Rate all their studio album cover artworks worst to best

giratina said:
What's so special about SSOASS cover ? I think it's average and easily outclassed by the 2 previous album covers PS and SIT.
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I love the Eddie design. The composition of the cover is great. SIT is fantastic and had tons of details, but I feel not every album needs to be filled with details all the time, so having this desolate ice-scape, with this great blue tone was a great choice for this album cover. It has quite a surreal feel, which fits nicely with some of the more mystical lyrics on the album.
 
The X Factor
No Prayer For The Dying
Dance of Death
The Final Frontier
A Matter Of Life and Death
Virtual XI
Iron Maiden
The Number of the Beast
Brave New World
Seventh Son
Piece of Mind
Senjutsu
The Book of Souls
Killers
Fear of the Dark
Powerslave
Somewhere in Time
 
What exactly is the SSOASS Eddie supposed to be ? and why is he in the frozen landscape ? And how is it relevant with the album songs topics ?
 
Vaenyr said:
The composition of the cover is great. SIT is fantastic and had tons of details, but I feel not every album needs to be filled with details all the time, so having this desolate ice-scape, with this great blue tone was a great choice for this album cover. It has quite a surreal feel, which fits nicely with some of the more mystical lyrics on the album.
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I agree with everything. Not every cover should be full of details just for the sake of them. I'm not a big fan of SSOASS Eddie, but I can acknowledge the greatness of the whole cover. The icy background is perfect and the kind of Eddie is the best fit for the theme of the album.

Eddie is good, but I wished Derek was not bored with him when he was creating this cover.
permanenteddie said:
The X Factor - A real life Eddie...hmmmh not the greatest idea and where's the rest of Eddie (awful idea of artwork as well )
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100% agree. A close-up view of the back cover of the album (Eddie in the chair) would have been a better choice imo.
permanenteddie said:
Virtual XI - Hmmmh, not a bad idea, it's just that something's missing to really enjoy it
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The cover captures the title of the album just perfectly.
permanenteddie said:
Brave New World: The general artwork is great, it's just that Eddie is "lost" a bit as a cloud
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Eddie is indeed a bit ''lost'', but the whole cover is great because of the imagery of it. I think they could have made Eddie like his version in the LOTB game. Maiden were kind of lazy with the first 2 Reunion album covers - the Cloud Eddie head is copied from Derek Riggs rejected artwork for ''The Wicker Man'' (but it's great and so is the futuristic city that could have been a drawing), while the DOD cover is unfinished.
 
17 - Dance Of Death: Do I have to explain why?
16 - The Final Frontier: Colors are too gaudy, Eddie's proportions look a bit strange and the mascot itself too goofy.
15 - The X Factor: Sculpture is superb but the angle it's shot lacks depth. If it was the darker shot that's in the booklet it would work much better.
14 - Virtual XI: Despite using once again way vibrant colors I like it... But the left bottom corner with the VR kid and football match is piss poor.
13 - Brave New World: Future London is really cool and so is cloud Eddie. But it's too stagnant. Plus those lightnings simply don't convince me.
12 - Iron Maiden: The first go on Eddie. Simple and full of impact.
11 - The Book Of Souls: Amazing Eddie but lacks any sort of background. If they used the "ripps own heart" Eddie it would be a top 5 cover!
10 - Senjutsu: Once again the no background but this time features more details. The digibook second cover (head with no helmet) is stunning!
9 - No Prayer For The Dying: The grave robber's face is a bit goofy. Other than that it's an excellent cover full of dynamics.
8 - A Matter Of Life And Death: A different drawing technique but the result is awesome! Lots of details all of them relevant.
7 - The Number Of The Beast: With hell's black sky being restored in 1998 this thing looks killer! Love it.
6 - Fear Of The Dark: Love Eddie's new approach... and the light work is nuts!
5 - Powerslave: Glorious, creative and filled with easter eggs... what more can I ask for?
4 - Piece Of Mind: The impact the whole scene conveys, Eddie's expression... wow!
3 - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son: This is the wet dream of a Riggs and Dali fan (which I am). When it came out I was blown away!
2 - Killers: Eddie's grin, the dynamics of the scene itself and that light work... masterful!
1 - Somewhere In Time: Sometimes less is more. Not in this case: this is a monument (plus I'm a huge BR fan). And once again the easter eggs.

Still I must mention Live After Death as at least a top 3 cover.
 
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I thought I'd give the live albums a go. Chose this list from wikipedia, so that I don't forget any.

Live!! +one and Flight 666: Don't feature any Eddie, so they're automatically at the bottom :D
BBC Archives: Similar concept to Beast Over Hammersmith, features one of the ugliest Eddies though.
A Real Live One: The concept is kinda neat, but Eddie's hideous.
Maiden Japan: Both cover are okay, but nothing special.
Live At Donington: The original cover doesn't even qualify, but the 1998 version is kind of cool. It's a very different take on Eddie.
Beast Over Hammersmith: The illustration is nice (much better than the BBC Archives), but it's far too small. Too much (literal) white space.
Nights Of The Dead: The little details are awesome, but Eddie's face annoys me. Unfortunate, because it has a lot of potential.
Maiden England: The original cover would be between Japan and Donington for me. The new cover is an interesting revisit to the Trooper.
Rock In Rio: While the cover is certainly iconic, I don't like the way Eddie looks here. The DVD has a better Eddie, but a worse (imo) photo.
En Vivo: Same idea as RIR, but executed better. Not a big fan of TFF Eddie, but he works well here and the searchlight eyes are cool.
A Real Dead One: One of my favorites and one I used as my picture on MSN for a couple of years lol
TBOS: Live Chapter: One of the coolest Eddies. The illustration is fantastic, the background disappointing.
Death On The Road: Great design, even though the background looks like bowels :D This Eddie reminds me of the AMOLAD era Eddies.
Live After Death: Shouldn't surprise anyone, but it's easily the best cover. It ties in perfectly with Powerslave on multiple levels.
 
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