Let's try and get 1,000,000 replies to this post

I can't explain it right now, I have to let it sink in first. Maybe someone else will be able to.
 
I probably won't get it, will I ? Ah, stupid me, giving promises, doing favors, making other people happy and being happy myself. Just stupid.
 
Flash... a girl won't marry you because you gave her a t-shirt. Even if she said so before. It was never a promise.
 
You got my whole post wrong then. It was ME who was giving the promise (buying her the t-shirt she liked), not her, I know it was a joke. Jeez. You really think I'm a fucking idiotic lover, don't you ?
 
There were a lot of parentheses in your post, I suppose I got lost somewhere.
 
The only thing I'd say (if I were going to [which it appears I must be doing]), is that I wouldn't consider that a 'small thing'. It may be a small gift, but finding something that isn't available in your country for someone is a rather big 'thing'. Not that it matters, I'm mostly clarifying my post in order to compare with what you were discussing. To me, the little things are things you do on a day to day basis, which can be somewhat difficult to even put into place, until you are living with someone. For example, when I live alone, I'll typically toss my socks in a corner and pick them all up at the end of the week to wash. No biggy to me, they are out of the way. however, my ex was driven crazy by socks in a pile in the corner. So, I would make a point to put my socks in the hamper in the bathroom instead. A small thing, that didn't cost me a few seconds but saved her some sanity (granted, she was in short supply of that ;) )

Now, if you are referring to the smile as a small thing, something she did for you, then, yes, I'd agree. A smile, a wink, something like that which takes little time but has a meaning is a small thing that means a great deal.
 
The Flash said:
I did a sweet thing today (giving a present that really meant something) got a smile and it made my day. You really can be happy with little things, it seems.
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Oh my god! :eek: Flash is being positive!

Flash, what you did was really cool. That would make any girl very, very happy! :)
 
But more importantly...What band shirt was it?
th_Thinking.gif
 
A band called Three Days Grace. She's more into alternative rock and grunge. She plays the piano very well, not a bad music person. :p
 
The Flash said:
I did couple of pages ago. There are so many of them. The Alchemist-The Aftermath-The Edge of Darkness. Intros to The Legacy-The Talisman. Intros to Alexander the Great-The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Genghis Khan-Hallowed Be Thy Name. Losfer Words-The Duellists. The Fugitive-Fear of the Dark. Dance of Death-Face in the Sand (I'm sure Brigantium is talking about this one), Brighter Than a Thousand Suns-Lord of Light. Just to name a few.

I won't even bother to write about backing rhythms, just listen to Run Silent Run Deep, Caught Somewhere in Time or The Trooper to note them.
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Yes, I think it was Face in the Sand, right at the very start it sort of harks back to Dance of Death
 
The Flash said:
The Alchemist 3:35 - 3:42 / The Aftermath 3:51 - 3:57 / The Edge of Darkness 4:47 - 4:53
Genghis Khan 1:46 - 2:10 / Hallowed Be Thy Name 1:18 - 1:36
The Fugitive 0:47 - 0:57 / Fear of the Dark - Verse Backing
Dance of Death - Second part of the intro - Verse backing / Face in the Sand - Intro (also sounds kinda similar to Blood Brothers)
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - 2:33 - 3:17 - Lord of Light - 3:50 - 4:53
Losfer Words - Intro / The Duellists - Intro
Alexander the Great - 1:07 - 1:35 - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - Intro
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The Alchemist 3:35 - 3:42 / The Aftermath 3:51 - 3:57 / The Edge of Darkness 4:47 - 4:53
The melodies from The Aftermath and The Edge of Darkness start similarly, I'll agree on that. To me, it sounds like the latter is a more "developed" theme based on the former.
The one from The Alchemist doesn't strike me as very similar to either of them. Plus, Steve Harris is not the principal writer of any of the three songs. The two songs from The X Factor are Bayley/Gers/Harris collaborations, and The Alchemist is Dickinson/Gers/Harris.

