IRON MAIDEN ALBUM RANKING: TOP THREE REVEALED

[Jer]

The debut has always been a bottom-tier album for me, partially because it's so uneven on quality, and partially because a lot of it really leans into a very simplistic punk-inspired sound that doesn't work for me.

"Prowler", "Remember Tomorrow" and "Strange World" are all pretty good for what they are. "Phantom Of The Opera" is OK, but I am continually astounded by how much reverence people show for something that's basically a train wreck outside of its instrumental parts, just because it previews the classic Maiden chord progression and gallop. "Running Free", "Sanctuary", "Charlotte The Harlot", and "Iron Maiden" are all pretty dopey and nothing special, and "Transylvania" is way too repetitive to be considered any kind of classic, IMO. This album is a bunch of creative fits and starts that demonstrates the potential of the band, but rarely realizes it. And it gave us the dreadful eponymous track that's wasted the last 3.5 minutes of nearly every live show in their entire history.

Good riddance.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Unlike Killers, this one at least has some pretension of aiming higher than something that could have been done by... dunno... Saxon. Especially because of the tracks Mosh mentioned, in particular Phantom and Remember Tomorrow (which always sounded a bit to me as if it was inspired by LedZeps Baby I'm Gonna Leave You off their debut, btw). In a way, I don't understand the regression they would undergo on the next album, before trying again on TNOTB.

However, most of the album is still straight-up punkish hard rock, appealing to a lowest common denominator in its choruses (Running Free, Iron Maiden) or something as stupid as Charlotte the Harlot is. Also, no Nicko, no Dickinson, no H. Especially Nicko.

An album with Phantom of the Opera, Remember Tomorrow, and Transylvania shouldn't really be placing below albums like Dance of Death and Book of Souls that are really heavy on fillers IMO.

An album with Dance of Death, Paschendale, Montségur, Rainmaker and even No More Lies and Face in the Sand to a degree definitely trumps something with Phantom, Remember and Transylvania - by mere numbers - even if the rest of the albums was utterly wretched - which it more or less is. Same goes for TBOS, which has only one bad song (Death or Glory and even that one's tolerable).

I know the shorter rockers are not in vogue right now, but tracks like Running Free and Prowler are great songs.

I like short rockers, but not these ones.

 

[Vaenyr]

As is seen in Mosh's post, the debut is my second least favorite, with only Killers being worse in my eyes. Killers is quite literally a collection of fillers, while the debut is a collection of the best songs of Maiden's first five years. There are a couple of nice tracks, but even its high points are far below the low points of most albums released since then. I simply do not care at all about that style of music and if it wasn't a Maiden album would never listen to it. I'm just glad that they changed and evolved into a different direction.

 

[Kalata]

This is the first of three albums that was not anybody's #1 or #17 pick, understandably landing just outside the middle range. It just doesn't seem like an album that many people care about one way or the other.

I would consider this result (and Killers' low performance to some extent) a bit of an upset. Every reunion album outperforming both Di'Anno albums is pretty impressive and really goes to show how popular that period is on the forum currently. I do think it is a pretty low placement. An album with Phantom of the Opera, Remember Tomorrow, and Transylvania shouldn't really be placing below albums like Dance of Death and Book of Souls that are really heavy on fillers IMO. I know the shorter rockers are not in vogue right now, but tracks like Running Free and Prowler are great songs. The debut album represents the band's best material at that time and the fire of young musicians who want to prove themselves.

As I mentioned with Killers, I wonder how much the low placement of these albums has to do with Maiden largely ignoring the period live. I wonder where these albums would have landed after the Early Days tour, for example. Would Dance of Death still outperform both of them? With that being said though, while the reunion albums outdid all 90s albums and both Di'Anno albums, I wouldn't say the reunion era as a whole performed that well. But we'll get to that soon.

