What aspect of their songs has Iron Maiden been most consistently good at?

What aspect of their songs has Iron Maiden been most consistently good at?

  • atmosphere

    Votes: 1 3.2%
  • verses

    Votes: 3 9.7%
  • choruses

    Votes: 4 12.9%
  • solos

    Votes: 11 35.5%
  • riffs

    Votes: 8 25.8%
  • drums

    Votes: 2 6.5%
  • bass

    Votes: 4 12.9%
  • rhythm

    Votes: 3 9.7%
  • lyrical content

    Votes: 8 25.8%
  • arrangement

    Votes: 5 16.1%
  • melodies

    Votes: 18 58.1%
  • harmonies

    Votes: 5 16.1%
  • dynamics

    Votes: 1 3.2%
  • "hooks"

    Votes: 2 6.5%

  • Total voters
    31

valacirca

Trooper
I mentioned in my latest countdown entry that:

One thing I've noticed from most of these songs I've put on the bottom though is that I often end up liking the solos more than the rest of the song – and to think that I usually maintain that I'm not a big fan of solos. That probably just heightens the fact that the guitarists in the band are simply that good that they can consistently churn out amazing guitar work

So maybe one strong suit of the band in general are their solos. What do you guys think though?

This thread is mainly for discussion, but I threw in a poll in there for whatever it's worth and put in all sorts of options for whoever wants to be vague or specific. It's flexible anyway since I can add or remove options upon anyone's suggestions. It's also set to accept three votes per user and users are allowed to change their votes in the event that options are added, changed or removed.

So if you feel that some additional options should be included, just tell me and I'll see what I can do. :ok:
 
for now I'm picking solos, rhythm & dynamics. the reason for the solos I've already mentioned.

rhythm because it's already been an effective style of the band to write songs around a trademark galloping pace that I really like.

and dynamics because they have a lot of good songs written to start slow and then build up to unfold into a riveting tune. sometimes even playing with the loud/soft dynamic more throughout some songs.
 
How about diluting a perfectly good song with overly long intros, outros and repetitive elements turning what could be an exceptional 4-5 minute song into a 8 minutes endurance challenge? Note: this applies mainly to songs recorded 1996 and later.
 
Melodies. This is what separates Maiden from all other metal bands. There's just no matching them on this. Other metal bands try to emulate it but they never will capture the Maiden melody magic! Amazing. As the melodies change in each song so does my mood, I love that kind of stuff.
 
I think you can point to albums, periods, songs where they have stumbled on all of these, but taking their overall body of work into account, Maiden has been great in all of these.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
You do realize, not every discussion has to be a poll...

Yeah, but I'm a poll addict :p Is there rehab for this?
Jeffmetal said:
lyrical content

This is actually the choice I'd say they're weakest at since I've noticed a good number of lazily written songs scattered in their catalog...
 
[quote author=snake plissken
Melodies. This is what separates Maiden from all other metal bands. There's just no matching them on this. Other metal bands try to emulate it but they never will capture the Maiden melody magic! Amazing. As the melodies change in each song so does my mood, I love that kind of stuff.

  Plissken,  great stuff..I originally went with riffs,[ no explanation needed], but now that you bless us with this, I have changed my mind.  It IS melodies. Those unbelievable, haunting, rocking, beautiful melodies of Maiden!!  Nothing like them in the world!!
 
Melodies (By far Maiden's best strength)
Solos (Maiden have managed to keep most of them unique, unlike most bands whose solos are just different versions of the same thing)
Bass ('Arry is Maiden, he is the pioneer)
 
Melodies, melodies and melodies.  Lots of artists can write heavy power chords.  Fewer can write great melodies.  But Maiden is one of only a handful of bands -- ever -- who successfully and consistently did both.  Without great melodies, Maiden would be not much different than a lot of other metal acts out there. 
 
Melodies for sure...but also I would include something that's not on your list:  Atmosphere.

Maiden have always been adept at creating a certain 'mood' with their records.  SIT 'sounds like it's album cover' -- it has that sci-fi feel running throughout (thanks in large part to all of the reverb).  TXF feels dark & gloomy...perfect for a blustery winter day.  SSOASS a fantasy vibe that conjurs up images of Lord of the Rings etc... I could go on and on, but each album is able to put the listener in a specific 'spot'.  I can't think of too many bands that are able to do this without sounding overly hokey. 

I actually end favoring certain albums throughout the year.  Powerslave/SIT/BNW are my 'summer' albums while SSOASS/TXF/FOTD are my 'winter' albums etc....
 
Jed said:
Melodies for sure...but also I would include something that's not on your list:  Atmosphere.

I just added this knowing that I set the option to be able to change one's votes.

After I added "atmosphere," the "remove vote" option disappeared... I think it's another bug. Oh well.
 
Back
Top