Reflecting on 2015 as a Maiden fan

Alright, let me start talking about 2015 by actually talking about the year before, 2014.

I was kinda sad in 2014 that Maiden decided to keep touring with Maiden England Tour due to the fact that I thought it would delay the release of a new album. When I saw they were going to tour just for 2 months or so (summer tour in Europe) my thoughts were something like this: "Man, these guys are getting lazy! They have been in the same tour for 3 years now; They will just play for 2 months or so in 2014; The tour arrived and the setlist didn't change at all (3 songs only); It will be 5 years without any new material; Yeah, the boys are getting old;

In the end of 2014, though, I got my hopes again with their christmas card (Uroton 2015). It was pretty obvious there would be a new album in 2015 and I started to get excited right in the end of 2014, especially because it would be the first time I would see Iron Maiden releasing a new album. Well, I was already a fan when they released The Final Frontier, but let's say I was still learning about their discography, still learning about the band, so at the time it wasn't really a big deal for me.

After the excitement at the end of 2014, 2015 came with the news about Bruce's cancer, and it was very shocking for me. I remember I was sleeping and my friend sent me a message during the morning on whatsapp, which woke me up. He said: "Holy shit" in portuguese and then there was a link for the news. I was pretty sure it was about the annoucement of Maiden's new album and when I clicked I was like: "Fuck...". Then I remember I woke up, seeking for news about the type of cancer, trying to know more about his chances and all the stuff. I was already a visitor of this forum, but I became a regular visitor after this issue, because I was desperate about news and I had to somehow share my frustration with other maiden fans.

I also realized how selfish I was when I was complaining about them just playing for 2 months in 2014. It showed me that it was a joy to have them still active and healthy in 2014, after almost 40 years of activity. And now the future was uncertain. The vocalist of my favorite band had cancer, and not only Maiden's career was uncertain, but also the life of one of my idols. Scary stuff - I actually found myself crying some nights before going to sleep because of this situation.

In may, Bruce's recovery was announced and I felt like... relieved. I was pretty sure that the album would be released months after that, but I was uncertain about Bruce going on tour again and singing like he always did. In june, they announced The Book of Souls, and I got ridiculously excited again. September arrived and I was not disappointed. I remember listening to the the album for the first time, and I am the kind of guy who needs much more than one listen until the stuff clicks in. With The Book of Souls, there were songs that clicked in right at the first listen. I felt in love instantly with If Eternity Should Fail, The Red and The Black and Death or Glory. I remember listening to the riff that kicks in (09:39) in The Red and The Black and, at that moment, I cried in my room. It was a very emotional moment, not sure why, but that riff somehow reminded of their career and everything they lived in 2015. It is hard to explain, but my mind associated Steve Harris and his leadership with the riff, along with his very kind and polite words about Bruce's cancer and all the stuff. It reminded me the troubles they had in the past and now they seem to be really close to each other. Yes, I know it's weird, but this album was something very emotional for me.

So to sum it up, the album is, for me, a mix of everything they have done. It's much better than The Final Frontier because, in my opinion, the short rockers are there and they hit the nail this time, thanks to Adrian Smith, mainly. It is the perfect balance between the epic and the short rockers, so in fact I really think this album is the perfect mix between their 80's and the post BNW era. Speed of Light, Death or Glory and When The River Runs Deep would all fit into 80's albums and I'm pretty sure that if they were there, they would have been classics. 1) The Number of the Beast; 2) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son; 3) Somewhere In Time; 4) Powerslave; 5) The Book of Souls; That's where it's ranked, so you can see how much I love this album. So yes, 2015 was a wonderful year for me, as a Maiden fan. And now I can't wait for 26th march, São Paulo, Brazil, where I'm going to see them live for the 4th time.

And hey, all of you guys were part of it, because it was this forum I came whenever I needed to see maiden news. Thank you guys and happy new year!
 
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Shavasku said:
It was a "pqp", hahaha.
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Ehehe, yeah that makes sense as well. And it sounds WAY better with a brazilian accent rather than a portuguese one :D

Btw, i'm really happy that i finally found someone around here who speaks portuguese, although i'm yet to find someone who lives in portugal...
 
nuno_c said:
Ehehe, yeah that makes sense as well. And it sounds WAY better with a brazilian accent rather than a portuguese one :D

Btw, i'm really happy that i finally found someone around here who speaks portuguese, although i'm yet to find someone who lives in portugal...
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Haha, yes, that's cool! Nice to meet you too. I've seen many threads from you but I always thought you were spanish. Not sure why, but I thought "Nuno" was a name more likely to be spanish than portuguese, haha.

But hey, there's also another brazilian around this forum - but I forgot his username :(.

