The X Factor : 30 years on

Helmuth Von Moltke

Helmuth Von Moltke

Educated Fool
After a very long time I gave the X Factor a complete listen, late to the party having only just gotten the remastered CD. I was struck by how beefed up and vibrant the album sounds, much more so than my memory held it (the 1995 CD sounded dull and crackled). I've always liked the album, so this not me realising I like it all of a sudden having hated it.

But what really got me is how well it has aged across its three decades. Some fresh thoughts:

- The Unbeliever may not be to everyone's tastes, but to my ears it is absolutely one the most underrated forgotten Maiden tunes. Genuinely inventive with its structure, drums, solos. Reminds me of the Chuck Schuldiner prog album Control Denied.

- The lyrics with a more personal edge have in the main aged very, very well. Same can't be said for all Maiden over the years. The opening three tracks are sublime and you pick and choose what you like of the rest, I feel (I like most of it except Aftermath).

- In fact, The X Factor compared very strongly to much of the reunion material. It can be quite an energetic album, reflecting four of the band still in their 30s (sorry Nicko, not you!). Was surprised to find X Factor a much more naturally energetic album than Senjutsu.

Overall it has shot back up higher in my rankings. I listened to the remaster on Spotify previously, but man, I should have gotten the remaster CD ages ago! Looking forward now to hearing some of the other Maiden albums afresh which had production issues. VX11 remaster next.

How well has it held up for you, 30 years on?
 
The X Factor indeed is a dark horse of an album. A stud. I agree that's very good album as a whole. I would choose this album over A Matter of Life and Death, Dance of Death, The Final Frontier, Virtual XI, No Prayer for the Dying at the very least.
 
Haven’t heard the remaster yet, but “Blood On The World’s Hands”, “2 A.M.”, and “Sign Of The Cross” are still the only good-to-great songs on this album, IMO. Blaze’s vocal performance is mostly weak, the production is embarrassingly bad, and the songwriting is exceptionally poor in places. Still not a fan.
 
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TXF will always remain an album with a unique mood and interesting/strong (lyrics too) ideas. A very good and special album, it has aged quite well. And it introduced the style of the band for the second part of their career. Above all I love the melancholic melodies and vocal ideas.

To say something different, we can find a nod to all eras of the band in it:

Man - early years-like fast rocker.
Sign - the traditional epic with only a longer intro than usual, until then.
Flies, Judgement, Edge - uptempo classic-sounding songs, with Bruce the choruses would have been soaring.
Blood On The World's Hands - same as above, but mid-tempo.
Truth - more rock-type of song like in the early 90's.
Fortunes - song with acoustic elements and a gallop.
2 A.M. - the slow/ballad-esque number.
Aftermath - idk, a 70's hard rock sound, typical vocal approach for the Blaze era.
Unbeliever - really unique song for them, with some early days elements?
 
This is so weird. I just put the album on this morning before reading this thread! I have always enjoyed the album. Sure there are dodgy vocal performances in places and some of the arrangements could have been improved, but you have to accept the album as what it is. The album is basically the template for modern Maiden.

I do wish Blaze had some more extensive vocal coaching before the album. It would have elevated his performance a bit.

My preferred format for the album is on vinyl. I find the flipping of the records breaks the album up. I also agree that the 2015 remaster sounds great, especially on vinyl.
 
Jer said:
Haven’t heard the remaster yet, but “Blood On The World’s Hands” and “Sign Of The Cross” are still the only good-to-great songs on this album, IMO. Blaze’s vocal performance is mostly weak, the production is embarrassingly bad, and the songwriting is exceptionally poor in places. Still not a fan.
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Yeah, the production doesn't do the album any favors, and in particular the choice to turn the guitar gain down that much while also picking lightly is mind-boggling.
 
