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RIP Jerry Lee Lewis AKA The Killer (September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022)
Why The Killer? Well, listen below song and you'll know why ;) Actually that Live is one of the greatest if not THE greatest ever.

High School Confidential.

Live at the Star Club is a 1964 live album by rock and roll pianist and singer Jerry Lee Lewis, accompanied by the Nashville Teens. The album was recorded at the Star-Club in Hamburg, West Germany on April 5, 1964. It is regarded by many music journalists as one of the greatest rock and roll albums ever, noted for its hard-hitting energy and Lewis' wild stage presence.[1][5][6][7][8]
 
Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

I just realized this reminds me of The Parchment, in that they're both way too dense. Every verse in ATTWS has a new riff and it's hard not to get lost. The first reprieve is a short music box passage, 7:40 minutes into the song... The Parchment similarly really takes its time to indulge in the solos. This songwriting style just doesn't work for me.
 
Shmoolikipod said:
Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

I just realized this reminds me of The Parchment, in that they're both way too dense. Every verse in ATTWS has a new riff and it's hard not to get lost. The first reprieve is a short music box passage, 7:40 minutes into the song... The Parchment similarly really takes its time to indulge in the solos. This songwriting style just doesn't work for me.
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I also think that And Then There Was Silence is a bit too over the top. It's a very good song but not one of my favorites by Blind Guardian.
 
Slayer: Top 20 Setlist
Source

Lazy Sunday, I went on setlist.fm and crafted Top 20 setlists in Apple Music for Slayer, Metallica, Black Sabbath & Judas Priest. Top20 is no.1 on the setlist and top1 is no.20 as they would in a concert.

From all above groups, Slayer is the one that has top 20 played songs from recent records such as Hate Worldwide (2009), Stain of Mind (1998) & Disciple (2001).
Thus, the one I liked the most. Also 2 songs from Haunting the Chapel.

Slayer Top20!.png
 
Kalata said:
I love it. The key is the different riffs and melodies to flow and to fit with each other. Steve is a master at this.
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Well, I was talking more about pacing. Good as they may be, I could do without the last solo in The Parchment, or any of the bazillion verses in ATTWS. Blackwater Park is my gold standard for this stuff, It doesn't feel like anything is missing, and I wouldn't remove anything either. And in all honesty, pacing is not where Maiden excels imo. Of course when they do, you get all time greats like Paschendale, Hell on Earth and Empire of the Clouds...
 
Shmoolikipod said:
Well, I was talking more about pacing. Good as they may be, I could do without the last solo in The Parchment,

And in all honesty, pacing is not where Maiden excels imo. Of course when they do, you get all time greats like Paschendale, Hell on Earth and Empire of the Clouds...
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Well, ''The Parchment'' is the only epic of Steve with an unusual pace (for him). But it is more interesting to have such songs too (for Steve, for the band and for the fans). It's not that different from the pace of ''Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son''. The last 2 solos in the song are some of the highlights in it imo.

The pacing of Maiden? They are not a power metal or speed metal band though. I find the pacing in Steve's epics to be great always (and not only - when he writes with Adrian and Janick too). The difference of the pace between the two halves of ''The Book Of Souls'' is so awesome; just to give an example.
 
Kalata said:
Well, ''The Parchment'' is the only epic of Steve with an unusual pace (for him). But it is more interesting to have such songs too (for Steve, for the band and for the fans). It's not that different from the pace of ''Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son''. The last 2 solos in the song are some of the highlights in it imo.
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I do like how he explored more sounds with The Parchment, Senjutsu in general is awesome for its uniqueness. I see the similarity to Seventh Son, but I think they're incomparable because of how different the styles are.
Kalata said:
The pacing of Maiden? They are not a power metal or speed metal band though. I find the pacing in Steve's epics to be great always (and not only - when he writes with Adrian and Janick too). The difference of the pace between the two halves of ''The Book Of Souls'' is so awesome; just to give an example.
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TBOS is another good one. A lot of their songs just drag in my opinion, and in a lot of others' - parts being overlong is maybe the most common complaint I read about Maiden - The Angel and the Gambler, No More Lies, most of the Brave New World album, and even some classics like Rime and SSOASS... It has nothing to do with genre, within their own discography there are clearly songs that could have been trimmed down.
 
Shmoolikipod said:
I do like how he explored more sounds with The Parchment, Senjutsu in general is awesome for its uniqueness. I see the similarity to Seventh Son, but I think they're incomparable because of how different the styles are.

A lot of their songs just drag in my opinion, and in a lot of others' - parts being overlong is maybe the most common complaint I read about Maiden - The Angel and the Gambler, No More Lies, most of the Brave New World album, and even some classics like Rime and SSOASS... It has nothing to do with genre, within their own discography there are clearly songs that could have been trimmed down.
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I agree with what you said about Senjutsu and the sounds in the album. Steve said that Maiden's prog songs started with the SSOASS album, iirc?

Of course there are some songs that could have been trimmed down. Your question was about pace - but what if the repeated parts were fast passages only? I don't have a problem with the repetition in most Maiden songs because most of the time the repeated parts are great. Maybe the repetition in Rime and Seventh Son is a bit too much for some fans (I understand this), but without the calm middle parts, they will lose some of their ''unique and special vibe''. I think the chorus of No More Lies is repeated so much beacuse it's simple and goes along with the thunderous drum part (live is better). I don't think the song has a problem with the repetition, like Angel And Gambler. Most of the BNW album? The chorus of the title track (it fits the song), The Mercenary (maybe it's a bit too much for some fans), Dream Of Mirrors (has a lot of verses), Out Of The Silent Planet (I love the repetition here) and in the album closer (but in a song with 5 solos expect the instrumental section to be long). I mentioned the genres because some fans expect Maiden's songs (especially the epics) to always be fast paced.
 
Kalata said:
Of course there are some songs that could have been trimmed down. Your question was about pace - but what if the repeated parts were fast passages only?
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I certainly wouldn't want that either, but there's a middle ground between too much repetition and turning the chorus into a 2 line thing. Most of the songs in Powerslave nail it, only Rime really I have a problem with.
Kalata said:
I don't have a problem with the repetition in most Maiden songs because most of the time the repeated parts are great. Maybe the repetition in Rime and Seventh Son is a bit too much for some fans (I understand this), but without the calm middle parts, they will lose some of their ''unique and special vibe''.
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I'm not sure we're talking about the same parts here lol. The verses in Rime and the chorus in Seventh Son are what get me, I love the middle parts. That's also what I alluded to when I wrote The Parchment and Seventh Son are stylistically different, repetition works much better in atmospheric music to me than in energetic parts (verses/chorus).
Kalata said:
Dream Of Mirrors (has a lot of verses), Out Of The Silent Planet (I love the repetition here)
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Personally love the repetition here too! The title track is another one people have problems with, but I think it's fine. There's enough going on within the chorus. Don't really like the chorus of The Wicker Man for the same reason, it's great live but sounds kinda dead on the album.
Kalata said:
I mentioned the genres because some fans expect Maiden's songs (especially the epics) to always be fast paced.
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Really?! That's pretty ridiculous, none of their epics are fast paced, the closest one is maybe Phantom... Btw, by pace I'm talking about song structure and not tempo, not sure I was being clear about it...
 
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