The debut is a much better album than Killers imo. One of the best (if not the best) debut metal albums ever. All songs (bar one - Charlotte The Harlot) are great/strong: Prowler, Remember Tomorrow, Phantom(!), Running Free, Transylvania, even the title track with its riffs. I will also add Sanctuary. Early classics for the band. It's just that most of the fans/I prefer the later style of the band. I don't think it's a surprise that the Reunion albums did better than the first 2 albums, the overall material and some/most of the songs are great. Maybe it has a chance against TFF or DOD (some not that strong songs here), but these albums also contain some amazing and new classic songs for the band.

I like the short rockers on the debut a lot, but they got better in the later albums.

I don't think the placement of the first 2 albums has something to do with Maiden largely ignoring the period live. These albums are classic since the 80's. It's just that the Reunion albums (and style) are special. For example, a song like Dance Of Death is better than the whole Killers album imo. Only with its musical ideas. Given the whole discography of the band, I think the placement of the debut album is fair. It could have been 2 places higher, but that's it. Also, another fact is the album is without Bruce and Adrian (and Nicko), which also plays its role for some fans.

 

[Kalata]

partially because it's so uneven on quality

I don't think so (even for Killers). Only Phantom is above the rest.

"Phantom Of The Opera" is OK, but I am continually astounded by how much reverence people show for something that's basically a train wreck outside of its instrumental parts, just because it previews the classic Maiden chord progression and gallop.

Wow.

"Running Free", "Sanctuary", "Charlotte The Harlot", and "Iron Maiden" are all pretty dopey and nothing special, and "Transylvania" is way too repetitive to be considered any kind of classic, IMO.

The riffs of Transylvania, the calm middle part of Charlotte, and the structure of both Running Free and Sanctuary are pretty cool for a debut album.

This album is a bunch of creative fits and starts that demonstrates the potential of the band, but rarely realizes it.

I think it showed the band's big potential, which would be fully realized 2 albums later.

And it gave us the dreadful eponymous track that's wasted the last 3.5 minutes of nearly every live show in their entire history.

It's weird, but there is a charm to that too. It's certainly not one of the band's best songs, but I can't imagine a concert without it.

Unlike Killers, this one at least has some pretension of aiming higher than something that could have been done by... dunno... Saxon.

In a way, I don't understand the regression they would undergo on the next album, before trying again on TNOTB.

I agree. Maybe because they had not written that many new songs.

However, most of the album is still straight-up punkish hard rock, appealing to a lowest common denominator in its choruses (Running Free, Iron Maiden)

Yeah, but we have to say that it works for the songs. Especially the simplistic choruses.

but even its high points are far below the low points of most albums released since then.

I wouldn't say that.

I'm just glad that they changed and evolved into a different direction.

This.

 

[Mosh]

1:
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9:
10:
11: THE FINAL FRONTIER
12: IRON MAIDEN
13: THE X FACTOR
14: KILLERS
15: FEAR OF THE DARK
16: VIRTUAL XI
17: NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING

Highest Score: 15 (@JudasMyGuide )

Lowest score: 2 (@Lego @Diesel 11 )

I would consider this to be one of the biggest upset results in the game so far. Dance of Death has long been considered the weakest of the reunion and this might be the first time another album has ranked lower. Like The X Factor, this one had a really polarizing spread of results with many people including it in their top 5s and many people including it in their bottom 5s with very little in between. Generally people ranked it around the same area as the other reunion albums, but I was surprised at the amount of people who rated AMOLAD very high and TFF very low. To me both albums are a pair much like Somewhere In Time/Seventh Son or Iron Maiden/Killers. Probably not surprisingly, this is the second album to have nobody ranking it #1 or #17. It came very close on both counts though.

The decline of popularity for TFF makes a lot of sense and comes down to a few factors. At the time I think a lot of people genuinely thought that, intentionally or not, TFF could very well be the final album. The reunion era had lasted a decade at that point and it would make sense for them to wind down soon. I think that led to a lot of sentimental enjoyment around the album - since it could be the last Maiden album people really wanted to soak it in.

