The Official Maidenfans.com Rankings results (2004-2016)

[Diesel 11]

Be Quick Or Be Dead already? Whaaaaaaa

Odd how people can feel so different... then again The Angel and the Gambler is a guilty pleasure of mine so who am I to judge?

Same, actually, it was #75 on my list if you were checking it out.

 

[fekso2017]

The most satisfying fact so far is that the Blaze Bayley sunged tracks have managed to stay out of the absolute bottom. I expect a few droping in soon though. I think Dont Look To The Eyes of a Stranger is next!

137: Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger - Virtual XI (Harris)
Average score: 6.72/10
Virtual XI 2/8

Back to our second Blaze song, again from Virtual XI, a fact that probably shocks very few people. However, that wasn't the case. In terms of ranked performances, this is our most decorated song so far, with two Top 50 performances and two Top 100 appearances, all in the 00s. And then the cliff was pulled out from under this song. Once ranked at 9.00, it has since slumped all the way down to 5.05, the fifth-worst in 2016. This includes a 76 place drop from 2008-2011, which may very well stand as the largest change ranking-to-ranking. What's changed? Some members who gave it middling rankings back in the day now give it really low ones (myself included), so maybe it didn't age well. Maybe we have more Blaze-haters now (this is actually statistically true in all Blaze-era songs, none of them go up after 2008). Quite the change in this song's Maidenfans fortunes.

Choice comments:











Statistics

Spoiler

Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.90; 84/123
2005: 8.88 +0.98; 39/124 +45
2006: 9.00 +0.12; 38/124 +1
2008: 8.64 -0.36; 58/134 -20
2011: 5.88 -2.76; 134/144 -76
2012: 132/144 +2
2014: 5.85 -0.03; 136/144 -4
2015: 6.03 +0.18; 133/144 +3
2016: 5.05 +0.79; 151/155 -18

Overall

Spoiler

137 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 1/9
The Number of the Beast 1/9
Piece of Mind 1/9
No Prayer For the Dying 6/10
Fear of the Dark 6/12
Virtual XI 2/8
Dance of Death 2/11

Called it!

 

[Magnus]

T132: Innocent Exile - Killers (Murray, Harris)
Average score: 6.82/10
Killers 1/11
Top 100: 2004, 2005, 2006

I was wrong, it was Twilight Zone

And it's Twilight Zone that's (Murray, Harris), not Innocent Exile.

 

[Black Wizard]

136: Wildest Dreams - Dance of Death (Smith, Harris)
Average score: 6.74/10
Dance of Death 3/11
Top 100: 2006, 2008

We are getting closer and closer to the end of the Meh Zone, but I'd say Wildest Dreams is right in the middle of that curve. In fact, this song has one of the least number of comments on it in among tenured songs. It just doesn't generate that much discussion. Most people like the solo and instrumental, but find it to pale to other album openers. Several people wished it wasn't the first song, preferring Rainmaker for that role (a song we will see much later on). This song gets a couple Top 100 entries in the late 00s, scoring in the high 7s, then falls off the cliff and spirals down to the high 5s by last year.

I rate 'Wildest Dreams' very highly. I'm sad to see it so low.

 

[fekso2017]

Be Quick Or Be Dead already? Whaaaaaaa

Same, actually, it was #75 on my list if you were checking it out.

Can you link it?

 

[LooseCannon]

And it's Twilight Zone that's (Murray, Harris), not Innocent Exile.

I seriously can't not confuse these songs.

 

[LooseCannon]

T132: Sun and Steel - Piece of Mind (Dickinson, Smith)
Average score: 6.82/10 Deviance: 0.93
Piece of Mind 2/9
Top 100: 2012

Interestingly, this is one of the songs that gets benchmarked quite frequently against another one. The lackluster one-two Quest For Fire/Sun and Steel punch has people constantly comparing the two. A fair few people have really strong opinions of this short rocker, though, falling in love with its fast tempo and its hallelujah chorus (to steal a phrase). It's a very stable song statistically, starting in the low sevens and finishing in the mid sixes, only breaking into the Top 100 once. I really don't have much more to say about this track. Sorry, it's a pretty good example of average, inoffensive, uninteresting Iron Maiden.

