Your Top 20 Maiden tracks

Number 6

Number 6

Ancient Mariner
It's a simple question: what are your top 20 favorite Iron Maiden tracks? But I know it (or something alike) has been asked here many, many times. However, I want something the others didn't take into consideration: I want you to think big, all of Maiden's catalog. Studio tracks, live tracks, B-sides... Out of everything this band has ever put out, what are your favorites? Here's my list (although, apart from the first 2 items, it's not and never gonna be definitive, since I keep changing my mind all the damn time):
  1. "Iron Maiden" (Live After Death)
  2. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
  3. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (Live After Death)
  4. "Empire of the Clouds"
  5. "Powerslave" (Live After Death)
  6. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
  7. "Alexander the Great"
  8. "Only the Good Die Young"
  9. "The Red and the Black"
  10. "Running Free" (Live After Death)
  11. "Phantom of the Opera"
  12. "When the Wild Wind Blows"
  13. "Starblind"
  14. "Fear of the Dark" (Rock In Rio)
  15. "The Legacy"
  16. "The Book of Souls"
  17. "Dance of Death"
  18. "Paschendale" (Death On the Road)
  19. "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns"
  20. "Sign of the Cross"
 
OK, so as everyone knows, I've already made two attempts at doing this. Obviously then, this isn't going to remain an accurate list for very long. But for fun and all...
  1. "Empire of the Clouds"
    The Book of Souls
    The single greatest song in the history of mankind. Perfect. Utterly perfect.
  2. "Run To The Hills"
    The Number of the Beast
    Without this song, I would not be a Maiden fan. The riff, the solo, the verses, the scream, everything is good... but when I first heard the chorus I nearly cried from the beauty of it all. Overplayed or not, it's a classic.
  3. "Como Estais Amigos"
    Virtual XI
    The end of the Blaze era is also Maiden's most emotion-drenched song. Say what you will about the title and the aim of the lyrics, it's beautiful and always brings tears to my eyes.
  4. "Wasted Years"
    Somewhere In Time
    The riff, the chorus, the solo, the lyrics, the electricity... awesome.
  5. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
    Powerslave
    An amazing adaptation to an amazing poem. The part after "RAAAAIIINNN" may be the best moment in all of Maiden history.
  6. "Aces High"
    Powerslave
    I could actually make out an argument over why this could be my all-time favorite song. Fast, metallic, features a lot of power and some of Bruce's best vocals. Awesomeawesomeawesome.
  7. "That Girl"
    'Stranger In A Strange Land'
    A beautiful cover song. Holds its own against the titans in their own discography.
  8. "The Evil That Men Do"
    Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    SSOASS is an awesome album, and this is the stand-out. Great feel, mood, and vibe, and the chorus is fucking gold.
  9. "Still Life"
    Piece of Mind
    Haunting, you can feel the insanity the 'narrator' is going through. Chills.
  10. "Lord of the Flies"
    The X Factor
    A great adaptation of a great book. More chills.
  11. "Sign of the Cross"
    The X Factor
    Blaze's debut with IM opened with in the most interesting way possible - an eleven minute epic that wipes the floor with just about everything. Truly epic.
  12. "Paschendale"
    Dance of Death
    Speaking of epic, this song throws you right into the middle of a battlefield and gives off a classic Maiden vibe at the same time. Some criticize it for it's clunkiness or whatever. I think that's an important part of the feel of this song. And the chorus? Some of the band's best lyrics.
  13. "Powerslave"
    Powerslave
    This, my friends, is metal. Possibly the band's best solo, too.
  14. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
    Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    An epic with more atmosphere than most other Maiden songs. Awesome shit.
  15. "Alexander the Great"
    Somewhere In Time
    Another epic, another contender for Maiden's best guitar solo. Play it live!
  16. "Deja Vu"
    Somewhere In Time
    Are the lyrics the best ever? Who cares when you've got a fucking blinding sing-along!
  17. "Judas Be My Guide"
    Fear of the Dark
    A short-but-sweet track. Another epic chorus.
  18. "The Apparition"
    Fear of the Dark
    No fucking way is this the band's worst song. Get your heads examined.
  19. "The Legacy"
    A Matter of Life and Death
    I've already discussed why I love this song at length in its own thread, so go read that.
  20. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
    The Number of the Beast
    For better or for worse, it's a classic metal anthem.
List to be updated probably fairly soon, but this is it for now.
 
