Revelations

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

  • 10

    Votes: 14 70.0%

  • 9

    Votes: 5 25.0%

  • 8

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 7

    Votes: 1 5.0%

  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 1

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    20
Iron Maiden have released a total of 156 original songs. And out of all of them, I think Revelations stands as their most beautiful work to date. The refinement, the pacing, the vocals, the instruments, the lyrics, everything here works. Really just a great example of inspired song-writing and proof that metal can seen as an art form, just like many others genres of music.

10/10.

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Hallowed Be Thy Name: 10/10
2: Revelations: 10/10
3: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
4: Killers: 9/10
5: Children Of The Damned: 8/10
6: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
7: The Number Of The Beast: 8/10
8: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
9: Run To The Hills: 7/10
10: Where Eagles Dare: 7/10
11: Purgatory: 7/10
12: 22 Acacia Avenue: 7/10
13: Wrathchild: 7/10
14: Transylvania: 7/10
15: Prodigal Son: 6/10
16: Strange World: 6/10
17: Sanctuary: 6/10
18: Another Life: 6/10
19: The Prisoner: 6/10
20: Prowler: 6/10
21: Gangland: 5/10
22: Genghis Khan: 5/10
23: Iron Maiden: 5/10
24: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
25: Twilight Zone: 5/10
26: Drifter: 4/10
27: Running Free: 4/10
28: Innocent Exile: 4/10
29: Invaders: 3/10
30: Total Eclipse: 3/10
31: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
I'm trying to be stingy with 10s. But at the same time... Revelations. The first of five all-Bruce songs in the catalog.

So, let's see. It's not a standard Iron Maiden rocker, nor is it a Harris style classic. This is the kind of song that Steve would experiment with in the 1990s - slower, rhythmic, methodical. But he never quite managed to hit this particular note.

The guitar work is simply beautiful. Dave and Adrian sound mournful here, simple progressions that are made perfect. But the lyrics - puzzling and meaningful. Inspired and delightful. And Bruce gives what is perhaps the best vocal performance of his career, matched only by the emotional ballad Tears of the Dragon from his second solo album.

How could this be anything other than a 10?
 
Revelations is a beautiful and melodic piece of music, quite a unique song in Iron Maiden catalog.
It contains some of the best Iron Maiden harmonies and solos, not to mention fantastic Bruce sounding really inspired.

However, this songs can get monotonous and predictable after some time. The "bad POM guitar sound" doesn't really help.

The highlight: Bruce is really shining throughout the whole song.

In my eyes, predictability and guitar sound prevent this song from becoming a 10/10. However, those flaws are not bad enough to drag it below 9/10.

Therefore, 9/10.
 
10/10. Though the guitar riffs are simple, they are very enjoyable to listen to and very unique for Maiden. Definitely a great song and showed how great of a song writer Bruce was this early in his career.
 
10/10 for me, in fact the fist 10 when going chronologically. Love every part, love the lyrics, always have. The riffs, the solos, the Bruce.
 
10/10 Bruce gives a mesmerizing vocal performance on this song, my jaw drops every time, no matter how many times I've listened to it. Add to that, the complex, meaningful lyrics, the beautiful solos, catchy riffs... This song is just pure perfection!
 
9. Fantastic song and my favourite on the album. The "Go!" will never grow old.


Rankings:

Previous Albums:

1980 - Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

1981 - Killers - 5.91

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
5 - Prodigal Son
8 - Purgatory
6 - Twilight Zone
5 - Drifter

1982 - The Number Of The Beast - 7.56

6 - Invaders
7 - Children Of The Damned
8 - The Prisoner
7 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - The Number Of The Beast
10 - Run To The Hills
6 - Gangland
5 - Total Eclipse
10 - Hallowed Be Thy Name

1983 - Piece Of Mind

8 - Where Eagles Dare
9 - Revelations
 
This partly progressive song have so many twists and turns, one of Bruce's best performances ever, the lyrics are brilliant, the solo, Steve...the song is very Maiden, but also very different from what they had done before Piece of mind. It's a great live song, and I'm sooo glad they have played it live again during the last 13 years. Basically my very favorite Maiden song, 10/10
 
