Lord of the Flies

[Vaenyr]

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.

 

[dickinson1978]

You know what, here in 2025 i just watched the lord of the flies video. I cant recall to watch it bsck in 95

 

[srfc]

You know what, here in 2025 i just watched the lord of the flies video. I cant recall to watch it bsck in 95

The single was somewhat cancelled, there was supposed a proper single release similar to Man on the Edge planned, so that the discs would fit in the box that came with Man on the Edge, but this never happened, instead only 1 CD came out in only a few countries. So this might explain why the video was never shown at the time.

 

[Spaldy]

I dislike the studio version. Nicko plays almost the entire song on an open hi-hat like Lars. Barely any dynamic, drumming wise. Guitars are too low in the mix. Blaze sings in too low of a register.

My pet theory is that the song was originally meant to be played in the key of Em (like in DOTR) but they switched it up to F# (following the intro riff) to accommodate Blaze's register. Otherwise, why have a pointless key change 30 seconds in to the song?

The DOTR version is superior in every way. Performance, vocals and mix.

 

[naranja]

I dislike the studio version. Nicko plays almost the entire song on an open hi-hat like Lars. Barely any dynamic, drumming wise. Guitars are too low in the mix. Blaze sings in too low of a register.

My pet theory is that the song was originally meant to be played in the key of Em (like in DOTR) but they switched it up to F# (following the intro riff) to accommodate Blaze's register. Otherwise, why have a pointless key change 30 seconds in to the song?

The DOTR version is superior in every way. Performance, vocals and mix.

I like the key change for the verse
Gives it some energy

Also I far prefer Blaze on the verses of this song, Bruce just sounded bored

Also wouldn't it be better for blaze to sing this in the lower key of the DOD version so I don't get your theory

 

[Maturin]

I dislike the studio version. Nicko plays almost the entire song on an open hi-hat like Lars. Barely any dynamic, drumming wise. Guitars are too low in the mix. Blaze sings in too low of a register.

My pet theory is that the song was originally meant to be played in the key of Em (like in DOTR) but they switched it up to F# (following the intro riff) to accommodate Blaze's register. Otherwise, why have a pointless key change 30 seconds in to the song?

The DOTR version is superior in every way. Performance, vocals and mix.

Honestly? The key change is anything but pointless. It's one of the most effective key changes in their entire catalogue and a great example of how to (not-so-subtly) increase the energy and an understated but nonetheless bombastic arrival of the verse riff - which is simple, but really cool. I love it.

 

[TheTalisman]

Lord of the Flies live 1995 (2 min footage) + some other tracks.