Along similar lines, I would argue that TFF went really deep into the prog direction. Just like the cover depicted a creature that was the closest the band got to having someone other than Eddie, the music inside was the closest they got to a pure progressive rock album, not a Metal album. Since then, The Book of Souls and Senjutsu have both been much more in the "classic" Maiden vein and have more in common with Brave New World which had the swagger of a classic Maiden album.

I also just think general recency bias makes a difference. So far AMOLAD and Brave New World have withstood the test of time, but I'm not sure if any other reunion album will enjoy that status. It's understandable and frankly to have even 2 albums in the 21st century with that status is pretty impressive.

Finally, I have not seen Maiden less excited about a new album than they were with TFF. You can easily read between the lines in interviews at the time that they didn't quite get along creatively in a lot of areas. Bruce was unhappy with Janick solos, Adrian was unhappy with production choices, etc etc. Certain writing partnerships found on TFF have not been reprised since then: Bruce has not written a song with anyone other than Adrian Smith since then. Add to that, the album only got 5 songs performed live compared to the usual 6 (and 7 for both TBOS and Senjutsu). No songs played since the initial tour in 2011. It seems like the album has been forgotten by the band, and maybe a sizeable chunk of the fanbase as well.

The other thing that really characterized TFF even at the time was how so many songs felt like callbacks. Mother of Mercy had the quality of an AMOLAD leftover, for example. The title track (not Satellite 15) felt like a retread of pretty much every Maiden album opener since Futureal. It was definitely starting to feel like Maiden was recycling ideas. For my preferences, however, I thought they were taking previous formulas and for the most part improving upon them. And as a big progressive rock fan, I really dug the instrumental twists and turns found on the album's back half. It is the most un-Maidenish album, but it stands out more in the catalog as a result. For my part, I rated TFF #4.

Overall though I find this result pretty surprising. And for the record, TFF and Dance of Death were close but Dance of Death did outperform by a few points. I don't really consider them close in quality. Dance of Death is a proof of concept for more progressive ideas, but The Final Frontier shows a band that has really settled into that style, even if they may have exhausted certain aspects of their proggy side. And given the fanbase's craving for the epics, I don't know how you wouldn't be delighted by the epics onslaught on the back half of the album. Finally, I think all three guitar players turned in career-highlight performances with their solos.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Along similar lines, I would argue that TFF went really deep into the prog direction.

the music inside was the closest they got to a pure progressive rock album, not a Metal album.

Indeed, you don't have to appreciate the songs, but both Isle of Avalon and TMWWBK at least are - along with The Legacy - some of the most prog-inclined stuff they ever did. The former (again, along with The Legacy) is also among my highest rated songs by them overall.

Finally, I have not seen Maiden less excited about a new album than they were with TFF. You can easily read between the lines in interviews at the time that they didn't quite get along creatively in a lot of areas.

Indeed, I was a radio DJ back then and I remember as the album was released (I actually streamed El Dorado live from YouTube right when it dropped, because we didn't have it in the database yet), but I agree that the release felt overall very lukewarm. The reception wasn't great either, but that might be because of the lead single being inarguably the worst song on the album.


---

Anyway, when I saw Mosh's post, I was surprised myself at how high I had the album - but thinking about it, it makes sense (I also used the preference revealer, so it might be skewed, but not much).
I had When the Wild Wind Blows playing on my wedding, I still like the choice and would do so again (well, if I hadn't converted in the meantime - that is, if I were to have a secular wedding instead). Back then I was thinking it might be 'Arry's swan song - and it would be a fitting end note to have, much like Hell on Earth is now.
I already acknowledged Isle of Avalon and I've also been pretty partial to The Talisman, which used to be one of my favourite Maiden (semi-)epics, I still rate it very high, as an example of the typical Janick's "singer-songwriting" style.
Mother of Mercy might sound like an AMOLAD outtake (and... well, for all we know it might be one as well), but that's hardly a denigration - it is one of the songs I can't get out of my head if I hear it even once on any given day. Very recently it climbed even higher, because when Writing on the Wall dropped, it reminded me of MoM in particular and MoM then lived rent-free in my skull for several days, if not weeks.

