Most underated songs

425 said:
Regarding 2 A.M.:

So, yes, DLttEoaS has a quiet section twice as long as The Clansman's. I will readily admit that if you are bored by quiet sections and you just want smashing riffs and speed, then this is not the song for you. However, I think it should be noted that the quiet section of The Clansman is essentially the same music repeated 4 times. DLttEoaS is musically similar through its quiet section, but it continues to build tension, getting louder as it progresses through. So it's really not comparable to just doubling the length of Clansman's mid section.

As it turns out, DLttEoaS's fast, frantic section is nearly 2 minutes, nearly as long as the slow section. As my little chart down there shows, if we split the song into fourths, about 1/4 is the intro and conclusion with their choruses, about 1/4 is the slow, building section, 1/4 is the frantic section with the solos, and 1/4 is the verses and choruses following them. I don't really think that any one part of that song is too repetitive.

DLttEoaS breakdown:
0:00 - 1:27 intro (first two choruses), slow, dramatic music
1:27 - 2:32 verses, faster, less dramatic
2:32 - 3:19 choruses, reprise of the earlier dramatic music
3:19 - 5:22 slow, building section behind "Don't look to..."
5:22 - 5:56 fast, exciting, frantic section
5:56 - 6:05 solo
6:05 - 6:18 fast riff again
6:18 - 6:32 solo
6:32 - 6:59 fast section continues
6:59 - 8:03 conclusion (similar to intro, 2 choruses)
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Now, I didn't write that the slow section was the last half of the song, but that the last half of the song had little variation (and that was a comparison with Alexander the Great). But I'll admit that I was not very precise when writing that the last half of the song was just one musical theme over and over. It is two.

1. The part from 3:19 to 5:22. This is the part where I drew a parallel to The Clansman. Whereas I think that part in The Clansman is a little long, but tolerable, I find this one as going on way too long. I can see how it makes sense with several repetitions, as the intensity increases for each, but it becomes too long-winded when you have that repeating lyric line over it. Imagine the mid-part of Rime of the Ancient Mariner with a lyric line repeated 16 times ... or, I rather won't. And in fact, I like slow and atmospheric parts in metal songs. In fact, the contrasts between slow, atmospheric parts and heavy riffs is one of the things I really like in heavy metal songs. After all, my favourite song is Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

2. The part from 5:22 to 6:59. Okay, it includes the solos, but that rhythm section alone is enough to ruin the song. I suspect this section was the main reason for the conspiracy theory some proposed - that Steve Harris was playing drums on this album. You may find it exciting, I don't, but that's only a matter of taste.

To conclude my contribution about this song: I didn't really emphasize the lyrics, I meant to highlight that you can dislike this song while loving AtG without being hypocritical. That would mean to agree with your points 1, 2 and 3, but disagree on point #4, and I don't see that as hypocritical.
 
425 said:
5:22 - 5:56 fast, exciting, frantic section
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Muppet drum section!
+ also:
5:56 - 6:05 solo
6:05 - 6:18 fast riff again
6:18 - 6:32 solo
6:32 - 6:59 fast section continues

Seriously, this song really has nice atmospherical moments, but these fasts parts blow it for me. It turns into some kind of Muppet Show track. This kind of fast tempo was done way better on Prowler and on Brighter than a Thousand Suns.
 
I know I song that's more complex than both of those combined. It's a new song, it's entitled "Call Me Maybe." Yep, way more sophisticated than any silly Iron Maiden.
 
DLTTEOAS is a song that has always frustrated me, as it has the potential to be a great song, but in the end, it falls quite a bit short from being that. I love the intro, and the way the song builds up, before crashing into a genuinely fantastic riff that creates a great sense of tension. However, even this section (THAT riff and the verses) is let down by an uncharacteristic drum performance by Nicko which feels dull, lifeless, and phoned in. Nicko at his best would have heightened the tension further by adding neat litte fills, especially just before each verse starts, but he doesn't do that, and that takes some life even out of what should have been an awesome section of the song. The mid-section that constantly repeats itself is too long for it's own good, and kills any momentum created by the first phase of the song.