Choice comments:

It seems hastily written (can you say Air Supply hehehe) but brilliantly executed. The problem here in my opinion, is that the song does not go into enough detail. It seems to be a very very vague storyline of a very very interesting subject. Something, again in my opinion, that is very uncharasteristic of Iron Maiden.

This could've been a staple live as Trooper and it'd have worked better live than Run To The Hills. The song is a non stopping pound of Metal with once again (I don't get tired of repeating it) an amazing emotive instrumental section and Bruce's performance here is one of my faves! The chorus is one of Maiden's best.

It's got an annoyingly happy chorus, nothing really memorable, and it's probably the worst song on the album.

I’m going to paraphrase an observation from elsewhere on this site: if this was track four on Killers or No Prayer, it would get way more love. It’s just kind of tucked away, a lesser son of a strong album. The chorus is great and the instrumental part solid. The lyrics and the verses are weaker.

Quite a good song is this. I personally don't think it matters that it follows Quest for Fire or not, on it's own it stands as a decent song.

I think that Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth listened to this song many, many times, because I heard that verse riff many, many times in IE songs

Fun track but seems rehashed Trooper gallop. Good chorus, interesting lyrics. Filler-ish. Lacks the "interesting" secret ingredient.

I used to hate this more than Quest For Fire, and after re-listening to it, I can say it's slightly better than I remember it, but that's hardly saying much. It's more boring than annoying, and while I can see what they were going for, it's just not thought out and executed well at all. The chorus is a little memorable though, so it has that over Quest.

Statistics

Spoiler

Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.28; 104/123
2005: 7.04 -0.24; 102/124 +2
2006: 7.00 -0.04; 103/124 -1
2008: 7.22 +0.22; 111/134 -8
2011: 6.82 -0.40; 113/144 -2
2012: 99/144 +14
2014: 6.76 -0.06 122/144 -23
2015: 6.74 -0.02; 122/144 NC
2016: 6.35 -0.39; 134/155 -12

Overall

Spoiler

132 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
132 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
134 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
135 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
136 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
137 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
Killers 1/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
The Number of the Beast 1/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 0
Piece of Mind 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 1
No Prayer For the Dying 6/10 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 2
Fear of the Dark 7/12 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 9
Virtual XI 2/8 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 2
Dance of Death 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 2

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
0.93 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
0.96 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.52 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.86 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.04 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.04 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.95 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)

 

[SirRobbins]

surprised Invaders hasn't made the list yet.... that chorus is awful! It's a cheesy song

 

[fekso2017]

At this point I feel sad for every song coming in. Be Quick or Be Dead and Sun and Steel are great, but the competition is hard!

 

[LooseCannon]

131: Public Enema Number One - No Prayer For the Dying (Murray, Dickinson)
Average score: 6.88/10 Deviance: 1.94
No Prayer For the Dying 7/10
Top 100: 2004, 2012

I really can't figure out why they used the word "enema" in the title. It just seems so unnecessary, like they're calling the various politicians and such shit, but they didn't want to come out and say it. It's a kind of cruel, unnecessary faux-cleverness that I really dislike. In general, lots of people are very positive about Dave's solo in this song. Some people like the lyrics and some people don't, but most people are fairly displeased in general. Not a lot of people engaged heavily on this song. @MrKnickerbocker went from rating it a 4 to rating it a 9 just three years later. It has a pair of Top 100 entries, which seems to be the average for songs in this range, and has varied from a near-eight as low as a six. It's again on the upswing on Maidenfans, rating in the low 7s and approaching the Top 100 again with a finish at 103 in 2016.

Choice comments:

It has so much energy and it a great driving anthem. Its a raw metal mascarade with early-days style soloing. How can you not love it?

