Maiden old or new

Which is the better material old or new

  • Old

    Votes: 17 51.5%

  • New

    Votes: 16 48.5%
  • Total voters
    33
If you put me on the spot, I'd have to say new. I have been listening to Maiden since I was 4 years old (No Prayer was my first album), but it wasn't until Brave New World was released and Bruce came back that I became a true diehard. I've followed them since then with intense fanaticism and they are the soundtrack to my youth, adolescence, formative years and beyond. Brave New World sent me down a path of metal, playing guitar, Dance of Death was the soundtrack was the soundtrack to me finishing high school, going out into the world and becoming a man. AMOLAD was the soundtrack to going to University. Final Frontier was with me as I got to grips with my first job. The Book of Souls took me out of what was an awful time for me and my family; the anticipation of it, starting with the news that Bruce was ok right up to release day... Listening to The Book of Souls on release day was the first time in months I felt truly happy.

The older material is great, and as I discovered those albums retrospectively I definitely love them all for different reasons. In fact, although Brave New World is my favourite album, 7th Son and Somewhere in Time are 2nd and 3rd respectively. I just don't have that emotional connection to them like I do with the 2000-onwards material. Objectively I just couldn't say. They're all good in different ways.
 
I voted new because I find myself listening to the post reunion albums more nowadays, but that's because 1) They're awesome and 2) I've not heard them quite as much as the 80's/90's albums.

Silly question though.
 
Robbiedbee said:
If you put me on the spot, I'd have to say new. I have been listening to Maiden since I was 4 years old (No Prayer was my first album), but it wasn't until Brave New World was released and Bruce came back that I became a true diehard. I've followed them since then with intense fanaticism and they are the soundtrack to my youth, adolescence, formative years and beyond. Brave New World sent me down a path of metal, playing guitar, Dance of Death was the soundtrack was the soundtrack to me finishing high school, going out into the world and becoming a man. AMOLAD was the soundtrack to going to University. Final Frontier was with me as I got to grips with my first job. The Book of Souls took me out of what was an awful time for me and my family; the anticipation of it, starting with the news that Bruce was ok right up to release day... Listening to The Book of Souls on release day was the first time in months I felt truly happy.

The older material is great, and as I discovered those albums retrospectively I definitely love them all for different reasons. In fact, although Brave New World is my favourite album, 7th Son and Somewhere in Time are 2nd and 3rd respectively. I just don't have that emotional connection to them like I do with the 2000-onwards material. Objectively I just couldn't say. They're all good in different ways.
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I fully agree with this, I only ever became fanatical about them post 2000. Even listening to the older albums during the 90's I always thought they sounded dated compared to Metallica. However the new stuff is a more modern sound which supercedes anything Metallica have ever done or are even capable of. The lyrics and songwriting has moved on along with the live performances. I recently saw them live at download festival England and the new material was fantastic. In fact watch the highlights on sky arts and you'll know what I mean.
 
I love it all. So I'm assuming the comparison is pre Blaze vs. Brave new World to the present? Enough already. We are blessed to have Iron Maiden. It is the same band. A tweek in the lineup here and there. But the same. They were the greatest then, and still are.
Maybe this rubbish comparing of the eras is birthed by the fact that comparing them to other bands is a moot undertaking. They are the best now, and always have been. It is simply a continuation of excellence.
 
IMO the best albums :
1. Piece of Mind
2. Powerslave
3. Dance of Death
4. Seventh Son
5. A Matter of life and Death
6. # of the Beast
7. Killers
8 Brave New World
9. Somewhere in Time
10. Final Frontier..........

A mixed bag of greatness. As you can see. Old isn't better than new or viseversa. Not taking into account sound production. Just overall song quality and strength of the albums' material. :cheers::shred:
 
I think it's cool that quite a folks enjoy the new albums better than the older ones. It helps to cement the band's legacy and keeps them vibrant. I enjoy the new stuff as well.

Having said all of that, I think you "new albums are better" folks are crazy :p.
 
I think the new albums are as strong as the old albums. I don't think they are better, I just think that Maiden has generally put out damn good albums, and (most importantly) they have never followed up a disappointing by comparison album with another of such albums, except for that one time (looking at you, Fear of the Dark).
 
