New Single - The Writing on the Wall

J

johnglen

Educated Fool
Zare said:
United States is a fashionable country that liked Maiden only because they had the shock factor and the live grandeur.

Your statements are the bussiness case of Maiden. Their numbers have been dropping since SiT, which is the third headlining tour they've done in that country. And been plummeting ever since, only to rise up the bar again with Brave New World. Why on earth should anyone cater to market that's been either meek or straight out hostile for them for the better part of their career.

25 years ago Maiden was playing bars in USA and stadiums in South America. You don't deserve the album you want.
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I am not from the U.S.
 
Forostar

Forostar

Ancient Mariner
Maturin said:
Iron Maiden, from a marketing standpoint, is a dream of a brand in most aspects.

Not just musically, even though they still at retirement age are producing material which gets people super excited.

I just find the discussion of musical direction through the years a bit tiring. The music industry is weird. It's well documented that bands whose records failed to perform or which failed to reach the heights of previous efforts were put under gigantic pressure in the 1980's. A lot of people depended on their success for work. Record companies had a lot of say in most stuff. On the other end, there are stories like George Lynch and Michael Wagener (confirmed) running the guitars for a million dollar record through a cheap Fostex casette recorder to get 'crunch' (which by the way, worked - the Under Lock and Key guitar tone is glorious), hiding the process under a blanket when the executives came looking.

To my point, unless there is some serious discontent within the camp (not likely at this point) no one will confess to what happened between any change of direction. The only well-documented case is firing Blaze to get Bruce back and no one would ever say that was a bad decision, wherever it came from.

But please let's not pretend there aren't market forces likely involved and accounted for in most decisions made. The only completely free artists are the ones in their own bedrooms doing it for fun.
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I find discussion about marketing and the industry more tiring. ;-P
 
Josh

Josh

Ancient Mariner
Some of the complaints on the YouTube video that the song sounds western are killing me too. So it's fine for Maiden to go full blown Egyptian, Aztec, write songs about a poltergeist pool, a marathon runner and things that go bump in the night but as soon as there is a western ting well watch out. Now they've really gone too far!
 
Maturin

Maturin

Sköldpadda
Josh said:
Some of the complaints on the YouTube video that the song sounds western are killing me too. So it's fine for Maiden to go full blown Egyptian, Aztec, write songs about a poltergeist pool, a marathon runner and things that go bump in the night but as soon as there is a western ting well watch out. Now they've really gone too far!
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I think it really has to do with the association to the different styles. Western music is seen as very simple, traditionally. It's not something to build epic Maiden-style compositions on.
 
lovey

lovey

Invader
Loved it. Song was bog-standard Maiden. I loved the build-up, the clues etc., & am a lil bit sad it’s over. I’m glad to not feel ill now; I literally thought the announcement would be their split.

I’ve always loved animated series. To me, the white-haired guy looks like he’s in a wheelchair or some sort of life-sustaining chair. He doesn’t need either, due to the greatness of the song. I’ve read somewhere it was/is a retelling of Bible stories, so I just might be right. Bruce seems very keen to know whether I‘ve “seen that writing” xx
 
D

Deuces High

Nomad
1. The video is, possibly, the best Maiden video ever. Even during their "prime" IM's videos have been more clichéd than innovative. This video was GREAT!! Really loved it.

2. The lyrics were kinda weak (especially the chorus), but just getting a new Maiden song is still something special. I could complain... but I suspect I'll keep listening till I dig it. Catchy is catchy, and this is catchy AF.

3. Regarding the reported length of the song -- 6.13 -- I wonder if that was deliberate? Given the subject/inspiration of Daniel, the #613 has a very powerful meaning in Kabbalah & Judaism.
 
L

Littestu66

Nomad
I know mine is just an old man opinion,but I really dig TWOTW. It’s just a cool song. Sure, it has a southern rock vibe at the beginning (kinda reminds me of Molly Hatchet actually), but it’s also got that Maiden interlude after the first solo. The chorus sounds familiar to what they have done in the past as well. And the voice of Bruce makes it instantly recognizable.
The second solo is just badass. I give the tune a 9 out of 10. To me it may be the best “single” since 2000.
 