I actually don't mind the lyrics on this one, but it feels "raw" in a way we haven't heard with Killers. This is one of the reasons I'm not the biggest fan of this album. I can imagine what this song would sound like on PoM or Seventh Son, and I am of the opinion that it would sound great there.

To my ears it just works; it's relentless, heavy as hell, Bruce's screaming and growling lyrics sound better than anything else he does on this album. The message of the song fits perfectly with the chaotic instrumentation.

One night, I came home and everything was dark, the cat rushed to the door and I accidentally stepped on its paw. The scream of the poor thing sounded much like the opening riff to this song. In other word: It's horrible, and again, we encounter the poor guitar harmonies.

ep, I merged this in to the wrong thread. I will fix it shortly, but it will take a bit of time.

Good song, but the only thing that's REALLY good is the chorus. Solos are good, but forgettable.

Among the better songs on the album, and perhaps the one where the singing style Bruce adopted for this album works best.

Murray's great guitar solo is the only thing in this song that isn't relatively forgettable.

Despite a great solo by Murray, this song just doesn't work for me. The first line of the chorus is great, the second not so much.

Dave really outshines the other members with a fantastic solo.

Statistics

Spoiler

Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.88; 86/123
2005: 5.94 -1.94; 113/124 -27
2006: 6.00 +0.06; 113/124 NC
2008: 6.46 +0.46; 122/134 -9
2011: 7.06 +0.60; 107/144 +15
2012: 90/144 +17
2014: 7.06 NC 111/144 -21
2015: 6.98 -0.08; 114/144 -3
2016: 7.22 +0.24; 103/155 +11

Overall

Spoiler

131 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
132 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
132 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
134 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
135 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
136 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
137 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
Killers 1/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
The Number of the Beast 1/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 0
Piece of Mind 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 1
No Prayer For the Dying 7/10 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 4
Fear of the Dark 7/12 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 9
Virtual XI 2/8 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 2
Dance of Death 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 2

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
0.93 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
0.96 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.52 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.86 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
1.94 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.04 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.04 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.95 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Yep, this is one of those rare occasions where I have come to really enjoy a Maiden song despite some truly dreadful lyrics. *And this one has dropped to an 8 for me recently.

Giving some of these songs a specific rating is rather difficult because when I'm rating an album I'm rating each song within the context of that record. I'm not, for instance, comparing Public Enema to Sea of Madness (another song I gave an 8) because the bar is set differently on each album and I have to judge them respective of their specific collection, not the whole discography.

 

[LooseCannon]

130: Another Life - Killers (Harris)
Average score: 6.89/10 Deviance: 0.81
Killers 2/11
Top 100: 2005

In terms of deviation, this song has gone as high as a 7.28 and as low as a 6.47, which is 0.81 points. Regardless of the members or the time period, this song has been frequently considered a prime Meh Zone candidate. It grades mildly higher earlier on in the existence of Maidenfans and slowly slides lower, however. Personally, I can't really remember much of the song without going and listening to it. This song has cracked the Top 100 only once, in 2005. Lots of compliments for Clive's drumming on this track, but many people have noticed it feels unfinished.

Choice comments:

The opening toms are pretty awesome. I love the sound. This track is really Cool the opening riffs are not really maiden sounding, but when the other riffs come into the song, it sounds great.

Its pretty basic as someone said, however, the opening drum intro alongside with the opening guitar solo makes it more than special. I only wish more lyrics to this one…. it turns kinda boring after some listenings…

I'll give it some credit. It's the best of the worst. I like the solo's in this song and that is about it.

I'm surprised Birch and Harris let it on the album without developing it more.

I love that guitar riff Dave introduces before hell breaks loose. Unfortunately the rest of the song lacks enough excitement and variation

A flat out, pedal to the metal rocker... Paul shines, as does Clyde. As a typical angst ridden youth, I used to feel that this song was really speaking to me at some level. The more inebriated I was, the more that seemed so.

love the energy and similarly to prowlers and drifter high energy and instrumental effort wins out to low lyrical content

Nice song, not among the best from the album, more of a cheerful vibe to it with that nice groove.

