Mother Russia

How good is Mother Russia on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    13
Brilliant song on a not-so-brilliant album. 10 in the context of the album, but since we're talking individual songs here, 9.

Btw, love the 1:55-2:35 bit. Sounds fucking epic, shame they never did it live. :(
 
Already commented on this one. :p

Though, I must add, I think its only flaw was being made too short. It feels like an in-the-making extended epic which was cut short (even more than "Run Silent Run Deep"). If it were made into a full 8 or 9-minute song, it would definitely be a 10.
 
This album’s ‘epic’ song is a very creative piece of music, and like all of the trademark Harris epics, it definitely has several moments of genius. However, it misses something to make it a truly great song. It’s enjoyable, for sure, but it could have been better. 7/10
 
A great song actually! I love the melodies in this one, but the lyrics isn't all that great. The arranging could use some work as well, it feels a bit like they actively tried to make it a bit shorter then it should be. Still one really strong song and a nice ending to the record.
 
An epic harmonized opening gives way to a spookier interlude, then cuts into an exotic marching riff. The verse continues the march with some awkwardly phrased and rote-melody vocals before breaking into a lush melodic interlude that cribs a section from "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" before rolling into a pretty cool pair of solos on top of a marching beat.

Another extended solo alternates with harmonized breaks before returning to a final verse and reprise of the spooky earlier section.

Interestingly, this song has no chorus. Or maybe it has no verse, and the verse is the chorus. Anyway, the structure is interesting, and if we ignore the self-plagiarism the music is pretty satisfying. The verse vocals are a bit awkward, though. 7/10.
 
Gotta love the twin guitar work. This is almost the last time we get a satisfying use of the Maiden harmonies. After this simg Steve decided that for the most part he should use doubling octave guirars or even single melody guitars in his songs. Thus the magic was lost.
 
I gave this song a six but I'm torn between feeling that was too generous or too harsh.

I find that Steve's songs are usually ripped on for being overly repetitive, but I think this song actually suffers from the lack of repeats. It just breezes by so quickly that none of the riffs - while very strong and very unique sounding - make much of an impact. After the first verse finishes I expect Bruce to come in with the second - but we're already at the instrumental middle section? The Seventh Son (the song) rip-off at this point is very jarring and given that this is barely two years after the Seventh Son album it makes it obvious that Steve was out of ideas. I do like the solo section though, particularly Janick's, and the trade off section that follows is very good - again quite unique compared to other Maiden songs.

In short it's much the same as the rest of the No Prayer album - some good ideas that were very poorly executed.
 
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8. The intro is awesome and everything else is pretty good also. If it had a chorus I would give 9/10.
 
Very good song, the epic of the album. It has great riffs through it and a fantastic solos section. The oh-oh part with the keyboards is amazing (mystic melodies). For sure, it is a underrated song, but I think it is a classic Maiden stuff. The song is with a perfect length. 9/10.
 
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A chillingly beautiful intro bursts into a pumping riff as Bruce calls upon the northern land in a five minute epic like no other. "Mother Russia" evokes everything Russian like you've never heard before, and asks what will happen with it now that the USSR is tumbling to the ground. It's a great song, though its short length holds it back a bit. Great closer though. 8
 
The melodies hinted at in some of the previous songs are finally fully on display here, in the pseudo-epic album closer. The music conjures up images of cathedrals and winter, before Maiden launch into a pretty cool groove. Bruce is going a little too rough in the verse, and I think the tempo is a little too fast to get that real connection needed. The instrumental section is decent but really is just a rehash of “Seventh Son”. Steve’s failure to think outside the box is the song’s downfall. Once we hit a faster beat it just isn’t such a much and it ends so fast it seems pointless. The final verse should be more emotional than it is. Overall a mixed bag of a song that thinks it’s more than it is. It’s okay, but nothing compared to previous Maiden epic closers. 6/10
 
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