Lord of the Flies

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How good is Lord of the Flies on a scale of 1-10?

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I really love how the prevelant hard rock vibe to this song is underpinned by a layer of darkness and foreboding, both musically and lyrically. Janick is really underrated as a songwriter, and this song still stands as one of his finest contributions to the band's discography. Steve's lyrics based on the film/book are also amazing, and continue the Maiden tradition of basing lyrics on movies and books. They also fit the strangely uplifting but menacing vibe of the music very well.

Janick's solo in this song is very uncharacteristic for him, in that it is very understated, and very melodic. He is well known for his frenzied soloing style, playing a blur of notes in a sometimes sloppy fashion. His solo on this song is nothing like that, and is very tuneful. I also love the harmony section after the solo, which transforms into a great "woah-oh" singalong section that raises the tension still further.

I have to say I really disliked the live version of this song on the "Death On The Road" DVD. The song sounded terrible tuned a full step down, to the point that how Bruce sounded was practically a non-issue. I'd have loved to have heard Bruce singing the song in it's original tuning.... :(

Overall, I love this song very much. It's definitely one of the best songs on "The X Factor", and deserves a place amongst Maiden's all-time greatest hits.
 
I took this from the Now Playing thread. Is Lord of the Flies the only song that Maiden ever tuned down?

Also, might the downtuning explain Janick's messy playing in that intro riff? I never liked the music in the live version much and to be honest, the following decreases my appreciation even more.

Sara said:
Oops, I thought I'd posted the video I'd just uploaded! lol :oops:

Here it is! :)

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Saapanael said:
I had no idea they played it in D on DotR.
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Sara said:
Yep... it's a mystery why they tuned down specifically for that song. Anyways, I never liked how it sounded in D tuning, so I made a version in E tuning with Bruce singing... which I think sounds a lot better. :)
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Sara said:
Yep... it's a mystery why they tuned down specifically for that song. Anyways, I never liked how it sounded in D tuning, so I made a version in E tuning with Bruce singing... which I think sounds a lot better. :)
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I think it's incredibly weird (almost unfair) that they did tune down a Blaze-era song for Bruce, and did not tune down difficult Bruce-era material for Blaze. Not that I would encourage any downtuning for Maiden -rather select songs a singer can sing- but this is inconsequent, or at least, odd.
 
Would you rather hear it in the regular key and listen to a singer struggle and miss notes?
I'd rather hear the song done right. I hardly see anything fake about it.
 
Forostar said:
I took this from the Now Playing thread. Is Lord of the Flies the only song that Maiden ever tuned down?

Also, might the downtuning explain Janick's messy playing in that intro riff? I never liked the music in the live version much and to be honest, the following decreases my appreciation even more.

I think it's incredibly weird (almost unfair) that they did tune down a Blaze-era song for Bruce, and did not tune down difficult Bruce-era material for Blaze. Not that I would encourage any downtuning for Maiden -rather select songs a singer can sing- but this is inconsequent, or at least, odd.
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To my knowledge, it is the only song they've ever played in a lower tuning, yep. Quite what made them decide to do that, is beyond me. Actually, I think there's been an extra guitar line added to the intro in the "Death On The Road" version... I think H plays it, and it makes the intro sound weird, cos that part isn't in the studio version. It's that which makes it sound "messy" rather than Janick's playing of the actual main riff I think. :)

Yep, what makes it even stranger, is they never downtuned for the other Blaze songs which Bruce sang on previous tours ("Man On The Edge", "Sign Of The Cross", and "The Clansman"). Also, interestingly, "Lord Of The Flies" on that "Death On The Road" tour was the last time they ever played Blaze material with Bruce I believe. Maybe they also felt it was a failed experiment?
 
Mosh said:
Would you rather hear it in the regular key and listen to a singer struggle and miss notes?
I'd rather hear the song done right. I hardly see anything fake about it.
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Not sure. Perhaps I am too principle about it but for me, it doesn't feel right. I guess I rather don't hear the song anymore.

About why they did it this time:
I think Bruce wanted to sing the song one octave (or two at the end?) higher than Blaze and he just couldn't make it, so instead of singing it lower like Blaze does (and which Bruce might not like or is not able to do so well), they adapted the song to Bruce's range.

Sara said:
Actually, I think there's been an extra guitar line added to the intro in the "Death On The Road" version... I think H plays it, and it makes the intro sound weird, cos that part isn't in the studio version. It's that which makes it sound "messy" rather than Janick's playing of the actual main riff I think. :)
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Aha! It's H making things messy this time. Will listen next time with focus!
 
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I'm pretty sure Adrian has tuned down his low E string to D, for example on RiR.

Not sure what you mean by Adrian adding a line to the intro, Sara. Watching the video, I hear a crackling sound (touching the strings) and then Janick messes his way through the intro. It always sounded sloppy to me but it's listenable.
 
Another disturbing aspect: When that intro comes back, Janick (or more people) and Nicko are not in sync with each other.
 
Saapanael said:
I'm pretty sure Adrian has tuned down his low E string to D, for example on RiR.

Not sure what you mean by Adrian adding a line to the intro, Sara. Watching the video, I hear a crackling sound (touching the strings) and then Janick messes his way through the intro. It always sounded sloppy to me but it's listenable.
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RIR? Yep, I know H sometimes has his low E string dropped to D, but the Death On The Road version of LOTF is the only occasion where all 3 guitarists were playing in D Standard tuning.

There is definitely a guitar part during the intro riff in the Death On The Road live version which wasn't on the original recording. I dunno if H plays it, but it must be him or Davey, as I'm sure the actual main riff is played by Janick...
 
Mother of Mercy is also tuned down a whole step. Talisman and Legacy have some funky tunings as well. Those are the only ones that jump to mind.
 
Mosh said:
Mother of Mercy is also tuned down a whole step. Talisman and Legacy have some funky tunings as well. Those are the only ones that jump to mind.
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Mother Of Mercy is in D? I never knew that... then again, I've never tried to play it, which is surprising, as it's my fave song on TFF. :lol:
 
Yea it is! You would think drop D but there are a lot of open chords that require the whole guitar to be tuned down. I imagine this was done because of Bruce, he can barely hit that high D in the chorus, imagine him trying to go for the E. :p
 
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