Virtual XI appreciation
- Thread starter nuno_c
- Start date
johnnymain
Prowler
The gig at The Barrowlands in Glasgow was recorded by the BBC, if I remember correctly, but I've never heard it - has it surfaced anywhere?
Black Abyss Babe
I live for my dreams and a pocket full of gold
I've been listening to Virtual XI a lot over the last few days. There's definitely some good stuff on there but for Maiden it doesn't seem quite finished somehow. Como Estais Amigos and Educated Fool are probably my favourites.
Gk1
Here I sit in a serenade of glory!
You are not joking,are you?!
Travis The Dragon
AFTERGLOW!!!
With the exception of TAATG, the worst Maiden song ever, it's a great album.
I really like this album.
Futureal is a very strong opener. As a "fast and short" opener (i.e. not comparing to Sign) it's easily the best (to that point) since Moonchild.
I genuinely love Angel & Gambler. I see it as a UFO homage, and it works great that way. However, it is a "musician's song", in that it's much more fun to play than to hear.
Lightning Strikes Twice and Two Worlds are average-level Maiden songs imo. Nothing to write home about but not bad either.
The Clansman is a strong Steve Harris epic that works much better live, but it feels a bit undercooked. I think Steve could have done better by this song if he'd given it more time. So if those rumors are true that Dream of Mirrors originates from the Blaze era, I wish Dream had been on this album and Clansman done right with Bruce on BNW. I'd even say that the lyrics of Dream work well for Blaze's voice too.
Educated Fool has a great earworm melody. One of those where if I just sing "I'm an educated fool", the rest of the melody follows involuntarily. Good lyrics too.
Don't Look is the album's only weak spot for me. Como Estais isn't spectacular, but I give Maiden credit for the good intent on that one.
Futureal is a very strong opener. As a "fast and short" opener (i.e. not comparing to Sign) it's easily the best (to that point) since Moonchild.
I genuinely love Angel & Gambler. I see it as a UFO homage, and it works great that way. However, it is a "musician's song", in that it's much more fun to play than to hear.
Lightning Strikes Twice and Two Worlds are average-level Maiden songs imo. Nothing to write home about but not bad either.
The Clansman is a strong Steve Harris epic that works much better live, but it feels a bit undercooked. I think Steve could have done better by this song if he'd given it more time. So if those rumors are true that Dream of Mirrors originates from the Blaze era, I wish Dream had been on this album and Clansman done right with Bruce on BNW. I'd even say that the lyrics of Dream work well for Blaze's voice too.
Educated Fool has a great earworm melody. One of those where if I just sing "I'm an educated fool", the rest of the melody follows involuntarily. Good lyrics too.
Don't Look is the album's only weak spot for me. Como Estais isn't spectacular, but I give Maiden credit for the good intent on that one.
Bombusbombus
Nomad
I really like the material on it, repetitions and all!
It's just the sound and the drumming that turns me off. I always thought it was a shame that Blaze was the singer for two albums with flaws that had nothing to do with him.
It's just the sound and the drumming that turns me off. I always thought it was a shame that Blaze was the singer for two albums with flaws that had nothing to do with him.
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
I like it. It’s not as good as TXF (which is my personal #3), but I absolutely love Como Estais (that harmony at the end nearly brings tears into my eyes), When Two Worlds Collide, The Clansman (though the studio version is a bit tame) and Futureal. Lightning and The Educated Fool are great tracks as well. Don’t Look and The Angel are a tad overlong, but I still enjoy them, especially when driving.
I like Blaze more and more (and I’m yet to discover his solo career, which is supposed to be great) and my wife and my stepfather actually both prefer him over Bruce
(Yes, there are people like that, too 
)
Just like FotD (and TXF elsewhere than here on this forum), this album is criminally underrated.
In fact, if we considered our favourite Maiden albums by how often we play them, my favourite era would be the reunion era, then the 90’s and then the “classics” from the 80’s.
I like Blaze more and more (and I’m yet to discover his solo career, which is supposed to be great) and my wife and my stepfather actually both prefer him over Bruce
(Yes, there are people like that, too )Just like FotD (and TXF elsewhere than here on this forum), this album is criminally underrated.
In fact, if we considered our favourite Maiden albums by how often we play them, my favourite era would be the reunion era, then the 90’s and then the “classics” from the 80’s.
I love VXI. Most of what SMX said earlier stands for me, but I also think it's Blaze's better performance of the two albums he did with Maiden.
It's certainly not true. That's in our FAQ.
I never understand why people say this is the bands worst effort (that's FotD for me), or why it's Blaze's worst Maiden LP. Some of the songs can be a bit repetitive in places, and Blaze really doesn't have the range for me personally, but overall I like most of the songs and found this a great improvement from the 3 previous LP's (esp FotD and XF which are easily the bands worst 2 IMO).
That said, it's still the bands 4th worst album and is a long way behind those that are better. A reasonable 5 out of 10, with XF being a 3, FotD a 1, BNW an 8 and DoD a 7, just to illustrate where a 5 stands.
That said, it's still the bands 4th worst album and is a long way behind those that are better. A reasonable 5 out of 10, with XF being a 3, FotD a 1, BNW an 8 and DoD a 7, just to illustrate where a 5 stands.