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The_7th_one said:
It's not the best Maiden album but it's not the worst and it has great instrumental passages. It has a special meaning to me those days. I was 16 then and I remember with affection.
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It was such a disappointment but back at the time I didn’t want to admit it. And was looking for reviews to get some assurance and most of reviews were 5 stars!! as nobody wanted to bury Maiden. However nobody was buying it. The comparison with TYR and Painkiller which were released about the same time it was striking.
Even more so that both Black Sabbath and Judas Priest were considered past their prime, but so did Maiden with this very album.

Anyway, I too have fond and painful memories about this one.
 
The_7th_one said:
It's not the best Maiden album but it's not the worst and it has great instrumental passages.
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This. The instrumental work is great and the album is great and fun to listen to in full. Yeah, it's weaker than most Maiden albums, but I feel it's kind of underrated. It didn't ''shined'' because it was released after SSOASS, because of the stripped down approach, no songs written by Janick, no Adrian and some weaker and simpler songwriting (like the next album, but even more so). As Adrian said, the album was rushed and that's true.

I like it the way it is more or less, but how to ''fix'' NPFTD:
1) different, more original and better album cover.
2) better production.
3) 2/3 max. longer songs (6-7 minutes) that have dynamics like the 80's longer songs. In place of Hooks, Holy Smoke/Public/Assassin (I like it, but they wrote a similar song for the next album).
4) some of the songs don't have good choruses - Hooks, Assassin, even Fates, Public. Holy Smoke is fun.

That's it really. But I also like the unique approach of just shorter songs. It stands out, even with some of the weaker ideas.
Adrian would help. This is a more Maiden album than the next album. More rock-style like the first 2 albums, but with a different feel. The only album the band/Steve and Bruce don't like.

In general, the album, if we look at it more broadly, is not that different from its predecessor. There's the effective opener with longer intro, the catchy single, the dynamic title track (which is still one of the best Maiden songs!), the hit single, at least one ''epic'' as a closer, song with a gallop, Dave's melodic piece, Adrian rocker, Janick's style was perfectly represented by The Assassin and one different song for the band in Public.

I would have loved to see a continuation of the SSOASS style, but I understand them. I would also have liked to see the album with 3/4 songs from Adrian (with more time to work, not like Hooks) or a heavier Maiden-ized album like Bruce's AOB. I think the next album (with some exceptions) perfected in a way what they wanted to do with NPFTD. It's very hard to follow 7 albums worth of great songwriting and material, so such an album was expected at some point and maybe was needed for the band so they can shape their ''second style'' 2 albums later.
Given the structure of the songs, I'm not sure, but I think Adrian was really missed for this album and overall ofc. Bruce wasn't that interested because he was probably already thinking about a solo career and more writing freedom (like in the next album, btw), Dave had to write more songs (with Bruce too), Bruce had to write with Steve more songs (and a original solo song was included) and their first plan to write for 3 months (iirc) was scrapped - which probably wasn't a good decision in hindsight. It's a pressure, especially for Steve, he was the main songwriter back then.

The album is such a contrast and not in a good way. Such an album could have followed the first 2 albums, not Maiden at their peak. But that's how songwriting works, like every band, and especially in the earlier albums or some albums that follow a great one. I feel they needed more time to come up with fresh ideas after the late 80's.
 
The_7th_one said:
View attachment 39192

Iron Maiden - The X factor (1994)
30th Anniversary Today !!!
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TXF will always have a special vibe with its musical ideas and passages. This is an album that cannot be left ignored by the listener because there is so much emotion created by certain parts, playing and Blaze's voice for sure. A true statement from the band after their ''rock'' era.
I think the songwriting style and structure, strong or not so strong for some, could have been the follow-up to SSOASS with its progressive side.
MindRuler said:
Maidens dark pearl
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TXF or AMOLAD? Maybe TXF has an edge. SJ is the third one.
 
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