Powerslave: Album Discussion

22 The Avenue

22 The Avenue

Nomad
This is right up there with NOTB as the two best albums thus far for me. When you have 7 of the 8 songs being 9's at worst, that shows how strong the album is. A fun listen every time. The guitars, bruce's vocals. Perfect.

I love the egyptian theme of most of the album and artwork.
 
Understandable. When I was 13 and listening to Rime of The Ancient Mariner I thought the narrator and the sounds behind his voice was him walking through cobwebbed passageways of Egyptian pyramids...wasn't until later I understood what the song was all about.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
Most of the album? Only one song has an Egyptian theme.
Click to expand...

Something about the production of the album really captures that heat-inducing atmosphere of the desert, which is associated with Egypt. Duellists and 2 Minutes To Midnight seem to capture it the most for me.

Anyway, this is hands down my favourite album of all-time. I don't think any of the songs fail to get into my Maiden top 60, 4 are easily in my top 15, and Aces High is my favourite Maiden song of all-time. Add to that a perfect flow and sublime production, and you have a classic.
 
Rime has an Egyptian sounding riff on it as well, around 10:47. But yeah, there's no actual theme apart from the title song and the artwork.
 
It's probably one of those cases of not being able to get the artwork out of your head when listening to the album. It's like thinking futuristic while listening to Alexander the Great or space when listening to The Talisman.
 
The Flash said:
Rime has an Egyptian sounding riff on it as well, around 10:47.
Click to expand...

I never thought of it that way, but you're right, it could be interpreted as oriental sounding.


This thread is making a very interesting point about artwork affecting the perception of the music of an album. I'll add some ramblings about that later, when I'm on another computer.
 
Brigantium said:
It's probably one of those cases of not being able to get the artwork out of your head when listening to the album. It's like thinking futuristic while listening to Alexander the Great or space when listening to The Talisman.
Click to expand...
Yes I am experiencing this "issue" when I'm listening to each album. The artwork of the album gives me something to day dream about while listening to the music. That's not something most rock albums give you. I am currently listening to Somewhere in Time and imagining the futuristic, blade-runner dystopia alongside the music.
I personally love that imagery to compliment the songs.
 
22 The Avenue said:
Yes I am experiencing this "issue" when I'm listening to each album. The artwork of the album gives me something to day dream about while listening to the music. That's not something most rock albums give you. I am currently listening to Somewhere in Time and imagining the futuristic, blade-runner dystopia alongside the music.
I personally love that imagery to compliment the songs.
Click to expand...

This discussion might be better off in the Cover Art Survivor thread, but I think Somewhere in Time could be the first Maiden album to have artwork that ties in to more than one song, and the first to have something of a theme.
 
Brigantium said:
This discussion might be better off in the Cover Art Survivor thread, but I think Somewhere in Time could be the first Maiden album to have artwork that ties in to more than one song, and the first to have something of a theme.
Click to expand...

You COULD make the argument that SiT is a concept album given that each song deals with time in some way or form.
 
It's a real stretch for Alexander. I don't buy the argument that placing a song at a specific point in history makes it about time. It's about Alex. To say it "deals with time" is really pushing it IMO.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
It's a real stretch for Alexander. I don't buy the argument that placing a song at a specific point in history makes it about time. It's about Alex. To say it "deals with time" is really pushing it IMO.
Click to expand...

Agreed. To make that one about time, it would require a longer intro where the protagonist travels back in time to observe Alexander's army :D
 
Have you ever thought that in case Steve wrote ATG today,it would have been around 12 minutes with the choruses being repeated 8 to 16 times?lol
 
RTC said:
You COULD make the argument that SiT is a concept album given that each song deals with time in some way or form.
Click to expand...

My point, pretty much. :ok: The futuristic Blade Runner-esque artwork also works for the spacey sound of guitar synthesizers. I wouldn't go as far as to say SIT is a concept album, but 'time' works as very loose theme that could be conveniently used to connect the contents of the album. As subject matter, Alexander the Great comes across as quite misplaced on such a futuristic sounding album, unless you do look at it in terms of time, ie past/present/future, being a linking factor. That doesn't mean the song is about time. Maiden aren't known for doing much in the way of full concept albums. But as for looser themes or threads showing up in albums or being applied to tie songs together? Now that's not unheard of.

Anyway. This has stuff all to do with Powerslave and might be best moved elsehere. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top