MrKnickerbocker
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Now, I've seen everything! Wicker Man lower than Rainmaker?! Alex the best song on SIT?
But hey, that cover sure is awesome!
But hey, that cover sure is awesome!
SIT will end up as one of the top three albums by average ratings, if memory serves.WAIT WAIT WAIT - SIT is out of the contest at 30?
In that case, I'm fine.SIT will end up as one of the top three albums by average ratings, if memory serves.
I'm hoping to see Still Life and Infinite Dreams in the top 10...
Now this is an underrated song! It builds up perfectly, the lyrical theme is appealing and the chorus has me trying to sing along in that high pitched Mickey mouse voice every time I hear that song!
This is one of the more unique songs in the Maiden catalogue. Bruce is passionate and can sing in a mellow and harsher tone here which adds to the mood. The repetition "and then, and then" and the singing around that part is probably my favourite part of the song.
The third best PoM song after Revelations and The Trooper. Lovely introduction and the chorus is catchy as well. Cool solos and lyrics too. I'm just repeating what most people have said. Unfortunately the album is never this good again.
What can I say about this one? Deep, gripping, involving, haunting, chilling... and, I hardly ever use this word (or it's ugly brother), underrated. In the sense that more attention should be directed to this song... in the sense that it should be played live once again (yes, I said it! This is almost a setlist complaint! Rejoice!).
Still Life gets the award as being one of the most underrated IM songs. I suppose this is the "unofficial" title track of the album, since we hear the line, "Nightmares.....Will give me peace of mind.", even with a different spelling of "piece".
I also like the reversible message at the beginning by Nicko in reference to the prior NOTB album and the satanic criticism they received.
This song started off with such epic potential. The opening guitar solo is nothing short of beautiful. Bruce's singing and lyrics are so creepy that I love it.
Unfortunately, I always fail to see what is so special about this one. It does have a fantastic intro by Dave (continuation of Strange World - Prodigal Son - 22 Acacia Avenue sequence I was writing about on the respective topics) but I don't really see anything else.
There is also nothing annoying about this song and I definitely won't skip it if it comes on my shuffle.
Still Life is an oft-forgotten gem: a dark, atmospheric work with a rousing chorus. Davey’s intro solo is a thing of beauty. Bruce narrates the story of a demented man obsessed with ghostly figures in a pool of water, who eventually becomes so obsessed with his nightmares the he drowns himself and his lover in the murky waves. The major key pre-chorus is a bit jarring, but is only a minor distraction from a great song. Still Life’s abrupt ending is my favorite climax on the whole album.
This is my favorite song on the album and was my favorite Maiden song overall for a long time. This shows the band really playing with more progressive tendencies and creating a mood. It's dynamic but in a different way from Revelations. Where Revelations plays with going from soft to loud and back again, Still Life starts out soft and then doesn't look back once it goes loud. But it really works for this song. I love the dramatic vocals from Bruce, everything about the vocals and riffing has a sense of instability outlined by the lyrics. The harmony before the solo is very cool with a definite classical influence. Two more great solos, but at this point you come to expect nothing less.
I also love the sudden ending. How many other Maiden songs end like that?
A W E S O M E!!! That's what I call a forgotten classic! Great intro, nice aggression and cool vocal performance by Paul. That's Maiden at their best!
It really is one of the forgotten greats by Maiden (along with things like PotO, the Prisoner). The intro is really mood-setting (are those broken chords in D minor? It reminds me of Ktulu and Hangar18). Really catchy chorus, although I would've loved to see Bruce sing it (I got into Maiden too late to see their Early Days tour when it came here). The more I listen to it, the more I love it. Great stuff!
A fantastic song. Love Prance
This song includes four highlights: the acoustic intro, the drum roll after the intro, Paul's voice during the bridge, and the harmony solo.
However, the chorus vocal line follows the guitars and I feel they could have written a more interesting vocal line.
This one I love the way the lyrics flashes in front of my eyes like a movie and the tightness and the synchronization in the playing is mesmerizing. The guitar duets in the middle and the rhythm's groove are phenomenal.
This song is a hell of a rocker. Paul's delivery is great here and Steve and Clive provide a nice rhythm for this rampant song. This song has energy in abundance, and Paul's voice suits it extremely well.
Rue Morgue is a brilliant song. It’s fast enough that Paul probably had trouble keeping up with the lyrics at gigs. The rhythm section dominates throughout the track and the harmonized twin lead in the bridge is perfect: Murray and Smith play the solo together and it sounds just like police sirens. Steve Harris’ bass fill immediately following the build-up of Paul’s line, “Down the south to Italy” is one of my favorite Maiden moments of all time. I wish this song would get brought back into rotation, as I think Bruce Dickinson would, pardon my pun, kill it.
- Definitely one of the highlights of the album. I absolutely love the intro and the heavy riff that comes with it.
- The song is structured pretty "run-of-the-mill" for Maiden but it has an undeniable great energy that a lot of tracks in the same vein don't come anywhere near.
- The mid-section with the harmonies are fantastic. Pure, unadultarated energy.
- I'm not high on the chorus, it's a bit annoying.