As a side-note, the two best live tracks are "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (Flight 666) and "The Red and the Black" (The Book of Souls: Live Chapter). The former is a great performance of a great song with emotional feel and an involved audience. The latter is an epic song that explodes into more epicness onstage. Rime is better in studio, and TR&TB is possibly better live - Bruce's vocals aren't as good, but the guitars and everything sound way better. Really bring that song to its full potential.
 
Diesel 11 said:
OK, so as everyone knows, I've already made two attempts at doing this. Obviously then, this isn't going to remain an accurate list for very long. But for fun and all...
  1. "Empire of the Clouds"
    The Book of Souls
    The single greatest song in the history of mankind. Perfect. Utterly perfect.
  2. "Run To The Hills"
    The Number of the Beast
    Without this song, I would not be a Maiden fan. The riff, the solo, the verses, the scream, everything is good... but when I first heard the chorus I nearly cried from the beauty of it all. Overplayed or not, it's a classic.
  3. "Como Estais Amigos"
    Virtual XI
    The end of the Blaze era is also Maiden's most emotion-drenched song. Say what you will about the title and the aim of the lyrics, it's beautiful and always brings tears to my eyes.
  4. "Wasted Years"
    Somewhere In Time
    The riff, the chorus, the solo, the lyrics, the electricity... awesome.
  5. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
    Powerslave
    An amazing adaptation to an amazing poem. The part after "RAAAAIIINNN" may be the best moment in all of Maiden history.
  6. "Aces High"
    Powerslave
    I could actually make out an argument over why this could be my all-time favorite song. Fast, metallic, features a lot of power and some of Bruce's best vocals. Awesomeawesomeawesome.
  7. "That Girl"
    'Stranger In A Strange Land'
    A beautiful cover song. Holds its own against the titans in their own discography.
  8. "The Evil That Men Do"
    Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    SSOASS is an awesome album, and this is the stand-out. Great feel, mood, and vibe, and the chorus is fucking gold.
  9. "Still Life"
    Piece of Mind
    Haunting, you can feel the insanity the 'narrator' is going through. Chills.
  10. "Lord of the Flies"
    The X Factor
    A great adaptation of a great book. More chills.
  11. "Sign of the Cross"
    The X Factor
    Blaze's debut with IM opened with in the most interesting way possible - an eleven minute epic that wipes the floor with just about everything. Truly epic.
  12. "Paschendale"
    Dance of Death
    Speaking of epic, this song throws you right into the middle of a battlefield and gives off a classic Maiden vibe at the same time. Some criticize it for it's clunkiness or whatever. I think that's an important part of the feel of this song. And the chorus? Some of the band's best lyrics.
  13. "Powerslave"
    Powerslave
    This, my friends, is metal. Possibly the band's best solo, too.
  14. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
    Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    An epic with more atmosphere than most other Maiden songs. Awesome shit.
  15. "Alexander the Great"
    Somewhere In Time
    Another epic, another contender for Maiden's best guitar solo. Play it live!
  16. "Deja Vu"
    Somewhere In Time
    Are the lyrics the best ever? Who cares when you've got a fucking blinding sing-along!
  17. "Judas Be My Guide"
    Fear of the Dark
    A short-but-sweet track. Another epic chorus.
  18. "The Apparition"
    Fear of the Dark
    No fucking way is this the band's worst song. Get your heads examined.
  19. "The Legacy"
    A Matter of Life and Death
    I've already discussed why I love this song at length in its own thread, so go read that.
  20. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
    The Number of the Beast
    For better or for worse, it's a classic metal anthem.
List to be updated probably fairly soon, but this is it for now.
Click to expand...

Updated from my thread: >
  1. Empire of the Clouds
  2. Run to the Hills
  3. Como Estais Amigos
  4. Wasted Years
  5. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  6. Aces High
  7. The Evil That Men Do
  8. That Girl
  9. Still Life
  10. Lord of the Flies
  11. Sign of the Cross
  12. Paschendale
  13. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
  14. Alexander the Great
  15. Powerslave
  16. Judas Be My Guide
  17. The Legacy
  18. Deja Vu
  19. The Apparition
  20. Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Evil That Men Do and That Girl changed places; Powerslave got bumped down two, pushing ATG and SSOASS up one; Judas Be My Guide got bumped up one and The Apparition got bumped down one; Deja Vu got bumped down two and The Legacy got bumped up two. Otherwise it's the same list, just some rearrangement of songs.
 