Once I learned to ignore the lyrics (and accepted it's a partial rewrite of Infinite Dreams), even Starblind jumped really high in my personal ranking, the song has that Dickinson charm (outside the lyrics, as I've said) that makes it strangely endearing... despite me not being the greatest Bruce fan in general.
TMWWBK is possibly the last truly "weird" or experimental song by Maiden I genuinely like (if anywhere, with this band I'm usually "don't fuck with the formula"), anyway, it's thousand times better than stuff like Man of Sorrows or such. A unique experience that makes you feel like you're on a journey. And although it takes some getting used to, it's hardly as incoherent as it seems at first.

The short, fast songs are above average (the title track, The Alchemist - though the latter edges the realm of "rather good") and the intro is annoying, but tolerable. Coming Home is a completely predictable ballad that however moves me much more than it probably should. The descending riff was the first musical memory I took away from the album.

So it's only El Dorado, which is pretty bad... especially because of the chorus, that just sounds... inane. Like a really misguided attempt to recreate some of the "Maiden of old". ... but even then, at least the h solo is intriguing, though the other two blokes had a weaker moment here as well, even though otherwise I agree with

Finally, I think all three guitar players turned in career-highlight performances with their solos.

Am I overrating the album? Maybe. But I genuinely like it very much and I have mostly fond memories of it.

 

[Kalata]

I would consider this to be one of the biggest upset results in the game so far. Dance of Death has long been considered the weakest of the reunion and this might be the first time another album has ranked lower. Like The X Factor, this one had a really polarizing spread of results with many people including it in their top 5s and many people including it in their bottom 5s with very little in between. Generally people ranked it around the same area as the other reunion albums, but I was surprised at the amount of people who rated AMOLAD very high and TFF very low. To me both albums are a pair much like Somewhere In Time/Seventh Son or Iron Maiden/Killers. Probably not surprisingly, this is the second album to have nobody ranking it #1 or #17. It came very close on both counts though.

The decline of popularity for TFF makes a lot of sense and comes down to a few factors. At the time I think a lot of people genuinely thought that, intentionally or not, TFF could very well be the final album. The reunion era had lasted a decade at that point and it would make sense for them to wind down soon. I think that led to a lot of sentimental enjoyment around the album - since it could be the last Maiden album people really wanted to soak it in.

Along similar lines, I would argue that TFF went really deep into the prog direction. Just like the cover depicted a creature that was the closest the band got to having someone other than Eddie, the music inside was the closest they got to a pure progressive rock album, not a Metal album. Since then, The Book of Souls and Senjutsu have both been much more in the "classic" Maiden vein and have more in common with Brave New World which had the swagger of a classic Maiden album.

I also just think general recency bias makes a difference. So far AMOLAD and Brave New World have withstood the test of time, but I'm not sure if any other reunion album will enjoy that status. It's understandable and frankly to have even 2 albums in the 21st century with that status is pretty impressive.

Finally, I have not seen Maiden less excited about a new album than they were with TFF. You can easily read between the lines in interviews at the time that they didn't quite get along creatively in a lot of areas. Bruce was unhappy with Janick solos, Adrian was unhappy with production choices, etc etc. Certain writing partnerships found on TFF have not been reprised since then: Bruce has not written a song with anyone other than Adrian Smith since then. Add to that, the album only got 5 songs performed live compared to the usual 6 (and 7 for both TBOS and Senjutsu). No songs played since the initial tour in 2011. It seems like the album has been forgotten by the band, and maybe a sizeable chunk of the fanbase as well.

The other thing that really characterized TFF even at the time was how so many songs felt like callbacks. Mother of Mercy had the quality of an AMOLAD leftover, for example. The title track (not Satellite 15) felt like a retread of pretty much every Maiden album opener since Futureal. It was definitely starting to feel like Maiden was recycling ideas. For my preferences, however, I thought they were taking previous formulas and for the most part improving upon them. And as a big progressive rock fan, I really dug the instrumental twists and turns found on the album's back half. It is the most un-Maidenish album, but it stands out more in the catalog as a result. For my part, I rated TFF #4.

