums. And stepping off that kind of a cliff immediately after Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, and without the rose-colored glasses accompanying Bruce and Adrian's return on Brave New World, I think you'd still have an album that was generally more maligned than No Prayer For The Dying.
I agree that Brave New World and Virtual XI share a lot of musical DNA, but I'm in the small minority that doesn't see Brave New World as a particularly strong album either. And to flip your question on its head, if Brave New World had been recorded with Blaze instead of Bruce and Adrian, and you dropped the songs that Bruce and Adrian contributed to on that album ("The Wicker Man", "Ghost Of The Navigator", "Brave New World", "The Fallen Angel", and "Out Of The Silent Planet"), what you'd have left would be a pretty empty husk of a record comparable to the other two Blaze albums, with the gaps inevitably filled in by more mediocrity. (And yes, I'm aware that some different permutations of "Ghost Of The Navigator", "Brave New World", and "Out Of The Silent Planet" would likely have still made it to the record with different structure and lyrics, but looking at the other tracks on the album it's also easy to see how much worse they likely would have turned out.)
As for Virtual XI, it's the only album in the Maiden catalog that I can say is actually bad overall. Even The X Factor manages to keep its head slightly above water as "thoroughly mediocre with occasionally strong moments" -- but on VXI you get a pretty good opener with "Futureal", and then it's straight into the shitter for the rest of its runtime, with "When Two Worlds Collide", "The Educated Fool", and "Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger" probably representing the worst consecutive block of 3 songs on any Maiden studio album. The record is frankly embarrassing to listen to, IMO, and it really ought to have been eliminated first.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
I can't imagine BNW without the input of Bruce and Adrian (they wrote most of the hits plus Blood Brothers, and Bruce was at a creative peak). All songs are great and important. But I have no doubt that album would have been still good with different songs by Steve/Janick and Blaze.
Wow! It's an interesting album like every Maiden album.
DJMayes
Ancient Mariner
I thought I was one of the culprits of this, but turns out I massively misremembered and still only ranked it 14th. Very underrated album, fun if not ground-breaking throughout and I'll never understand why it's the album more commonly chosen as a stick with which to beat the Blaze era.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
I’d argue that it’s because the moodiness of TXF is the kind of thing that if you like, you really like. VXI kind of doesn’t know what it wants to be. Some songs feel energized, as though hearkening back to the classic Maiden albums, and others feel really dark like a bleak continuation of TXF. Add to that the fact that Steve wanted to make them all live-ready and you’ve got a bit of a Maiden Picasso painting. I like the album a lot, but TXF feels a lot more focused, so if you’re onboard with what it’s focusing on, then you’re liable to like that album a lot more than VXI.