10/10

The Air Raid Siren calms things down a bit on the second cut, Revelations, a convoluted diatribe on religion. It opens with a simple English hymnal before tackling the loftier philosophy of Aleister Crowley, Hinduism, and further atheist abstractions. This entire song was written by Bruce Dickinson and it is a musical juggernaut: the rhythmic shifts are dynamic and powerful to a degree so far unheard in Maiden compositions. From the harmony guitars over acoustic chords in the intro to the fast-paced bridge, it’s a masterwork. With a shout of “Go!”, Bruce launches Dave and H into one of my favorite solo sections, trading legato and blues licks with impeccable skill. A momentous crescendo allows Bruce one final verse before quieting things down and delivering a dramatic final line, a structural element that the band would revisit many times in the future.
 
The very first Maiden song penned solely by Bruce is also his first writing credit in general. What a way to start. I love the way the guitar interacts with the bass during the first verse. It takes a simple riff and makes it a bit more interesting. Bruce's songs in general are very simple musically, which makes sense, but he always makes up for that with thoughtful lyrics, atmosphere, and frequent changes in dynamics. I love the way this song slowly builds. It's different from the way a Steve song builds. Bruce also turns in one of his very best vocal performances. The solo section is fantastic. Both solos are excellent. I remember listening to Adrian's in particular when I was first learning guitar and being totally dumbfounded by what he was doing. It was different than the shredding of other metal guitarists. Another awesome harmony follows the solos which acts as the song's climax before coming back down to earth.

10/10
 
Yeah, just confirming - I still stand by my opinion, this song is the best off the first 4 albums, really (wins over TTAL because of the latter's lyrics, mostly). It might be a tad repetitive, but it also have this peculiar atmosphere that was never fully repeated, IMHO. That harmony, that "No storm or heavy weather will rock the boat, you'll see!"... I could re-listen to it again and again. Thanks to the endless Maiden England 201X touring, I actually could see it live, just as I got to see ATSS live and I cherish both experiences very much.

Also "the walls of golden tumours" is me and my wife's favourite Maiden mondegreen, probably, just as is "Losing all my lipsticks" for Dream Theater.
 
Just magnificent.

The dynamics in this song are among the best they've ever achieved. All.of the pace changes are perfect within the song. The beautiful arpeggio and softer vocals in the pre chorus are absolutely stunning. And the lovely little bass riff blows me away. Then it builds to that awesome chunky power chord section and superb solo.

One of their very best

10
 
Athmospheric Maiden at their best. Bruce really did an amazing job with this one. It has everything. Melodies, dynamics, great solos and live crowd participation.

10/10
 
Extremely overrated. It's a nice song, but it's just not Maiden. Kicks To Tame A Land and Quest For Fire's ass, but that's not saying much. 7/10
 
Marvelous lyrics and melodies, although it's played a tad too slow. I prefer the LAD version to the studio one. Still, it gets a 9.
 
The first song credited to Bruce by Iron Maiden and definitely one of his best. The lyrics are incredibly cryptic, but still very interesting, and work incredibly well with the song altogether, comtributing to the amtosphere of the song. Great solos too. 10/10
 
About the Flight 666 version:

That wall of guitars at start makes me have an eargasm. The midtempo phase and the fast phase blend smoothly as one. A touching ballad and a heavy rocker at the same time. 10/10, best song on the album (Piece of Mind), The greatest song that Bruce has ever penned on his pen and the most amazing power ballad of Maiden.
 
10/10
When I started listening to Maiden I was probably about 11 and didn't speak or understand English that well, so I basically interpreted this as a strangely cryptic love song. That's kinda stuck with me even though there's clearly much more going on, even just in terms of lyrics. You can tell it's more Bruce than Maiden and it's a bit "softer" (at times) than the rest of the songs from POM, but it's positioned in a good place to be that one different song and it gives it more variety.
 
Somewhat of a moody song, going back and forth between E-C-D-E heaviness and that beautiful emotive part. As cool as the three guitar setup is with the clean and harmonies, Steve's bass and Bruce's vocals really carry that part to the top. Song knows when to speed up and slow down, transitions are surprising but not intrusive. The singing is what primarily sticks with me from Revelations. It is you, ooooh, I might find myself imitating Bruce. 9/10.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top