I might be reading too much into it, really, but I can’t help but think about the inclusion of the “Name of the Rose” reference in the chorus. One of the topics of this book (and the topic is much more prominent in the book than in the film) is papal schism, which is a situation where there are two or more popes “fighting for the throne”, so to speak. The gravity of the situation cannot be underestimated; the Catholic Church claims and believes that the pope is the successor of Jesus Christ himself, an apostle, a God’s deputy on Earth (I’m oversimplifying, of course, please bear with me for a moment). If there is more than one… well, to call the situation “awkward” would be an understatement.
When I listen to this song I always picture the second pope (or “antipope”, as he is called; and no, with
no connection to Antichrist whatsoever) fearing for his future as the schism is resolved (“change in the tide again”) and the eleven saintly shrouded men came to strip him of his power, to strip him of his cloth, to excommunicate him. (Maybe the apostles mentioned in the first post would work too, but more as a representation of God's judgment - more on that later)
I picture the antipope as a deeply religious man; a man who’s not a pope for the power, for the glory or for the money – he believes he truly is a follower of God and that he does what Gods wants of him. However, as he is deeply religious, he is also pious and in his humility he cannot but doubt himself – what if he’s a heretic, a blasphemer? What if he is not to be pope, not to be the head of the Catholic Church? What if his quest for the papal throne is why the God will despise him? - “the fear that is growing”, “your faith will be put to the test”…
In the second (or whichever verse it is – it’s pain to talk about the prog songs
) verse “They’ll be coming to bring the eternal flame…” etc. he is talking about the judgment of heaven, which seems to be the only way to decide who is the real follower of Christ (in the end, the papal schism ended by political intervention in real life; I have my doubts whether God would be really satisfied with this solution). Until then he is told he is a blasphemer, which he doesn’t believe, yet he doubts his mission and the fear of going against God when he actually wants to follow him tortures him.
I am probably putting meanings here that ‘Arry hasn’t intended and I am probably giving the antipope (whichever one of them that may be) more credit than he deserves (as I hinted earlier, the papal schism was primarily a political dispute, not a religious quest), but it in my opinion it more or less fits and as far as subjective interpretations go, I like this one.
Otherwise, I gave it a solid 10/10. At first it was eight at best, a slow and brooding song that loses momentum in the middle (just as it gains it for the first time) – but after a few more listens it is not only the best cut off TXF, but also one of the best Maiden songs ever. The instrumental section right before the last chorus is utterly astonishing! And although I like Blaze’s performance, the RiR version with its overall frantic atmosphere is even better!
) . The calm breakdown with the choir coming back is excellent and prepares us for what will come. A new riff kicks in and builds tensions. The riff changes beat to some kind of 3/4 feeling and the tensions I talked about builds more and more. The drums starts to play in unison with the rest of the instruments in a fast dramatic pattern and then unleashes... freedom. The next melody is so beautiful and fits perfect after all the buildup. A fast and furious guitar solo kicks in and doesn't let you down for a second. The riff of freedom comes in again, a few other great riffs and then we are back at the heavenly chorus. The song closes of with the slow verse that started it all and ends with a dark note that fades away into the shadows.
vs listening on the way.