Overall though I find this result pretty surprising. And for the record, TFF and Dance of Death were close but Dance of Death did outperform by a few points. I don't really consider them close in quality. Dance of Death is a proof of concept for more progressive ideas, but The Final Frontier shows a band that has really settled into that style, even if they may have exhausted certain aspects of their proggy side. And given the fanbase's craving for the epics, I don't know how you wouldn't be delighted by the epics onslaught on the back half of the album. Finally, I think all three guitar players turned in career-highlight performances with their solos.

TFF is a very good album, but I happen to like the other Reunion albums more. I'm not a big fan of the proggy aspect of the album, but at least it's something different. Another thing is that I find the entire 2nd half of the album to be filled with long songs a bit ''exhausting'', without enough change of pace (except from Talisman). And I like all but one song. If the second to last song had been a short/er rocker, it would have been better.
That being said, the album is filled with a lot of interesting stuff, as always. Maiden's discography wouldn't be complete without an album like it. A different and unique piece from a rich career. Although I think Maiden are at their best when they do a more classic sound for them, and most fans certainly think so too.

Bruce's performances on the album should have been much stronger. Idk the reason, but he was amazing live in 2010/2011.

The solos - I wished most of them were longer (I'm not talking about the proggy ones), but the ones of the title track (both), El Dorado (Adrian), Mother Of Mercy, Coming Home (both), Alchemist, Wild Wind (all) are great. But the solos for the next 2 albums are stronger imo.

The songs - Talisman and Coming Home are classics for me. Wild Wind (love the melodies and verses) and Starblind (love the guitar licks and the overall heavy groove and singing) are unique songs. Isle Of Avalon is an epic with a great atmosphere, sounds and especially chorus. Alchemist is a classic very good Maiden rocker. For me, special songs.
As for the rest of the songs: Mother Of Mercy is a good heavy song with a great intro, but the chorus really doesn't sound comfortable for Bruce and the song feels like a leftover from AMOLAD. They could have written another song without a problem. I think the album would benefit from one more song written by Janick. El Dorado is a solid song with it's gallop and rhythm, but it's never been one of my favorites. The Man Who Would Be King is an interesting song (I love the intro & the outro), especially the drumming, but overall I'm not that big fan of the instrumental part and the lack of energy from the song in general. The intro of the title track is unique, but it's too long for me. I like the song, but it doesn't feel like a title track because there are no guitar harmonies or triple-lead melodies.

I agree that the band was not in ''that mood'' for the album. The writing credits changed for the next albums, Adrian didn't like the production... Maybe at the time they thought they would do more History/Hits tours, given the success of the SBIT tour. Idk. To add more: the 2010 tour wasn't the start of the album tour(!) and they played only 5 songs from it live. The album did get a video release though, but if songs like Starblind or Avalon were on it, the proggy side of the album could have connected more with the fans.

It's definitely a bit of a surprise that it didn't manage to beat DOD, but I guess the proggy aspect was a factor. That, and because DOD contains some really big classics for the band. Plus I don't think it had anything to do with fans thinking the album was potentially the last one at the time - TFF doesn't contain any ''weak'' songs imo and Maiden released (before and after) really strong albums.

I think the pair TBOS/SJ (or BNW/DOD) has more in common than the pair AMOLAD/TFF, although I see what you mean.

 

[Vaenyr]

I enjoy prog and I adore Maiden's reunion material. It is arguably my favorite era of the band. TFF was the first time I was genuinely disappointed in a studio album by Maiden and not only is the album my least favorite reunion record by far, it's also in my bottom 3 with only the debut and Killers being lower in my rankings. The first couple of albums aren't bad, but aren't my style; TFF on the other hand is aligning with my tastes, but it is uncharacteristically weak.

