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I've said this elsewhere, but Nicko's performance has been compromised a bit prior to his stroke. Look at the Stratego live video Maiden released and compare the bass triplets and fills to what's on the studio version. The stroke certainly made things much much more difficult, but Nicko's age is catching up with him because he's a very fast and technical drummer on a lot of levels and that's hard as shit to maintain in your 70s. Stroke or no stroke. He's still the GOAT and a fucking champ, but it happens.
 
chaosapiant said:
I've said this elsewhere, but Nicko's performance has been compromised a bit prior to his stroke. Look at the Stratego live video Maiden released and compare the bass triplets and fills to what's on the studio version. The stroke certainly made things much much more difficult, but Nicko's age is catching up with him because he's a very fast and technical drummer on a lot of levels and that's hard as shit to maintain in your 70s. Stroke or no stroke. He's still the GOAT and a fucking champ, but it happens.
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It also doesn't help that the song was written and recorded literal years before it was played for the first time. IIRC he expressed doubts about Stratego in particular and though he might not be able to record it in the studio, but he pulled it off. It was obvious that he'd have to simplify it to play it.
 
Vaenyr said:
It also doesn't help that the song was written and recorded literal years before it was played for the first time. IIRC he expressed doubts about Stratego in particular and though he might not be able to record it in the studio, but he pulled it off. It was obvious that he'd have to simplify it to play it.
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Yea, there's no argument there. I'm just pointing out that issues started prior to his stroke. And while Stratego is a challenging song, the triplets he plays on the studio version are still themselves slower than his earlier works like on CSiT or Trooper. The point being that he's been slowing down steadily for a while. Which isn't meant to be a dig at him, his ability, or his age. Just that it's a sign of the times that my favorite band are no longer outrunning nature.
 
chaosapiant said:
I've said this elsewhere, but Nicko's performance has been compromised a bit prior to his stroke. Look at the Stratego live video Maiden released and compare the bass triplets and fills to what's on the studio version. The stroke certainly made things much much more difficult, but Nicko's age is catching up with him because he's a very fast and technical drummer on a lot of levels and that's hard as shit to maintain in your 70s. Stroke or no stroke. He's still the GOAT and a fucking champ, but it happens.
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It is indeed interesting that everyone accepted that Nicko's performance last year was a result of his increasing age (before we knew about the stroke).
At least I haven't seen a comment anywhere where anyone wrote, no, that can't be it, something else must have happened.
 
chaosapiant said:
Yea, there's no argument there. I'm just pointing out that issues started prior to his stroke. And while Stratego is a challenging song, the triplets he plays on the studio version are still themselves slower than his earlier works like on CSiT or Trooper. The point being that he's been slowing down steadily for a while. Which isn't meant to be a dig at him, his ability, or his age. Just that it's a sign of the times that my favorite band are no longer outrunning nature.
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Yeah, wasn't meant as a disagreement or anything. Just adding to your point.
 
Terry1958 said:
It is indeed interesting that everyone accepted that Nicko's performance last year was a result of his increasing age (before we knew about the stroke).
At least I haven't seen a comment anywhere where anyone wrote, no, that can't be it, something else must have happened.
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To be fair I did comment that his sudden change in performance had to be something other than age, it was a huge change after only 7 months. At the time I expected an illness like the flu, or a back injury.
 
Trevoire

Post in thread 'The Future Past tour 2023'

I must admit I'm a bit worried that Nicko might have a health issue at the moment.

It doesn't make sense that it's a sudden onset of age, or that it's because of cancer that he had in 2020. He was playing those Trooper fills fine 7 months ago.

Fingers crossed its just a flu or something.

(I hope people don't read this as "Nicko bashing" because that's certainly not what I'm going for, I'm just a bit concerned)
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Trevoire

Post in thread 'The Future Past tour 2023'

Bruce was absolutely amazing in Glasgow tonight. I'm absolutely floored at his performance.

Everyone in the band seemed to be having a really good time.
No messy transitions, everything went really smoothly.

Nicko did well, though I do wonder if this might be his last tour. Things are definitely simplified and he isn't hitting the drums the way he used to. I think it's an arthritis thing.
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Vaenyr said:
As I've said before, I'm happy with him changing the fills and adapting any parts he needs to. CSIT convinced me that I far prefer a different rhythm or groove that keeps the same tempo, rather than slowing down the entire song by a few bpm, which saps the song of its energy.
Yeah, bigger and theatrical shows tend to have rigid and intricate lighting routines. Makes sense for them to figure out one set and then keep to it. I like that approach.
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Agreed. But surely they can swap songs between legs of a tour more often, right. The lights are programmed during pre-production.
chaosapiant said:
I've said this elsewhere, but Nicko's performance has been compromised a bit prior to his stroke. Look at the Stratego live video Maiden released and compare the bass triplets and fills to what's on the studio version. The stroke certainly made things much much more difficult, but Nicko's age is catching up with him because he's a very fast and technical drummer on a lot of levels and that's hard as shit to maintain in your 70s. Stroke or no stroke. He's still the GOAT and a fucking champ, but it happens.
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He called Stratego the most difficult song to record in the studio from album, so the simplified approach was expected. Not to mention more difficult ones like Trooper for his age. His drumming is challenging after all. Come to think, I don't think Nicko played slower last year than he did in 2022. 2019 was definitely better though. He deserves all the respect and admiration.

