New single: Stratego

Honestly, I hate it. Can hardly hear Bruce and just sounds generic rock rubbish. Don't like it at all.
I don't know why everyone is saying the vocals are low in the mix.
Maybe my headphones present it differently to me?????
But Bruce sounds upfront and centre to me

The most noticeable thing is the voice and the drums.
The solo is entirely forgettable.
The song is very simple and straight forward.
But on a positive note the production sounds great, finally they have invested time and money on production.

TWOTW sounded a bit muddy compared to this song.
Personally I like TWOTW more as a song, just more to it, more interesting, great guitar solos on that song too.
But I'm happy with both songs, really looking forward to hear the more longer songs to come.
 
Is it just me or the main riff is really heavy? It is quite noticeable at the end of the song.
I wouldn't consider this song heavy at all. It is really light and fluffy whipped up into some really strong egg white peaks.

People that are saying this has X Factor vibes are just crazy, X Factor was dark, brooding and depressive with drumming that was jarring and didn't flow. Gollum chucking down some mud covered worms, meanwhile the birds dropping from the skies due to some unforeseen sickness.

This song is straight forward and flows like a gentle stream on a sunny summer's day. Little fluffy bunnies frolicking in the fields, a few brightly coloured butterflies drifting and dancing in the gentle breeze.
 
I love the fact that they are doing something diferent than usual with both singles. In some of the previous albums I coud almost get a grip of the song on first listen. Now there seems to be some layering and thought behind the songs. I do not see the repetition of the previous albums too. I must say that I really get people who might not like what we heard so far...then I can also understand people that do like the music. Music is a very personal experience. I for once feel fulfilled with both songs so far. They seem to move away from the ordinarily made songs.
 
There are too many places to talk about the singles! :lol: I'm absolutely loving this great song! I'm keeping an eye on our local rock station's archived playlist to see when they'll first play it which should definitely happen since they're playing The Writing OTW.
 
One more thing, cause I always got to moan about something. I can hear a lot of copy/cut/paste in the song. Reminds me of my Maiden song edits.
 
The verses are weird, its almost like its going for that spoken verse vibe that Sabaton to but the execution is bad. Rest of the song is a bit better but overall poor.
 
I think this song will be the opener for the album tour. It will work great imo.

The singalong chorus will be fantastic live.
 
Someone mentioned on Youtube that it's a mix of TFF and Powerslave album. I tend to agree somewhat. Rythmically this song is reminiscent of El Dorado and Powerslave's overal guitar chugging. Minor gripe: Bruce is too low in the mix. Itself, the song is very good.
 
I really like the song overall. That intro riff sounds evil. Melodies and harmonies are excellent. The chorus is amazing.

Personally I feel Nickos drumming is a bit off during the intro, he's not quite got the rhythm down so there's a couple of dodgy kick hits.

Mix is fine, but the kick could do with a bit more thump to balance out the click imo. I'm not a huge fan of the keyboard sound.

Solo is so full of Janick-isms that it sounds like it's been copied from 2 or 3 of his other solos on previous albums.
 
Personally I feel Nickos drumming is a bit off during the intro, he's not quite got the rhythm down so there's a couple of dodgy kick hits.
I have read similar comments elsewhere, but as a person who focus on the drums at a level of obsession, I cannot find where Nicko misses it. Can you tell which second you hear the problem?

Overall, my only problem with the song is Bruce's low volume. I am a bit angry about it because the song would be perfect if they were a bit more careful about mixing.
 
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