Satellite 15 is an interesting experiment but should never have made the album in its current form. It was simply a demo by Adrian and instead of rerecording it with actual instruments Steve decided to just take it, copy/paste error and all, slap some vocals on it and that's it. Unacceptable and one of the first times I remember making an edit of a song to separate S15 from TFF. The rest of the title track is one of the better rockers and I love the acoustic guitar playing along at various sections. The chorus has a nice melody, but the lyrics are of the CSIT/SSOASS school of chorus writing, which annoys me.

The Alchemist is a fantastic rocker as well, though some of the lyrics could've been more polished. Starblind on the other hand is one of the more ambitious tracks: Phenomenal lyrics, interesting structure, mesmerizing atmosphere, effective use of the proggier elements and odd-time signatures. Arguably the stand out track on the album.
The Talisman is great as well. The intro is typical Gers/Harris epic, but the rest of the song is filled with fantastic melodies. As is the entirety of When The Wild Wind Blows.

Those were the songs I really like and can say so without heavy caveats. The rest of the album has problems.
El Dorado is fine for what it is, but it felt like they wanted to go for a classic rocker (not necessarily my style) yet ended up with a song that's almost 7 minutes long. My brother and I always joked around that this is the song that starts with its ending lol
Mother Of Mercy has Bruce straining to hell and back and feels rather unfocused. Not really bad, but more of an aimless and mediocre song. Or average, if that sounds better.

Coming Home is particularly frustrating, because the verses and solo section are quite good. The rest of the song sucks though.
Isle Of Avalon similarly has a couple of neat ideas, but I hate the rest. One of the weakest tracks in the discography. It's a bad listening experience if you dislike the main riff, which takes up literal minutes of the song. The prog section is too proggy and feels too much like a jam session. This can have its place in a different setting, but Maiden isn't it for me.
The Man Who Would Be King is a blatantly unfinished song. They clearly ran out of time, so they simply smashed the parts they already had together to create a Frankenstein's monster of a song. This could've been a great one (though I despise the experimental solo section), if it just had a bit more time and some editing.

The Final Frontier has its high points, but its lows drag it down to a point where almost the entirety of the discography is vastly superior, on average.

 

[____no5]

but the band continues to talk about that time fairly proudly, including playing songs from those albums in their greatest Greatest Hits tour.

When you say “band” do you mean Steve? Blaze? Who else talks proudly about X Factor?
Also playlists picks are done by Harris probably so…

I remember Nicko commented that “Elvis has left the house” when Blaze was fired; I fail to see any pride there, I’m rather sensing a deep sarcasm.

 

[efekåseo_suomi]

The decline of popularity for TFF makes a lot of sense and comes down to a few factors. At the time I think a lot of people genuinely thought that, intentionally or not, TFF could very well be the final album. The reunion era had lasted a decade at that point and it would make sense for them to wind down soon. I think that led to a lot of sentimental enjoyment around the album - since it could be the last Maiden album people really wanted to soak it in.

I remember how excited I was in the weeks leading up to the release of TFF. Accept and Maiden were releasing new material the same week. The anticipation for Maiden was largely fueled by the extraordinary experiences of the years 2005-2010. It started with the Early Days tour, followed by the creative peak of A Matter of Life and Death. From there they went on and toured Somewhere Back in Time, followed by the 2000-2010 material shows in 2010. The live performances on those tours were just breathtaking. Ultimately, TFF turned out to be a letdown, particularly when compared to Blood of the Nations, arguably one of the finest metal albums of that decade, if not all time. To me, Maiden and Priest could not compete with Accept in 2010-2014, leaving Tornillo/Hoffmann/Baltes/Frank as the creative leaders in the metal genre during the first part of that decade.

 

[Vaenyr]

When you say “band” do you mean Steve? Blaze? Who else talks proudly about X Factor?
Also playlists picks are done by Harris probably so…

I remember Nicko commented that “Elvis has left the house” when Blaze was fired; I fail to see any pride there, I’m rather sensing a deep sarcasm.

