New single: Stratego

Anyone else hearing noticeable differences in production/mastering between the two new songs? I've listened to them back-to-back on Youtube, Spotify (lossy) and Apple Music (lossless) and TWOTW is louder and much much clearer. Stratego sounds quieter and more muffled. They almost sound like they were mastered completely differently. I'm concerned if this is what the final album will sound like as going from one to the other is pretty noticeable.

I'm using the same equipment for each play so I doubt it's that - these should sound similar across the board I would imagine.

I know others have pointed out production inconsistencies about albums before (AMOLAD in particular) but I've never ever really noticed those. This I seemingly can't unhear and am hoping it's some weird issue with the uploaded files.
 
Donner said:
Anyone else hearing noticeable differences in production/mastering between the two new songs? I've listened to them back-to-back on Youtube, Spotify (lossy) and Apple Music (lossless) and TWOTW is louder and much much clearer. Stratego sounds quieter and more muffled. They almost sound like they were mastered completely differently. I'm concerned if this is what the final album will sound like as going from one to the other is pretty noticeable.

I'm using the same equipment for each play so I doubt it's that - these should sound similar across the board I would imagine.

I know others have pointed out production inconsistencies about albums before (AMOLAD in particular) but I've never ever really noticed those. This I seemingly can't unhear and am hoping it's some weird issue with the uploaded files.
Click to expand...
I don't think one is louder than the other. I have been mostly listening to it on Spotify that's what I prefer over YT. They are mixed slightly differently. Both fit the respective song to my ears. It's common to mix songs slightly differently.

Many mention BNW here. I don't agree. Both songs sound better than BNW and definitely better than any subsequent albums. At last you can hear the guitars too. The drum tone is much better finally.

The song itself, the vocal melody line is reminiscent of Bruce solo material. Fortunately I don't hear any VXI here like on BNW.

What stands out, the sound here is not tiring like on AMOLAD or BOS.

I am very satisfied so far.
 
Arrakis said:
I don't think one is louder than the other. I have been mostly listening to it on Spotify that's what I prefer over YT. They are mixed slightly differently. Both fit the respective song to my ears. It's common to mix songs slightly differently.

Many mention BNW here. I don't agree. Both songs sound better than BNW and definitely better than any subsequent albums. At last you can hear the guitars too. The drum tone is much better finally.

The song itself, the vocal melody line is reminiscent of Bruce solo material. Fortunately I don't hear any VXI here like on BNW.

What stands out, the sound here is not tiring like on AMOLAD or BOS.

I am very satisfied so far.
Click to expand...
Great, maybe it's just me then ha, you never know.

I really liked the sound on TWOTW, but maybe that has more to do with what kind song it is. It is a bit more sparse and open, allowing for some of those production tricks to stand out a bit more.

We still have 70+ minutes of new music to look forward to in less than 2 weeks and I cannot wait!
 
Listening to Jan's solo is like meeting an old friend for the first time in 6 years, such unmistakable sound, I love it. Overall song's pretty good and the chorus is amazing, I just got a little disappointed about the production after enjoying it a lot on TWOTW. I do agree that the latter was much better though, mainly because of the outstanding solo section.
 
After several listens I think “Stratego” is a good song with some cool parts, but it’s not quite great.

The Good:
  • Familiar trademark gallop
  • Great vocal melodies and nice use of vocal harmony
  • No lyric repetition in the chorus
  • Nice abrupt ending, none of this circular intro/outro bullshit
The Not-So-Good:
  • Vocals sound dry and muffled like The Final Frontier, but with reverb added to partially counteract it
  • I hate having guitar leads double the vocal melody underneath, it just sounds trite
  • Solo is another directionless, lazy Janick special
  • Interlude after the solo feels a bit empty
  • The keyboards sound a little out of place
  • Bad song title, not sure why you’d want to invoke images of a board game without good reason (yes, I know it’s a French term, but still…)
Still good overall, though — probably on par with “These Colours Don’t Run”. I can work with that.
 
The_17th_Son said:
Lots of people disliking the solo. I think it doesn't help that they are (essentially) playing a single chord for the entire duration, it limits what you can do in the solo quite a bit.
Click to expand...
Janick wrote the song. He could have had as many chord changes he would have liked. He plays the same bag of notes in every song recently. You could interchange his solo in Ghost of the Navigator, Paschendale, Dance of Death etc with the Stratego solo. The whole thing has a jamming over a rhythm track feel rather than sitting down and working out the phrasing of each section and packing it with melodies and licks

Lack of memorable solos have been one of my main complaints for recent albums from all the guitarists. Even Dave's solo is half-assed in TWOTW and only saved by the beautiful and memorable one from H. I hope there is more solos of that standard in the album. Adrian's solo in Wicker man, Dave's solo in Brave New World/Rainmaker or Janick's solo in Afraid to Strangers is the gold standard in my opinion
 
Last edited:
I like the solo too. The only nitpick I have it Bruce's volume but overall I think the song is seriously very good. I was never instantly hooked like this with any song from TBOS. Also, I'm just really excited we got a second song before the album release. Two is the perfect amount to get ready for the full album I feel.
 
Last thing I want from Janick is repeating the vocal melody with some bends in the solo. I get yall like the Blood Brothers moment, for me its too restrained.
 
I've decided that Stratego ties Aces High as my most favorite single ever released by Maiden! I don't count Empire OTC. And the only reason Aces High is tied is because the verses are my most favorite vocals in the history of everything I've ever heard. But as far as the song as a whole goes, Stratego is just incredible! My only very slight issue is I wish there was another chorus right after the second pre-chorus. Oh well. And kind similar to The Alchemist, the first verse leading the the chorus (and I can't leave out the beautiful part after) is 5 separate vocal parts in row! WOW! Just too incredible of a song!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top