Iron Maiden's worst song (AKA the Head to Head results thread)

I don't want to sound hipster-ish but I don't think The Apparition deserves it. Honestly I don't even understand all the hate about it. It's not brilliant, but I actually enjoy the song more than many others. Especially the pre-solo riffage. This part is really badass! I swear - I cut this section out of the song and it happens to appear on my playlist :) Initially I looped it and listened to that part for the whole evening... Well... But I cut this part, so it means something... :D

Same with Wildest Dreams, Eyes of a Stranger, Gates of Tomorrow... The Fugitive is not so bad either. Too bad they're so low. However, I can't say I'm surprised. That was very predictable since it covers the general opinion.
 
The Thin Line is my second favorite Maiden song. I'm honestly surprised you of all people put it that low. :p It has everything you profess about loving in other songs.
 
The Thin Line is 10/10 for me. Beautiful song. And I like this kind of complexity which still co-exists with the feeling that it's one and the same song. It has nice, orchestral feel I'd say. The opposite would be... for example The Man Who Would Be King, in which things go crazy and quite random. I don't say that it's a bad song, though... :)
 
Kill Devil Hill said:
The Thin Line is my second favorite Maiden song. I'm honestly surprised you of all people put it that low. :p It has everything you profess about loving in other songs.
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Me?

Well, here goes:

This song has a remarkable cool chorus (where Bruce goes high with superb control), and a few nice riffs. However, in total, the song is too lengthy to get a "good" grade. It feels too lengthy because in the second half some parts are dragging and monotone.

I particularly do not like the slow parts. And there are too many Dave solos, there could be more variation if all the guys had a chance to show their stuff. But the main problem for me is that a big part of the song feels like it's in the same vein. I miss some changes in atmosphere, and I miss surprises, which are necessary to make a long song epic. Instead it's rather a predictable sounding effort. The beforementioned awesome chorus drags it up to a high 6, but the rest of the song fails to reach the same level. The Unbeliever is a song with a comparable chorus, with a way better instrumental part, with more interesting couplets (maybe more awkward or difficult couplets, but certainly less simple), with a less predictable build-up and with a superior atmosphere.
 
Interesting you like the first half of the song and aren't too keen on the second. I'm the complete opposite.

I think bits of the song have Bruce's best vocals ever. The way he sings the "I will hope/My soul will fly" segment and way he sings the title... I can scarcely think of any more bone-chilling moments from the Air Rad Siren. He just handles it so delicately.

It's my favorite Maiden solo section. 6:54 is a personal sweet spot. The entire second half of the song just has so much heart. It's hard for me to place why I find this song so emotionally heart-wrenching. I guess it just has to click. It's not necessarily complex and changing a million different times, but I don't know. I don't find complexity a necessity. Emotion isn't an objective point to attack from, but I just find this one of the most emotional sections in Maiden's entire catalog, most comparable to the Stranger in a Strange Land solo. Dave's solos are a little samesy, but I find them so soulful that I just don't care nor see the necessity in varying his solos to any radical degree. I think they're some of his best in his career.
 
Rime has way more going on. Alexander too. Most songs actually. Thin Line is too monotone and without enough change for such length.
 
I edited my post a lot. :p

I think we like our music for different reasons. I don't really care if there are a ton of different changes. It's more of the passion that grips me. Now, if it's exactly the same stuff throughout the whole song a la The Longest Day, that's different.

I can appreciate the dynamics of a song, but it's not a deal breaker.
 
No problem, I am an over the top editor as well (often frustrating others in the process).

I have many reasons to like music (and I love lots of less complex stuff), but when Maiden songs are getting lengthy (and they often do, these days) I get a bit more demanding. :) It's not like I exclude all other factors. It's still a balance for me. E.g. If there would be another superb melody or something, then I would be more tolerant towards the small amount of change in the song.

Anyway, I like how you explain why you think it's a great song.
 
Forostar said:
These are my own 14 least good Maiden songs, in chronological order:
(in red the ones that are also in mckindog's post of the board's 14 least good ones, based on the recent head-to-head game)

Sanctuary
Iron Maiden
Innocent Exile
Drifter
Chains of Misery
Look for the Truth
The Angel and the Gambler
When Two Worlds Collide
Don’t Look to the Eyes of a Stranger
The Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Wildest Dreams
No More Lies
Face in the Sand
The Talisman
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The Last 3 Caught my Eye
Talisman is #5 on my top 20
Face in the sand and No More lies Almost make it Too. Intresting
 
To be clear, Angel and the Gambler is in the bottom half of my rankings. And the repetition is way over the top.
But I enjoy the '70s arena rock jam vibe, the same way I enjoy the LAD version of Running Free.
I know LC is a fan. Are we the only two out there?
 
I'm a fan of The Angel and the Gambler, I've defended it on several occasions here. However, it definitely is in the bottom half of my rankings.
 
I am surprised Wildest Dreams is so low. It is certainly not a top 10 song by any stretch, but I would put it somewhere in the middle of the pack. I guess it speaks to the strength of the catalog that there are some pretty damn good songs in the bottom 14
 
I would say that it belongs in the bottom third, but not this close to the bottom. On Dance of Death alone, I rank it about Gates of Tomorrow and New Frontier.
 
I'd count Wildest Dreams low status as a mild surprise because it's such an inoffensive track.
But maybe that's why it's so low - you don't just expect Maiden to be bland.
 
A worse chorus than The Assassin? No way. Say what you want about the rest of the song, but The Assassin's chorus is terribly cheesy. Not just the lyrics, but the way that "Cos I' m the ASSAAAAAAAAAAAAASSIN" overlaps "Better watch out." Wildest Dreams' isn't great, but it is still at least several steps above The Assassin (which is a song that has grown on me from my early listens to No Prayer).

I do quite like Gates of Tomorrow, and may need to rework my Dance of Death rankings to put it ahead of Wildest Dreams (but with WD still ahead of New Frontier), but my favorite part isn't the chorus, it's the "Suffering evil when you pay the price of fame… Give me the strength so I carry on" part.
 
Not knocking the fun & voting that went on (& this discussion) --but this can't hardly be regarded as representative, even of this forum, if only a couple of dozen folks voted on the head to heads. Interesting all the same.

Forostar: Stigmatizing? Undoubtedly so, if you insist in referring to them as "findings"! :D
FotD: so unloved...
 
425 said:
A worse chorus than The Assassin? No way. Say what you want about the rest of the song, but The Assassin's chorus is terribly cheesy. Not just the lyrics, but the way that "Cos I' m the ASSAAAAAAAAAAAAASSIN" overlaps "Better watch out." Wildest Dreams' isn't great, but it is still at least several steps above The Assassin (which is a song that has grown on me from my early listens to No Prayer).
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I still think The Assassin has a better chorus than the most monotonous bleating Maiden came up with. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M on my way.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M on the road again.

CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Not knocking the fun & voting that went on (& this discussion) --but this can't hardly be regarded as representative, even of this forum, if only a couple of dozen folks voted on the head to heads. Interesting all the same...
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Since others didn't bother to vote, they can't be seen as representative members. Sorry, your opinion does not count. I got you there for a second, didn't I? ;-P
 
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