Iron Maiden studio album 17 rumours and speculations

Status
Not open for further replies.
Not a fan of the whole live recording philosophy.I hope they have had time to polish the solos so that they sound less like random jams in the studio and more like the well thought out and structured stuff in wickerman, rainmaker, pascrndale etc.
But the solos in Paschendale, at least for Dave and Janick, was Shirley practising copy and paste and combining different takes in Pro Tools (the same with Dance of Death). Isolated tracks taken from the DVD version of the album shows this.

So asking the guitarists to record different takes, and then having Shirley edit the best licks together, could be another solution...

I'd be astounded if the solos weren't recorded seperately in individual sessions, and when the band are playing the basic tracks together live it's just the rhythm parts, no one is soloing.
 
I'd be astounded if the solos weren't recorded seperately in individual sessions, and when the band are playing the basic tracks together live it's just the rhythm parts, no one is soloing.
That's correct, but my point was that some of the solos are consisting of different takes merged together by Shirley. He "created" the final versions in Pro Tools, by deciding which parts to use, from a variety of takes.

So just having the guitarists record a lot of different takes and then letting Shirley edit them together could also achieve great solos....
 
I'd be astounded if the solos weren't recorded seperately in individual sessions, and when the band are playing the basic tracks together live it's just the rhythm parts, no one is soloing.
The songs that Adrian brings in, i think he brings fairly complete concepts including the solos. This is especially true for the short rockers/album openers which all have solos that sound more structured to me.

On the other hand when i listen to the title track "Book of Souls", to my ears, it seems Adrian is almost figuring out where to go on the spot for his solo. I am saying this from my perspective as a guitarist who has learnt the solos in aces high, wickerman, number of the beast, different world etc. The signature tone and the scales are there but the structure just doesn't feel the same or as polished. It is far worse for Dave and Janick. Only memorable solo for Dave i can think of is the one on Isle of Avalon. Because of this I have also found no interest in learning any of the BOS album solos (apart from Speed of light) or the TFF solos (apart from el dorado).
 
One positive, if the album really is done, is that they have had allll the time in the world to get the design and artwork for the new album just right - so I'm expecting good things there :p
Joke or not, you're pretty right about that. It can only be useful imo.

I wonder if they will use Mark Wilkinson again for the album cover...
 
They should get Hervé Monjeaud.
No please. It's fine for some t-shirts but Wilkinson, Melvyn Grant are much better.
I think they could call Derek this time.

Dance of Death cover Eddie was fine, but Steve choose the draft with all those awful characters. One of several bad decisions by Steve. Even the illustrator, (great artist IMO) Dave Patchett didn't want his name in the credits, because he thought it was an unfinished artwork.
 
My most favorite cover is Fear of the Dark. Close second would be BNW and Virtual XI. I hope we get something more sinister/dark and less cartoony like TFF
 
Instead there is nothing. Nothing at all. Radio silence. It has been nine months since Bruce's video update when he's leaning by the pinball machine and he alludes to writing things with Steve. NINE FRIGGIN' MONTHS!
It's also been since 2019 Bruce was promising on stage we wouldn't have to wait much longer for new music. Obviously Covid changed the plans but it would be nice if they let us in on more of their planning, etc.
 
No please. It's fine for some t-shirts but Wilkinson, Melvyn Grant are much better.
I think they could call Derek this time.
I doubt about Riggs, but it would be curious. Melvyn Grant is always a great option. Wilkinson too.... (the guy who did the latest Priest album cover also deserves a try, I think).
Dance of Death cover Eddie was fine, but Steve choose the draft with all those awful characters.
The backdrop used for the title track during DOD tour is way better than the actual album cover.

In the DOTR documentary, Steve said that they do not wanted the cover to be nice, but to be a bit strange (corresponding with the theme of the title track). And he also said that the artist wanted to do some changes.
 
The secrecy is pretty simple: there's no point in teasing an album, showing the album art, tracklist, etc. when they have no idea when they're going to release the album...and they're not going to release the album until there's an acceptable window between the release and the album tour. Right now, the only thing public is that they're fulfilling commitments on Legacy 3, unfortunately, and Legacy 3 is summer 2022. So the hypothetical album tour is...sometime after that's done. And that's if something tragic doesn't happen between now and then, i.e. a band member decides to retire and the rest of the band sticks to their prior "this is the final lineup" statement, and the band is done.