Randalf

Randalf

Ancient Mariner
That Eddie design originates from the 2011 Japan event shirt and was also used in The Legacy of the Beast game. Eddie from The Writing on the Wall video, albeit very samurai-inspired, isn't exactly the same design as in the event shirt/LOTB game/beer.
 
M

MindlessPieces

Educated Fool
johnglen said:
Anyway I am old enough to have been a Maiden fan during the Powerslave era and let me tell that was the peak of the Maiden craze, it was the closest they got to crack the U.S mainstream. Had they actually released a powerslave2 after Powerslave , instead of SIT, they would be like Metallica in the U.S. That was their big missed chance,
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Oh boy. Give me Maiden over Metallica any day.

Metallica haven't put out anything good in 3 decades.
Maiden just keep pumping out great tracks and albums.

Metallica died with the release of the black album and the rubbish that came since. They became compromised. Commercial rubbish in the black album, attempts to recreate the black album with load and reload rubbish, The headache inducing St Anger, the WTF lulu. The brickwalling of Deaf Magnetic.
They got famous in USA due to one song and video. Enter sandman and have been living off that for the next 30 years.

Shihad, a fantastic NZ band tried to cater to the USA market. It almost killed them as a band. They changed their name to Pacifier, they tried to put out hits. It was a disaster. They came back to NZ and Aus with their tails between their legs.
Bands are far better off sticking to what they want to do than to compromising themselves and trying to bend to the commercialism and stupification of the USA market.
 
R@inmaker

R@inmaker

Educated Fool
I disagree on damning the Black Album. BA has plenty of good songs. Sell-out/poppy? Sure, okay. But the songs are solid. They work. There's definite groove and they still hit it hard with My Friend of Misery, Of Wolf and Man, and Struggle Within. It is indeed the beginning of the end but I kinda get tired of metalheads damning the album as some sort of sell-out. Where were they supposed to go after the awesome-yet-insane complexity of what I personally consider the great metal album of all time - AJFA ??? The trio of RTL/MOP/AJFA will never be toppled as the greatest run of albums by any metal band ever. Kill 'Em All and Black Album are nice bookends. Every after? Sure, yeah, they suck to varying degrees...no argument there!
 
Meliegree

Meliegree

Sound of distant drums
Maybe im stupid. I understand how important is market. But you should do what you want to do. Play music that feels right to you.
 
Twarkle

Twarkle

Nomad
R@inmaker said:
I disagree on damning the Black Album. BA has plenty of good songs. Sell-out/poppy? Sure, okay. But the songs are solid. They work. There's definite groove and they still hit it hard with My Friend of Misery, Of Wolf and Man, and Struggle Within. It is indeed the beginning of the end but I kinda get tired of metalheads damning the album as some sort of sell-out. Where were they supposed to go after the awesome-yet-insane complexity of what I personally consider the great metal album of all time - AJFA ??? The trio of RTL/MOP/AJFA will never be toppled as the greatest run of albums by any metal band ever. Kill 'Em All and Black Album are nice bookends. Every after? Sure, yeah, they suck to varying degrees...no argument there!
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The production is great as well. Metal hadn’t had an album with that type of super slick production up to that point. Of Wolf and Man never gets enough love. I also have no problem with poppy, lots of amazing musicians and song writers out there and the majority of them don’t play metal.
 
runsilentrundeep

runsilentrundeep

Nomad
After a couple of days and many listens I find myself genuinely enjoying the song a lot more. My only real criticism is that the intro is way too stretched out due to that downscale section that (in my opinion) should have been cut out

I know it is a slightly contentious point but for me the song has what I would call a southern rock or country rock feel which really threw me as I was expecting something dark to go with the Bels Feast poster. This sound just doesn’t feel like maiden to me (my maiden is reunion maiden btw). I have seen some posts saying it is folk but it is filed in my brain under country now, probably doesn’t help that the video is in a desert and the bikes and cars

i’d still put TWOTW towards the bottom of the reunion material but I am sure most of the reunion lead singles apart from Wickerman and Benjamin would rank like that for me

In any case, for whatever reason after being on what felt like a continuous maiden binge since 2018 I found myself listening to virtually no Maiden over the last few months. The whole teaser campaign culminating with the song has pulled me right back in and I have been spinning (one my absolute favourites) TBOS for the past couple of days on repeat

also hope they release a Bels Feast t shirt at some point
 
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