To Tame a Land

How good is To Tame A Land on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    21
This is one of the maiden "epics" to end an album but it just didn't feel epic to me. In fact, it didn't seem like a final track at all. It feels like it belongs in the middle of an album as a transition. It's still good though, just very clearly the "worst" of the epic songs to end maiden's albums thus far in the Bruce era. It's not at the level of Hallowed Be Thy Name or Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 9/10 because a true epic, album closing song should be... well... epic.

ps. i read that they were going to name the song Dune after the novel it's based on, but the author was very rude and told them if they don't immediately drop any attempt at getting his permission, he will sue them in civil court. Bruce said he was a cunt.
 
I think it is one the best Maiden songs ever.Incredible in every aspect.
 
I love To Tame A Land. That first and last melody is out of this world, literary! The melodies and scales together with the lyrics honestly take you to the desert dunes. The break ( "The time has come..." ) in the middle is magnificent, and so are the guitar solos that follows. I proudly give this one my second 10. (Voted wrong in the poll, is it possible to change?)

10/10
 
7/10. An unpopular opinion I'm sure, but while the music is very good, the lyrics do not grab me in any way, and the final product is a nice song, but not one that I listen to outside of listening to Piece of Mind as a whole.
 
I feel bad for this song. Not only does it have to end the album, but it also has to perform after two dreadful songs. And it isn't quite enough to save the second half of this album in my opinion, but it's still a good song. I love the homage to Dune, and while the lyrics are a little cheesy, I think you have to understand the source material to get it. The best aspect of this song is that it really makes you feel like you're in the desert world where Dune takes place. It's not on the same scale as some other ending epics Maiden have done, but it's still a pretty strong song, and would have made a good song to close out the first half of the album.

7/10.

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Hallowed Be Thy Name: 10/10
2: Revelations: 10/10
3: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
4: The Trooper: 9/10
5: Killers: 9/10
6: Children Of The Damned: 8/10
7: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
8: The Number Of The Beast: 8/10
9: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
10: Flight Of Icarus: 7/10
11: To Tame A Land: 7/10
12: Still Life: 7/10
13: Run To The Hills: 7/10
14: Where Eagles Dare: 7/10
15: Purgatory: 7/10
16: 22 Acacia Avenue: 7/10
17: Wrathchild: 7/10
18: Transylvania: 7/10
19: Prodigal Son: 6/10
20: Strange World: 6/10
21: Die With Your Boots On: 6/10
22: Sanctuary: 6/10
23: Another Life: 6/10
24: The Prisoner: 6/10
25: Prowler: 6/10
26: Gangland: 5/10
27: Genghis Khan: 5/10
28: Iron Maiden: 5/10
29: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
30: Twilight Zone: 5/10
31: Drifter: 4/10
32: Running Free: 4/10
33: Innocent Exile: 4/10
34: Invaders: 3/10
35: Total Eclipse: 3/10
37: Sun And Steel: 2/10
38: Quest For Fire: 2/10
39: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
What a GIANT this is! Definitely one of the best songs in the whole catalog, and by far the best song of the worst classic-era album.

I love everything about this song's instrumentation: melodies, harmonies, the atmosphere and the solos. The bass line in this song is a killer, maybe one of the best in the whole discography.

To me, this song sounds a little bit out of place - the guitars on this one sound phenomenal, especially when compared to the rest of this album. Used to the bad guitar sound on most of the other POM songs, I see this song as a really pleasant surprise and a refreshment.

I was really surprised to see so many negative comments about TTAL. It might actually be their most underrated song ever.

The highlight: Steve Harris is killing in on the bass throughout the whole song

10/10 for this fabulous work of art
 
So, here's the rub. If this song had no lyrics, I'd consider it a much better song. I love the guitar work done here, the lead sound is just enticing, and the bass on this song is heavy and strong. Unfortunately, it does have lyrics, lyrics that are essentially meaningless.

Between the last time I reviewed this song and now, I have read Dune. The problem isn't that I needed to read Dune - it's that Bruce did. He is all over the place, and it's no wonder that this song hasn't come back - Bruce clearly has no idea what he's singing. I love the music, though. But as a full structure, this one lacks.

I never seek this song out on its own, which precludes it from the great+ territory. Therefore, it must get a 7/10.
 
Sorry, but I'm just not that keen on this song, and its position at the end of the album probably weakens my view of it. Has some interesting moments, for sure, but not enough to sustain my interest. Averagely...

6/10
 
10/10. This is one of Maiden's coolest songs to me. The guitars are amazing and the solo is awesome and atmosphere of the song is very strange! Definitely a good song to continue on with the Powerslave album! A very strong epic on a very strong album.
 
This one used to be my favourite Maiden song, a long, long time ago. I still love the intro/outro and the instumental section is quite unique in itself, no other Maiden song sounds quite like that to me. But these days I can't help myself but to blush at the lyrics and... I stil like it, but something has disappeared. Still a solid 7 for me, though.
 
9/10. It's musically evocative and well-crafted in every manner, but I think the Dune references hurt more than help in the long run. I saw the movie when it came out and read the book in my 30s, but it feels more like Steve is shoehorning in "Kwizatz Haderach" and "Gom Jabbar" just to force the reference rather than tell the story. I wish he'd taken an approach like "The Trooper" here: don't try to tell the whole story, just bring one scene to life.
 
7. It's a cool song with plenty of interesting ideas in but it doesn't stand with Maiden's best in my mind.


Rankings:

Previous Albums:

1980 - Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

1981 - Killers - 5.91

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
5 - Prodigal Son
8 - Purgatory
6 - Twilight Zone
5 - Drifter

1982 - The Number Of The Beast - 7.56

6 - Invaders
7 - Children Of The Damned
8 - The Prisoner
7 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - The Number Of The Beast
10 - Run To The Hills
6 - Gangland
5 - Total Eclipse
10 - Hallowed Be Thy Name

1983 - Piece Of Mind - 7.44

8 - Where Eagles Dare
9 - Revelations
9 - Flight Of Icarus
7 - Die With Your Boots On
8 - The Trooper
7 - Still Life
6 - Quest For Fire
6 - Sun And Steel
7 - To Tame A Land
 
Very cool intro/build up part, the verses are very heavy and the leads are outstanding. Also very different from what Maiden was doing during this era. This song could actually have been great on NPFTD, it's a litte similar to some songs from that album I think. Not Maiden best closing track ever, but a very good one! 9/10
 
10/10

We finally come to the closing track, To Tame a Land, the epic to end all epics. Yes, the lyrics are dumb and distracting (basically just a bunch of references to Frank Herbert’s Dune), but the music is godly. At the time, Steve Harris said that this was the greatest piece of music he had ever written and his favorite since Phantom of the Opera on the debut. Middle Eastern guitar melodies open the track and create a brilliant atmosphere right before Steve punches in with a twisting bass riff. The riffs change after each verse, getting progressively more complex and catchy (there’s even a bass and guitar harmony). Nicko comes alive again on this track, jumping in and out of rhythmic shifts at the drop of a hat. Bruce’s vocals match Steve’s bass during the final verse while the drums and guitar sync up, producing one of the finest Maiden moments of all time. Guitar and bass share an inspired lead unison before Dave and H break into their perfectly composed solos. To Tame a Land might have the best interplay between bass and guitars in Maiden’s entire discography.
 
Incredibly good song, Mariner on the next album somewhat eclipsed it as the 80s Maiden epic, but I am not sure it should have. This one is at least equal in every aspect.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top