Top 10 Maiden epic songs

PieceofMind89

Educated Fool
1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Hallowed be Thy Name
3. To Tame a Land
4. Alexander the Great
5. Caught Somewhere in Time
6. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
7. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
8. The Red and the Black
9. The Book of Souls
10. The Sign of the Cross
 
1.Fear Of The Dark
my favorite Maiden's song.

2.Hallowed Be Thy Name
probably the best heavy metal song ever.

3.Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
this is an example of a epic - pure greatness!

4.Powerslave
the melodies, the riffs, the solos section (which is one of the best), the vocals.... top!

5.Phantom Of The Opera
essential heavy metal song.

6.For The Greater Good Of God
fantastic verses, chorus and instrumental section. The whole song is amazing.

7.Dance Of Death
the melodies and the storytelling vibe of the song are second-to-none.

8.Sign Of The Cross
the instrumental section is beyond amazing.

9.The Clansman
fantastic melodies and structure of the song.

10.The Talisman
one of the best choruses in the band's discography - that alone makes it a top 10 for me.


honorable mention: EOTC could easily swap for some song.

''Blood Brothers'' is one of my favorite songs (it's in my top 10), but for some reason, I don't see it as an epic (despite being over 7 minutes).
 
''Blood Brothers'' is one of my favorite songs (it's in my top 10), but for some reason, I don't see it as an epic (despite being over 7 minutes).

Yup, seldom does runtime alone make anything "epic."

I wouldn't call The Angel and the Gambler epic either. :D

Flight of Icarus, Judas Be My Guide and Montsegur, for example, are definitely epic.
 
I guess a proper definition of what constitutes an "epic" would be needed...

Perhaps, 6 minutes + in length, a decently long guitar solo or 2 harmony, lengthy intro or outro... ??? By these standards, here'd be mine

1. Caught Somewhere in Time
2. Sign of the Cross
3. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
4. Phantom of the Opera
5. Infinite Dreams
6. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
7. Paschendale
8. Alexander the Great
9. Powerslave
10. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

Not in my top 10 personally but well worth the mention,

Hallowed Be Thy Name
Dance of Death
For the Greater Good of God
Dream of Mirrors
Fear of the Dark
Mother Russia
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (this came closest to top 10 of these)
 
I still say an “epic” is a song that’s at least 8+ minutes, unless it takes the place of an epic on its album (see: “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, et al). However, a shorter song can be epic, just not an epic. And some “epics” aren’t “epic” (see: “The Angel And The Gambler”).
 
I'll consider only "long" (8+ minutes) songs.
  1. Dance of Death: personally, I consider this song their absolute masterpiece. It contains everything that makes Iron Maiden being Iron Maiden: a long, atmospheric intro with arpeggios, but this time it is structured in a crescendo which leads into the main part. And, the song being named Dance of Death, the main riff (which by the way is not complex, but easy listening and straight to the point) is actually a dancing riff. I honestly think that this song as an instrumental would work almost as well as it does with the lyrics. I love how the music intersecates the storytelling, the crescendo, the increasing madness of the solos, the final dance (the ostinato after the "when you know that your time has come around etc."), the quiet finale. This is Music at its finest.
  2. Sign of the Cross (live Rock in Rio): nothing against Blaze, I love The X Factor, but Bruce just nails it. Personally, their best 9+ minutes song.
  3. The Book of Souls: if you except Dance of Death and Sign of the Cross, this to me is their best song since Infinite Dreams.
  4. The Clansman (live Rock in Rio): out of that setlist, I like it as much as I like Sign of the Cross, the only difference being that Blaze's version is abhorrent. This particular version contains my favourite solo by Mr. Gers along with Blood Brothers.
  5. Paschendale (live Death on the Road): same as Dance of Death about storytelling, solos, etc., but I think that this doesn't work that well in studio. Shame. The solo section blows me away every time like the first time. Incredibly fitting solo by Mr. Gers, even better than the studio version, one of the most suitable songs for his brutal style.
  6. Alexander the Great (live @Hogwarts Castle): no words needed.
  7. Rime of the Ancient Mariner (live Santiago, Chile, 2009): the best version of Rime I have ever heard. They played it inhumanly.
  8. The Legacy
  9. The Talisman (live En Vivo!)
  10. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: the first section is nothing special, the instrumental coda is an incredible masterpiece.
 
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