The Aftermath

How good is The Aftermath on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    11
Re: Daily Song: The Aftermath

The slow parts are very powerful here, in no small part due to the brilliant and moving lyrics. The energy behind the solo is fantastic, after a great build-up to "I'm just a soldier!" One of the best tracks off the album. 8/10
 
Re: Daily Song: The Aftermath

7 out of 10... Janick's smokin' solo elevates this one from a lower rating. For me, Blaze's uninspiring vocal again brings down what is otherwise a good song.
 
Re: Daily Song: The Aftermath

taker64 said:
For me, Blaze's uninspiring vocal again brings down what is otherwise a good song.
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I struggle to see how another singer would do this song so much better, not even Bruce. Aces High-style vocals on this song? No thanks! On this song I think Blaze's vocals fit very well.
 
It's not so much that I would prefer that Bruce did the vocal ( although I'm sure I would like it more if he did), or even that Blaze's voice doesn't fit the song. It's just that, to my ear, Blaze Bayley is not a great vocalist. Not a bad vocalist, just not a great one. Iron Maiden needs a great one. The simple fact is that the band went from playing arenas and stadiums to small venues, and watched their album sales plummet because Blaze couldn't get the job done. He was an experiment that failed. Fronting the greatest band in the world was way beyond this guy's abilities...
 
Great middle section. Great lyrics. Good performances. But the melodies and the pacing don’t give the song the frame it deserves. It’s kind of like history class in high school with a mediocre teacher: lots of substance if you’re paying attention, but you have to work at paying attention. This song works better framed by more up-tempo Maiden, rather than following the two songs in the catalogue it most closely resembles. Another six.
 
taker64 said:
It's not so much that I would prefer that Bruce did the vocal ( although I'm sure I would like it more if he did), or even that Blaze's voice doesn't fit the song. It's just that, to my ear, Blaze Bayley is not a great vocalist. Not a bad vocalist, just not a great one. Iron Maiden needs a great one. The simple fact is that the band went from playing arenas and stadiums to small venues, and watched their album sales plummet because Blaze couldn't get the job done. He was an experiment that failed. Fronting the greatest band in the world was way beyond this guy's abilities...
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Although I agree on some of this, I don't let it influence on my opinion on individual songs. On some songs I think Blaze sounds flat (and at times he's mumbling more than singing), but The Aftermath is not one of those songs. I've never seen Blaze live with Maiden, and obviously he had enormous shoes to fill, something he was not capable of. Still, I think he delivers a powerful performance on this song.

The album sales didn't plummet because Blaze sang on them, but because Bruce didn't. I mean, Blaze hadn't had time to make a bad impression as a singer before the album was released - thus those who didn't buy the album probably thought that the band was dead because Bruce was out, and had no desire to follow them any more.

I became a fan more than three years after Bruce and Adrian came back, so I never experienced the disappointment of seeing Bruce leaving the band. Maybe that makes it easier to judge Blaze's singing on the album as such, without thinking about other aspects of that era of Maiden's career.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
The album sales didn't plummet because Blaze sang on them, but because Bruce didn't. I mean, Blaze hadn't had time to make a bad impression as a singer before the album was released - thus those who didn't buy the album probably thought that the band was dead because Bruce was out, and had no desire to follow them any more.
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Speaking only from my own experience, this is not entirely true. When X-Factor came out, a close friend bought it unheard. His verdict (the new singer sucks) was immediately shared with all the Maiden fans in his circle. We listened and agreed. None of us bought the album. I can't remember anyone in my circle dismissing the album before they heard it. Skeptical maybe, but not gone. It took me eight years to buy it. I like both Blaze albums now, but I'm with Taker in the sense that Blaze is fine, just not up to the incredibly high standard of the band.
 
An amazing song that portrays the terror, desperation and tragedy of a pointless waste of life in an elegic way. The build-up to the solo in particular is just blinding. Somehow, this song manages to plant images of the epic proportions of the suffering of the war in my head, much in the same way All Quiet on the Western Front did.

One detail I love about this song, next to the mentioned solo build-up, is the fade of Blaze's vocals at the end of the verse and the delayed cue of the chorus. Excellent stuff. 10/10.
 
How good is The Aftermath on a scale of 1-10?
...it's fucking good!

The "i'm just a soldier" line is probably the most emotional Maiden line ever, the lyrics are full of poetic images and song really captures the sheer stupidity of WW1.

10/10!
 
Damn it this album has fantastic intros. Another amazing intro. I don't like the vocal melodies of the song (except the chorus which is great). The highlight of the song is of course the breathtaking solo. 8/10.
 
Fantastic song.
Jugashvili said:
The "i'm just a soldier" line is probably the most emotional Maiden line ever, the lyrics are full of poetic images and song really captures the sheer stupidity of WW1.
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I totally agree. That line is one of Maiden's best. Simply amazing. I also really like that "should we be fighting at all". 9/10.
 
9- I love the main riff a lot.  This song seems to flow much better than some of the others on The X Factor.  Great vocals by Blaze as well and one of Janick's better solos. 
 
After the intro this song just slams right into the main riff! Great song with some great lyrics. It makes me feel like I'm right there on the front lines! 9
 
Another Maiden song about the futility and horror of war, and one of their best, I'd be so bold in saying! Like with many of ther other songs on "The X Factor", Blaze's dark vocal tones sound perfect here, though I think Bruce would sound awesome on it too!

The different sections of the song seem to go hand in hand with the war theme, the sadness of the intro, the dogged spirit and determination of the verses, the triumph tinged with empassioned sorrow of the chorus, and bridge, the chaos and bloodshed of the solo... it just all fits so incredibly well. Janick's solo on this one, is amazing, and certainly one of his (and arguably, one of Maiden's) finest. A brilliant song that might just be the best of the Blaze era. :)
 
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