I hope he keeps getting better and better, but I'm a bit worried about his playing/fills on the next album.
 
Jer said:
As long as he sounds better than he did on the studio versions of the Virtual XI tracks, we’ll be fine.
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Well, I'd like to hear drumming like in Futureal (generally more shorter and faster songs), Clansman (the cymbals hit), When Two Worlds Collide (the gallop) and Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger (for the fast part). We should expect more or less such drumming now, right...
 
Kalata said:
Agreed. But surely they can swap songs between legs of a tour more often, right. The lights are programmed during pre-production.

He called Stratego the most difficult song to record in the studio from album, so the simplified approach was expected. Not to mention more difficult ones like Trooper for his age. His drumming is challenging after all. Come to think, I don't think Nicko played slower last year than he did in 2022. 2019 was definitely better though. He deserves all the respect and admiration.

I hope he keeps getting better and better, but I'm a bit worried about his playing/fills on the next album.
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I’m less worried about Nicko in the studio because he can still drum good and being able to splice shit together plus take breaks between songs is a whole different world than playing a two hour show.

That’s why I lean toward the ideal situation of Nicko doing exclusively studio drumming and then a younger drummer to tour with. Like Joe Lazarus.
 
The only blessing we might get from Nickos stroke. It could make the band abandon the "record everything live as we write it" approach.

They instead could spend time writing so that Nicko can then go away to work out and practice his parts. He still might need a good amount of takes so they can pull the best parts and comp together a performance. They might even record to a click track to help keep things together and consistent. This could result in Maidens tightest, tidies and most thought out album in years.

Dont get me wrong, I'm sure Steve's stubbornness could still fuck it all up. But working this way would likely make things easier for Nicko. And I'd hope they'd be willing to change things up to enable him to do his best post stroke for what is almost certainly their final album.
 
Trevoire said:
The only blessing we might get from Nickos stroke. It could make the band abandon the "record everything live as we write it" approach.

They instead could spend time writing so that Nicko can then go away to work out and practice his parts. He still might need a good amount of takes so they can pull the best parts and comp together a performance. They might even record to a click track to help keep things together and consistent. This could result in Maidens tightest, tidies and most thought out album in years.

Dont get me wrong, I'm sure Steve's stubbornness could still fuck it all up. But working this way would likely make things easier for Nicko. And I'd hope they'd be willing to change things up to enable him to do his best post stroke for what is almost certainly their final album.
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I'd adore that, but I can't see them actually going for it anymore. We'll probably get "live in the studio" recordings again with different performances spliced together. Sometimes those will work well, other times the splices will be noticeable because of inconsistent bpm values, like in Hell On Earth.
 
chaosapiant said:
I’m less worried about Nicko in the studio because he can still drum good and being able to splice shit together plus take breaks between songs is a whole different world than playing a two hour show.
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Let's hope so. Again, I hope he keeps getting better and better, but he admitted he can't play some fills anymore, sadly.
chaosapiant said:
That’s why I lean toward the ideal situation of Nicko doing exclusively studio drumming and then a younger drummer to tour with. Like Joe Lazarus.
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That's not an ideal situation for me.
Trevoire said:
The only blessing we might get from Nickos stroke. It could make the band abandon the "record everything live as we write it" approach.
They instead could spend time writing so that Nicko can then go away to work out and practice his parts. He still might need a good amount of takes so they can pull the best parts and comp together a performance. They might even record to a click track to help keep things together and consistent. This could result in Maidens tightest, tidies and most thought out album in years.
Dont get me wrong, I'm sure Steve's stubbornness could still fuck it all up. But working this way would likely make things easier for Nicko. And I'd hope they'd be willing to change things up to enable him to do his best post stroke for what is almost certainly their final album.
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That would be great, but I highly doubt it, especially now. Plus they like to be in the studio for 3 months, with that approach it will be longer, right. Now they have to make his work in the studio easier, but to record in the studio to a click track? Maiden? I guess he'll need a good amount of takes (now) as you said, but they'll just pull the best parts and comp together a performance. It's easier and faster for all.
 
… you can’t play Heavy Metal with synthesizers. -Bruce Dickinson at Katowice discotheque Remont Club. Warsaw, Poland 1984.:ninja:
Fixed. Thanks @Nomadd
 
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