What's your favourite post reunion album and why? #2

What's your favourite post reunion album and why?

  • Brave New World

    Votes: 34 29.1%

  • Dance of Death

    Votes: 11 9.4%

  • A Matter of Life and Death

    Votes: 38 32.5%

  • The Final Frontier

    Votes: 9 7.7%

  • Book of Souls

    Votes: 25 21.4%
  • Total voters
    117
My favorite is still A Matter of Life and Death. It's by far the most consistent both musically and lyrically, in a way Maiden hadn't been since Seventh Son... in '88. Plus, it's the one that sounds the closest to the band's classic '80s output. For me, at least. It's my third favorite Maiden album overall, only behind the aforementioned Seventh Son... and Powerslave.
 
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The Book of Souls, because it is a mix between Maiden's epics and Maiden's short songs, both equally very good, and it is built in a way that the album flows perfectly, unlike TFF and AMOLAD, for example.

The Red and The Black is one of the best songs they have made (epic).
The Book of Souls is one of the best songs they have made (also epic).

On the other side, we have Death or Glory and Speed of Light, which are short, energic and very good songs.

The only song I'd give a 7 out of 10 in this album is The Man of Sorrows. The rest of the songs are plus 8.5.

In my opinion, it is their best album since SSoaSS and it beats 80's albums such as Iron Maiden, Killers and Piece of Mind. Yes, I love this album.
 
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Shavasku said:
Death or Glory
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I think it's overrated. It's undoubtedly a fun song, but that's just about it. It actually borders on the ridiculous, with the monkey lyrics and the all-too-playful melodies. Sounds more like a joke than an actual song for me.
 
Number 6 said:
the monkey lyrics
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Taken directly from the Red Baron, whom Bruce wrote the song about. At first they seem silly, but there's actually a purpose and they're used well. The chorus is maybe the least good part of the song but I still enjoy it, but the solo (possibly the best on the album), verse, and everything else is top-notch. A fast, fun track. True top-quality Maiden.
 
Diesel 11 said:
Taken directly from the Red Baron, whom Bruce wrote the song about. At first they seem silly, but there's actually a purpose and they're used well.
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I know where they came from and what they actually mean. They just don't come off as anything other than ridiculous to me.
 
I have a feeling that if Death or Glory was produced back then in Powerslave, it would be as popular and glorified as Aces High. Just a feeling.

Oh, but let me recognize something: it is better in studio, because Bruce couldn't handle it properly live and it was also a bit slower. (I'm not sure if he couldn't handle or if he didn't take it seriously after the monkey mask stuff - I think both things).
 
Dance of Death. Best epic of the era - Paschendale and several good short rockers, Montsegur, New Frontier, Rainmaker, Gates... and a good ballad to end.
 
For me, it is Brave New World - a classic from start to finish and is on par with the albums from the 80's !

I also like AMOLAD a lot - every song is a top-notch...
TBOS is great album and in fact, Death or Glory is classic (essential) Maiden if you ask me ! Epics and short songs combined with quality.

Dance of Death has some really good short songs, like Rainmaker (which is in my top 10 Maiden songs for sure) and the title track is a masterpiece !

TFF has its moments, but I'll place it at the bottom from the reunion era. By the way, it contains two of the best Maiden songs - The Talisman and WTWWB...
 
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A Matter of Life and Death is my favourite. It is in my personal top 5 of Maiden albums (right after The Number of the Beast, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Piece of Mind, and Powerslave) and is by far the most consistent of the reunion albums with great songs and a sound that suits the material perfectly. The Longest Day is one of my favourite Maiden songs of all time and rarely can the lyrics tell a story more vividly than here.

Second one would be The Book of Souls, with a right combination of outstanding epics (Empire of the Clouds, The Book of Souls) and short tracks that rock a lot (Speed of Light, Death or Glory). If Eternity Should Fail is a fantastic opening track, as also is The Great Unknown, which sounds like the A Matter of Life and Death top-notch material.

Third on the list would be Brave New World. The great stuff is amazing (the first four tracks could well be the strongest opening of a Maiden album ever ant The Thin Line Between Love and Hate is an amazing ending), but it also contains some fillers (The Mercenary, The Nomad).

Fourth on the list would be The Final Frontier. The second half, with its proggy material, is really great (Starblind and The Talisman being the tracks that stand out) and Coming Home is a fantastic and emotional song.

Last would be Dance of Death. It is probably the most uneven of the 5 albums in terms of quality, although it features one of the most amazing things Maiden has ever done (Paschendale). Montségur, Dance of Death, Rainmaker and Journeyman are top drawer material too, but things like Gates of Tomorrow, Wildest Dreams and, especially, Age of Innocence are quite mediocre.

To sum up, the albums range from the good to great, and to me are a significant improvement over their 90s output. I count myself lucky for having witnessed such a resurgence in the band.
 
GhostofCain said:
A Matter of Life and Death is my favourite. It is in my personal top 5 of Maiden albums (right after The Number of the Beast, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Piece of Mind, and Powerslave) and is by far the most consistent of the reunion albums with great songs and a sound that suits the material perfectly. The Longest Day is one of my favourite Maiden songs of all time and rarely can the lyrics tell a story more vividly than here.

Second one would be The Book of Souls, with a right combination of outstanding epics (Empire of the Clouds, The Book of Souls) and short tracks that rock a lot (Speed of Light, Death or Glory). If Eternity Should Fail is a fantastic opening track, as also is The Great Unknown, which sounds like the A Matter of Life and Death top-notch material.

Third on the list would be Brave New World. The great stuff is amazing (the first four tracks could well be the strongest opening of a Maiden album ever ant The Thin Line Between Love and Hate is an amazing ending), but it also contains some fillers (The Mercenary, The Nomad).

Fourth on the list would be The Final Frontier. The second half, with its proggy material, is really great (Starblind and The Talisman being the tracks that stand out) and Coming Home is a fantastic and emotional song.

Last would be Dance of Death. It is probably the most uneven of the 5 albums in terms of quality, although it features one of the most amazing things Maiden has ever done (Paschendale). Montségur, Dance of Death, Rainmaker and Journeyman are top drawer material too, but things like Gates of Tomorrow, Wildest Dreams and, especially, Age of Innocence are quite mediocre.

To sum up, the albums range from the good to great, and to me are a significant improvement over their 90s output. I count myself lucky for having witnessed such a resurgence in the band.
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I agree with the gist of what you say about every album but would put the order of albums a little different. The weaker stuff on BNW is the weakest of the reunion era which is why I would have it last. Also, I think DOD suffers not so much from being uneven in terms of quality more a case of it not having a lot of variance in the type of songs, there's a lot of mid-tempo /mid length stuff. The running order also hurts the dynamics, Paschendale should have a much more prominent position, it should close the album (you could put journeyman as the last track on the theoretical "side one"). Biggest running order mistake since Beyond the Realms of Death didn't close stained class.
 
srfc said:
Metal fans get triggered when words like "monkey" or "pranced" are used in lyrics.
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Not me, if the words fit the song and are used well. For example, I have no problem with "pranced" on "Dance of Death". In fact, I can't picture any other word in its place on that song.

The monkey lyrics on "Death or Glory" feel off, they don't really go with the rest of the lyrics and seem a little bit forced. Of course, the ridiculous live performances don't help. My problem with it is just that, I can't take it as seriously as I should be taking.

When a song is written as a joke, that's fine. But "Death or Glory" was written to be taken seriously, and I just can't.
 
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