IRON MAIDEN SURVIVOR #7: Results -> Hallowed Be Thy Name wins for the 6th time!

Yeap! Also we need to distinguish storyline with lyrics. Storyline is important to set the tone up, but people often relate to with isolated lyrics. And Hallowed has plenty of such classic lines.

I don’t want to die I’m a god why can’t l live on? is great intellectually but who will relate to with such a line?
 
____no5 said:
Powerslave has good lyrics though too elegant while Hallowed ones are easier to relate to for most people
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Yeah, that's the real problem here, innit?


____no5 said:
I don’t want to die I’m a god why can’t l live on? is great intellectually but who will relate to with such a line?
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This is an utterly, utterly wrong take, sorry. Two reasons.

1.) relatable is just such a stupid criterion, really. What is relatability? Does it require being literally 1:1 comparison?

Didn't people love Lord of the Rings, although they probably don't rule a country as a sovereign, don't fight giant spideresque demigods, don't possess a piece of jewelry representing the corruptive nature of Sin, don't help overthrow or don't hang out with Faerie Folk in forgotten woods?
And yet people found it relatable. A lot.

If we wanted to keep things truly relatable, we should only make art about blokes sweating in the office in the front of the computer, right?



2. The fact that people don't feel like they can relate to this is indeed the problem here - we tend to consider ourselves our own gods all the time nowadays; I am who decides what to do, I am the one to decide what's right or wrong, my will shall be done, I can do what I want. Me, myself and I.

In fact, it is only Death that remains the ultimate constant for us all, the one we can't avoid. The one that reminds us that, oh, I am not my own master after all.
"In my last hour, I'm a slave to the power of Death".
That's why we tend to shush the thoughts, the talk. Oh, dying? Me? I don't think so. Doesn't concern myself. Isn't really relatable, see what I mean, bruv? I am a God, I can't die, I must live on.

The applicability of Powerslave is just as high as the applicability of Hallowed, it's just the latter is more literal. In fact, lyrically, they are kinda the same song.



With that in mind, I wholeheartedly endorse all the three song that have great lyrics here, Hallowed, Powerslave and Rime. I probably find the former the weakest, purely from the lyrics-craft point of view and the aesthetics of the lyrics as such, but the gap isn't very large. It's just the other two are much more interesting musically.

Despite Powerslave's instrumental section copying Asia. You know... kinda.
 
Yeah I find “Powerslave” very relatable in that it reminds you that no matter what power you may seem to have on earth, you are still just another mortal who will always fall when your time has run out.
 
JudasMyGuide said:
If we wanted to keep things truly relatable, we should only make art about blokes sweating in the office in the front of the computer, right?
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No it’s not about the storyline that people relate to. It’s the powerful images within the storylines that do the job.
Harris is not a great lyricist but in Hallowed he does an outstanding job storytelling, by using images which are powerful as they describe universal and common experiences.

The bells that chime, the sands of time, the words escaping our protagonist and so on, plus the ultra powerful “Hallowed by thy Name” followed by the musical climax.

On the contrast in Powerslave we have more thought-driven lyrics i.e. as you mentioned "in my last hour, I'm a slave to the power of Death" which talks to the intellect of some people but not as universally some powerful images would do.

*your thought about blokes sweating in the office is super interesting but backwards, meaning I don’t feel that many office workers would relate to. In any case it triggers the question what makes a piece of art relatable? Why we do relate to Shakespeare and Sophocles but not to a modern mediocre artist? I don’t have the full answer yet, but it’s worthy to give it a further thought. As I mentioned, one of the components is powerful images which is a tier above the powerful words, thus why Hallowed > Powerslave.
 
____no5 said:
Harris is not a great lyricist
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This is not true at all. Especially with the powerful images within the storylines (and the storylines themselves), and that is something really important.

Edit: Bruce is good too ofc, but Steve's style is so good and fascinating for me.
 
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Kalata said:
This is not true at all. Especially with the powerful images within the storylines (and the storylines themselves), and that is something really important.
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Yeah, his lyrics especially on some of the newer albums like AMOLAD make him easily one of my favorite lyricists.
 
Kalata said:
This is not true at all. Especially with the powerful images within the storylines (and the storylines themselves), and that is something really important.
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He has his moments of brilliance alright but imo not consistency in brilliance.
 
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KidInTheDark666 said:
Yeah, his lyrics especially on some of the newer albums like AMOLAD make him easily one of my favorite lyricists.
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Well, I've never kept it a secret that I prefer him over Mr Thesaurus word salad Bruce. (BD definitely has his sparks of occasional brilliance - including Powerslave - and when he does, he has some of the best moments in Maiden, lyrics-wise, but more often it's a miss rather than a hit)

And 'Arry also feels rather... personal to me, as if he was the "songwriter" of the band. The Lynott of their Thin Lizzy. Even when he writes about movies. It feels like his movies.

Though I admit I'm not even sure how much does the rest of the gang write lyrics, except for

Have you seen the lyrics of TWOTW?
Have you seen those lyrics?

that's definitely not Bruce, for better or worse.

:ninja:
 
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Top 10
01.
02.
03.
04. Alexander The Great
05. Hell On Earth
06. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
07. Caught Somewhere In Time
08. Wasted Years
09. The Book Of Souls
10. The Trooper
 
This is an impossible task. The last time I did a Maiden Top 10, Powerslave wasn't on it, while Hallowed and Rime were (one other time I think it was the other way around). There's another thing - I think Rime and Hallowed are songs that can only be created once.

It feels so wrong, but I voted for Powerslave.
 
I honestly love all three songs, but Rime is a Top 3 song for me, Powerslave a Top... 8 - I guess - and Hallowed, like, top 15 or so.

Also, Hallowed has been winning too much in Survivors in general, so for the sake of variety I'd still probably vote against it.
 
Rime>Hallowed>Powerslave
Really tough one this. Rime and Hallowed are both top 10 songs for me. Powerslave a bit further down the pecking order.
 
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