Privately, I agree with you, but I am going by the numbers here.Wow. I like Rue Morgue, but this a good 30 spots higher than it has any right to be.
I'm absolutely shocked that everyone can't see how similar this is to Infinte Dreams. It's not a criticism to say it borrows heavily from a previous song - ID is one of the best and Starblind is cracking but at 2:21 of Starblind when it goes into "The crucible of pain..." bit is almost identical to the "can't be all co-incidence" bit in Infinite Dreams and as someone else said, the bluesy guitar licks in the background again are pretty similar. For instance listen to the little lead bit in the background at 2:15 of Starlbind and the one at 0:50 (suffocation, waking in a sweat) of Infinte Dreams - pretty much identical again.
The song definitely has some "space" feeling to it (never mind the lyrics) because of how it's produced. Especially how the guitar comes in after the breakdown, with the reverb in the back. Goes well with the album's theme. Musically I recognized a similarity to The Pilgrim from AMOLAD; the chorus ups the note after it's halfway through, which is what they did on Pilgrim in the instrumental chorus section.
Wind is still my goose bump song, but I can see a day when Starblind is the last song standing.
It's not the most obvious song, but it's such a track for the hardcore fan. There is just so much to appreciate — musically and creatively.
And there's no place like here to find people who appreciate the nuances of Maiden.
This is my favorite song on The Final Frontier. It would have not been too out of place on Somewhere in Time.
This song is too busy, too much going on, it could have been much better with a proper arrangement. Someone; read Kevin Shirley, should have told Bruce to shut the fuck up sometime during the song, and leave a little breathing space to reflect on the lyrics just sung before one gets a new batch of lines thrown in your face. Bruce blabbermouths more than my wife on this one, and it gives me a 'kin headache.
Shortly after Final Frontier was released, I mentioned that this was now my favorite song. Now that i've some distance from the album, my opinion is a bit different. To put it short, this is probably the best song i've ever heard, ever, by any band, ever. And it is the absolute pinnacle of Maiden's evolution as writers. If this song replaced HBTN on tour, i'd not shed a single tear, and that's saying a lot.
First of all, like everyone already pointed out, the lyrics are superb. I actually did quite a big school paper based on these lyrics a few years ago, and your thoughts and interpretations really helped. Thank you!
Like I said, excellent lyrics and one of the bands best. The song is quite dreamy and loose, which absolutely fits the lyrics. Just like Isle Of Avalon, the song has a jammy approach, but I think this fits this song better then the former. The chorus is fantastic, and so is the guitar work. My only problem with the song is that Bruces vocals are too rough, he should have done more layers and maybe some harmonies.
I think they knew what they were getting into. I'm pretty sure Bruce mentioned that he thought it would be clever because it'd spark that question. Great publicity from Rod's point of view too.This also means we've seen the last of The Final Frontier, the fourth reunion-era album. I remember when they announced the name of the album and pretty much every member in the band spent the next six months answering "Does that mean it's your last album!" which is clearly not what they had in mind. You have to wonder what they'd have called the album if they'd realized the questions they'd get.
I think they knew what they were getting into. I'm pretty sure Bruce mentioned that he thought it would be clever because it'd spark that question. Great publicity from Rod's point of view too.
Also they've reached the point in their career where every time they put an album out they're going to get that question. Might as well run with it.
This is one of the best album openers ever along with Aces High. Maiden couldn't have had a song that could set up the mystical and mysterious mood the album carries better than Moonchild. The solos also fit the mood of the song and are very good.
I fucking love this song. Aside from Aces High, this is my favourite opener. This song fucking rocks. Bruce sounds great on it, Adrian tears up the world, Steve and Nick drive this song. Can't get enough of this track.
I love the acoustic opening and the build up before Bruce kicks in yet upon picking up a copy of this album soon after it was released I was somewhat dismayed by this opener and have never learned to love it. To my ears the Moonchild chorus, the solos and the riff between the solos do not live up to the standards set by the previous album. All up its quite a good song but I feel it flies under greatness throughout and never lands the killer blow, so to speak.
There are no less than 5 songs on this album I like better. 2 on side A, 3 on side B. I agree with Invader that Maiden made better openers. And indeed, the instrumental section is less than most other songs Maiden made in this era. Still it's pretty good, because of its energy, Bruce's dramatic performance and nice melodies in the chorus.
My only beef with is is that I prefer hearing Adrian play that intro segment on guitar like on F666 than on keyboards or whatever was on the studio version. Menacing tune featuring some of Bruce's best vocals. Great song.
When I first discovered this album, Moonchild couldn't get out of my head and I used to listen to this song on repeat for hours. It really is one of my favourites. I love everything about this song... the intro, the solos, the lyrics and the aggressive vocals on the verses. Actually, it was the lyrics to this song that made Bruce be my favourite lyricist in the band.
Moonchild has probably given me more chills than any other Maiden opener. But unlike a lot of other Maiden openers, it functions well as both an energetic opener and a solid song on its own. Bruce's singing is aggressive but he hasn't lost his operatic touch. It has a lush reverb laden sound but a bit less dated than the previous album. A lot of subtle touches to this too, like the pinch harmonics during the chorus. Love the bridge and the way it builds into the guitar solos.