My Maiden Top 10 (unusual list I'm sure)

SirRobbins

Ancient Mariner
The lists are returning during Covid! I have spent weeks dissecting all of their albums and breaking down everything.

So here is my very unusual top 10 Maiden albums with each song ranked based on my ratings here in the album commentaries. It will be in descending order from #10 to #1.

#10 - The Number of the Beast
Average 7.0

Invaders - 5
Children of the Damned - 10
The Prisoner - 10
22 Acacia Avenue - 8
The Number of the Beast - 7
Run to the Hills - 4
Gangland - 4
Total Eclipse - 5
Hallowed Be Thy Name - 10

Invaders - starts off good but the chorus kinda just ruins it for me. It's a fun song like Heaven Can Wait but nothing special about it

Children of the Damned - one of the finest singles they have done. Slower pace but heavy, great riffs, solo, vocal performance and feeling.

The Prisoner - a brilliant, rocking riff from Adrian on this one! Rocks all the way through

Number of the Beast - a great rocker but nothing special. Bruce's most iconic scream I believe (though Rime is awesome too)

Run to the Hills - never liked this song. I suppose it's like invaders, fun to hear once in a while but nothing special and I think overrated and overplayed

Gangland - I really don't find much I like about this song

Total Eclipse - again, it's an ok song

Hallowed Be Thy Name - no description needed. This song speaks for itself
 
#9 Fear of the Dark
Average 7.58

Be Quick or Be Dead - 9
From Here to Eternity - 6
Afraid to Shoot Strangers - 8
Fear is the Key - 7
Childhood's End - 8
Wasting Love - 8
The Fugitive - 8
Chains of Misery - 6
The Apparition - 6
Judas Be My Guide - 9
Weekend Warrior - 6
Fear of the Dark - 10

From Here to Eternity, Weekend Warrior, The Apparition, Chains of Misery and Fear is the Key are mediocre to me...

Be Quick or Be Dead - a great, energetic song! Nothing special but it rocks!

Afraid to Shoot Strangers - aside from the long intro, this song is awesome. Once the solo starts, it's brilliant.

Childhood's End - a great opening riff and rockin song

Wasting Love - a great, slow tempo song from them

The Fugitive - great rockin song with some interesting bits

Judas Be My Guide - probably my favorite on the album

Fear of the Dark - self explanatory
 
#8 A Matter of Life and Death
Average 7.60

Different World - 7
These Colors Don't Run - 8
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - 8
The Pilgrim - 10
The Longest Day - 9
Out of the Shadows - 7
Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg - 8
For the Greater Good of God - 10
Lord of Light - 8
The Legacy - 9

A very consistent album. Pretty awesome across the board.

The Pilgrim is my favorite track on the album along with FTGGOG and The Longest Day. Lots of awesome solos, guitar tone, melodies and as I stated, consistent across the whole album..
 
#7 Dance of Death
Average 8.09

Slightly more consistent than AMOLAD was this gem that took about 2 years to grow on me aside from 2 songs. Several strong songs on here and multiple great tracks. I don't find a truly weak track on this album these days.

Wildest Dreams - 7
Rainmaker - 8
No More Lies - 9
Montsegur - 7
Dance of Death - 9
Gates of Tomorrow - 9
New Frontier - 7
Paschendale - 10
Face in the Sand - 9
Age of Innocence - 7
Journeyman - 7
 
#6 The Book of Souls
Average 8.27

If Eternity Should Fail - 8
Speed of Light - 7
The Great Unknown - 7
The Red and the Black - 10
When the River Runs Deep - 7
The Book of Souls - 10
Death or Glory - 7
Shadows of the Valley - 9
Tears of a Clown - 8
The Man of Sorrows - 10
Empire in the Clouds - 8

Brilliant album from them. Saw them on opening night in 2016 and was blown away from the tracks. I did myself a favor and waited on judgements until after hearing them live. Red and the Black was awesome! My favorite track is Dave's once again, The Man of Sorrows.


#5 Piece of Mind
Average 8.44

A classic phenomenal album that rocks across the board. Though NOTB had a few stronger songs, this album had more consistency and variety I felt.

Where Eagles Dare - 10
Revelations - 9
Flight of Icarus - 7
Die With Your Boots On - 7
The Trooper - 10
Still Life - 10
Quest for Fire - 7
Sun and Steel - 7
To Tame a Land - 9

Where Eagles Dare was the best opener to this time period blowing away the prior 3 album's openers. Revelations is a brilliant song. The Trooper is classic Harris, Still Life is classic Dave and To Tame a Land is a rarity that I feel is underappreciated. Much of it can be heard in Rime on Powerslave.
 
Without lists, the universe is a meaningless pile of randomness. E.g. how can one listen to random Bucket, without the context. There is no order, no chronology, no development, no era, no depth. Other music: when I listen to a new album, the first thing I do, is looking at a list of songs. At a list of people (line-up). The list of list-your-lifetime-long is an endless list.

That said, I'm afraid there is another subforum where this belongs.
 
The lists are returning during Covid! I have spent weeks dissecting all of their albums and breaking down everything.

Children of the Damned - 10


Invaders - starts off good but the chorus kinda just ruins it for me. It's a fun song like Heaven Can Wait but nothing special about it

Children of the Damned - one of the finest singles they have done. Slower pace but heavy, great riffs, solo, vocal performance and feeling.

just when I thought that Children of the Damned couldn't get any better, the live version on "The Book of Souls: Live Chapter" has crushed my soul into little bits - even better than the Live After Death version IMHO
 
Reported for personal threats.
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#4 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Average 8.62

Moonchild - 6
Infinite Dreams - 10
Can I Play With Madness - 6
The Evil That Men Do - 10
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - 10
The Prophecy - 8
The Clairvoyant - 9
Only the Good Die Young - 10

Very strong album and unlike Somewhere in Time, I feel Adrian's work wasn't as impressive. His songs get the low ratings on this one while Steve nails it nearly every track.

Infinite Dreams is the icing on this cake. Phenomenal build up, opening riff, lyrics, etc. Just awesome. One of my top 5 favorite Maiden tracks, period.
Only the Good Die Young is my second favorite on the album and wish it could have made it live at one point.

Really well produced all around but lacked the power of SIT..

#3 Powerslave
Average 8.75

Aces High - 9
2 Minutes to Midnight - 8
Losfer Words - 8
Flash of the Blade - 8
The Duelists - 8
Back in the Village - 9
Powerslave - 10
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - 10

Probably their best "purist" album and one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Solid consistency across the entire album. One of the greatest live albums in music followed this release. Live After Death.

The artwork, world tour, live versions and recreation tour in 2007 were all brilliant!

Not one song gets below an 8 for me on this one
 
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