Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
Now for something entirely different. The intro was pretty unique for Maiden at the time and sounds more like what many alternative Rock bands were doing in the 90s. Once we get to the verses it feels like Maiden again though. There's some fun interplay between the verses and the pre-chorus, the letter adding some proper chords, instead of the usual power chords, making the whole thing a bit more interesting sonically.
The chorus is super simple, but also very catchy. Hear it once and you'll be able to sing along for the rest of the song. After that a reprise of the intro, before going to the solo. A pretty simple and slow solo with a very noticeable delay effect throughout. Nothing special, but it works well. Then an obligatory sing-along section, which is especially fun live. Chorus again, intro reprise and the song's done.
Gotta talk about the Death On The Road version too of course. This might be the only song that Maiden ever played in different keys live. They played it lower, so that Bruce could do an octave jump for the chorus and sing it even higher. The idea is neat, but I don't think it worked. I'm happy that they brought it back, but ultimately I prefer the studio version. Another 8.
The chorus is super simple, but also very catchy. Hear it once and you'll be able to sing along for the rest of the song. After that a reprise of the intro, before going to the solo. A pretty simple and slow solo with a very noticeable delay effect throughout. Nothing special, but it works well. Then an obligatory sing-along section, which is especially fun live. Chorus again, intro reprise and the song's done.
Gotta talk about the Death On The Road version too of course. This might be the only song that Maiden ever played in different keys live. They played it lower, so that Bruce could do an octave jump for the chorus and sing it even higher. The idea is neat, but I don't think it worked. I'm happy that they brought it back, but ultimately I prefer the studio version. Another 8.