Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Elite Eight)

Vote for one of the songs in each bracket. Avoid dividers.

  • 1. Powerslave

    Votes: 13 61.9%

  • 14. Caught Somewhere In Time

    Votes: 8 38.1%
  • Total voters
    21
LooseCannon

LooseCannon

Enterprise-class aircraft carrier
Staff member
Welcome to Maidenfans March Madness, the Nicko McBrain Madhouse Division! The matchups above are based on the 2008 Maidenfans Rankings.

A more detailed explanation will be found here.

The winner of this bracket gets the Tight Fitting Spandex Trophy and moves on to the Final (Frontier) Four to compete for the Adrian Smith Trophy of Divinity and Excellence!

Sweet 16 results:

16 Powerslave University Pharaohs (1)
7 Still Life University Hobbits (5)

15 Caught Somewhere in Time University Time Travelers (14)
8 Dance of Death University Skeletons (15)

Round 2 results:

18 Powerslave University Pharaohs (1)
1 College of The Duelists Swordsmen (9)

11 Still Life University Hobbits (5)
8 Université de Murders in the Rue Morgue Rippers (4)

3 Transylvania State Vampires (6)
16 Caught Somewhere In Time University Time Travelers (14)

9 Brighter Than A Thousand Suns Post-Graduate Physics University Oppenheimers (7)
10 Dance of Death University Skeletons (15)

Round 1 results:

21 Powerslave University Pharaohs (1)
8 Stranger In A Strange Land State Explorers (16)

9 The Educated Fool School Jesters (8 )
20 College of The Duelists Swordsmen (9)

17 Still Life University Hobbits (5)
12 Sea of Madness School of Aquatic Engineering Seals (12)

24 Université de Murders in the Rue Morgue Rippers (4)
4 Twilight Zone Night College (13)

17 Transylvania State Vampires (6)
12 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner University Marathons (11)

13 Sign of the Cross College Roses (3)
16 Caught Somewhere In Time University Time Travelers (14)

19 Brighter Than A Thousand Suns Post-Graduate Physics University Oppenheimers (7)
10 The Legacy College of War History Allies (10)

14 Aces High University Spitfires (2)
15 Dance of Death University Skeletons (15)
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Stranger in a Strange Land
The Duelists
Sea of Madness
Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Caught Somewhere In Time
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
Aces High
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave
The Duellists
Still Life
Murders In The Rue Morgue
The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Caught Somewhere In Time
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
Dance Of Death
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave
Duelists
Still LIfe
Murders
Long Distance Runner
Sign Of The Cross
The Legacy
Dance Of Death

That was extremely hard.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Stranger in a Strange Land
The Educated Fool
Still Life
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Transylvania
Sign of the Cross
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
Dance of Death
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave
Educated Fool
Still Life
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Long Distance Runner
Sign of the Cross
Thousand Suns
Aces High

Agreed, that was hard.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

The favourites, except Madness, Loneliness and Legacy.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave. Both are great, but Powerslave has great soli from both guitarists, not just one, so it gets the nod.

The Duellists. It has so much more to give musically. Lyrically, TEF would win, but both guitar, bass and drums are more interesting on the oh so underrated The Duellists.

Still Life. This is a very close contest, between one song which is about madness and one which has it in its title ... Still Life wins it because the entire mood of the song fits the insanity theme well. SOM gets credit for a great solo.

Murders in the Rue Morgue: Wins hands down. Never been much of a fan of Twilight Zone, whereas Murders in the Rue Morgue has me air drumming.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner: Another close battle, Transylvania is a great song. But I just love TLOTLDR. That part from 2:24 up to the guitar solo is just fantastic.

Sign of the Cross: It wins on the variation in moods throughout the song, from really dark to really uplifting. CSIT has one of my favourite solos from H, but SOTC has one of my favourites from Dave.

Brighter Than A Thousand Suns: It and The Legacy are my two favourites from the album, I guess I have to give it to BTATS for the mentioning of E = mc^2 :p

Aces High: Both songs are great storytelling, and have a lot of great musical ideas. Aces High beats DoD on pure energy, plus the mentioning of Spitfires :D
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

SiaSL, TEF, SL, MitRM, Transylvania, SotC, BTaTS, DoD
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave
Duelists
Still LIfe
Transylvania
CSIT
The Legacy
Aces High
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave
The Duellists
Sea Of Madness
Murders In The Rue Morgue
The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Caught Somewhere In Time
The Legacy
Aces High.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

And after the first day of competition, here's the standings:

Powerslave University leads SIASL State 15-6. The Explorers have put up a good fight but PU was expected to run away with this one. Star player Horus-Ra has 8 points so far for one of the tournament favourites.

College of The Duelists is pulling away from The Educated Fool School 13-8 in a close-ranked contest. CTD is well known for solid, hard working victories, and they seem to be setting themselves up for a run-in with fellow album member Powerslave University in the second round.

The Sea of Madness School of Aquatic Engineering Seals are losing to the Still Life University Hobbits 12-9, making this a closer race than expected in a decently spread out bracket.

Université de Murders in the Rue Morgue is trouncing the Twilight Zone Night College 18-2. The Rippers seem to be running away with this one in an obvious mismatch.

