If people thought my hot takes stop at VXI being my favorite album or Aces High being a fundamentally unperformable song, they're in for a rude awakening
For anyone who hasn't read my critique on Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, my problem with that track was that while there are amazing individual sections, the song itself is lesser than the sum of its parts. There are parts that simply don't work for me in the context of the entire song. Weekend Warrior is the exact opposite for me. While some sections might seem weak in a vacuum, once put together everything fits and works well. The contrast strengthens the song. So, yeah, I like WW much more than ROTAM and no, I'm not trolling.
A common critique for the song is the lyrical content. Maybe it's because I get grew up in Dortmund, but I can relate to them. It is a city, where the only cultural significance is found in football. I know people who were exactly as described in the song. There are plenty of hooligans running around, so the lyrics to this song were never weird, strange or goofy to me, since they described something I've witnessed quite a bit over the years.
The song, overall, is rather lighthearted. We get the acoustic intro, which is also used as a transitionary riff throughout the song. It sets up the tonality, which continues through the verses. If the rest of the song were to continue like that, as was the case for The Apparition, I wouldn't be a big fan, but we get a lot of changes and a constant back and forth. The chorus is the first time a significant change in tonality occurs. We get some vocal harmonies and extensive use of the acoustic guitars again. The chorus is catchy and I'm sure with other lyrics the song would be more popular with the fandom. The higher vocal line in particular sounds great with the perfect amount of grit.
The instrumental section following the second chorus is brilliant. First we get a fun solo, which features some tapping, something usually done by Adrian. Next we get one of my favorite sections: Distorted rhythm guitars, flanked by acoustic guitars, while the bass is supporting the twin lead harmonies. Then onwards to another solo, where Janick uses his harmonic slide effectively. His solo is quite chaotic and frantic, which fits really well. After that once more to the verse, pre-chorus, chorus and the outro.
I often return to this song and I swear I'm not being contrarian, but I genuinely like it a lot. It's unique in Maiden's catalogue, on many levels, and I wouldn't want to miss it. This might seem blasphemous, but for me it's a 9, no question.