The X-Factor or Virtual XI

Which album do you like better?

  • The X-Factor

    Votes: 59 72.8%

  • Virtual XI

    Votes: 22 27.2%
  • Total voters
    81
I can't make my mind up on this one, so I checked on Last.fm which album I've listened to more - apparantly I prefer Virtual XI. ;)
 
Hmm, Maiden's second best album, or their worst album?  Damn, I can't choose...  Except that Futureal, The Clansman, and Como Estais Amigos don't make an album.  And to make a comparison to the Powerslave/Piece of Mind thread, I'll say that The X Factor wins because it doesn't have The Angel and the Never-Ending Chorus.
 
Virtual XI has it for me - for the same reasons SMX gave. I have to be in the right mood to listen to The X Factor and had I been in that mood as I typed, it would have been TXF.
 
X Factor songs are far better than those on Virtual XI.
It's like difference between Iron Maiden and Metallica.
 
X Factor. The unoriginality of several VXI songs, and overall Nicko's absolute "don't touch toms" drumming makes the choice clear.
 
I want to clarify something. For years, I have referred to the 2nd song on VXI as "The Angel And The Never-Ending Chorus". When I first started that, I wasn't a huge fan of the song. But - perhaps more than any other Maiden song - this one has really grown on me over the years. It has a great groove, and great grooves require repetition.

The point being: when I say "The Angel And The Never-Ending Chorus" these days, it's not an insult. It's a friendly joke. I really do like the song, a lot.
 
Here again, I don't want to choose. Although I've shoved it down people's throats in the past that The X Factor is my favourite album ever, bar none, and I still think that, Virtual XI has my all-time favourite Maiden song, The Educated Fool. There is only one song I like more than that one.

In essence, I can't choose between The X-Factor and The Educated Fool.
 
I'll have to go with The X Factor, simply because I think it is a very good album. Every song tells a different story about struggles and getting through touch times, and I tend to like the dark image they had in this period.

Virtual XI is a good album, but not as consistent as The X Factor. Futureal and The Clansman are still on my playlists, but the others do not speak to me in the same way that the songs on The X Facot did.
 
It used to be that I would have chosen Virtual XI since I've liked that one for a while. However over the summer I really got into The X Factor, so thats why I chose it. It came down to consistency really. But I still really love songs like Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger or The Educated Fool off of Virtual XI. Another tough one Foro :).
 
The X Factor wins hands down. It has got more songs that I listen to frequently, and I agree with Forostar that it is more original - it actually sounds more inspired. And finally, the songs on this album fit Blaze's singing style better. OK, VXI has got The Clansman, but TXF has got Sign of the Cross.
 
As soon as i find the X Factor and listen to it i'll make my choice.
However, i love both Man on the Edge and Sign of the Cross. So if thats anything to go by, the X Factor will win easily.
Saying that, ive been listening to Virtual XI a lot in the past few days, and theres no songs on it i dislike!
Very good album, especially the Clansman.
Im just a bit uneasy with the amount of songs on the album (Pretty much all of them apart from Futureal), when Nicko is just laying out the beat on the Hi-Hat, with mabye the odd Off-beat "Chick".
 
I had to select Virtual XI on this one.  It is so close...but in the end, I still do like Virtual XI a little greater, as it was one of the first albums I got into...so it's more nostalgia.  But I do like Virtual XI on its own merits.
 
Hmmmm. The X Factor: Sign of the Cross, Lord of the Flies, Fortunes of War and Blood on the World's hand.
Virtual XI : Futureal, The Clansman, When two World's Collide,  Don't look to the Eyes of a Stranger.

I like them both, but SOTC is one of my favourite song so I voted The X Factor.
 
I'd have to choose VXI.  The reasons:
1.  I can get into it easier.  The melancholy of The X Factor requires a right frame of mind.
2.  There are less songs I don't like in VXI (only When Two Worlds Collide)
3.  2/3 of top 3 songs are VXI (The Clansman, The Educated Fool, The Aftermath)
4.  I actually like both The Angel and The Gambler and Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger.
 
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