Paschendale

How good is Paschendale on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    32
It's not my favorite Maiden epic, but it's definitely up there, and I'll be honest - it's usually the first song I think of when one says 'Iron Maiden epic'. 10/10
 
it's a 10/10 for me.... what a track.... The one tour I missed in the 2000s... and missed the dates in 2010 they played it instead of Dance of Death. It is a phenomenal track. I was watching Death on the Road last night.... that song is quite incredible. Such power.... I felt it would have been brilliant on AMOLAD instead but damn what a track... it's in my top 10 in spite of much of the DOD album not doing it for me...
 
This song is the worst. Simply awful.

Just kidding. Only Brighter Than A Thousand Suns is better from the five last albums.

10/10
 
This is just brilliant, there's no other way to put it. Brilliant! Definitely one of H's finest contributions to the band, and the best track from the album along with "Dance of Death". It just paints a perfect picture of the battlefield to go along with masterfully written, historical lyrics. Unwillingly gave us a sneak peek at where A Matter of Life and Death would be heading. A masterpiece indeed, even better when played live! 10.
 
If I had to choose just one Maiden song to award this 10-pointer, it would probably be Paschendale. The lyrics really brings me back to the battlefield with all the terror, makes me feel like I was there. And the melodies are heavy but at the same time melodical, I especially appreciate the "Adrian middle-section part" :)

Im so glad that Adrian rejoined the band so we could have masterpieces like this.
 
While I don’t think it’s the best song on the album, it’s still great. All the parts of the song are very well designed and executed, as well as interesting and emotional. However for me the song is too disjointed to be an absolute masterpiece. So while it’s still an incredible song, I wouldn’t class it among their absolute best. A very high 9
 
A plaintive lead gives way to a soft, off-rhythm verse 1. A heavy guitar break returns to the soft verse 1, then gets heavy again on its way into verse 2, which works a bit better.

Another heavy break with strings that don't fit in at all, and we head into what I guess is the pre-chorus, which is horribly phrased, repetitive, and has the guitars sort of doubling the vocal melody, which doesn't sound good at all.

This gives way to a solid chorus with unnecessary string accompaniment. This leads into a decent melodic bridge, then back to that awful pre-chorus, with random strings occasionally in the background.

A nice interlude with harmonized guitars follows, switching into a section with unnecessary strings, then another bridge, and an eagle cry for no particular reason. A decent Janick solo, then a much better Adrian solo, and we get another vocal bridge which is much more successful.

Another good solo, and then we're back to the shit pre-chorus before being saved by the chorus. The vocal harmonies on this don't sound the best. A reprise of the intro closes things out.

I don't understand why this discombobulated mess of a song gets so much praise. I guess it checks all the boxes for an epic, but the execution is not up to par. Disconnected parts, bad phrasing, a terrible pre-chorus, out of place strings, and WTF is up with that eagle cry in the middle? The muddy production is really evident on this track, too.

Sorry folks, but I have to give this one a 6/10.
 
Jer said:
WTF is up with that eagle cry in the middle?
Click to expand...
That's one of the best parts!

The only problem with this song is the terrible production. It should be muddy, but not shit. Still, it's utterly awesome in every other way.
 
Jer said:
A plaintive lead gives way to a soft, off-rhythm verse 1. A heavy guitar break returns to the soft verse 1, then gets heavy again on its way into verse 2, which works a bit better.

Another heavy break with strings that don't fit in at all, and we head into what I guess is the pre-chorus, which is horribly phrased, repetitive, and has the guitars sort of doubling the vocal melody, which doesn't sound good at all.

This gives way to a solid chorus with unnecessary string accompaniment. This leads into a decent melodic bridge, then back to that awful pre-chorus, with random strings occasionally in the background.

A nice interlude with harmonized guitars follows, switching into a section with unnecessary strings, then another bridge, and an eagle cry for no particular reason. A decent Janick solo, then a much better Adrian solo, and we get another vocal bridge which is much more successful.

Another good solo, and then we're back to the shit pre-chorus before being saved by the chorus. The vocal harmonies on this don't sound the best. A reprise of the intro closes things out.

I don't understand why this discombobulated mess of a song gets so much praise. I guess it checks all the boxes for an epic, but the execution is not up to par. Disconnected parts, bad phrasing, a terrible pre-chorus, out of place strings, and WTF is up with that eagle cry in the middle? The muddy production is really evident on this track, too.

Sorry folks, but I have to give this one a 6/10.
Click to expand...

That is interesting. I thought you would like this one much more, seeing as it features some modern crunchy riffs by Adrian reminiscent of his work during the 90s. ;)

As far as I am concerned, it is a fantastic song. Some of the phrasing might be odd, but with its urgency it transports you to the battlefields of WWI. There is light and shade, the calm before the storm... Great and a fantastic centrepiece of the show it was! The orchestral bits work really well and I love the 1812 moment at the end.

I quite like the lyrics too, although I think when it comes to war epics and a marriage of words and music nothing can beat The Longest Day (those lyrics send chills down my spine!).
 
A quiet beating of the drums because a tapping piece from Adrian comes in. Bruce invites us all to lend an ear with some really vivid lyrics before the crash of all guns firing on a battlefield and we do another run through of quietness and another crash that again conjures up the fears of one cast out to die in battle. Then the song gets going and holy shit are these lyrics just the best! "Laying low in a blood-filled trench, killing time 'til my very own death / On my face I can feel the falling rain - never see my friends again." You're right there with the lonely soldier in the trench, watching the cannons fire, ready to return that fire yourself. The chorus is amazing, I love the change-up from "Home, far away, from the war, a chance to live again" to "Home, far away, but the war, no chance to live again." It's simple but so effective. The start-and-stop style the song utilizes really helps sell it; the use of Blake's poetry helps craft all the pieces together. The eagle cry is crazy great, a reminder of how pointless war is at the end of the day and how we get caught up in things that are trivial and somehow still consider ourselves to be better than other animals. This song is just a masterpiece, and if there's one thing I dislike, it's the production, which is muddy, yes, but also too fuzzy for my taste. Definitely the song most affected by it, IMO. Still, I can overlook it because "Paschendale" is great despite that flaw. This song is majestic, an epic in every sense of the word. 10
 
Amazing epic - one of the bests from Maiden! The intro is timeless (Adrian's tapping melody is haunting). The song has a dramatic build-up. Great riff, verses and thunderous drums from Nicko. The chorus is gold !!! Bruce's long note after ''Into jaws of death we go'' is fabulous. Adrian's melodies are pure greatness during the whole song - not to mention his brutal riff at the middle of the song. Good solos, especially Adrian's one, which is amazing. I like how Steve sings backing voclas in this song live. I love how the song ends with the beautiful tapping melody. Great lyrics. The eagle cry is epic! I'm sure Adrian is really proud of this song - a classic for the ages, war epic.... thank you, Adrian for this diamond. I want this song to be played live again. HOME, FAR AWAY FROM THE WAR, A CHANCE TO LIVE AGAIN ..... 10/10.
 
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