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

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Yep, its a keeper. Really enjoying the bluesy tinge on it, which feels like a homage to some of their influences, without compromising the classic Maiden aesthetic.
What really comes through though is that sense of spontaneity, the live feel that they were going for. During the pre-chorus you can hear bruce just playing around with the vocal melody and its just so refreshing to hear that. Nick also does some really neat embellishment on the drums, doing some pretty sweet licks on the ride during various parts of the song. The three musketeers do a fine job, great solo section with some interesting key changes behind. And Steve is typically strong, though nothing flashy. Love his intensified bass line during the last chorus.

Perhaps the most enjoyable thing about this particular song is that it really does feel like everyone is having a great time. It genuinely sounds like a song they made for themselves as opposed to trying to cater to the fans, and if there is one thing I want any band I enjoy to do, its to stay true to themselves. And they have done that in spades here.

It has a different feel to most of their other singles due to that spontaneity and the blues rock influence, which will understandably put some people off...especially if you were expecting something that Maiden had no intention of (re)doing. But you can't think of it as changing the menu, so to speak; they're adding to the (already expansive) buffet.

SEPTEMBER WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!?!
 
Umm.. I think I will play it again.. YES I FUCKING WILL!!!

High point so far: When Bruce is belting out "The Human Raaaa aaaa aaaaace"!! :shred::rocker:
 
I've been driving across the Australian countryside at dusk with half an eye looking out for kangaroos hopping across the highway and have pulled over to add my first impressions to the forum.

Wow!! The song song has swagger and a truly intergalactic, gargantuan chorus!! The way Bruce waits two beats before belting out the first line of the chorus creates the perfect launchpad for its epicness. Davey and Adrian are in excellent form. Janick misses out on a solo but will surely get plenty of solos throughout the album.

And great to hear "our little 29 second friend" in the context of the song!

\m/
 
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The only thing I don't like is the cowbells. I can't believe the talk of "bad production", I have criticised the Shirley produced albums but this sounds great to me . Nicko's drumming has always sounded weird , even going back to "powerslave" .

The song sounds fresh and exciting and it made my anticipation for the album that much harder . Anyway most IM singles have been criticised since "flight of Icarus" (yes it is true , many people hated FOI at the time of its release ) .
 
Caveman Ninja said:
No goosebumps here. It's ok, but I hope it's the worst song on the album like El Dorado was last time. In fact, this is a lot like a better El Dorado. The intro riff is such hard rock/blues cheese that when they introduced it on Planet Rock and went into this I thought they must be playing one of their little jingles before playing the actual song. They weren't!
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El Dorado's amazing lyrics pushed it from an average song to a great one, in my opinion. It told a great story and really made me think. Speed of Light's lyrics so far seem kind of throw-away. Song is pretty rocking, though. I like it but am looking forward more to the prog epics on the new album!
 
First impression: this is probably worst than El Dorado...

Too bad, the teaser really hyped me, but that freshness and tone misses in the whole song. Video is supreme.
 
love it so far. Sounds like the band are having a blast. Love the scream. Yeaaoooow! :devil:
Also...It's just become available in my iTunes HAHAHA:yey:. And just after I mp3 ripped it
 
I hate to be a party-pooper but I'm a little disappointed by SoL. The solos are nice, the chorus is decent but the verse bothers me. I feel like the vocal melody doesn't fit with the other instruments. Perhaps it's a grower for me, time will tell.
 
Saapanael said:
I hate to be a party-pooper but I'm a little disappointed by SoL. The solos are nice, the chorus is decent but the verse bothers me. I feel like the vocal melody doesn't fit with the other instruments. Perhaps it's a grower for me, time will tell.
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I thought that for the first couple of listens too. Seems to all fit for me now though.
 
On my lunch break at work, just watched it on an iPhone with a shitty cracked screen and I STILL had a big smile on my face! Love it, can't wait to get home so me and my neighbours can listen to it 'properly'!!
 
Harold B.ThyName said:
On my lunch break at work, just watched it on an iPhone with a shitty cracked screen and I STILL had a big smile on my face! Love it, can't wait to get home so me and my neighbours can listen to it 'properly'!!
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It hasn't given me that smile that I expected at all. I'm sure the album will though.
 
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