Lyrics on the X Factor

Prowler_108

Trooper
I've seen a lot of people say that The X Factor has some of their best lyrics, but I highly disagree.  I think the lyrics are much too literal and sometimes cringe worthy, like Lord of the Flies or The Edge of Darkness.  My example would be "They brought it up just like room service..." What are your guys thoughts on this?
 
Most of the lyrics (from that song) are quotes from the movie Apocalypse Now. And when did Maiden write good lyrics anyway? :p It turns out that the most thought-provoking lyrics (Hallowed...) were ''borrowed'' from another band. I like the The X Factor lyrics because they sound honest, they are not ''acted'' like on previous albums.
 
I realize it was based on the movie, and there were some quotes, but as a whole the album's just not great lyrically IMO.
 
It's not always about the words themselves, but the delivery.  Blaze has a lot of conviction behind the words on this album, and that means more to me than the words themselves.  Similar to the song "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner."  Very literal and somewhat goofy lyrics when read aloud, but Bruce sounds like he's really there on his last wind just trying to survive.  I believe in context over substance.  The X Factor has context in spades, and just enough substance to support it.
 
Same with Lord Of The Flies which is based on the book/movie of the same name and Man On The Edge is based on the movie Falling Down.
 
That doesn't give them an excuse to write cheesy lyrics.  It's still a brilliant album but just the lyrics more and more irk me.
 
Prowler_108 said:
That doesn't give them an excuse to write cheesy lyrics.  It's still a brilliant album but just the lyrics more and more irk me.

I disagree. The Aftermath is perfectly balanced. So is Sign of the Cross. Man on the Edge and LotF are rockers. They've always been that way. I rather like Judgement of Heaven and Blood on the World's Hands.

2 AM....yeah.
 
"He can't even give birthday presents!"  :lol: I agree with you to some degree, some lyrics are quite cheesy, but Maiden makes up for it with other brilliant lyrics and, of course, amazing musicianship.
 
Well, my luck is that I'm not a native English speaker so I have no troubles to switch off my internal English->Czech translator :) I do not care about lyrics as long as they are not dumb too much. For me, the music is important, and from the musical point of view, TXF easily gets to my top three (top one :)
 
Sign of the Cross has amazing, complex lyrics.  The Aftermath, Fortunes of War, Judgement of Heaven, and Look for the Truth are not as good as Hallowed, but nonetheless the typical Maiden first-person narrator talking about his problems or what have you.  The Edge of Darkness is up there with the best Maiden story-telling songs.  Blood on the World's Hands is a political song.  I enjoy the lyrics to all of these, so I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about.  There's no Revelations or Rime, if that's what you mean, but those are few and far between; and there's also no Quest for Fire or Alexander the Great.  And, like Chaosapiant said, it's also about the delivery, which Blaze excels at on this album.  The album lacks Bruce lyrics (duh), but Blaze's delivery more than makes up for that.
 
Invader said:
The album lacks Bruce lyrics (duh), but Blaze's delivery more than makes up for that.
I believe that this is one of the strongest point of this album, which is one of Maiden's best. Blaze has this certain power and sincerity to his voice which makes it sound like he was "actually there" if you get my drift.

Invader said:
there's also no Quest for Fire or Alexander the Great.
Invader, why did you stack these two together? What do they have in common lyrics-wise?
 
pilau said:
Invader, why did you stack these two together? What do they have in common lyrics-wise?

They were the first two lyrically bad songs I thought of.  Quest for Fire more so than Alexander, I'll admit.  Quest for Fire is just historically inaccurate ("in a time when dinosaurs ruled the land..."), and Alexander sounds more like a third-grader's presentation of Alexander's life (though I love the song itself).
 
Quest of Fire's lyrics are definitely silly, and I never really got into the lyrics for Alexander the Great but I understand then what you meant.
 
There are a few cases on The X-Factor (and also, Virtual XI) which are about as subtle as a slapped arse. In most cases though, I don't think it harms the song. Some others:

Lord of the Flies - "I like all the mixed emotion and anger"
Man on the Edge - "This car is an oven and baking is wild" (not Harry though)
2AM - "I get in from work at 2AM and sit down with a beer"
When Two Worlds Collide "Even my computer shows there are no errors in the calculation"

It is clear to me that Bruce's lyrical maturity was sorely missed. I think Harris' lyrics can definitely be a little over literal sometimes. TFF Spoilers AHOY

When the Wild Wind Blows is a little literal in places, particularly with the making tea references
 
I nearly forgot about Look for the Truth! (It's been a while)

That songs has got my favourite lyrics by Iron Maiden. The songs structure and mood may not fit the whole, but if you read the lyrics like a poem... just perfect.

''In the house of my soul,
in rooms of ugliness and cold''
 
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