Moonchild

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How good is Moonchild on a scale of 1-10?

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    13
Right off the bat with the folksy acoustic intro followed immediately by a synth line, we know this album is going to be something different Maiden. Moonchild has probably given me more chills than any other Maiden opener. But unlike a lot of other Maiden openers, it functions well as both an energetic opener and a solid song on its own. Bruce's singing is aggressive but he hasn't lost his operatic touch. It has a lush reverb laden sound but a bit less dated than the previous album. A lot of subtle touches to this too, like the pinch harmonics during the chorus. Love the bridge and the way it builds into the guitar solos. One of my favorite Adrian solos followed by one of my favorite Dave solos. Both solos really add to the mood of the song and the overall buildup. This is one song that never lets up. Also Steve's bass playing is top notch as always. Maiden has to be the best balanced Metal band in terms of where the instruments sit in the mix. Nobody is too loud or too quiet. That's a point for Martin Birch.

10
 
Phenomenal intro with the acoustic lilt into jangly keyboards into thunderous drum roll into those aggressive vocals.

Brilliantly paced opener. There's a certain subtlety in the verses which I like too. Doesn't quite have the scope or a powerful enough chorus to be anything more than

8
 
Second best opener until IESF came along. It sets the mood for the album perfectly.

Amazing song
9/10
 
This song is one of the most 'evil' Maiden songs, I guess you could say. I wasn't all that impressed the first few times I heard it, given Bruce's rasp in the song, but it's a favorite for me now. Also features one of Nicko's most interested drum beats. Hands-down, the best way to open an album. 10/10.
 
9. Great opening to a fabulous album. The acoustic "seven deadly sins" intro presents the album's story and concept really well, and the song's lyrics serve as a fantastic first chapter. The synths create a mystical atmosphere that carries on through the rest of the album, and the song overall is very energetic, especially live.
 
The first album I bought with my own money, having listening to my brother's records for a couple of years before. I remember not being super enthusiastic back then, thinking the total track being over long for example (I was young, ok?) Also i didn't like the synthesizer intro at all. I'm still not a super fan, but it works fine. I think I read somewhere that Adrian wanted it played with a delay effect on the guitar but that they didn't get it to work. I guess that's why they didn't that way in 2009. I like that version of the intro a lot more :)
The rest of the song I fantastic, one of my favourite openers.
 
Moonchild is the opener for the Seventh Tour,the peak for the band imo. So from this perspective i just love to listen to this song cause reminds me the chill on my back and the shaking of my knees when i saw them live in Athens back in 1988 for the first time.
 
Over a sparse acoustic intro, Bruce sets the stage for the entire album. A guitar note fades in, and an ominous synth lead with guitar accents slowly builds before breaking into an aggressive, excellent melodic verse.

Bruce turns on the theatrics to play his role in the story for this song -- Lucifer. The verse builds in intensity and melodicness as it goes along (love the ringing guitar notes here) before giving way to a catchy chorus that doesn't quite fulfill the promise of the verse. Great bass fills here.

Another round of verse (with an unfortunate off-key moment on "shall not grow old") and chorus, and we cut into an excellent spooky bridge followed by a great solo and an excellent one (again with great bass fills). Another round of the bridge builds back into the chorus before a heavier reprise of the synthy intro carries us out, with Bruce cackling underneath.

A fantastic opener held back slightly by a not-quite-stellar chorus and a pretty bad off note in one of the verses. On balance, still a robust 9/10.
 
An acoustic opening with Bruce's iconic "seven deadly sins" shtick starts to build up with the help of synths and guitar, before erupting into a ferocious number sung from the point of view of Lucifer himself. Bruce is showing the first song of the rasp that will be used in full on the next two albums (and Tattooed Millionaire), and it works very well, especially given the context. This is a huge song with a lot of headbanging moments, and is more sinister than most of the band's songs. It's the perfect way to open an album, and a great song beyond that. 9
 
I can't decide which song I dislike more, Moonchild or Prodigal Son. Prodigal Son is un-Maiden in all the wrong ways and boring. Moonchild is just incredibly annoying and THE most overrated Iron Maiden song. The intro is great. Verses have weird lyrics, which I really dislike. Bruce is using some awful Ronnie James Dio parody-voice, and it sounds like he's trying to fuck up the song on purpose. The chorus is somehow even worse. Bruce's singing in the chorus is some of the most infuriating things I've heard in a metal song. The instrumental work is really good in the song, thank God. Fortunately, the Flight 666 live version exists, since Bruce sounds a lot more tolerable there.
 
Other than CSIT, Moonchild is the best opening Maiden track.

Edit: Shit. Forgot about Sign of the Cross. Sooo, behind that one too.
 
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