1.Fear Of The Dark
2.Wrathchild
3.Rainmaker
4.Out Of The Silent Planet
5.The Wicker Man
6.Powerslave
7.The Evil That Men Do
8.Wasting Love
9.Blood Brothers
10.The Number Of The Beast
11.Prowler
12.Aces High
13.Wasted Years
14.Judgement Of Heaven
15.Brave New World
16.The Trooper
17.Run To The Hills
18.Hallowed Be Thy Name
19.Shadows Of The Valley
20.Empire Of The Clouds

Again hard task. These are my Top 20 Maiden songs at this moment in time.
 
Collin said:
@Diesel 11 You are due for another update.
Click to expand...
Too true. From my thread: >
  1. “Empire of the Clouds”
  2. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
  3. “Como Estais Amigos”
  4. “Aces High”
  5. “Run to the Hills”
  6. “The Legacy”
  7. “Out of the Silent Planet”
  8. “Lord of the Flies”
  9. “Powerslave”
  10. “Sign of the Cross”
  11. “For the Greater Good of God”
  12. “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”
  13. “Paschendale”
  14. “Alexander the Great”
  15. “The Thin Line Between Love and Hate”
  16. “Still Life”
  17. “Wasted Years”
  18. “The Evil That Men Do”
  19. “Judas Be My Guide”
  20. “The Apparition”
 
There isn’t any non-studio release I’d add in here. FTGGOG’s LOTB version was better but it hasn’t been officially released yet. I haven’t heard “That Girl” in a while but I doubt it’d be in here now. Thus this is straight-up my favorites of anything they’ve released. Now if we wanted to add in solo careers, that’s a different story.
 
1. Brave New World
2. Lord of Light
3. Hallowed be thy Name
4. Coming Home
5. The Talisman (En Vivo)
6. Wasted Years
7. Rainmaker
8. The Evil That Men Do
9. The Legacy
10. For the Greater Good of God
11. Caught Somewhere in Time
12. Only the Good Die Young
13. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
14. Blood Brothers (TBOS Live Chapter)
15. Aces High (Flight 666)
16. Fear of the Dark
17. Alexander the Great
18. No More Lies
19. Different World
20. Ghost of the Navigator

I generally prefer Maiden's studio recordings over live albums. Or maybe that's just because they don't play my favorite songs live...
 
I just wanna make clear that, like I said, you can literally do whatever you want with this list. If you feel like putting five different versions of the same song in there, go ahead. Covers are fine too, B-sides... anything. That's where I wanted to get with this. There's a reason why I used the word "tracks" over "songs" in the title.
 
1. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
2. Hallowed Be Thy Name
3. Sign of the Cross (RiR)
4. The Book of Souls
5. Dance of Death
6. Caught Somewhere in Time
7. Powerslave
8. The Red and the Black
9. Empire of the Clouds
10. Phantom of the Opera (Live After Death)
11. Paschendale (DOTR)
12. The Talisman
13. Alexander the Great
14. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Maiden England)
15. Fear of the Dark (RiR)
16. Brave New World
17. Infinite Dreams
18. Still Life
19. Afraid to Shoot Strangers (Donington)
20. Heaven Can Wait
 
I almost feel I should apologise for adding another list. I did try to write a little something about each song but ended up typing similar things for every one. I just love these songs, what else needs to be said? :lol:

  1. The Evil That Men Do
  2. Paschendale
  3. The Book of Souls
  4. Caught Somewhere In Time
  5. Powerslave
  6. Ghost of the Navigator
  7. For the Greater Good of God
  8. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  9. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
  10. Sign of the Cross
  11. Hallowed Be Thy Name
  12. If Eternity Should Fail
  13. Brave New World
  14. Stranger In A Strange Land
  15. Strange World
  16. Dance of Death
  17. Infinite Dreams
  18. Revelations
  19. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
  20. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
 
Chronological order:

Phantom Of The Opera (Women In Uniform B side)
Murders In The Rue Morgue
Killers
Where Eagles Dare
Revelations (Live After Death)
Aces High (Live After Death)
Powerslave (Live After Death)
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (Live After Death)
Sanctuary (Live After Death)
Wasted Years
Heaven Can Wait
Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Moonchild
Infinite Dreams
The Prophecy
Sign Of The Cross (Rock In Rio)
Man On The Edge (The Wicker Man B side)
Montsegur
Face In The Sand
These Colors Don't Run
For The Greater Good Of God
 
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