Jer said:
Haven’t heard the remaster yet, but “Blood On The World’s Hands”, “2 A.M.”, and “Sign Of The Cross” are still the only good-to-great songs on this album, IMO. Blaze’s vocal performance is mostly weak, the production is embarrassingly bad, and the songwriting is exceptionally poor in places. Still not a fan.
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Yes the production was always a problem. Do try the remaster CD / vinyl, it opens up the sound a great deal.

This guy even had a go rerecording the guitars himself haha!
 
Ascendingthethrone said:
This is so weird. I just put the album on this morning before reading this thread! I have always enjoyed the album. Sure there are dodgy vocal performances in places and some of the arrangements could have been improved, but you have to accept the album as what it is. The album is basically the template for modern Maiden.

I do wish Blaze had some more extensive vocal coaching before the album. It would have elevated his performance a bit.

My preferred format for the album is on vinyl. I find the flipping of the records breaks the album up. I also agree that the 2015 remaster sounds great, especially on vinyl.
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Awesome, I'd love to try the vinyl ... once I get a record player!
 
Give it a full remix, beef up the guitars, reshuffle the tracks, delete a couple of slower songs/fillers, bring back Judgement Day and get Blaze to re-record his vocals. Maybe then you'll have an album that works.

Until then what you have is a lot of wasted potential. Essentially a glorified demo. But even worse, it's boring. And no Maiden album should be boring.
 
Spaldy said:
Give it a full remix, beef up the guitars, reshuffle the tracks, delete a couple of slower songs/fillers, bring back Judgement Day and get Blaze to re-record his vocals. Maybe then you'll have an album that works. Until then what you have is a lot of wasted potential. Essentially a glorified demo. But even worse, it's boring. And no Maiden album should be boring.
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And it will lose all its charm, Blaze's voice too. I think there are no songs to remove, everything work as a whole, the order too. Boring is subjective, but I don't think this album is exactly meant to be fun and playful. The production is odd (riffs, harmonies potentially), but it fits the vibe so well.
 
MindRuler said:
For me it held up really well: it´s in my Top 5 Maiden albums
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Same here. It is one of their best albums to me, despite having flaws that can not be denied. I understand when people dont like it, it is very untypical maiden. Some songs sound rather dull today, but every Maiden album has one or two songs that did not age well, so that does not mean much.
SIgn of the cross, Man on the Edge, Lord of the Flies, Look For the Truth, Edge of Darkness and Blood on the Worlds Hands are absolute bangers.
The Aftermath and 2AM are very good too. Fortunes of War starts great, but then slips into simple plodding. Not terrible, but sounds unfinished. The rest of the tracks is not very memorable, but here is already much more hit than miss.

My only gripe with the album is the thin guitar sound, which is not very metal. It is hard rock at best.
MindRuler said:
and was always my favourite Maiden album of the 90´s. I love its atmosphere and melodies!
A true black pearl in their discography.
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Yep!!
 
To me it'd be a great album, it could have been among my top 3 Maiden albums, but the vocals ruin really everything. So it's among my 3 least favourite Maiden albums. A shame.
 
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
Yes the production was always a problem. Do try the remaster CD / vinyl, it opens up the sound a great deal.

This guy even had a go rerecording the guitars himself haha!
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I've always been curious about the remasters and just how much of an improvement they are production-wise, especially for albums like TXF, AMOLAD, or BOS where the production bothers me a bit, so this might give me a push to at least test it out with TXF.

Problem is, I always listen to TXF with the 3 cut songs strategically placed throughout the album, so that might make for a sonic dip in quality in a playthrough.

But to answer the original question, 30 years later, TXF is a much better album than I thought upon the first handful of listens where I struggled to get into it as a new Maiden fan. The production is obviously the weakest aspect, with a very bone-dry and often lifeless feel to it when it comes to energy and a feeling of spontaneity. I agree with an above statement--Blaze's later solo live renditions have a lot of the fire that was missing.
 
I have the original CD from ‘95, the Japanese double disc version, and the 2017 remastered vinyl. The vinyl copy sounds incredible, imo. Deep dark and heavy. It’s still in my top five Maiden albums. And by far their best 90s album.
 
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