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Fear was better than NPFTD, and I think it's a little overhated here, but yeah, nowhere near the upper echelon of Maiden albums.
 
Yeah, that's one thing I won't take away from the haters, The Apparition and Weekend Warrior are cringe-worthy.
 
Since the NPFTD/FOTD discussion just keeps popping up... my issues with the albums are such: I think overall, the No Prayer songwriting is the weakest of all the albums. That doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's below average by Maiden standards. The album has some low points in my opinion (Holy Smoke, Hooks in You) and a few highlights (Fates Warning, No Prayer for the Dying), while some of the songs aim high but ultimately don't hit the mark (Tailgunner, Run Silent Run Deep, Mother Russia). Overall, it's neither an extremely good nor an extremely bad album, and most of the songs just sit there. It's pretty consistent on the quality level with no major positive or negative outbreaks. I think some people judge it overly harsh, while others completely overrate it.

Fear of the Dark is quite different. It is very uneven. Some songs are absolutely stellar (Be Quick or be Dead, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Childhood's End, Judas be my Guide, Fear of the Dark) while others are pretty much the worst the band have produced (From Here to Eternity, Fear is the Key, The Apparition, Weekend Warrior) with a few dull songs in between (Wasting Love, Chains of Misery, The Fugitive). Some of the songs could be better had the writing been more polished or the playing more passionate.

I'm a bit uncertain about whether it's justified to single these two albums out in the Maiden discography, however. They are very different for the reasons I mentioned and others, especially stylistically. The only thing they really have in common is the lineup. You can still hear traces of what had come to pass with Seventh Son in No Prayer, and you can hear hints of what was to come with The X Factor in Fear of the Dark. So much that I'm actually of the opinion that the albums have more in common with their respective predecessor/successor than with each other.
 
Perun said:
Since the NPFTD/FOTD discussion just keeps popping up... my issues with the albums are such: I think overall, the No Prayer songwriting is the weakest of all the albums. That doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's below average by Maiden standards. The album has some low points in my opinion (Holy Smoke, Hooks in You) and a few highlights (Fates Warning, No Prayer for the Dying), while some of the songs aim high but ultimately don't hit the mark (Tailgunner, Run Silent Run Deep, Mother Russia). Overall, it's neither an extremely good nor an extremely bad album, and most of the songs just sit there. It's pretty consistent on the quality level with no major positive or negative outbreaks. I think some people judge it overly harsh, while others completely overrate it.

Fear of the Dark is quite different. It is very uneven. Some songs are absolutely stellar (Be Quick or be Dead, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Childhood's End, Judas be my Guide, Fear of the Dark) while others are pretty much the worst the band have produced (From Here to Eternity, Fear is the Key, The Apparition, Weekend Warrior) with a few dull songs in between (Wasting Love, Chains of Misery, The Fugitive). Some of the songs could be better had the writing been more polished or the playing more passionate.

I'm a bit uncertain about whether it's justified to single these two albums out in the Maiden discography, however. They are very different for the reasons I mentioned and others, especially stylistically. The only thing they really have in common is the lineup. You can still hear traces of what had come to pass with Seventh Son in No Prayer, and you can hear hints of what was to come with The X Factor in Fear of the Dark. So much that I'm actually of the opinion that the albums have more in common with their respective predecessor/successor than with each other.
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Good points on NPFD. I think it was several changes at once - Adrian leaving, the stripped down production, the shift away from prog, Bruce's introduction to his new raspy vocal style, and the introduction of "social commentary" lyrical content were a lot to take in all at once Add to the fact that "grunge was coming" (it hadn't fully arrived in the mainstream in 1990, but Nine Inch Nails and Alice in Chains were making waves at the time and I remember a shift in the general rock scene), and I think NPFD just had a lot of things working against it. Plus, it doesn't help that it happened to to follow one of the biggest records in their history.

I still don't know what to think about FOD...even after all these years later. I remember when I first picked it up in the store; I was excited by the Transylvanian/haunted woods theme, and I remember being blown away by Be Quick of Be Dead...but then things started to fade from there.
 