IIRC Janick has expressed positive thoughts about TXF as well.
And for the past few years Bruce (together with Rod?) has been the main deciding factor for setlists, not Steve.

 

[efekåseo_suomi]

When you say “band” do you mean Steve? Blaze? Who else talks proudly about X Factor?
Also playlists picks are done by Harris probably so…

STEVE HARRIS On BLAZE BAYLEY's 'Bloody Good' Albums With IRON MAIDEN: 'It Was An Important Part Of Our Career'

During a recent appearance on FOZZY frontman Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris praised the era during which the group was fronted by former WOLFSBANE vocalist Blaze Bayley. After Jericho said that 1995's "The X Factor" was one of his two favorite MAIDEN...

blabbermouth.net

"I really like that album. It's very personal to me. I remember saying at the time that those albums that we did with Blaze, that people would in the future come to appreciate them a lot more later on."

NICKO MCBRAIN Reflects On BLAZE BAYLEY's Time Fronting IRON MAIDEN - "There Were Nights When He Sang His Cotton Socks Off, And It Was Brilliant... And There Were A Lot Of Other Nights Where It Wasn't So Hot"; Video

In this new video interview for TVMaldita, Aquiles Priester and Gilson Napolini talk to drummer Nicko McBrain about about a number of topics, including his history with Iron Maiden. During the lengthy chat, Nicko is asked to discuss Iron Maiden's Blaze Bayley period, if Blaze was the best choice...

bravewords.com

"So, you know, yeah we did two great albums. "

IRON MAIDEN Shares 'Sign Of The Cross' From 'Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live In Mexico City'

BMG recently announced the release of IRON MAIDEN's new double live album on November 20 worldwide. Containing over 100 minutes of classic MAIDEN music and available in multiple formats, including a limited edition Mexican Flag, triple colored (180g) vinyl and a limited-edition deluxe two-CD...

blabbermouth.net

Sign of the Cross was the second single from their Legacy of the Beast live album, proving that the management and the band put faith in that material.

I remember Nicko commented that “Elvis has left the house” when Blaze was fired; I fail to see any pride there, I’m rather sensing a deep sarcasm.

Nicko made some harsh remarks about Bruce during The X Factor launch party. I also remember Bruce joking about Adrian Smith during NPOTR shows.

"This is the best album we've ever done" - Nicko on Virtual XI

 

[Vaenyr]

"This is the best album we've ever done" - Nicko on Virtual XI

Ha! I knew it! We've got confirmation

 

[____no5]

"This is the best album we've ever done" - Nicko on Virtual XI

He said that for No Prayer for the Dying, too. And a couple of few other albums.

 

[Jer]

I think TFF was eliminated in about the right spot. In my own album ranking it's the dead-center #9 album in the discography, plagued by unevenness in songwriting and a vocal performance that often sounds strained and incredibly dry.

The first half of the album is the weakest one on offer since the Blaze years, and certainly the weakest first half of any Bruce-fronted Maiden album. "Mother Of Mercy" is particularly abysmal, absolutely tanked by that horribly strained cut & paste chorus, and to this day it's still the worst reunion-era song that wasn't a B-side, IMO. "Satellite 15" was a bad choice all around, "The Final Frontier" is tired hard rock by the numbers, "El Dorado" tried to recapture the old Maiden rocker vibe but ultimately failed, "The Alchemist" is uneven at best and invites very poor comparisons with Bruce's namesake solo track, and even the highlight "Coming Home" suffers from horribly dry vocals and overall muffled production.

The second half of the album is its saving grace, with four really great prog-tinged epics and a solid Murray track. This part of the album alone is 45 minutes long, and many times when I'm in the mood to hear this record I'll just play the back half and call it a day.

TFF is probably overly disliked by many people because it was a big step down in quality from AMOLAD, and because the first 30+ minutes of the album are relatively weak, with "Satellite 15" in particular being a very plodding, boring way to kick off a record. I remember playing the CD in my car on the way back from the record store (yes, we still did that back then), and my girlfriend at the time was a casual metal fan who was expecting to hear some Iron Maiden, and instead we got this reverby percussive demo thing for minutes on end, leading into tired, derivative hard rock; and even she was like "what the fuck is this...?" Oof. But if you take the album in total, it's definitely not as bad as its first impression, and it has a lot of strong material alongside the weak stuff.

