The Time Machine

How good is The Time Machine on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    25
Jon

Jon

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Thread for all discussion of the track 'The Time Machine' from Iron Maiden's 17th studio album 'Senjutsu'.
 
Really good song, love the lyrics, love the whole rhythm but the Solos are awesome on this one as they really fit with the whole theme of the song itself, they give of a feeling of being sucked through a wormhole and travelling space & time. The Time Machine gives off a very BNW/DOD era vibe and i'm sure we will get to hear this one live
 
The intro/outro here are pointless and are just a retread of the last few Janick acoustic openings anyways. The main part of the song is excellent though. Love the riffs, solos, vocals etc. It really feels like it should begin with the verse riff straight away and end before the reprise of the intro part. The final clean section is a much more satisfying ending. It's actually jarring when the acoustic reprise comes in. Still a good song, but some annoyances keep it from being a possible classic.
 
Even if the intro is a rip off Talisman, and the main riff a mix of DOD/Edge of Darkness, i really like this song. It has something special.
 
Mmmmm lots of blatant recycling going on this one. For starts the intro's melody is somewhat similar to The Talisman. The main section is an intricate mesh that kind of threads prog rock territory with a really colorful mesh that flows into a shinny chorus. Then we go full recycling mode (Edge Of Darkness) upon which Bruce lies some cool vocals followed by the chorus and then a couple of different patterns upon which some solid soloing action is placed. It all then returns to the "Edge Of Darkness" part (both instrumental and sang) as the song slows down and returns to "The Talisman" intro. So there you have it... some really cool parts while others are the most blatant auto rip offs on the album and I think this (alongside the fact the song could easily be 1 minute shorter) truly hurts my final note. Nonetheless still enjoyable and the "new parts" sound on point. 7.5/10
 
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How many times can Janick right the same acoustic intro? Once every record it appears.
Still cool, but couldn't he at least use a different key? Whatever.

The verse is fantastic. I really like the use of his mode, not sure which. Bruce's melody variation is fantastic too, how he sings the "harmony" part to the first melody line. The "I'm not a creature" part is very cool too, Maiden usually aren't that "bright", tonally.
The transition to the verse is great. Cool verse, but not as unique as the rest of the song.
What's does the riff in the first solo remind me of? The Legacy maybe? In any case,very cool Adrian solo on top of that.
Dave and Janick's solos are par for the course, and the "open your heart" part is again not as interesting as the rest of the song.

Another chorus, a cool transition, and seriously, again, that acoustic intro. Even the trope of starting and ending the song with the same acoustic part is used every time.
 
The repeated intro (as an outro) works really well for this song and it is necessary for the song to feel completed imo.
 
Mega said:
How many times can Janick right the same acoustic intro? Once every record it appears.
Still cool, but couldn't he at least use a different key? Whatever.

The verse is fantastic. I really like the use of his mode, not sure which. Bruce's melody variation is fantastic too, how he sings the "harmony" part to the first melody line. The "I'm not a creature" part is very cool too, Maiden usually aren't that "bright", tonally.
The transition to the verse is great. Cool verse, but not as unique as the rest of the song.
What's does the riff in the first solo remind me of? The Legacy maybe? In any case,very cool Adrian solo on top of that.
Dave and Janick's solos are par for the course, and the "open your heart" part is again not as interesting as the rest of the song.

Another chorus, a cool transition, and seriously, again, that acoustic intro. Even the trope of starting and ending the song with the same acoustic part is used every time.
Click to expand...
It's "I'm not a preacher", by the way. :bigsmile:
 
Yes this intro has The Talisman written on its wall, but when these hooks happen later on, this (or any possible irritation about it) is instantly forgotten. Man this good stuff. About the most infectious (jumpy) sections this band ever did. Starting at 3:08. At 3:57 it even gets better. It is melodic but very heavy at the same time with that mighty rhythm guitar. Great groove, Dance of Death style. This would go down very, very well live. Bring it on!
 
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