"The Book of Souls" - Official pre-release thread (CONTAINS ALBUM SPOILERS)

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I wonder if it's a blessing in disguise that I don't hear big differences in bad and good productions since that way, albums aren't ruined for me. DOD sounds just as amazing as SIT to my ears. I can hear the difference, but they both sound great to me.
 
Travis The Dragon said:
I wonder if it's a blessing in disguise that I don't hear big differences in bad and good productions since that way, albums aren't ruined for me. DOD sounds just as amazing as SIT to my ears. I can hear the difference, but they both sound great to me.
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I kinda hear production differences, but it rarely makes a big difference for me. Starblind is one of those moments where it ends up making such a difference. The general muddy sound just doesn't fit with the cosmic, otherworldly music that the song is going for. Having a more polished production a la BNW or SiT would have benefited that song tremendously.
 
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Chained Prometheus said:
I kinda hear production differences, but it rarely makes a big difference for me. Starblind is one of those moments where it ends up making such a difference. The general muddy sound just doesn't fit with the cosmic, otherworldly music that the song is going for. Having a more polished production a la BNW or SiT would have benefited that song tremendously.
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Especially when it's a song that's on of the best in the last 15-20 years music and lyric wise
 
Chained Prometheus said:
I kinda hear production differences, but it rarely makes a big difference for me. Starblind is one of those moments where it ends up making such a difference. The general muddy sound just doesn't fit with the cosmic, otherworldly music that the song is going for. Having a more polished production a la BNW or SiT would have benefited that song tremendously.
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I don't hear any "muddy" type sound in Starblind. The only albums where I've heard a production that bothers me are the "brickwalled/hot mastered" types such as Metallica's Death Magnetic and Black Sabbath's 13. With those, I can definitely hear distortion and how the sound got kind of ruined. But ever Maiden album sounds perfectly fine to my ears. Maybe it's because the songs themselves are so amazing that it doesn't bother me.
 
When I was listening to starblind the first time I was going crazy when the riff starts at 0:51... Sounded so great and then the verse kicked in and it sounded kinda muddy, don't u think?
 
Travis The Dragon said:
I don't hear any "muddy" type sound in Starblind. The only albums where I've heard a production that bothers me are the "brickwalled/hot mastered" types such as Metallica's Death Magnetic and Black Sabbath's 13. With those, I can definitely hear distortion and how the sound got kind of ruined. But ever Maiden album sounds perfectly fine to my ears. Maybe it's because the songs themselves are so amazing that it doesn't bother me.
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I'm not necessarily referring to TFF being brick-walled or hot mastered. I just think that the general sound and production of the album really doesn't match up with Starblind. The production style they went for on TFF worked wonderfully on AMOLAD, because of that album's darker, more raw nature. With Starblind and all that's going on musically in the song, it's sorta akin to watching the final portion of 2001: A Space Odyssey in 480p quality. It's not bad and you get the general imagery, but it's a bit muddy and blurred.
 
What is the fixation on Starblind ? Not a bad song, but on all of Maiden s catalogue, it is like not that much of a big deal! Please, help me understand.
 
I also don't know. It's a fine song with cool guitar work, but alas, this board is obsessed with it.

Still not as complex as The Fugitive, though.
 
Virtual Factor said:
Why does Adrian Smith has a default immunity on whatever he does ? I mean, he s good, but he wrote hooks in you wich is a baaaaad song...
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Lets say he saved the day with the SIT album because Bruce was bringing some weird stuff for that album... the solos Adrian plays on ATG, SIT,SIASL, WY are just terrific
 
I will admit that Starblind is starting to lose its hold for me. It's still a great song and one of my personal favorites, but I do think I probably rank a few other songs over it (not sure which yet). That said, the lyrics are pretty much unrivaled by any other in Maiden's discography. Only Revelations could arguably compare to it.
 
I can only speak for myself, but Starblind excels as a song in Maidens catalogue for multiple reasons.
1-Lyrically complex and thought provoking, easily among the best lyrics in a Maiden song.
2-The atmosphere is very unique, created by the mix of idiosyncratic rhythmic patterns and the immaculate guitar embellishment (courtesy of Adrian Smith) that dances seamlessly around the meat of the song, which makes the song seem a lot bigger than it actually is.
3-The level of musicianship is typically world class, but especially noticeable for the interplay between the the the guitars (but I concede its not necessarily better than other maiden songs, since maiden are consistently strong in that department.)
4-Really good riffs. Peculiar upon first listen but undeniably fresh and fitting of the theme. The riff around the 5:10 mark during the instrumental is incredibly strong and memorable.

All that said, I can see why it wouldn't appeal as much to others (much like the entirety of TFF) Structurally, its pretty predictable and conventional and doesn't really have a hook, so to speak. Its more about immersion and layering.
 
Chained Prometheus said:
I'm not necessarily referring to TFF being brick-walled or hot mastered. I just think that the general sound and production of the album really doesn't match up with Starblind. The production style they went for on TFF worked wonderfully on AMOLAD, because of that album's darker, more raw nature. With Starblind and all that's going on musically in the song, it's sorta akin to watching the final portion of 2001: A Space Odyssey in 480p quality. It's not bad and you get the general imagery, but it's a bit muddy and blurred.
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Oh, I never thought that you think TFF is brickwalled or hot mastered. I'm saying that I can hear bad production on an album that is produced that way such as Death Magnetic and 13, but for other types of production that others might describe as "muddy" and such, I don't hear that type of sound.
 
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