This.
The solo projects of current and ex-Maiden members sometimes end up being
overrated for being underrated - namely Blaze, whose albums I still consider above-average and often very, very good. There's also
underrated for being overrated, which I believe is the case with British Lion; being Steve's project, they get both ends, positive and negative, quite harshly. There's those who love it merely because it's, well, Steve, and there's those who label it as utter garbage just for being a bit lame and, naturally, not matching the majesty of Maiden classics or Bruce's solo masterpieces. Sometimes biased reviews or not, both Blaze and British Lion have quite good critical reception and while the attention and spotlight they got is all due to Maiden-status, it's not like they have absolutely no value whatsoever. It's the reason people buy and give the record a chance in the first place and sure, they couldn't tour as extensively as they've done if it wasn't for Steve and they'd never have that many
fans if people didn't know it was Steve's band, but you know... it doesn't necessarily make it
that bad.
Granted, I'm not very capable at labeling anything
bad or
bullshit or whatever. I'm often overly positive and diplomatic and it's great that most people have more fleshed out and direct opinions on stuff, for the sake of interesting discussion alone. It'd be boring if people just agreed or agreed to disagree
without bringing their views to the table at all.
Anyway, I'm not overly fussed about the state of Maiden stuff right now. I'd love to hear the new album already and I'd be fine if LOTB was wrapped up already, but at this point I'm just happy that we'll eventually get
some new Iron Maiden music and shows in the first place. Things could be better, but they could be so much worse too. This unexpectedly long gap between
any proper Maiden activity has resulted in me giving some other bands a bit more attention and giving a spin or two more to certain parts of the Maiden discography I don't visit too often.
I understand the frustration of my fellow fans and I quite like humor and memes crafted around the current state of Maiden business, but can't say I'm too... bothered about it, really. It is what it...
Yeah.
People, excuse me for my blathering. This is becoming a habit..!