The Longest Day

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How good is The Longest Day on a scale of 1-10?

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10/10

The Longest Day is everything The X Factor wished to be contained in a single song. Steve’s famous bass gallop introduces a quiet intro that builds into another immense, meaty track with a soaring, emotive vocal from Bruce and lyrics about the Normandy invasion on the 6th of June 1944. It has the single best bridge Maiden has ever written, with a tone reminiscent of Paschendale. It creates a mood of battle with every note, from the opening salvo to a desperate fight on the beach with a heavy serpentine riff and a classic Adrian/Murray solo duel interspersed with a triple guitar unison. Add another classic solo to Adrian’s deck here. This album may have H's best collection of solos ever. Murray’s melodic lead is a triumphant burst of optimism, a hope for a light in the darkness.
 
"The Longest Day" features the most haunting and sinister lyrics from the album. Taking a more mystical approach, in contrast to the otherwise realistic and historical themes, Bruce (whom I believe to have penned the lyrics) makes use of the supernatural to recount the events of the "D-Day" (aka "The Longest Day") in spectacular fashion. The build up helps to create a mysterious atmosphere with a strong sense of doom which eventually leads to an uplifting yet agressive chorus, evoking perfect images of a battlefield, complete with bombs exploding everywhere (Nicko's drumming takes part in this very well, mimicking explosion sounds). Not as great as other epics on the album, but good enough for me to give it a strong 9.
 
Personally, I find this song a bit unremarkable. The verses are average, the chorus is good but quite repetitive, the instrumental section is definitely the best part. 7/10
 
An ominous intro builds into an even more ominous verse that just keeps ratcheting up the pressure. Brilliant lyrics here. Love the drum fills for the gun emplacements on the cliffs.

And boom, there's that glorious, soaring pre-chorus! So great. The chorus that follows is a step down, but still melodic and fitting.

More great verse, amazing pre-chorus, and solid chorus. A percussive break leads into a swaying melodic interlude that evokes images of the waves as the boats storm the beach. A great solo leads into a very nice harmonized section punctuated by a percussive break.

Another nice solo and we return to the chorus, before closing out with a tasteful intro reprise.

This song is everything that "Paschendale" should have been. A modern classic that stands next to the very best work that Maiden has ever done. The minor weaknesses aren't enough to reduce this from its rightful 10/10.
 
Jer said:
I'm sure you'll agree that that statement makes as much sense as giving "The Apparition" a 10/10. :ok:
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Dude, some people love “The Apparition”. Why don’t people accept that? I think the crazy thing is to consider it a turd and despise it altogether.
 
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