IRON MAIDEN ALBUM SURVIVOR 2023: Results -> Somewhere In Time wins!

Ranking Maiden albums is a risky business. But TNOTB and Piece Of Mind THAT low!?

Its Senjutsu-san who needs to say Sayonara right now!
 
Night Prowler said:
Top 17
07. Piece Of Mind
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I think this is an understandable result for POM, especially against some of the best 80's and imo the best Reunion albums.

Powerslave
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

My votes are only for these albums because the others are perfect for me.
 
Iron Lurker said:
While I think that Senjutsu has the best production since BNW I've come around to the realization the reunion albums can sound so much better. Folks love to rake Kevin Shirley over the coals but think he's only getting the results that Steve wants. I wish Steve could relinquish the reins a bit and let a good producer really make the sound shine again, like Martin used to do.
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Since AMOLAD imo (although I like them all), BNW is perfect for me. And agree on the rest.
 
Vaenyr said:
Not quite, but I can see the point. SNJ is one of the most consistent albums in the discography and while it has a few issues that annoy me (mainly production related and some of the performances) it's definitely better thatn TFF (not a high bar) but also better than a lot of the "classic" albums for me. AMOLAD is my second favorite album overall, so SNJ doesn't come quite as close to touching it, but overall I'm pretty happy with the direction the Maiden albums have chosen these past few years.
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This has to be first time that you opinion matches with majority of Maiden fans, so, it makes me wonder: where's the catch? Will you call FTGGOG plodding or is "The Pilgrim" pinnacle of Maiden songwriting?

This post is sarcastic, of course. I love to read your completely different opinions on Maiden songs/albums
 
Spambot said:
This has to be first time that you opinion matches with majority of Maiden fans, so, it makes me wonder: where's the catch? Will you call FTGGOG plodding or is "The Pilgrim" pinnacle of Maiden songwriting?

This post is sarcastic, of course. I love to read your completely different opinions on Maiden songs/albums
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Even someone like me can only go so far with having contrarian opinions :D

While VXI is my favorite, mostly due to nostalgia, AMOLAD is arguably the better album in basically every aspect. I still have nostalgia for that one as well, but not the same as VXI obviously.
I think that AMOLAD doesn't have any weak songs. The production is one of the best, as far as the reunion albums go. The songs started becoming more proggy and experimental, but are at the same time still focused, while TFF for example which continued that style of songwriting feels a bit aimless and too loose for my tastes. The performances are fantastic and Bruce sounds like a young god.

One of the bigger criticisms I can kinda understand is that the album sounds too samey and like an amorphous mass. Considering that 9 songs in a row start in E minor, with only The Legacy finally switching it up, that's not an unreasonable criticism, but to me adds to the cohesiveness of the record. It's not a concept album in the sense that it tells one story, but every song feels like they are part of a bigger picture. I love Dance Of Death, for example, as well, but that one feels a bit more like a random collection of songs, while AMOLAD seems like a unified piece of music to me.

Thinking about it some more, I don't think I have anything particularly interesting, unique or controversial to say about AMOLAD. It's just a great album. Even someone as hyper-critical of smaller details as me has to recognize that I suppose lol
 
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Vaenyr said:
It's not a concept album in the sense that it tells one story, but every song feels like they are part of a bigger picture.
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I'd argue it is from a certain point of view a concept album - a thematic one, if not a narrative one. I have previously written on this forum somewhere that I can see the album as being this Thin Red Line of an album, weaving together the stories, lives and worldviews of a military company, while making a grander statement about man as such and I think I can still stand behind it. True, sometimes the link is a tad too obscure (The Pilgrim) and sometimes it requires some tweaking and reach on behalf of the listener (Breeg), but whatever.

I wonder if I should write this down, I don't know if I've fully did that here, can't find it now.

Vaenyr said:
Considering that 9 songs in a row start in E minor, with only The Legacy finally switching it up, that's not an unreasonable criticisms, but to me adds to the cohesiveness of the record.
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Vaenyr said:
while AMOLAD seems like a unified piece of music to me.
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Funny that you say that.

Back in 2015 (wow, it's really been that long, huh?) I wrote this:
Also - and this is the first time I've written about this and I've never read any opinion regarding this, but it's very important to me - I can't help but to hear connections in the music contained within. Listen to the riff on BTATS, at around 3:35 (under the solo). Doesn't it remind you of the chorus of LOL? And now, please, listen to the riff in FTGGOG, at about 6:57. Isn't it really similar to These Colours Don't Run? I think so. Maybe I'm wrong, but it helps me to appreciate the album more, so won't convince me so easily otherwise. :)
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With near to 70 % of this album being thematically conceptual even on its face and a significant part being musically conceptual (think Octavarium), for me this album is a lightning in a bottle that will never be repeated again. It probably couldn't be, anyway.*


* - an unpopular opinion, but a Maiden album that comes close is - surprise, surprise - The X Factor. In more ways than one.
 
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