Long story short, they're not going to release the album like a lot of other bands have done, because the album itself isn't going to make them any money. The money is in the album tour. I'd love to be proven wrong and for them to drop the album this year, but I don't see it happening.
Hellooohoooow. Fans?
 
The songs that Adrian brings in, i think he brings fairly complete concepts including the solos. This is especially true for the short rockers/album openers which all have solos that sound more structured to me.

On the other hand when i listen to the title track "Book of Souls", to my ears, it seems Adrian is almost figuring out where to go on the spot for his solo. I am saying this from my perspective as a guitarist who has learnt the solos in aces high, wickerman, number of the beast, different world etc. The signature tone and the scales are there but the structure just doesn't feel the same or as polished. It is far worse for Dave and Janick. Only memorable solo for Dave i can think of is the one on Isle of Avalon. Because of this I have also found no interest in learning any of the BOS album solos (apart from Speed of light) or the TFF solos (apart from el dorado).
The solos are fine on the last two albums apart from a few. The lead guitar work is probably one of the better aspects of the last album.
 
I just want to politely challenge you on this because there is another way, even taking into account what you have written.

First observation is that 'secrecy until release date' was the template used to launch the British Lion debut and Smith Kotzen. Obviously the management likes it this way in the internet age since they want message control. For side projects it is fine. But why is it being applied to Maiden? Previously, Steve, Rod, or an FC magazine via Keith or Laz would update us by saying ''we plan on recording an album next year..." or "we're taking a long break this year because...". Is the secrecy really breached by saying you are making a new album to release one day in the future?

Instead there is nothing. Nothing at all. Radio silence. It has been nine months since Bruce's video update when he's leaning by the pinball machine and he alludes to writing things with Steve. NINE FRIGGIN' MONTHS!

Assuming everything you write is true, then what is the harm in updating us even if the album will be released some time into the future? Noone is asking for an immediate release since we all understand the impact of the pandemic on personal lives and on business plans. But we have a reasonable case to challenge the secrecy policy. Unless something has gone really wrong behind the scenes regarding Nicko's longevity as a touring drummer, or the healing process after Paddy's death, or other things we aren't privy to, that have complicated things.

However, if it's as simple as Rod deciding 'we'll update them with news after LOTB part III is over', then I call bullshit over this approach. Especially during the pandemic, when Maiden's communication with its fans has been tone deaf regarding what would actually be appreciated.
Two beer for Helmuth.
1. Fuck the secrecy policy.
2. Stop being tone deaf.
 
I understand why they would not release the album due to legacy tour commitments. However, i do not think it is pointless to the fans just to have something to chew on while we wait 6 years for the new materials to drop.
That would be the live album released last year. ;)
 
Instead there is nothing. Nothing at all. Radio silence. It has been nine months since Bruce's video update when he's leaning by the pinball machine and he alludes to writing things with Steve. NINE FRIGGIN' MONTHS!

On the day they uploaded Bruce's video and everyone over at the official fan club were drooling about it I had the temerity to suggest that they probably were ready to announce something that we could buy. To say that I was panned would be an understatement.

Guess what? 24 hours later they announced the release of Nights of the Dead. :lol:

I bet they would reappear when there is something new to sell.
 
On the other hand when i listen to the title track "Book of Souls", to my ears, it seems Adrian is almost figuring out where to go on the spot for his solo. I am saying this from my perspective as a guitarist who has learnt the solos in aces high, wickerman, number of the beast, different world etc. The signature tone and the scales are there but the structure just doesn't feel the same or as polished.

Here's some info then to make a picture. Smith said prior to TBOS that he's returning to pentatonic blues scale, using it in a way where it doesn't sound stock. In Speed of Light guitar lick, the intervals used are not that common, sounds catchy without being in exotic mode/scale. TBOS solo is rhythmically trailing behind the beat, old blues trick to emphasize flow of notes if you're closely following the chord progression with the appropriate scale (think one of basic blues tricks, sliding two strings in an interval that belongs to the chord behind, if you play it exactly on the beat you aren't achieving anything). Here the notes are not spicy, but the groove is. This is not the first time Smith does this, far from it, the best example of this is the kickass solo of Rainbow's Gold.

I agree with you fully that his previous approach to solos yields better results, but seems like he got tired of it, even on Smith/Kotzen there is nothing really exciting in his solos, unfortunately. Nice, but not exciting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top