Things about Iron Maiden that annoy you

I've gone by that Kiss minigolf place before! It's very underwhelming for both Kiss' and minigolf's standards :p
 
Lord, this thread took off quickly...

Perun said:
I'll tell you something though - for every single album Maiden ever released except for the debut and Killers, I have met at least one person who said they "lost it" and/or "sold out" with that release.
Click to expand...

You sir, have met far more people who listen to Iron Maiden than I ever have.

SixesAlltheway said:
I understand what you say Perun about how Maiden might have been viewed through the years as sellouts musically but..... as Knickerbocker says, this is more about the merchandise standpoint..and in that case Maiden is definitely among the best (worst) of them...Just go look at the Maiden Facebook site, they made Iron Maiden football shirts for like 10 of the World Cup countries...That's sellout :D
Click to expand...

Exactly, that was my point. Musically, I can't believe the comment. From a merchandising, let's-make-our-fans-buy-crap standpoint, they are the ULTIMATE sellouts.

Rotam said:
It's not that selling Maiden Football shirts is any different from selling Trooper beer or vhs cassettes of their videos. The logic is the same.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Money is the bottom line.

Mosh said:
Not in the same way as Kiss though. Any band of their magnitude is going to have a strong merchandising aspect. It never overtakes the music though. Kiss has stated themselves many times that the band itself is just one small part of a larger brand. They're like the mascots of their own company. With Iron Maiden, the band comes first, everything else is of way less importance.
Click to expand...

I could agree with that. Music is most definitely still the most important thing to the band, but they will use that music to further merchandise that interests them. Personally, I'm all for it: they want to sell beer cause they like beer? Go for it. Jerseys cause they like football? Go for it. You get the sense with Maiden that, even though they're sapping you for your last dollar, they really like and care about their merchandise.

Night Prowler said:
Why wouldn't it be cool? I think it's a cool thing for people who love football and Iron Maiden, like myself.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY! They make merch for people who like their band and the things that the band personally enjoys. It's brilliant from a marketing standpoint and it makes you relate more to the band members.
 
Iron Maiden has never made me buy crap. They have never put a gun to my head and said "YOU MUST BUY THIS TO BE AN IRON MAIDEN FAN". Hell, half the time they don't wear their own merch. They wear some, sure, but whatever. Everyone does that.

All the other crap? It's there because people will buy it. If you don't like it, don't buy it. People buy it because they like it...that's all. Because they want unique ways to fly the Iron Maiden flag. Because they want to show off that they love football and Iron Maiden. So Iron Maiden recognizes that. It's not selling out. It's just putting it there.

In fact, the one piece of merchandise Iron Maiden have actually pushed over the last 10 years, actually got up there and talked about and done interviews about and the like, is the fucking beer. The one thing nobody is complaining about. Here's what I think: anyone who calls Iron Maiden sellouts for passively offering stuff they think you might like is a moron. They offer a lot of stuff, yeah, but they don't scream it into your face, they don't push it. It's just there. Why do we hate bands for offering merchandise anyway? So they want to make money. Who doesn't? If you don't like it, don't buy it.
 
I don't want to get anyone too excited/angry as the discussion seems quite heated, but one thing occured to me...

@Rotam You mentioned Eddie.

Yes, indeed, that is one crucial part of the success of the band. Derek Riggs is as much an artist as the band is and takes pride in his work. (Even if he didn't listen to Maiden usually when creating his art). There are humoristic little references to Maiden's earlier production, little messages, West Ham, the Grim Reaper etc. Always there is Eddie. Unlike (any? most?) other bands in the late 70s and early 80s you immediately recognise albums, singles, most t-shirts not just from the logo, but from The Character. There almost seems to be a storyline hidden if you keep looking at the covers in the correct order... There is immediately a need to collect all the singles... It immediately set out Maiden from other NWOBHM bands.

And to this day I believe Maiden did it the best, the most consistently. Eddie even participated in live shows, and was further mentioned in Bruce's stage "talks" (or rants or whatever). A fifth member of the band, one might say. And then look at what Megadeth did with Vic. Anthrax with The Dude. Maiden is not just the history of music, it is also integral in the history of merchandise.

...I don't know if we're getting wayyyy off-topic here, though... Sorry:ahhh:
 
As many of you highlighted, the lack of new material is an important point. I also regret the times when the band released singles with interesting B sides. From 1986 on they usually put out 2 studio tracks on each maxi single and it was cool. I really liked the “Lord of the flies” single for its two brilliant covers very well sung by Blaze. It seems that they will not release much singles in the future because singles don't sell that much today. Too bad. On the other hand, who would put out something that nobody buys ?
 
JackKnife said:
It seems that they will not release much singles in the future because singles don't sell that much today. Too bad. On the other hand, who would put out something that nobody buys ?
Click to expand...

I think that's the reasoning the band used when they released stuff such as "The First Ten Years" boxset or the "Eddie's Archives" boxset. They knew that only die-hard Maiden fans would track the singles down, so they "streamlined" their collection of singles into something more accessible. I mean, why would I want 15 or so singles (that only have 3 or 4 songs a piece) when I could get something like "The Best of the 'B' Sides" or "The First Ten Years"(that features those Listen With Nicko segments that the singles don't have)?
 
Hi Perun ! I used to know you as the God of Thunder... and you're now a God of Hellfire ! O tempora, o mores! :bigsmile:

Dityn DJ James said:
I think that's the reasoning the band used when they released stuff such as "The First Ten Years" boxset or the "Eddie's Archives" boxset. They knew that only die-hard Maiden fans would track the singles down, so they "streamlined" their collection of singles into something more accessible. I mean, why would I want 15 or so singles (that only have 3 or 4 songs a piece) when I could get something like "The Best of the 'B' Sides" or "The First Ten Years"(that features those Listen With Nicko segments that the singles don't have)?
Click to expand...

The fact is that boxsets cannot exist if the band does not release singles with interesting B sides in the first place...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top