Anyway, prazer em te conhecer, cara! Legal que és português.
 
How could i even forget this story? :facepalm:

I hope THIS reflects my dedication to Maiden and, in particular, TBOS's launch...

I had a job working at a call center, renewing electric bills. Horrible job, but anyway... Literally on the day TBOS was released in portugal, i told my boss i needed to get out of work a bit earlier, about 30 minutes. The reason behind it was because that would give me enough time to get to the store before it's closing time and pick up my pre-ordered TBOS book copy. Now, bare with me... I did not tell him the real reason behind my need for getting out early, he didn't even let me finish the whole sentence, 'cause he quickly told me that if i got out earlier, i'd be fired. Now consider this... Everyone, and i mean EVERYONE at that job would come in late and out early. He never ever said anything. Me, well, i was virtually the only one who was always on time, not to mention the fact that i was one of the most productive people there... So, naturally, i told him to piss off and i quit the job right there and then and, naturally, went home with my TBOS copy and listened to it all night long. Was not disapointed! TBOS > call center

And now i love my new job, so.... :edmetal:
 
nuno_c said:
How could i even forget this story? :facepalm:

I hope THIS reflects my dedication to Maiden and, in particular, TBOS's launch...

I had a job working at a call center, renewing electric bills. Horrible job, but anyway... Literally on the day TBOS was released in portugal, i told my boss i needed to get out of work a bit earlier, about 30 minutes. The reason behind it was because that would give me enough time to get to the store before it's closing time and pick up my pre-ordered TBOS book copy. Now, bare with me... I did not tell him the real reason behind my need for getting out early, he didn't even let me finish the whole sentence, 'cause he quickly told me that if i got out earlier, i'd be fired. Now consider this... Everyone, and i mean EVERYONE at that job would come in late and out early. He never ever said anything. Me, well, i was virtually the only one who was always on time, not to mention the fact that i was one of the most productive people there... So, naturally, i told him to piss off and i quit the job right there and then and, naturally, went home with my TBOS copy and listened to it all night long. Was not disapointed! TBOS > call center

And now i love my new job, so.... :edmetal:
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LOL, that's awesome.
 
nuno_c said:
How could i even forget this story? :facepalm:

I hope THIS reflects my dedication to Maiden and, in particular, TBOS's launch...

I had a job working at a call center, renewing electric bills. Horrible job, but anyway... Literally on the day TBOS was released in portugal, i told my boss i needed to get out of work a bit earlier, about 30 minutes. The reason behind it was because that would give me enough time to get to the store before it's closing time and pick up my pre-ordered TBOS book copy. Now, bare with me... I did not tell him the real reason behind my need for getting out early, he didn't even let me finish the whole sentence, 'cause he quickly told me that if i got out earlier, i'd be fired. Now consider this... Everyone, and i mean EVERYONE at that job would come in late and out early. He never ever said anything. Me, well, i was virtually the only one who was always on time, not to mention the fact that i was one of the most productive people there... So, naturally, i told him to piss off and i quit the job right there and then and, naturally, went home with my TBOS copy and listened to it all night long. Was not disapointed! TBOS > call center

And now i love my new job, so.... :edmetal:
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Good on you Nuno!
 
@Dityn DJ James It was pretty cool that you called me by my name (Nuno) and not my user name, i didn't think someone who speaks english could identify my user name as actually being my name, or even a person's name ;)
 
nuno_c said:
@Dityn DJ James It was pretty cool that you called me by my name (Nuno) and not my user name, i didn't think someone who speaks english could identify my user name as actually being my name, or even a person's name ;)
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I used your name about half an hour ago...
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
What's with the moderator pending approval messages in nuno's thread?
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Although I didn't capitalise it, sorry.
 
Caveman Ninja said:
Disappointing year for me. I mean, I was happy that Bruce recovered but somehow I never had any doubt that he would. And the wait for the album took so long, and all the pre-release reviews and interviews got me really excited for it, then it turned out to be (in my opinion) the dullest Iron Maiden album they have ever released. I haven't been even slightly tempted to put a single song of it on for about 8 weeks now. Usually I get months or years of listening out of an Iron Maiden album and the lyrics and melodies get seared onto my soul, but not this one. Honestly, I was still listening to AMOLAD regularly about 2 years later. This one, I spent a month or 2 hoping it would click, and then it didn't click. This is the year where I have come to the conclusion that my favourite band will never meet my high expectations for them ever again. So overall, not a good one for me :(
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Totally agree about the album and band. I gave the lp another try recently but couldn't get through a single track. Their worst, most uninspired effort.
I wasn't so sure about Bruce though.
 
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