Starblind

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

  • Total voters
    13
As a progressive rock fan, I don't care for repetitiveness myself. But progressive rock features shitloads of layers and variations, that might be the reason why I love these songs as much as I do.
 
I'm going to throw something almost blasphemous out there: I actually enjoy repetition sometimes, and don't think that "repetitive" is a fundamentally bad word.
 
Agreed, though often Maiden's repetition is annoying. However, not a problem on Starblind.
 
Perun said:
I'm going to throw something almost blasphemous out there: I actually enjoy repetition sometimes, and don't think that "repetitive" is a fundamentally bad word.
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I agree to that as well. Sometimes repetition is cool. For example, my favorite Metallica song is The Call of Ktulu which is kind of repetitive, but I like the atmosphere the repetition creates.
 
First of all, like everyone already pointed out, the lyrics are superb. I actually did quite a big school paper based on these lyrics a few years ago, and your thoughts and interpretations really helped. Thank you! :)

Like I said, excellent lyrics and one of the bands best. The song is quite dreamy and loose, which absolutely fits the lyrics. Just like Isle Of Avalon, the song has a jammy approach, but I think this fits this song better then the former. The chorus is fantastic, and so is the guitar work. My only problem with the song is that Bruces vocals are too rough, he should have done more layers and maybe some harmonies.

9/10
 
The song is pretty good.The only annoying thing is that Nicko is a bit monotonous in same parts.Got to lo e the endless soloing by H and the explosive second half.Love it.

EDIT: Yep,went through it again.Still love it.
 
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7/10. The middle part is probably the highest moment of the disc, beautiful, epic and totally Maiden. The song suffer the same problem of the entire disc, too complicated and to elaborated parts added, most of the seems to be unbound with the rest or even worthless. Lyrics are beautiful.
 
Another facinating song with a lot of SSOASS feel to it. It's pretty long and have a few parts that slow it down unnecessary, but overall a great track. 8/10.
 
This is another of my favourites. I'm sure I heard Bruce Dickinson interviewed on the Radio and he said that it was a song about emotions imagined like spirits or colours that move through us and posses us in moments. I like that, mostly because I am an emotional person who is also very affected by other people's emotions. It is like they move through the ether (I know emotions don't do that, but it's a nice colourful way of looking at things)

"You may pass through me and leave no trace, I have no mortal face
Solar winds are whispering, you may hear me call

We can shed our skins and swim into the darkened void beyond
We will dance among the world that orbit stars (they're on our side)

You may pass through me and I will feel the life that you live less
Step into my light startripping, we will rage against the night"
 
Here we have one of the most atmospheric songs the band has done, also the most space-y on the album. If I was to link the album artwork to a single song, it would be this one. The main riff on this is so cool, it almost has a Jazz swing to it. I love the way it weaves around the beat, rarely landing on any solid beat. Now you might find it strange that I just criticized TFF for being the same riff throughout the song, while Starblind repeats its main riff quite a bit as well. This is an example of repetition working and it's proof that repetition isn't inherently bad. There's tension here, they're repeating the same figure to hit you in the face with the contrast from outside rhythms and adding tension by layering the parts as the riff builds until you finally get a moment of relief when we hit the chorus nearly halfway through the song. But it's just a fleeting moment of relief, because immediately after we're given yet another crazy rhythm, this time in an odd time signature. This song is aggressive, dramatic, and merciless. Fits the subject matter well I think. This song might be the perfect marriage of music and lyrics for Maiden. I wish we knew more about how the song was written, because I'm convinced that they took a different approach here.

The song then ends with the second rendition of the chorus. There's no slow outro, no ending melody that you usually get with these epics. It just suddenly ends. I think this was intentional, once again complementing the lyrics.

It also destroys The Fugitive.

10
 
I agree the song is very atmospheric, mainly in the beginning and it's very catchy - I usually can't get it out of my head all day long whenever I listen to it.

The lyrics are undoubtedly the best and most interesting on the album, maybe along with WTWWB, but then again - both are very different and not really comparable.

On the other hand - and I know this depends on your subjective definition of "prog" - they have "proggier" songs, IMHO: Avalon, Legacy, Unbeliever, The Thin Line, The Great Unknown, Seventh Son in a way...

I like the chorus, IMHO it manages to take the idea from Infinite Dreams and improve it, by giving it a different context. It's, like, an upgrade, Infinite Dreams 2.0. :D

Still not a complete perfection AFAIC, so it gets a very strong 9/10 from me.

Mosh said:
It also destroys The Fugitive.
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Don't agree. Both are 9/10 to me, they are just completely different. It's like comparing EotC to Aces High - different purposes, different songs, neither perfect, love both.
Starblind probably wins by a slight margin, though. However, definitely no "destruction".
 
JudasMyGuide said:
Don't agree. Both are 9/10 to me, they are just completely different. It's like comparing EotC to Aces High - different purposes, different songs, neither perfect, love both.
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Yes, but is EotC more complex than Aces High?
 
Was reading a few recent posts on this song and about to play the song to make my own judgement and Holy Smoke came on the radio (planet rock of course). Up the Irons, indeed. Starblind cannot possibly follow Holy Smoke. Oh, now Dead or Alive is on. Starblind is for another time and place.

ON A STEEL HORSE IIII RIIIIIIIDE :rocker::yey::edmetal:
 
DJMayes said:
5.

A song that tries too much and sounds far too busy for it.
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This comment stood out and got me thinking. Starblind was a song I really liked earlier on, back when The Final Frontier was newer, (even if the whole album was a slow grower). Then I started to feel that the solos wander off a bit aimlessly, although that could be for effect. The release of The Book of Souls has definitely affected my perception of the previous album and put TFF songs in perspective within Maiden's overall discography. This one no longer stands half out as much for me. The pace is much slower. The lyrics are beautifully crafted, one of Bruce's finer moments, I believe. However, musically, I find there's not much to write home about, it's more a case of establishing atmosphere in the background, the lyrics really are the big event with this song.

7/10
 
8/10

Bruce is soooooooooo strained here. In a way it works, because it adds drama, but I wish he sounded better. In any case, Adrian is the highlight on this song with a lot of tasty licks and awesome riffs.
 
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8/10

Starblind continues in a similar epic fashion. A slow burn into a dramatic band introduction serves the backdrop for some of the band’s deepest, most thought-provoking lyrics. It deals with religion and fate and many other things that are hard to comprehend. Bruce’s lyrics are the murkiest they’ve been since Revelations, full of personal feelings, allusions and metaphors, and vivid imagery. I wouldn’t presume to decipher exactly what Professor Air Raid Siren is discussing here. Call it a creative choice if you wish, but Bruce clearly has trouble with the time signature at the beginning and it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Once it gets going, though, the song is quite dark and awesome, although the verse melody grows tiresome after a few minutes. Adrian solos throughout the song, except for a brief and obvious Davey cut-in. The second half of the bridge is amazing and H's starry final solo is particularly fitting.
 
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