One of my least favorite songs off this album and of Maiden in general.

You know, the intro for this song is really cool, and it sounds as if it's a precursor to Speed Of Light. And honestly, I think I've underrated this one a fair bit upon re-listening to it. It's somewhat clunky in its delivery, and sounds a little cacophonic at times, especially near the end though.

Worst on the album, pretty useless except for some cool soloing at the start.

Statistics

Spoiler

Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.22; 106/123
2005: 7.28 +0.06; 94/124 +12
2006: 7.00 -0.28; 103/124 -9
2008: 7.22 +0.22; 111/134 -8
2011: 6.82 -0.40; 113/144 -2
2012: 130/144 -17
2014: 6.81 -0.01 118/144 +12
2015: 6.89 +0.08; 118/144 NC
2016: 6.47 -0.42; 131/155 -13

Overall

Spoiler

130 - Another Life (Killers)
131 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
132 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
132 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
134 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
135 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
136 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
137 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
Killers 2/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 4
The Number of the Beast 1/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 0
Piece of Mind 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 1
No Prayer For the Dying 7/10 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 4
Fear of the Dark 7/12 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 9
Virtual XI 2/8 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 2
Dance of Death 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 2

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.81 - Another Life (Killers)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
0.93 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
0.96 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.52 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.86 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
1.94 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.04 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.04 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.95 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)

 

[fekso]

They could have found a better song to play during The Early Days tour than Another Life. Flight Of Icarus is one. To Tame A Land seemed obvious since Phantom of the Opera was back in the set in 1999.

 

[LooseCannon]

129: Drifter - Killers (Harris)
Average score: 6.90/10 Deviance: 1.82
Killers 3/11
Top 100: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008

Wow, that was easy to set up. I wish they were all album clustered like this! Statistically, this is the tale of two decades. In the 00s this was a consistent Top 100 song; since then, it has sunk down the ratings significantly. Some really interesting comments in here about the choice of lyrics and the way the song develops being different than traditional Iron Maiden. Some love it. Most do not. A few good notes for the guitars as well, but everything else seems to get a failing grade. I think this one will slide down the rankings more over the next few decades.

Choice comments:

I too really like this song, Pauls singing at its best (recorded at least). It has a real raw urgency about it reminiscent of the previous album. The lyrics are a little ambigious admittedly, but the tune is sooo catchy, and the last growly yeeahh which marks the end of Di'Anno's time with maiden is a really poignant emotional moment (for me anyway).

"My mum's 'ere tonight - and I told 'er you lot was good." So said DiAnno when we could not get, in his opinion, a decent "Yo, Yo, Yo". Oh how we tried. I was on the friggin' balcony and screaming my lungs out, but he could not hear me! Or so it seems.

The descending main riff is mildly interesting, but the melody isn’t. Paul sounds clogged, not raspy and the lyrics are the definition of meh. Clive’s little roll under the “sing along” urging is a nice hook, but the forgettable far outweighs the tasty here.

I don't see anything wrong about the lyrics.I love the insane and long solo at the end.

Yo yo yo my ass.

Lyrics aren't anything special here, especially on the studio version, but great energy, and I like the riff.

Possibly the worst Maiden song ever. There are other lackluster tunes, but this is boring, which Maiden rarely is. The first solo is certainly interesting, but there is hardly a memorable note to be found here.

Ooh baby, sing my song, I'm so happy, gotta love all night long...blech. I listen to Iron Maiden to avoid those lyrics.

The calm part is remarkably pointless and the build-up that comes afterwards is way too happy sounding for the song's subject.

To me it's the most disappointing last song on any maiden album, they shouldn't have recorded it at all and just have the live versions on the singles as the only versions of it, it certainly works better there. It's not a complete disaster of course but I often just skip and ignore it.

Drifter is the only Maiden song you could actually dance, but more than a jazz, it is a swing, maybe the first metal swing in history. As a swing song, tells a swing story.

Just listen it again with that in mind, think about dancing this song and you will end up with a different opinion of it.

