Repetitive Choruses count

Perhaps I should sign of the complete forum til the album is out.

That's what I usually do when I want to avoid setlist spoilers. It's the only way. If people don't want spoilers the onus is on them to avoid situations where they'll likely encounter spoilers. That's the nature of the information age unfortunately.
 
And yet The Mercenary, to me, feels like a much more repetitive song. Maybe because it's not only that phrase which gets repeated, but for each time the two following bars are repeated.

This is a nice summary though, which - if you look at all the songs mentioned here - illustrates that how many times a phrase gets repeated in a song does not tell the whole story. For example, Fear of the Dark repeats the title many times throughout the song but the song keeps moving. On the other hand, you have travesties like Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger where a far too long build-up where that phrase is repeated many times, is followed by a monotonous and pretty sub-par instrumental section.

The examples from The X Factor are interesting because the only song where I have an issue with repetition is Fortunes of War, where the one fast repetition of the chorus seems completely unnecessary, out of place and doesn't make the song flow. Dream of Mirrors has the same issue.
I think The Mercenary and The longest day are songs that suffer from this. The chorus is repetitive, long and lacks dynamics
 
Agree. In the case of the latter it's a shame, because that song would've been a top 10 song for me with a more rewarding chorus. The build-up through verse and pre-chorus is fantastic, the chorus feels generic in comparison.
 
''The Mercenary'' has a great chorus - it's the best part of the song imo.

I quite like the bombastic pre-chorus NOWHERE TO RUN, NOWHERE TO HIDE... which kind of leaves you to expect something slightly bigger and more explosive than the 4x repeat of show them no fear, show them no pain... It's ok, but it doesn't strike me as a highlight or peak of the song.
 
Dude, i am one of only a handful that really likes TAATG lol. I just saw this post and found it interesting to share here. I have no ossues eith most of these repetitive choruses
Good to know that some of us do also still like TAATG...welcome to one the smallest Maiden sub-clubs.I actually like DLTTEOAS even more,great intro (same flavour as TCDR's intro),lovely bass..in my top 20 every day of the week!
 
Good to know that some of us do also still like TAATG...welcome to one the smallest Maiden sub-clubs.I actually like DLTTEOAS even more,great intro (same flavour as TCDR's intro),lovely bass..in my top 20 every day of the week!

Yeah, Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger has a great intro and there's some cool moments in it. I just think it doesn't quite develop that great build-up and atmosphere all the way. The individual parts are very good, but there's just something that doesn't click the way it should. Part of it might be an production and arrangemental issue, though. Granted, the almost hypnotic repetition kind of serves the narrative of the song, but there's still quite a lot of it. :D

Anyway, I've always found a lot to love in that song!
 
Thank god someone finally points out that Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger has more repetition, numbers wise, than TAatG.

Everyone is happy to point fingers at track 2, but largely ignores the rest of the album.

Also, let's be honest, Gambler isn't even the worst chorus on the record.

"Maybe lightning strikes twice
Maybe lightning strikes twice
Maybe lightning strikes twice
Maybe lightning strikes twice

Maybe lightning strikes twice
Maybe lightning strikes twice
Maybe lightning strikes twice
Maybe lightning strikes twice"
 
Yeah, Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger has a great intro and there's some cool moments in it. I just think it doesn't quite develop that great build-up and atmosphere all the way. The individual parts are very good, but there's just something that doesn't click the way it should. Part of it might be an production and arrangemental issue, though. Granted, the almost hypnotic repetition kind of serves the narrative of the song, but there's still quite a lot of it. :D

Anyway, I've always found a lot to love in that song!
Good to read your view on the song.Can understand why it holds back a little for you.It's not in the Sign of the Cross league or the Clansman's first half(after "Freedom..." it is a bit let down by a similar underdevelopment imo) but all in all still best track of the album for me.One's gotta leave Blaze's off pitch singing every now and then out of consideration anyway when judging those two albums I feel,however the timbre of voice suits some songs very well,in some cases better than Bruce's even.From the fast,crazy(in a good way) part to the beautiful and quiet beginning of CEA,plus the intro of the Clansman,highlight passages of the album!Your use of the term Hypnotic is striking,excellent example of repetition being functional.Reading back the beginning of the thread and learn that there actually's supposed to be a guy(or girl oops sorry..) that has been counting all repetitions in Maiden's discrography,crazy,obsessed and not to speak rudely..."some c...'s counting this"!
 
Reading back the beginning of the thread and learn that there actually's supposed to be a guy(or girl oops sorry..) that has been counting all repetitions in Maiden's discrography,crazy,obsessed and not to speak rudely..."some c...'s counting this"!
I don't think they're crazy or obsessed; all they needed was a lyrics website, a notepad, and an hour of free time. 20 minutes to identify and count the phrases, 30 minutes to make the chart and the Reddit post, and 10 minutes spent listening to The Angel and the Gambler.
 
Reading back the beginning of the thread and learn that there actually's supposed to be a guy(or girl oops sorry..) that has been counting all repetitions in Maiden's discrography,crazy,obsessed and not to speak rudely..."some c...'s counting this"!

Like I said the other day,


People miss the point of choruses completely if they moan about them being repeated. If you're going to have a key melody repeating as a hook, it makes much more sense for it to be a simple phrase. Having a block of lyrics often makes no sense, it's part of the narrative when it appears after the first verse and then makes no sense in the narrative when it reappears everywhere else, e.g. the "then when he's found who he's lookng for" part in Bark at the Moon.
 
Good to know that some of us do also still like TAATG...welcome to one the smallest Maiden sub-clubs.I actually like DLTTEOAS even more,great intro (same flavour as TCDR's intro),lovely bass..in my top 20 every day of the week!
DLTTEOAS is still my favorite Maiden song to this day lol
 
Excuse me for being very slightly off topic but the same ones that struggle with repetitions might argue that the middle sections of Rime and 7th are repetitive/monotonous also (two top-10ers all day long..oof it getting crowded there;)). Must admit that when I was younger I thought that there wasn't a lot happening in 7th middle part but can appreciate it now,the atmosphere,H ! and what struck me most of the latest live renditions is the groove,even Steve was literally swinging his bass!
 
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