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

[Gk1]

Well,it different to have a prog passage/part in the song....and to have a complete prog song.........I guess

 

[Eriko]

Trying not to expect anything from the new album... other that strongly believing it's going to be their best since Seventh Son..!!

 

[Kyle Boyack]

Am I the only one that finds it weird how Steve describe Bruce's "Enpire of the Clouds" as a departure. And it seems like he meant to use that word precisely. Purely from speculation though, you can tell by the name of the song, this song will be about aircraft and the book Empire of the Clouds. Could this mean Bruce is leaving. Probably not, But it's strange how Steve describes the song as a departure. Just something to think about.

 

[Night Prowler]

Could this mean Bruce is leaving.

 

[LooseCannon]

I think he means a departure from the usual Iron Maiden style.

 

[Kyle Boyack]

Notice how I said probably not. I know that s not gonna happen.That's the only speculation I could think of.

 

[Kyle Boyack]

I think he means a departure from the usual Iron Maiden style.

Yeah, it could be that to. But I wouldn't use the word departure to say that

 

[LooseCannon]

But I wouldn't use the word departure to say that

I would, it's a pretty standard word for deviation from the normal. And I'm pretty sure that it's one Steve would use.

 

[The Flash]

Yeah, it could be that to. But I wouldn't use the word departure to say that

It's used very frequently in music related conversation to mean a change in style. Think of any album where a band made a drastic change of approach, look it up on Wikipedia, you'll see either the words "change" or "departure".

From the St. Anger article:

"St. Anger is often recognized for being a radical musical departure from Metallica's earlier work; it features a modern heavy metal style, raw production, and no guitar solos."

 

[Gk1]

 

[bornless1]

St anger.....ewwww.

Anyway, this "empire of the clouds" is really starting to sound like something very interesting indeed. This will be an adventure. I'm picturing a stunning epic with a complete break somewhere along the way. Bruce soloing on piano and bringing the goosebumps, along the lines of " the garden" by Rush off clockwork angels.

 

[bearfan]

I am not sure how much of a departure Maiden will make, but their BNW-on departures have been cool. Thin Line, Lord of Light, Man Who Would Be King ... They seem to do a good job of interjecting some different elements into the Maiden sound.

 

[The Mid-Distance Runner]

"Departure" can also be used as a proper noun for oversized, ex-French now-Russian men who urinate in highly confined public places...

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/15/gerard-depardieu-russian-citizenship-valley-of-love

I absolutely love the new TBOS Eddie and his pitch black surroundings but am intrigued by the minimalist approach to the album cover considering that the Mayan subject matter of the title track is an artist's dream in regards to imagery. The band has impressed me with its discipline to resist a Mayan reprisal of the Powerslave cover. TBOS Eddie's lack of a defined environment is great, it gives the imagination an open invitation to visualise the scenery of the song rather than have an artist show us.

 

[Jeffmetal]

I also thought about Rush's The Garden when I read about the piano thing, but, Van Der Graaf Generator has a lot of piano stuff and maybe that's up Maiden (Bruce, mainly) street, in terms of textures of the instrument on the arrangement. If there's a piano appearing on the song, its role might be as they are on Bruce's solo stuff, maybe more pronounced as Bruce composed it on the piano, so maybe there are vital parts of the arrangement that have to be reproduced on the piano.

 

[Gk1]

Guys,The article says that Bruce just wrote the song on the piano. That's about it. I don't expect any piano recordings of any kind.

 

[bearfan]

I would not be surprised to hear some piano in the song ... they have not shied away from keyboards before.

 

[The Mid-Distance Runner]

Or organ perhaps.

 

[Jeffmetal]

Guys,The article says that Bruce just wrote the song on the piano. That's about it. I don't expect any piano recordings of any kind.

Is there a problem for that some of us use imagination on how the song(s) might be? You've been typing a lot and saying nothing on your posts criticizing epics, Steve, even coming to the absurd of saying that Maiden should be more instrumental and, eventually, cast Bruce aside. Oh, c'mon, man...

 

[Jeffmetal]

Some hammond textures would be amazing! The thing as some've been saying is all about the arrangement, not the instrument used.

 

[Gk1]

Is there a problem for that some of us use imagination on how the song(s) might be? You've been typing a lot and saying nothing on your posts criticizing epics, Steve, even coming to the absurd of saying that Maiden should be more instrumental and, eventually, cast Bruce aside. Oh, c'mon, man...

I don't get why we need to get offended about everything!