I like it for sure, but in the final analysis, it is merely a good song, when it could so easily have been a great one... wasted potential! :(
 
I will agree that it's good not great. I think I've made it abundantly clear (or tried to do so) that I don't think this is one of Maiden's best, not by a long shot, but that I don't think it deserves to be put down as often and as fiercely as it is. I would say there are even lesser songs on that album (I would rank it 5th or 6th Virtual XI).

In addition, I will say that I don't pay much attention to the drums in this song, as to me it is characterized by the dramatic guitar sounds, so maybe people have now called my attention to something that will annoy me forever… That sounds a little harsh, but I will just say (since I'm semi new) that I really like this community a lot, so I really don't have any reason to complain.
 
425 said:
I will agree that it's good not great. I think I've made it abundantly clear (or tried to do so) that I don't think this is one of Maiden's best, not by a long shot, but that I don't think it deserves to be put down as often and as fiercely as it is. I would say there are even lesser songs on that album (I would rank it 5th or 6th Virtual XI).

In addition, I will say that I don't pay much attention to the drums in this song, as to me it is characterized by the dramatic guitar sounds, so maybe people have now called my attention to something that will annoy me forever… That sounds a little harsh, but I will just say (since I'm semi new) that I really like this community a lot, so I really don't have any reason to complain.
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Well, I haven't personally seen DLTTEOAS being put down as much, or as fiercely as some of Maiden's other songs for sure. I would agree that it's probably not one of Maiden's absolute worst songs, even though it's certainly not among the best either. I would also agree about there being lesser songs even on "Virtual XI", although again, it's not amongst that album's best numbers either.

Haha well, I guess some people might call it "nitpicking", but when it comes to Nicko, he set the bar very high for himself on his very best work. So when he falls below that level, it's something that's very noticable to my ears, and it does have a detrimental effect to the songs. Just as his best drum work enhances the songs on which it appears.
 
Delta51pwned said:
Top 5 most underated
1. Drifter
2. Fear Is The Key
3. Assassin
4. Run Silent Run Deep
5. Sun and Steel
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Personally, I disagree. I think these are rated quite accurately by most people as mediocre Iron Maiden songs. Songs are only underrated if they haven't "seen the light of day" so to speak, don't get played live much by the band, or most fans don't know them or have overlooked them. I think most people know these songs exist, they're just not good so there's nothing to underrate there (I know some will disagree with me on Sun and Steel).
 
Out of those 5 songs, I'd only class Fear Is The Key and Drifter as medicore. I love the other 3 and see them as immensely underrated.
 
Delta51pwned said:
Can Someone Tell Me Why Drifter is Mediocre? I love this Song, It's One of my Favorites
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For me personally, the song just doesn't grab me in anyway... it's not catchy, nor intense, it's just non-descript. It's not a bad song it's just... there's nothing about it to write home about really.
 
Natalie said:
they're just not good so there's nothing to underrate there.
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Hehe, that's just it! Usually, when someone finds a song underrated, it is because others have rated it too low and inaccurately in the eyes of the one who thinks the song in question is good.
 
@Forostar: Exactly! A song couldn't be classed as "underrated" if it was generally loved and seen as great by the majority of Maiden fans (and the band). Any song that is not generally regarded as great or a classic can legitimately be called "underrated", if someone happens to love that song.
 
Yes.

edit 572:

Advocating that a song is not underrated works when a majority likes it.
Advocating that a song is not underrated does not work when a majority dislikes it.
 
Clearly, because the general consensus do not correspond with my own opinions, the following songs are underrated:

Out of the Silent Planet, Age of Innocence, Face in the Sand.

This is of great concern and requires mucho discussion!
 
No, if someone happens to love a song that others don't, that doesn't make it automatically underrated. The person who loves it happens to love it is all. I don't want to go in to personal taste and whatnot, but there has to be some substance to a song, something about it, that makes it worthy of the status of "underrated"...meaning that it has something others have over-looked.
I enjoy Hooks in You. Very few others do. Would I argue its underrated? No. Its not a good song. But I like it anyway.

In other words, in the specific case of Drifter, it is up to Delta51pwned to make a case for why its special and why the rest of us should rate it higher than we do.
 
I edited my previous post so often (sorry, I could not find the right words) that I'll post it here again:

Advocating that a song is not underrated works when a majority likes it.
Advocating that a song is not underrated does not work when a majority dislikes it.
 
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