Iron Maiden lyrics tournament final: Empire of the Clouds rises above all

Pick the song with the best lyrics from each pair

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
Paschendale is the obvious choice.

Went with Boots in the second matchup. I love the quirkiness of the lyrics on that one.
 
There are so many memorable lines in Paschendale. Blood is falling like rain is another good one.
 
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Paschendale and For The Greater Good move on.

Next up:

BOOK OF SOULS


versus

AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS

 
ATSS is well written, but Book of Souls is huge and grandiose, so I'll vote for that. I can't decide as yet on the second pair. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns is another thoughtful and finely crafted one, but then Infinite Dreams is one of the better train of thought storytelling ones. I'll be back.
 
Brigantium said:
ATSS is well written, but Book of Souls is huge and grandiose, so I'll vote for that.
Click to expand...

As for the second pair, neither song is perfect lyrically. They both have very good lines and imagery, but Thousand Suns is far more vivid, stark, and attention-grabbing. Both songs have some real clunker lines and poor (probably Steve) phrasing, but I prefer Thousand Suns.
 
Book of Souls for the first pair. It's not my favourite and sometimes it throws way too much words in it, but ATSS goes way too far in the oposite direction, having all lyrics in the solemn prologue and then only repetition. Still love it, though.

BTATS for the second one. It was a really easy choice, "E equals MC squared - you can relate" notwithstanding.
 
All four are very strong contenders. The first battle is essentially a tossup, but I'll give the slightest edge to ATSS.

In the second match I'm going with Infinite Dreams. Thousands Suns is great, but Infinite Dreams has a certain catchiness to it that can't be matched.
 
Brighter and Infinite are both great, but I think Infinite just squeaks it with its intricacies. Brighter is a bit too barebones at times, which I usually like, but in terms of progression, it doesn't quite gel as well.
 
Souls and Suns in two of the closest votes so far

Next up:

Two Minutes to Midnight


versus

Man of Sorrows


The Evil That Men Do


versus

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

 
Easy choices here.

Man of Sorrows has some great lines, message, and the tone is spot on in the words. I think 2 Minutes has some great lines, but it falls victim to Bruce's confusing-for-the-sake-of-art/weird type stuff. Same goes for the second pair: I think Evil That Men Do has some brilliantly constructed, evocative lines - but Rime wins for scope and storytelling, despite a couple awkwardly-jammed-into-the-melody-Steve-style lines.
 
I might end up voting for Man of Sorrows too, it's awesome.
But I did not expect it to be running away with this. Two Minutes is edgy, angry and still spot on 30 years later.
 
Man of Sorrows and Rime advance in close votes.

Up next:

The Trooper


versus

The Alchemist


and

Ghost of the Navigator


versus

Coming Home

 
Trooper and Ghost of The Navigator, though I enjoy the lyrics of both competitors (especially the simplicity and emotional depth of Coming Home).
 
Alchemist and Navigator. I'm still expecting Bruce to boast at one of his business talks of getting aviation references into a Maiden song.
 
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