Maiden's attitude towards new releases

nuno_c

A hollow universe in space
Let's be honest... It's quite common for artists to praise their newest release. Many times because they're still really attatched to it, and other times because of marketing reasons.

But in Maiden's case, given the fact that they're one of those few bands who seem to really care about everything they do, what do you guys think?

Is Maiden the kind of band that truly believes in their most recent release at the time or, kind of like Kiss, do they just say it because of marketing reasons?
 
It's hard to imagine that they wouldn't be happy with the new album. After all, they decided to release it :D And albums aren't the most profitable part of being in a band anymore, so the motivation for pretending to be happy with it isn't really there.

I think most artists will sincerely think their most recent work is among their best, because it is the best they could make at their current stage of their careers (and lives, for that matter). Maybe, ten years from now, they'll look back and think that this album was not as good as, say, Brave New World, and that they never topped Seventh Son. Or maybe they'll still think this one is among their best work. We don't know.

By the way, does anyone here know of any band interviews where any band members tell which album they like the most?
 
As above. I remain convinced they were genuinely proud of AMOLAD. And as for The Book of Souls, I can't imagine them making a double album if they didn't genuinely feel every one of those songs deserved to be released. I'm pretty damn sure Bruce is exceptionally proud of Empire of the Clouds!
 
But we've also heard Nicko saying how proud he was of Virtual XI, and i honestly can't really take that seriously :blush:
 
It's hard to imagine that they wouldn't be happy with the new album. After all, they decided to release it :D And albums aren't the most profitable part of being in a band anymore, so the motivation for pretending to be happy with it isn't really there.

I think most artists will sincerely think their most recent work is among their best, because it is the best they could make at their current stage of their careers (and lives, for that matter). Maybe, ten years from now, they'll look back and think that this album was not as good as, say, Brave New World, and that they never topped Seventh Son. Or maybe they'll still think this one is among their best work. We don't know.

By the way, does anyone here know of any band interviews where any band members tell which album they like the most?

Yup. There you go! Starts at 4:40

 
I liked what Janick said. It was something like you should never say it's the best album you've made, but the best you could have made at this point in your career.
 
It's funny to see Nicko say every album is the best they've ever made at their respective time of release lol. At least he admits it lol.
 
Is Maiden the kind of band that truly believes in their most recent release at the time or, kind of like Kiss, do they just say it because of marketing reasons?
Yes, I believe and think that Maiden is very happy about The book of souls album, positive reviews and the success it had during the first days :) this time they also have had extra time to make sure they are 100% happy with the final product, due to Bruce's illness.
 
But we've also heard Nicko saying how proud he was of Virtual XI, and i honestly can't really take that seriously :blush:
Why, because you don't like it? Or because of the rumours that Nicko buried Blaze to Steve after the album tour?

I expect the band liked the music, or they wouldn't have released it. Am I glad it's not a musical direction they continued with Bruce and H back? Yes, I really am. But I don't think VXI is that bad. There's a lot of it would have sounded better if... but I still like the album quite a lot. There's no reason to suggest that at the time they thought it wasn't a good sound but went ahead and released it anyway because reasons.
 
Why, because you don't like it? Or because of the rumours that Nicko buried Blaze to Steve after the album tour?

I expect the band liked the music, or they wouldn't have released it. Am I glad it's not a musical direction they continued with Bruce and H back? Yes, I really am. But I don't think VXI is that bad. There's a lot of it would have sounded better if... but I still like the album quite a lot. There's no reason to suggest that at the time they thought it wasn't a good sound but went ahead and released it anyway because reasons.
I like the album, i'm actually one of those people who like every single Maiden album for what they are. It's just that there seems to be a bit of lack of enthusiasm on that album from the drumming department, you know?
 
Is Maiden the kind of band that truly believes in their most recent release at the time or, kind of like Kiss, do they just say it because of marketing reasons?

Well. it's a bit of both really I think. As artists, Maiden are driven also by creating new stuff and pushing themselves. I don't think that they have the same rose tinted glasses on when looking at albums in the past that many fans might have. It's always about looking forward. That said, Nicko would never sit down in an interview and say "Yeahh, It's OK...but the last album we did was much better" ;)
 
Why, because you don't like it? Or because of the rumours that Nicko buried Blaze to Steve after the album tour?

I expect the band liked the music, or they wouldn't have released it. Am I glad it's not a musical direction they continued with Bruce and H back? Yes, I really am. But I don't think VXI is that bad. There's a lot of it would have sounded better if... but I still like the album quite a lot. There's no reason to suggest that at the time they thought it wasn't a good sound but went ahead and released it anyway because reasons.

It's been said numerous times that 'reunion' style started with The X Factor in 1995. Long songs / prog parts / social commentary lyrics.
With that in mind, I see Virtual XI as a slight deviation from that path, no more than Dance Of Death was. DoD also builds on epics set by BNW, but also has a shorter-punchier-track approach.

In my opinion, neither album (VXI/DoD) did well with the slight change in approach. It's not that style is wrong, it's just that these shorter songs aren't as good as they used to be in the 1980s. They mostly came out as filler.
 
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's a great metal track. Too bad none of that live power was captured in studio.
 
VXI and DoD were transitional albums. Without them we wouldn't have Brave New World and AMOLAD respectively, and you can hear the foundation of those albums in their predecessors. Honestly I think BNW has more in common with Virtual (in a good way) than any other reunion album, musically speaking.
 
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