The Great Unknown

How good is The Great Unknown on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    16
This for me is one of the surprises on the album. Initially I hadn't given it much thought but on subsequent listens it does stand out more.

Bruce doesn't strain as he did on TFF though his vocals in general still can be quite difficult to listen to when he tries for the higher register.

Musically it is one of the more memorable tracks from the album and it isn't extended to mind numbing proportions lol

A good track.
 
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Decent song, although I don't find it very memorable. Somewhat of an Olde Western feel to the intro, which seems a bit odd and out of sorts with the rest of the song.
 
I thought it was Davey doing one arpeggio and Adrian doing the main riff but, actually, it's Adrian doing the whole thing by using index and middle fingers to hit the E and B high strings and the thumb to make the riff on the D and A strings (he uses the low E, too, on the end of a certain measure). It's really that open D tuning with the capo on the 2nd fret he uses for the whole song (just learned it, partially, this morning). Dave and Janick probably use the standard tuning.
 
9/10. Back on August 28 when the album 1st leaked, this was the 1st song on the album that I listened to. It seemed like the perfect song as I wanted to hear the songs that I was least interested about (based on titles and track order and of course length) before hearing a 13 minute song and a f***ing 18 minute song!!
Anyway, I was immediately very impressed with the album! Even though I really liked Speed Of Light, this song was when I thought we were definitely in for a great album, an album better than several that came before it especially The Final Frontier. I immediately thought the production was superb by the sound of this song, which I like it even more now. I definitely think this is Maiden's best album overall and I think it is their best sounding album.
 
Overall best, like better than anything from '80s?
I hold it in high regard too, especially this song, but let's keep it serious please.
 
I think it's their most boring album overall and sounds fucking rubbish. So different strokes for different folks eh!
 
I really like this song, it reminds me of A Matter of Life and Death but still completely different. But especially comparing this song to AMOLAD shows that their songwriting has evolved since then. I think the structure on this is really unique for Maiden, especially how instead of doing another verse after the first chorus, they did a guitar solo. It keeps building up from there, which works really well. There is a lot of unpredictability there keeping the song interesting and never feeling repetitive. Also not having another chorus after the second solo section was an interesting move. Everything about this song seems to flow really naturally, like they didn't try to force anything into it.

9
 
I like the intro (especially thanks to Bruce) but then it fails to take off. The one moment that made me think it wouldn't be played live (apart from the subjective feel that it is simply not a good song) is how copy/pasted the transition after the solo sounds before the initial melody resumes.
 
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I like the song and it's one of my early favourites, very X-Factorish in mood, but also reminding me a bit of AMoLaD, like Mosh said. However, it lacks the latter's unbelievable catchiness (every song on Matter kicks TGU's butt in memorability alone). The chorus is... strange.

I really like the harmony part and the song has a unique atmosphere, a weak 8 for me.
 
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This one gets a solid 7 for me. It gives off quite an AMOLAD vibe which does feel a bit out of place on this record. Seems quite similar in tone and feel to Mother of Mercy although I'd say Great Unknown is the much much better song.
 
Steve has received his fair share of criticism for bloated, repetitive compositions that predictably mix calm and fast parts.
This is a fine answer to that. It's a song that has a lot more in common with Infinite Dreams than No More Lies

There is a great deal of dramatic tension here, an ominous layering of guitar parts and a nice build.
The whole piece is a bubbling, seething mass that never quite erupts for the longest time. And when it finally does, I love how the lid is abruptly clamped back on, but you can still hear the angst bubbling beneath the calm surface.
I like the nasty Gers solo early and the way the harmony piece explodes into an Adrian showcase over a tight backdrop.

It's far from perfect. The vocal melodies aren't the best and, yes, Bruce is straining in parts.
But it's a different piece for Maiden and, overall, possibly the most underrated track from the album.
 
This is a weird song, to me. They've stood Maiden on their head and played something odd and interesting. I like it as a curio, not as a track to enjoy over and over again. Hard to place, but I'm going to go 6/10.
 
I like this one a lot. It takes you a bit by surprise, with all its changes and the odd structure. The sudden stop after Dave's solo before the calm part begins again creates a feel of calm after the storm. Bruce sounds good for the most part, altough he is quite strained in the chorus. 8/10.
 
Reminds me of Mother of Mercy. Loads of nice stuff going on but then... Bruce reaching for the high register. It is a grower though. Strong

6
 
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