Maiden's multi-generational fan base - what's the magic?

I'm twenty now and I kind of envy you old chaps who have listened to them for decades.. seriously.

It's sad for me that I found this amazing band let's say quite late, because who knows how long they'll manage to take it all physically.

Why Maiden?
I really can't find right words to describe it, but their music is for me just ingenious. Awesome pure energy, beautiful melodies and great singers through the history. I don't listen to metal much, I don't like heavy thrash stuff etc but Maiden just stole my heart.
 
chaosapiant said:
I thing one of Maiden's biggest attributes is that their music is absolutely timeless.  If I listen to an old Judas Priest album, for example, I can say "that came out in the 80's, sounds like it."  But Maiden has never bowed to any trends, and thus have always stood apart from what was popular.  Albums like Seventh Son or Powerslave seem to just "exist" without any real relation to when they came out.  Some bands just have it like that.  Pink Floyd is another example of a similarly timeless band.
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I agree with this, I'm 17 and I have been listening to Maiden for 2-3 years. I don't really know how to describe it either but when I first started listening to them I didn't look too deep into it, I just really really loved the music they came up with. For me, Iron Maiden just makes perfect music. Its just recently I've been learning the stories behind the lyrics etc. and its very interesting.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
You really, really need new friends.
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yh, any time i try to back him up they always go to there one fall back. 'killswitches (killswitch engage's) version of holy diver is way better' (not). Theyre the kind of people to express their opinion as unquestionable fact. in order to counteract this and to amuse myself i tend to spout Adrian quotes at them  :smartarse:
 
You know, a somewhat effective way to counter their arguments is A KICK TO THE NUUUUUUUTS




Seriously, who talks trash Dio the day he dies? I can get not liking him, but come on!
 
Ha, none of my friends even know who Dio is.

A bit of an exaggeration.

1 does, he loves Ozzy era Sabbath and thinks they want downhill after, alas.
 
None of my friends even like metal, haha. Although they never make fun of metal or Iron Maiden or claim stupid things haha. One of my friends even borrowed some of my maiden CD's to give them a shot cause he saw how much I liked them. He never really got into them but he still realizes they are an amazing band. Besides, I still love to listen to Led Zeppelin and AC/DC so me and my friends usually play more 'classic rock' stuff when we listen to music together.
 
I think it's the general attitude that appeals young audiences: no one will judge you if you're just a teenager who has just heard of the band.
For me (and I consider myself a younger fan - 4 years) it is important that those songs mean something. I've never felt that they're underestimating their listeners by trying to sell them meaningless, empty songs. That matters.
 
There is a place for party rock, I am not sure I would crank up Benjamin Breeg at a beach party (well, maybe i would), but there is a limit to how many bang some chick in a car/get drunk and party songs you can listen to.  Maiden really hits on the level of rocking out, but you can also sit and think about the songs, it is the heart and the head.
 
Jupz said:
None of my friends even like metal, haha. Although they never make fun of metal or Iron Maiden or claim stupid things haha.
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Lucky you. I was listening to When The Wild Wind Blows when I was driving a few of my friends and they were like "Who's this?", I told them Maiden and they genuinely said "Oh but there's no screaming (meaning the growled death metal type vocals, not as in the NotB scream)" and I died inside.
 
Jonszat said:
Lucky you. I was listening to When The Wild Wind Blows when I was driving a few of my friends and they were like "Who's this?", I told them Maiden and they genuinely said "Oh but there's no screaming (meaning the growled death metal type vocals, not as in the NotB scream)" and I died inside.
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LOL, that kind of things has happened to me too. Whenever my friends happen to hear a metal song in my presence (The Day That Never Comes, for example) they're like "wait, that's catchy. I thought it was all screaming and shrieking and mindless violence". And, while not a metalhead (I consider myself an omnivorous music lover) I always try to tell them that yeah, there's lots of screaming-shrieking-mindless violence-free metal out there.
 
On the other hand, I know some people who like metal music but avoid Iron Maiden. Their explanation: they're too soft, it ain't real metal. Oh dear.  :o
 
TheDarkGift said:
On the other hand, I know some people who like metal music but avoid Iron Maiden. Their explanation: they're too soft, it ain't real metal. Oh dear.  :o
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those people are the dumbest people you canfind. People like that really annoy me. Someone once told me that Maiden used to be metal (we were listening to POM) but now since bands like Lamb Of God are out, albums like POM arn't metal anymore. I was ready to rip his head off when he said that. That is just the stupidest thing you can possibly say. I'm sorry but that is just one of my biggest pet peeves.
 
The Knife Master said:
those people are the dumbest people you canfind. People like that really annoy me. Someone once told me that Maiden used to be metal (we were listening to POM) but now since bands like Lamb Of God are out, albums like POM arn't metal anymore. I was ready to rip his head off when he said that. That is just the stupidest thing you can possibly say. I'm sorry but that is just one of my biggest pet peeves.
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It's just insane! I know I never care about all the labels and stuff, why bothering with that? And seriously, if someone won't listen to a good band just because, in their opinion, it's not "tr00 metal", they are idiots.
 
I've heard statements similar to those you've mentioned, TheDarkGift and The Knife Master. A friend of mine is into metal (less than in the past, though) but he thinks that Metallica and Iron Maiden are boring. I've noticed that it's quite the fad to write off Metallica and Iron Maiden (as examples of old bands) as a bunch of senile farts who can barely write songs. Those people don't seem to realize that without Metallica and Iron Maiden there'd be no "new" bands... but all in all I could care less about their opinions.
 
TheDarkGift said:
On the other hand, I know some people who like metal music but avoid Iron Maiden. Their explanation: they're too soft, it ain't real metal. Oh dear.  :o
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I know a bunch of people like that. Although most of them will say it is metal, but too soft or happy for their taste. I've given up on trying to convert them.

Still, I can somehow understand them. If you're into serious black and death metal, then Maiden will sound very tame by comparison. I'm into Maiden not because of the "heavy" or "evil" aspect of their music - although that is why I got into them at first - but because of their musical quality. A band like Marduk is certainly much more in your face than Maiden, but don't have much more going for them, in my opinion. It's great stuff to get you pumped when you're out of coffee, but doesn't do much for casual listening.

On the other hand, there are also many snobbish Maiden fans. Many reject any black and death metal because of the vocals or the aggressiveness. I admit I have had much trouble getting into it myself, but all the while, I found it immensely rewarding. It takes a lot of time to appreciate a band like Anaal Nathrak and their musical quality, but it is worth it.
 
Perun said:
On the other hand, there are also many snobbish Maiden fans. Many reject any black and death metal because of the vocals or the aggressiveness. I admit I have had much trouble getting into it myself, but all the while, I found it immensely rewarding. It takes a lot of time to appreciate a band like Anaal Nathrak and their musical quality, but it is worth it.
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There's a difference.  Most people who reject Maiden as "not heavy enough" at least know Maiden to a certain degree, whereas those who don't care for death/black metal sometimes haven't even tried.  What irks me most is when proper death growling is dismissed as "screamo".

Then again, one "not heavy enough" person I know once called St. Anger Metallica's best album, and he was 100% serious. :huh:
 
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