Genghis Khan 1:46 - 2:10 / Hallowed Be Thy Name 1:18 - 1:36
No. If there is a riff in Hallowed Be Thy Name that is similar to that part in Genghis Khan, I'd rather mention the one at 4:05 in the studio version (although it is slower, the note pattern is more similar). I would still consider it a stretch to call them really similar, though.

The Fugitive 0:47 - 0:57 / Fear of the Dark - Verse Backing
Sorry, I don't buy this one either. The chord progression is different .Dsus2 - Csus2 - Am -Bbsus2 -Bbsus2- Csus2 - Dsus2 is how I play this part of The Fugitive on guitar. If playing it all using power chords only, it is D-C-A-Bb-BbC-D. FOTD on the other hand (first verse) has the following chords: D - Bb - C - Bb - C - D - Bb - C. Also, the rhythmic feel to the two is different. The only thing I feel they have in common is that they are in D minor.

Dance of Death - Second part of the intro - Verse backing / Face in the Sand - Intro (also sounds kinda similar to Blood Brothers)
This one I agree on. The intro to Face in the Sand quotes the part of Dance of Death at 0:20. I don't think there is much resemblance to Blood Brothers, though. And again: One Gers/Harris and one Smith/Dickinson/Harris.

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - 2:33 - 3:17 - Lord of Light - 3:50 - 4:53
This one I have noticed myself. The only difference here is that each chord is repeated in Lord of Light. In BTATS the base note in the chord is E - C - A - F and then E-C-A-F again. In Light, the E chord arpeggio is played twice, then the C hord arpeggio twice and so on.
However, and now I am repeating myself: Both songs are Dickinson/Harris/Smith collaborations, not solely written by Harris.

Losfer Words - Intro / The Duellists - Intro
I have already explained why I don't find it meaningful to call these similar.

Alexander the Great - 1:07 - 1:35 - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - Intro
I'll give you that the guitar melodies are partly similar (the first 7-8 notes in the riff are the same). However, the music as a whole does not sound similar at all (different rhythm guitar, different chords, different drumming).


To summarize:

  • Some of those you list are really quite similar, to such an extent that they seem to be deliberate. But saying that it is characteristic of Steve Harris is simplifying too much. Many of your examples are collaborations between two or three band members, and in neither of those collaborations Harris has been credited as main writer.
  • If those "quotes" are in fact deliberate, I do not think it takes anything away from the songs/albums. Classical composers have done it many times as well ; a theme or motif which is used early in a work, is repeated later with some variations. It serves to give the work a unified feel, and it rewards the listener when he recognizes a familiar melody.
 
I've never said it takes something away from songs. I could easily find other examples but these were the first ones to spring to my mind. And also, I don't this classical music argument is fair, classical music compositions are much much longer than heavy metal compositions. I'd be fun to add some remiscent pieces if the songs were long or it's for a concept (ala Scenes from a Memory by Dream Theater).
 
The Flash said:
And also, I don't this classical music argument is fair, classical music compositions are much much longer than heavy metal compositions.
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Well, a heavy metal album is often comparable to a symphony in length (somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes is common), so I think that it is a valid point.
 
The Flash said:
That would make a point if the album is a concept album. A normal album is really just a collection of songs.
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That's just my point. Doing things like discussed above (taking an idea, e.g. a riff, from one song and developing it in another) can give the album a more unified feel - or to phrase it differently, tie the songs together. Even when the album in question is not a concept album.

Steve Harris has said that in the "modern" Maiden era, albums have been made in the following way; the different band members have worked on their own ideas for some time and then come together to finalize the songs and record them. It is natural that part of this "finalization" is to do little changes here and there to glue an album together. In this process, I can imagine that these "quotes" also turn up. And I like it, as long as it is not overused.

Some other things you mention (like the gallop rhythm used in many songs) are included because they're part of the band's trademark sound (which they want to stay true to), not because the band members can't come up with anything else. After all, there are many songs without it as well :D
 
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