 

[Kalata]

Satellite 15 is an interesting experiment but should never have made the album in its current form. It was simply a demo by Adrian and instead of rerecording it with actual instruments Steve decided to just take it, copy/paste error and all, slap some vocals on it and that's it. Unacceptable and one of the first times I remember making an edit of a song to separate S15 from TFF.

Starblind - Arguably the stand out track on the album.

El Dorado is fine for what it is, but it felt like they wanted to go for a classic rocker yet ended up with a song that's almost 7 minutes long. My brother and I always joked around that this is the song that starts with its ending lol

The Man Who Would Be King is an unfinished song. They clearly ran out of time, so they simply smashed the parts they already had together to create a Frankenstein's monster of a song. This could've been a great one (though I despise the experimental solo section), if it just had a bit more time and some editing.

I agree with all of this. Especially about Satellite 15 and King. The stand out song for me is Talisman.

El Dorado has 2 outros lol. I like the start of it though.

Coming Home is particularly frustrating, because the verses and solo section are quite good. The rest of the song sucks though.
Isle Of Avalon similarly has a couple of neat ideas, but I hate the rest. One of the weakest tracks in the discography. It's a bad listening experience if you dislike the main riff, which takes up literal minutes of the song. The prog section is too proggy and feels too much like a jam session.

You don't like the chorus of Coming Home? I understand you about Avalon, but one of the weakest in the discography - wow.

Ultimately, TFF turned out to be a letdown, particularly when compared to Blood of the Nations, arguably one of the finest metal albums of that decade, if not all time. To me, Maiden and Priest could not compete with Accept in 2010-2014

TFF as a whole can't be beat AMOLAD, but it will never be a letdown. They did some experiments on it (like on DOD). I like modern Accept, but you can't compare 1 Maiden and 1 Priest album with 3 Accept albums.

The first half of the album is the weakest one on offer since the Blaze years, and certainly the weakest first half of any Bruce-fronted Maiden album.

It's there, but that says more about the quality of the other albums. They should have mixed the first half with at least 1 epic.

"El Dorado" tried to recapture the old Maiden rocker vibe but ultimately failed

The talking-style of the verses and the length failed for this aim.

and even the highlight "Coming Home" suffers from horribly dry vocals and overall muffled production.

I think this is the song on the album (along with Wild Wind) that Bruce sounds best on.

TFF is probably overly disliked by many people because it was a big step down in quality from AMOLAD, and because the first 30+ minutes of the album are relatively weak, with "Satellite 15" in particular being a very plodding, boring way to kick off a record.

I wouldn't say a big step, or even down. AMOLAD is just too good. About Satellite 15, I think it's an interesting way to open an album - but for 2 minutes at most.

 

[Vaenyr]

You don't like the chorus of Coming Home? I understand you about Avalon, but one of the weakest in the discography - wow.

A chorus for a song like Coming Home should almost be like an anthem. The chorus we got doesn't deliver that. It's not as melodic as I would've liked (or as melodic as other choruses on the same album for that matter). Especially the first line of the chorus just sounds (to me) like Bruce stating a bunch of things. It doesn't make me feel the things it should, if that makes sense.

As for Avalon, the "fertility Mother Goddess" part is the only section I genuinely enjoy. The rest ranges from okay to outright bad and annoying. Furthermore, epics are my favorite style of song, so I tend to scrutinize songs like that much more and am much less forgiving if things don't work out (in my opinion of course). I can see why people like that song, but for me it is a let down.

 

[Abas]

Man, I would have loved to participate in this

 

[Vaenyr]

Man, I would have loved to participate in this

If I'm not mistaken you can still participate in the next one, which will follow Bruce's solo albums. Take a look at the thread for the rules.