Statistics

Spoiler

Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.34; 100/123
2005: 7.84 +0.50; 81/124 +19
2006: 7.98 +0.24; 85/124 -4
2008: 8.00 +0.02; 89/134 -4
2011: 6.48 -1.52; 123/144 -34
2012: 128/144 -5
2014: 6.42 -0.06 128/144 NC
2015: 6.55 +0.13; 124/144 +4
2016: 6.18 -0.37; 136/155 -12

Overall

Spoiler

129 - Drifter (Killers)
130 - Another Life (Killers)
131 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
132 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
132 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
134 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
135 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
136 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
137 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
Killers 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 8
The Number of the Beast 1/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 0
Piece of Mind 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 1
No Prayer For the Dying 7/10 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 4
Fear of the Dark 7/12 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 9
Virtual XI 2/8 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 2
Dance of Death 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 2

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.81 - Another Life (Killers)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
0.93 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
0.96 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.52 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.82 - Drifter (Killers)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.86 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
1.94 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.04 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.04 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.95 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)

 

[fekso]

Blaze Bayley sung tracks doing surprisingly well staying out of the bottom. I expect 2 A.M. to be the first The X Factor track in.

 

[Black Wizard]

130: Another Life - Killers (Harris)

In terms of deviation, this song has gone as high as a 7.28 and as low as a 6.47, which is 0.81 points

Can you present the standard deviations of each song's score too?

129: Drifter - Killers (Harris)
Average score: 6.90/10
Killers 3/11
Top 100: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008

Wow, that was easy to set up. I wish they were all album clustered like this! Statistically, this is the tale of two decades. In the 00s this was a consistent Top 100 song; since then, it has sunk down the ratings significantly. Some really interesting comments in here about the choice of lyrics and the way the song develops being different than traditional Iron Maiden. Some love it. Most do not. A few good notes for the guitars as well, but everything else seems to get a failing grade. I think this one will slide down the rankings more over the next few decades.

Disappointing. I love this song. One of my favourites from the first two albums.

ep, I merged this in to the wrong thread. I will fix it shortly, but it will take a bit of time.

How did this become a 'Choice Comment'?

 

[LooseCannon]

128: When Two Worlds Collide - Virtual XI (Murray, Bayley, Harris)
Average score: 6.93/10 Deviation: 1.45
Virtual XI 3/8
Top 100: 2004, 2005, 2006

Another Blaze song, and I personally think this one is being a little unfairly maligned. This song averages in the mid-to-low sevens for the entire history of Maidenfans except the most recent poll, which dives to a 6.05. Because recent years are weighted more heavily, that pulls this song down into the Meh Zone, when in reality I think it belongs in the 7.00-7.50 range, the "decent" area.

I guess I'll take this time to comment on how I see the ratings. Any song with a rating below 6.00 is in the Stinker Section, and is generally considered to be crap by most fans of the band. 6.00-6.99 is the Meh Zone. 7.00-7.49 is the Decent Demesne, and 7.50-7.99 is the Good Gallery. 8.00-8.49 is Really Good, 8.50-9.00 is Great, 9.00-9.24 are Excellent, and 9.25+ are Masterpieces.

Many people comment on the lyrics being a little silly. Blaze tried to write this song to have a double-meaning relating to his experiences leaving Wolfsbane and joining Iron Maiden, but I think his song writing skills weren't nearly as good as they would later become. I am trying not to make too many comments on the rankings from a personal level, but I can't help myself here - I love this track. Always have, always will, and seeing it come in this low makes me sad.

Choice comments:

The song has a "The Angel And The Gambler" feel to it. Many people don't like it, but I do. The intro however, could have used some more melody (mainly in scales), but it offers a lot of melody later on, over the galloping bass.

Very nice solos if you ask me. The beginning I like very much, both the intro and the couplets (too bad they are only present before the first chorus).

My favorite song on the album! The lyrics, the buildup into the verses and that chorus! This is a great song and I can't believe I am the first to give it a ten. And Blaze's live solo version is very good too.