I can agree with everyone else here that NPFTD was just in general somewhat lackluster rather than genuinely bad (except Mother Russia, one of my least favourite Maiden songs) but I have always felt FOTD is significantly better than most people rate it.
 
Peron hits it on the head: "unpolished" "lack of passion" (paraphrase). I feel that can describe both of the albums, fotd and no prayer. Take more time and complete the idea of the song correctly. It's like you know WHAT they were going for, but didn't finish. With exception of a handful of songs, the albums aren't as good because the follow through isn't there.
A little ...laziness maybe? Not to be offensive. At any rate those days are over and the albums are once again kicking ass one after another...
 
I must be the only person in the world that not only ranks fear of the dark as one of the best maiden albums I actually don't think theirs a single duff track on the album.

The classic tracks that people love to hate on I think are great. From here to eternity is a brilliant rocker and I think the apparition is a fun little track. The weakest on the album is weekend warrior but it's not bad enough for me to skip. I like the lyrics to weekend warrior too and did sum up a certain culture in England from the 80's and 90's.

I think FOTD gets way too much hate. I know people are entitled to their own opinion but every time I hear someone running the album down its the same old stuff "the apparition is terrible" "contains some of the worst stuff maiden have wrote" etc, etc.

I'm sure theirs a lot of genuine loathing out their for FOTD but the comments are so similar all the time that I can't help but think that some people have just read too much on the Internet and have been trained to not like the album. It's like any newish fans that came on board the maiden train who weren't around when FOTD was released have read that it's a crap album and so immediately hate it.

What gets me is that it went in at number 1 on the uk album charts. Onky the third time maiden have reached no 1 in the U.K. It's not like they were riding the crest of a wave after no prayer for the dying either. It charted well in other countries too so their must be a big silent majority who do like the album they just don't frequent forums :)

EDIT: one other thing I see mentioned all the time is the drastic change in Bruce's vocal style. Yeah ok he did add a bit of gravel to the style but he still sings with that operatic soar he always has. Listening to some people you'd think he suddenly started to sing like rid Stewart on this and NPFTD. I would say I think FOTD represents one of the finest vocal performances of Bruce's career which is surprising considering his head was totally not in the game around this time as he was plotting his exit.
 
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Wayne Bond said:
I must be the only person in the world that not only ranks fear of the dark as one of the best maiden albums I actually don't think theirs a single duff track on the album.
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Not one of the best for me (not top 3 and maybe not even top 5), but I agree wholeheartedly :ok: (BTW my first avatar used to be the FOTD cover for the first year I've been visiting here and, well, my nickname...)

I like both. I think both stand out, because there's no album in Maiden discography that would sound quite the same. Although they might have been going for a "back-to-basics" approach at the time, the albums are still very different from either the debut/Killers or a generic hard rock (and I would know, because I really don't like generic hard rock).

No Prayer might be weaker and some of the tracks are pretty obvious missteps (Mother Russia, RSRD), but in general the album is quite fine, listenable, there are some amazing tracks (the title cut, for example) and I never understood the irrational hatred for some of the songs (Hooks, Daughter). The worst I could say is that it's mediocre, but a mediocre Maiden album still beats a lot of the competition, IMHO.

Fear is absolutely amazing and I never understood the hate. It's a very colourful album (well, Be Quick, FHTE and ATSS are actually only the first three tracks), it has many killer tracks (FOTD, ATSS again, Childhood's End, The Fugitive, JBMG, even Wasting Love for me) and even though some of the songs might be slightly worse (Apparition, Chains), these are still enjoyable and listenable. It also has this very specific "90's" atmosphere that brings me back to my childhood and creates weird images of tenement blocks in the sunset and evening family trips to a video rental shop in my mind. :D

Robbiedbee said:
Listening to The Book of Souls on release day was the first time in months I felt truly happy.
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I know that feeling. After a year of health problems and panic attacks and stress from final exams in University (that could mean all 5 years would be flushed down the toilet if I failed and some of the examiners were quite sadistic), listening to the new reunion Maiden album in five years has been a real treat.

Voted for the new Maiden. I'm a reunion sucker. Not to say I don't like the 80's stuff, but considering AMOLAD is my #1 album (and has been for quite some time), I can hardly pretend I'm a "Play Classics" fan :D
 
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