Why Judas Priest aren't as popular as Iron Maiden?

Is Rod Smallwood all that good? I get the impression he's more about keeping the business safe and keeping as much stuff as possible in-house than having dollar/pound signs for eyes.
 
Brigantium said:
Is Rod Smallwood all that good? I get the impression he's more about keeping the business safe and keeping as much stuff as possible in-house than having dollar/pound signs for eyes.
Click to expand...
Smallwood is absolutely a large part of the reason Maiden is as successful as they are. His business acumen is second to none and from the beginning when he first joined, he always put a lot of the money back into the band, laid out touring and album plans up to five years in advance, and helped to deter the band from spending all their money on hookers and blow.

I've always seen Steve as the heart of the band's music, and Rod as the brains of the business side, and together they make a hell of a team. I can't think of a single other manager that's done as much for its band. Nick John comes to mind, considering the bands he's managed (most of them I think) became big and successful as well.
 
Rod is definetly very important for the band and their success. One other major factor that has helped Maiden other than the music and the business, is Eddie.
 
Something else Maiden’s music has that priest doesn’t is timelessness. The band’s best albums sound as ferocious and impactful today as they did when they came out. Albums like Somewhere in Time or Seventh Son or Brave New World could’ve been released at any point from 1980 to now and not sound a bit out of place.

Pop on British Steel or Turbo, and they sound like exactly when they came out. This goes back to a previous poster discussing how Priest always seemed to chase a trend or a sound.

Maiden just sounds like Maiden, from day one.
 
chaosapiant said:
Something else Maiden’s music has that priest doesn’t is timelessness. The band’s best albums sound as ferocious and impactful today as they did when they came out. Albums like Somewhere in Time or Seventh Son or Brave New World could’ve been released at any point from 1980 to now and not sound a bit out of place.

Pop on British Steel or Turbo, and they sound like exactly when they came out. This goes back to a previous poster discussing how Priest always seemed to chase a trend or a sound.

Maiden just sounds like Maiden, from day one.
Click to expand...

What about Sin after Sin, Stained Class, Killing Machine, Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith and Painkiller? They still sound raw, heavy and timeless.
 
chaosapiant said:
They’re amazing albums. But they still, to me, sound “of their era.”
Click to expand...
Yeah, I must say I kinda agree with this statement. This is not meant as an insult to Judas Priest and everything they've done to heavy metal but I feel the same way, even when listening to Stained Class or Defenders of Faith that happen to be my favorite JP albums but something about them (specially DoF with that "plastic" sound of the 80's) that just remembers me of the time they were released. And I wasn't even born when Stained Class was released its just that it sound...70's. And again I don't mean it in a bad way, its just that they sound more like albums of their time than some if not most of Maiden albums...but again it's just a feeling

And of course talking about Rod, of course he's a huge part of why Maiden is still as popular as they're today. Because lets be honest, you may write the greatest music in the world, be the best live band ever, still you have to have a great manager to make the right moves at the right time, make the right choices and right decisions when needed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top