The Book of Souls: General album discussion

I find it amusing H left in '89 because he thought they band were taking a step backwards musically yet all the songs he wrote for TBOS echo 80s Maiden (except for TGU but even so that sounds like it belongs on AMOLAD)
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Can you define what you're talking about here? I honestly don't hear any difference between the melodies in EOTC and the rest of Maiden's songs, except that they are played on a piano.
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Yes, Maiden has always been about 5-fingered melodies, only played on guitar

What they shouldn't have done in my opinion, is playing those melodies on piano along with Bruce singing those same melodies. Sounds worse than guitar play-along on Red&Black. Just some piano backing/chords would have been better, I think
 
Severian said:
I find it amusing H left in '89 because he thought they band were taking a step backwards musically yet all the songs he wrote for TBOS echo 80s Maiden (except for TGU but even so that sounds like it belongs on AMOLAD)
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Well it's 25 years later now, maybe he reached his mid life crisis later than the rest of them :lol:
 
Well its a great album overall. Sadly there is some filler issues(like DoD)as well as riff rehash and edits needed, but there ya go.
My reunion rankings
1. BNW
2. AMOLAD
3. TFF, DOD, BOS
 
I got to admit, the more I listen to this album... the more and more it grows on me, even the stuff that I usually consider the forgettable filler material comes across catchy at time, more so than the last three Iron Maiden albums. While Brave New World I still consider not only the best of the Modern Maiden Albums, but one of the best albums the band has ever put, Book of Souls manages to shine bright in this modern era. While albums like DoD, AMOLAD, and TFF all had great songs, it was clear the the fans knew what stood out in those albums. Book of Souls clearly has songs that stand out, but I'm seeing fans debate more among what they feel are the best. Some say it's the title track, some say it's "The Red and the Black", "If Eternity Should Fail", or "Death or Glory". And I myself am starting to really like songs like "The Great Unknown". Sorry guys, but I'm gonna have to continue praising this album the more and more I listen to it. It may not be the best Iron Maiden album, but it still kicks major ass and does very well for the Modern Maiden Era.

My Reunion Rankings:
1. Brave New World
2. The Book of Souls
3. A Matter of Life and Death
4. The Final Frontier
5. Dance of Death
 
frus said:
Yes, Maiden has always been about 5-fingered melodies, only played on guitar

What they shouldn't have done in my opinion, is playing those melodies on piano along with Bruce singing those same melodies. Sounds worse than guitar play-along on Red&Black. Just some piano backing/chords would have been better, I think
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See, I actually don't mind him singing along with the piano melody, it seems to fit the overall tone and neither frequency cancels each other out or fights for space. TRATB, as great as it is, annoys me a bit with the amount of vocal/guitar unisons. All great melodies, but I just don't think Bruce's voice works very well going note for note with a guitar.
 
So, after a full long weekends worth of listening I can safely say this is a great album and pretty much everything (and more) I was expecting out of a new Maiden release. A few notes below stream of thought notes below, but I'd say this is already probably slightly below AMOLAD as my favorite of the reunion era albums and could definitely go up once they start touring.

- I am totally relieved to not have a single mention of war on here. DOD, AMOLAD (in particular) and Mother of Mercy on TFF were so war centered that it's nice to see them finally move on to other topics.

- For the lack of a better term, the melodies on here are the brightest (major keys? I have no idea) since BNW which is probably why folks who may like that album like this one so much.

- Seriously, I love the return of all the harmonies. There's harmony bits in nearly every one of these songs. On TFF there were like 5 harmonies on the entire album which was sorely noticed.

- I think this album flows really well. It works well as a 90 minute album as well as a disc 1 and disc 2. The only clunker on here is the first 6 minutes of The Red and the Black.

- The production is adequate. More roomy than TFF which is good and the drums sound better to my ears. Wish it could have been better of course but I'll take it.

I'll do more of a commentary on the songs in their respective threads but I'm still so happy to have a new Maiden album I don't have to force myself to like. TFF was a weird one for me that I didn't truly love for months after it was released. This one was love at first listen for me.

Highlights - If Eternity Should Fail, the last 4 minutes of The Red and the Black, The Book of Souls, all of disc 2.

Lowlights - I like sections but not all of The Great Unknown and When the River Runs Deep.
 
Donner said:
- I am totally relieved to not have a single mention of war on here. DOD, AMOLAD (in particular) and Mother of Mercy on TFF were so war centered that it's nice to see them finally move on to other topics.
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Did you...did you skip Death or Glory?
 
Donner said:
- The production is adequate. More roomy than TFF which is good and the drums sound better to my ears. Wish it could have been better of course but I'll take it.
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I spent some time carefully EQing the tracks to my taste and slightly compressed the low end a bit more. Much more enjoyable for me to listen to now than the official release. Some tradeoffs of course, but I had a hard time listening to the songs due to the muddy drums and the piercing 2 khz rhytm guitars.
 
I must say I really love IESF, TBOS, TOAC. Some parts of EOTC, TRATB and WTRRD I like a lot but those songs as a whole don't amaze me actually. I personally think that this album has a lot of up and downs, perhaps more than the other reunion albums.

Edit: also, something I dislike about this album and I feel it in almost every song is that it seems rushed and careless. Examples: TRATB, SOTV, SOL, TGU.
 
Srogyy said:
I would be really pissed off if after weeks of avoiding spoilers I went to shop to buy the record and they would be just blasting it through speakers :D
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This literally happened to me when I bought it at Empik in a shopping mall in Cracow, last Friday. Annoying indeed. Never was so impatient before, when buying an album. I had to leave that store, at the speed of light!
 
Forostar said:
This literally happened to me when I bought it at Empik in a shopping mall in Cracow, last Friday. Annoying indeed. Never was so impatient before, when buying an album. I had to leave that store, at the speed of light!
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Oh, shit, that's terrible :D I got my copy at Empik too, but in Wrocław and fortunately they weren't playing it (maybe because it was early). You've already heard the album, so it was less painful I guess! ;)
 
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