The Assassin

[bearfan]

A 6, not a horrible song, but not great either.  I debated a 5 on this one, but think it is close to a 6

 

[edge of darkness]

6. This song is ok. Bruce really captures the mood of this song on the verses. It also has a nice instrumental section. However the chorus is so cringe worthy for me it makes me tend to dislike this song. Bruce builds up the mood but the chorus just can't deliver for me.

 

[Revelations85]

6/10. Not great, not terrible.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

A big stinking 1.

I love the dark tonality of the riffs, but the lyrics and melodies are just abysmal. It sounds like the first song that every metal band writes together, before firing their lead singer because he can't write lyrics.

"Oi guys, we're a metal band. What's a metal song topic?"
"How about assassins?"
"That's good, assassins are badass! Let's just repeat 'assassin' over and over again, that's metal!"

 

[22 The Avenue]

Not one of Bruce's better songs thus far in the discography. It's not that he botched it from an effort standpoint. It's just so incredibly corny. The back up vocals make it laughable too. I've listened to this song over and over and it never gets better. 5/10 for a mediocre song.

 

[Eddieson]

The melodies are cool, and a cool performance on the verses, but the chorus seems out of place and is a bit awkward as well. The back up vocals is quite ridiculous. The solos are okay but the translation to the verse is not well done.
This disturbers me, because the ideas in the song are great, but it can't get more then a 5.

 

[DJMayes]

7. Goes from appropriately atmospheric to incredibly cheesy at the flick of a switch and I don't even mind.

Rankings:

Spoiler

Previous Albums:

Spoiler

Iron Maiden - 6.67

Spoiler

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

Killers - 5.91

Spoiler

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

The Number Of The Beast - 7.56

Spoiler

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

Piece Of Mind - 7.44

Spoiler

8 - Where Eagles Dare
9 - Revelations
9 - Flight Of Icarus
7 - Die With Your Boots On
8 - The Trooper
7 - Still Life
6 - Quest For Fire
6 - Sun And Steel
7 - To Tame A Land

Powerslave - 6.75

Spoiler

8 - Aces High
7 - 2 Minutes To Midnight
3 - Loss Fer Words
7 - Flash Of The Blade
5 - The Duellists
6 - Back In The Village
9 - Powerslave
9 - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Somewhere In Time - 8.00

Spoiler

8 - Caught Somewhere In Time
9 - Wasted Years
8 - Sea Of Madness
8 - Heaven Can Wait
8 - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
7 - Stranger In A Strange Land
8 - Deja Vu
8 - Alexander The Great

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - 8.25

Spoiler

7 - Moonchild
9 - Infinite Dreams
9 - Can I Play With Madness
9 - The Evil That Men Do
10 - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
6 - The Prophecy
8 - The Clairvoyant
8 - Only The Good Die Young

No Prayer For The Dying

6 - Tailgunner
6 - Holy Smoke
8 - No Prayer For The Dying
7 - Public Enema Number One
7 - Fates Warning
7 - The Assassin

 

[Pand]

I like the first 20 seconds.
2/10

 

[Poto]

Another 6/10.. The intro is very good, and I like the tense verse. The rest of the song however is quite bad.. It's a rather mixed bag!

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

3/10

The Assassin is a beautifully composed Harris piece with absolutely atrocious lyrics. The creeping guitars and driving bass during the verse evoke a vaguely James Bond, secret agent vibe that match well with the lyrical depiction of an assassin who kills for pleasure rather than financial gain. But the chorus, oh lord, the chorus is abysmal. The half-assed group chanting “better watch out” is about as intimidating as a bunny wearing a top hat.

 

[LooseCannon]

I like the music at the beginning, for what it is here, simple, atmospheric, and it builds to a head, and then it just all goes so wrong. So wrong. One of the worst songs in the catalog. It never gets interesting or delivers on early promises.

3/10.

 

[Forostar]

Re: Daily Song: The Assassin

8. Poor lyrics, but quite effective, like the hundreds of movies of serial killer we watch, late at night, to kill the time. Interesting construction of chords and build up of the song. Bruce singing is quite enjoyable as he plays the assassin carachter pretty convincing. The bridge before the solo, the solo rhythm and the harmony changes are some of the most interesting and enjoyable from the Maiden - it comes from 'octaved' Cm to Em, on Davey's solo, then to D major (or B minor?), and A then F, on Jan's solo; the solos themselves are pretty well executed and Janick one is one of his best for me. Totally manic. At its worst, Maiden can still blow your mind.

@Jeffmetal I think you forgot to vote for this one.

 

[Jeffmetal]

@Jeffmetal I think you forgot to vote for this one.

Now, The Assassin has 8 and NPFTD has the average of 7,5 but, it stayed in the same spot as it was since March. Foro, could you please update this info on my albums ranking by person thread? Thanx in advance. \m/

 

[Forostar]

O wait, I meant that you hadn't voted, but in fact, you gave it a 4 (look at the votes in this topic)! Is that correct @Jeffmetal ? Or should it be 8?

 

[Jeffmetal]

It's correct the 8. I typed it wrongly.

 

[Forostar]

Then please change the vote from 4 to 8. There's a button "change your vote".

 

[Forostar]

I'm giving a nine this time.

The chorus in The Assassin has a really catchy riff. And the rest of the song is really fine. The build-up is nice. The song consists out of at least 10(!) different parts. Relatively seen, the chorus doesn't take that much of the song (around 23%) , and I know far worse choruses.

The solos are more special and better than on the title track of this record. In fact, that whole instrumental part is better than the whole NPFTD midsection (incl. the vocals). Also the music underneath the solos contributes in a better way. I like that eastern flavour in the accompanying rhythm guitar (while Dave does his solo) and the drum rhythm swings butt as well. Also, during the couplets the two different guitars are cool, and pretty unique. Especially Janick's ta-ta-ta-ta-taaa ... is a serious attempt to make the song more exciting, and it works.

 

[Mosh]

The infamous Assassin. I don't think this one is bad. Right off the bat we're given that 3+3+2 rhythm that really dominates a lot of the next album. It's cool here though. Lots of guitar layering in the verses, which is a bit unusual for Maiden. Cool instrument section. Chorus is a bit silly, but it works for the song.

6

 

[BeThyJames]

Their worst song to date. Embarrassing chorus and lyrics.

Just 2 years before he wrote this, Steve wrote 7th Son, which is a masterpiece. What on earth happened inbetween I can't imagine.

4

 

[Number 6]

I see where 'Arry was trying to get here, but, the point is, it never went anywhere. It's like he was trying to emulate "Killers" with a different approach to the music, but it ultimately never achieves the same level of greatness and feels vastly unnecessary. Not too bad, though. A 6 for this one.