A very solid song. Not that thrilling, but evokes a certain mood. The harmony together with synth background, after the chanting part is very melancholic, and for me it's a highlight of the song.

This composition would work better if it was maybe a minute shorter... and performed as a collaboration with ASIA.

Lyrics are a bit lacking but they work and make you think. Given that Blaze wrote the lyrics I think it has a double meaning concerning how drastically his life had changed when he left his small glam band to join the biggest and most famous Heavy Metal band in the world.

Enough nit-picking. This is a good song! Blaze sings good, especially the last chorus, and the solos are good.
The singalong is a bit awkward thou, and should have been erased. But the last makes up for it, Blaze sings it with so much passion.

Statistics

Spoiler

Yearly ratings & rankings
2004: 7.50; 97/123
2005: 7.08 -0.42; 100/124 -3
2006: 7.02 -0.06; 94/124 +6
2008: 7.24 +0.22; 110/134 -16
2011: 7.10 -0.14; 106/144 +4
2012: 110/144 -4
2014: 7.07 -0.03 109/144 +1
2015: 7.02 -0.05; 112/144 -3
2016: 6.05 -0.97; 140/155 -38

Overall

Spoiler

128 - When Two Worlds Collide (Virtual XI)
129 - Drifter (Killers)
130 - Another Life (Killers)
131 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
132 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
132 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
134 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
135 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
136 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
137 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)
138 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
139 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
140 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
141 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
142 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
143 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
143 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
145 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
146 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
147 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
148 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
149 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
150 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
151 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
152 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
153 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
153 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
155 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)

Albums:
Iron Maiden 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 3
Killers 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 8
The Number of the Beast 1/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 0
Piece of Mind 2/9 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 1
No Prayer For the Dying 7/10 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 4
Fear of the Dark 7/12 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 9
Virtual XI 3/8 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 2 Top 100: 5
Dance of Death 3/11 Top 10: 0 Top 25: 0 Top 50: 0 Top 100: 2

Song deviance (least to greatest)
0.76 - Fates Warning (No Prayer For the Dying)
0.81 - Another Life (Killers)
0.92 - Fear is the Key (Fear of the Dark)
0.93 - Sun and Steel (Piece of Mind)
0.96 - Innocent Exile (Killers)
1.29 - Gangland (The Number of the Beast)
1.45 - When Two Worlds Collide (Virtual XI)
1.52 - The Fugitive (Fear of the Dark)
1.56 - Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
1.68 - The Apparition (Fear of the Dark)
1.82 - Drifter (Killers)
1.83 - Tailgunner (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.86 - Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
1.94 - Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For the Dying)
1.94 - Quest For Fire (Piece of Mind)
1.95 - The Angel and the Gambler (Virtual XI)
2.04 - Wildest Dreams (Dance of Death)
2.20 - New Frontier (Dance of Death)
2.22 - Hooks in You (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.82 - Gates of Tomorrow (Dance of Death)
2.93 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter (No Prayer For the Dying)
2.94 - Holy Smoke (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.04 - Be Quick or Be Dead (Fear of the Dark)
3.34 - Chains of Misery (Fear of the Dark)
3.40 - Weekend Warrior (Fear of the Dark)
3.76 - From Here to Eternity (Fear of the Dark)
3.90 - The Assassin (No Prayer For the Dying)
3.95 - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Virtual XI)

 

[LooseCannon]

Can you present the standard deviations of each song's score too?


Disappointing. I love this song. One of my favourites from the first two albums.


How did this become a 'Choice Comment'?

Yes, too bad, and because I thought it was hilarious that I couldn't tell Drifter apart from Another Life apart from Innocent Exile even back then.

 

[Mosh]

Yea I still love Two Worlds Collide. Not the best on the album but a very close second. Loved that Blaze did it live.

 

[fekso]

Yea I still love Two Worlds Collide. Not the best on the album but a very close second. Loved that Blaze did it live.

That part after 2:50 until the end of the solos are amazing. Top quality moment of Virtual XI