Interestingly, Transylvania State and TLOTLDRU are having a close battle. The Vampires and the Marathons are very close, with the Fanged Foes up by a single point at this intermission.

SotC College is only barely keeping its lead over CSIT University. The Time Travelers are making an early nod for the Gers Trophy by threatening to knock off a top contender in the McBrain Division.

As expected, Brighter Than A Thousand Suns Post Graduate Physics University is up over The Legacy College of War History 14-7. The Oppenheimers are giving the ol' Nuclear Football to the Allies from LCWH.

Finally, in the McBrain Division Roundup, the 2nd seeded Aces High University Spitfires are narrowly behind the Dance of Death Dance University Skeletons, 12-9. DODDU might be able to pull this one off, but would be setting up a second round matchup with the Oppenheimers. Interesting drama in the McBrain Division!
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave vs. Stranger in a Strange Land

Not a hard one, but I'm sorry to vote against the song I'm going to. Powerslave and Stranger in a Strange Land have my two favorite Iron Maiden solos. So, it's like a Battle of Solos. But the other things makes the difference. Both songs have great atmospheres and main riffs. Powerslave's main riff gives the Egyptian feeling to the listener which is the concept of the song. Stranger in a Strange Land's main riff is also great and somewhat underrated. Here's the thing : Vocals. Bruce's vocal melodies on Powerslave are far better than his melodies on Stranger in a Strange Land. Plus, Powerslave has better lyrics. Both songs worth 10/10 and both are in my Top 10 but I'm going with the slave to the power of death.

The Educated Fool vs. The Duellists

Oh man that's tough. Both songs are really good and underrated. People see Powerslave's 4 songs (Losfer Words, Flash of the Blade, The Duellists, Back in the Village) as fillers but I don't think on that way. The Duellists has a great atmosphere and gives great energy. The Educated Fool is a slow tempo but strong song. The Duellists by a neck.

Still Life vs. Sea of Madness

Another hard one. Both songs are atmospheric and strong. I worship Still Life's intro. It has amazing melodies but Sea of Madness is a more "complete" song for me. Sea of Madness by a neck.

Murders in the Rue Morgue vs. Twilight Zone

Easiest one there. Murders in the Rue Morgue is by far a better song. Fantastic intro, great up tempo progress and a great solo.

Transylvania vs. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Transylvania is one of the most underrated songs of Maiden. It's one of the best instrumentals I've ever heard. Fantastic melodies, riffs. Especially I like the rising part of the song. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is also underrated, it has amazing melodies. I'll go with Transylvania, easy one.

Sign of the Cross vs. Caught Somewhere in Time

Caught Somewhere in Time has grown so much on me in last two months. Sign of the Cross is one my favorites, it always is in my Top 15. But Caught Somewhere in Time just gives me orgasms when I listen to it. These solos wow. So hard but I'll go with Caught Somewhere in Time.

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns vs. The Legacy

I never liked The Legacy unfortunately. And Brighter Than a Thousand Suns is my favorite from AMOLAD and is in my Top 20. Easy choice.

Aces High vs. Dance of Death

Another really hard one, two masterpieces again. Dance of Death by a neck.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave
The Duelists
Sea of Madness
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Transylvania
Caught Somewhere In Time
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
Dance of Death
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Powerslave (#2 vs #8)
The Duelists
Still Life (#17 vs #19)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (only easy decision!)
Transylvania
Caught Somewhere In Time (#1 vs #7)
The Legacy
Dance of Death

This really was hard. Easily the hardest division of the 4, just put the really close ones in brackets, all the other ones were still fairly close.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

less love for the McBrain Division?
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

It also has the largest number of close races, look how narrow some of those leads are!
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

Dammit! Only two of my picks are winning.
Gotta call my bookie.
 
Re: Maidenfans March Madness - McBrain Division (Round 1)

In the McBrain Division, we saw a fair bit of drama in the first round. Here's the final scores:

21 Powerslave University Pharaohs (1)
8 Stranger In A Strange Land State Explorers (16)

9 The Educated Fool School Jesters (8 )
20 College of The Duelists Swordsmen (9)

17 Still Life University Hobbits (5)
12 Sea of Madness School of Aquatic Engineering Seals (12)

24 Université de Murders in the Rue Morgue Rippers (4)
4 Twilight Zone Night College (13)

17 Transylvania State Vampires (6)
12 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner University Marathons (11)

13 Sign of the Cross College Roses (3)
16 Caught Somewhere In Time University Time Travelers (14)

19 Brighter Than A Thousand Suns Post-Graduate Physics University Oppenheimers (7)
10 The Legacy College of War History Allies (10)

14 Aces High University Spitfires (2)
15 Dance of Death University Skeletons (15)

The McBrain Division is upset city! Huge upsets with the Skeletons just edging out the Spitfires, and the Time Travelers come from behind in the last quarter to eliminate the Roses from SotC College. Here's next round:

1. Pharaohs vs. 9. Swordsmen
5. Swordsmen vs. 4. Rippers
6. Vampires vs. 14. Time Travelers
7. Oppenheimers vs. 15. Skeletons

Interesting to see if the Skeletons can continue their run out of this division - a Cinderella battle between them and CSITU could be looming!
 
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