Which Maiden album had the biggest "grower" effect on you on the long run?

Easily No Prayer For The Dying.

Seventh Son was the first Maiden album released after I became a fan and, like its predecessors, it was an instant classic and I was simply blown away since the first time I gave it a spin. Two years later my reaction to the new Iron Maiden full length was the polar opposite. Yeah, it had Bring Your Daughter and Tailgunner but little more than that truly excited me. It sounded generic, uninspired and plagued with fillers. Gone was the pomp and epic flavor of Seventh Son and even the past 5 records, and that was also noticeable lyric wise.

It was only after the reunion that I started giving a serious rerun on both No Prayer and Fear Of The Dark. And while the flaws I noticed on the latter when it came out were amplified, the precise opposite happened with No Prayer. It sounded lose, full of great details and harmonies. Furthermore tracks I once labelled as "fillers" like Public Enema, Fates Warning and Run Silent Run Deep now sounded like gorgeous cuts, full of identity and memorable hooks. And, with the exception of Hooks In You, the rest of the songs also feature great moments.

Nowadays, I think that, despite being a more tamed release lacking truly top tier standout tunes, it's a really solid offer. I even rank it above really good Maiden albums like The Book Of Souls and Brave New World.
 
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Azas said:
I'll be frank, like a freight train: I'm interested in which album was the biggest show-er, not grow-er. That would be extremely useful and scientifically valuable information. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Shawshank Redemption was a box office failure when it was released and now it is considered among the finest pieces of cinema. Go figure!
 
I would say these 2:
1. A matter of life and death - I remember just got into listening to Maiden and experience was unlike anything before - whole imagery, Eddie's, career, a lot of albums. I've been listening to them for a month and was ready to start collecting their CDs, but in my city there was only available AMOLAD and VXI. I knew Blaze was on VXI, so I bought AMOLAD - how bad it can be, I liked 80s, listened to songs Mother Russia and FOTD, bits of BNW and TBOS, it gotta work out... It didn't. I didn't connect to any of the songs and I don't remember listening to it as much. Later I bought SIT, SSOASS and kept my self there. Going through their discography, I find my self liking really much BNW and DOD and then I wondered - what's wrong with AMOLAD then? So I listened to it again - and it clicked. I listened to it over and over and simply fell in love with it. My brain at the time couldn't comprehend complexity of it, but when it clicked - it clicked and it's one of my favorites.
2. Senjutsu - first new album as a fan, liked TWOTW and Stratego and had high expectations. I listened to the leaks 2 days before release - and I was disappointed a bit, liked HOE, I found DOTC too similar to clansman, TP too long, rest not too memorable. But with time, listening it over and over, it's one of my favorites. Maiden did phenomenal BNW, experimented with DOD and AMOLAD, tried to make "classic" with TFP and in my opinion flopped, TBOS had some experimentations, but came out very uneven imo, and SJ in that context - classic modern Maiden album that had 1 vibe throughout and in my opinion it's a very quick listen that's how good it is written. I put it right after AMOLAD, still think it's a bit too safe at times, so my expectations for a #18 are high - keep experimentations from other reunion albums and keep consistency of BNW and SJ. That album could have potential to pass BNW, not just in my opinion, but overall, objectively.
 
I think we all had to listen to Maiden albums again and again to convince ourselves that we liked them. Believe me, there’s a difference between liking an album and simply getting used to it.
 
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