Maiden Ranked

[bish]

Matt reckons he's ranked all the Maiden albums in order of greatness. This kind of dedication to the cause needs recognition. Matt ,get the results posted and lets see if a concensus here is possible.

[Dirty Bristow]

I have possession of the graph and it can be seen by following this link

www.fcdoguk.com/mattsgraphsmall.jpg

[toe]

That graph is a work of genius. Although I feel he's a little harsh on Piece of Mind. As for Where's Nailbag...... MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bish]

Its better than I ever imagined it could have been. Crudely drawn but with a care to attention and detail. I dont feel fully qualified to do a complete appraisal BUT toes comments I think I agree with.Piece Of Mind would feature higher on my list and I'd have put the eponymous debut ahead of Killers.

[duriechstsogut]

Okay. You fucking asked for it.

<deep breath

In ascending order (cos I like to end on a high), I present Maiden’s studio albums in order of greatness.

13
No Prayer for the Dying (1990)

This album has a couple of catchy songs, likeable silliness and a number one single. It also has an atmosphere of enthusiasm from the members who seem to having fun rather than just trying to be the best, especially after the brooding, operatic sprawl of Seventh Son (1988).
So why is it at the bottom of the pile?
Overall, it’s dull. The ingredients are there but it just doesn’t quite work.
The only Maiden album I hardly ever play.

12
Virtual XI (1998)

Blaze Bayley had settled in better on this, his 2nd album with Maiden after Bruce’s departure.
The opener “Futureal” is a belter (the first good really Maiden tune since Seventh son (1988)), but apart from that and “The Clansman”, there’s little to recommend it.
The second song, “The Angel and the Gambler”, is utterly dreadful and it pains me to say this about anything Maiden. It’s far too long, with bizarre Hammond organ touches that are laughable for all the wrong reasons, and a chorus that is repeated for about six or seven minutes of the song. That would be annoying if they did it with the best chorus they had ever written. That it isn’t.
The rest of the album is average in production and composition.

11
The X-Factor (1995)

Blaze Bayley had assumed Bruce’s position, with a much lower range vocal, more like Di’Anno than anything, but he just doesn’t quite sound right in the role and hasn’t got the talent for weaving his singing into the atmosphere and timing of the songs.
But it isn’t just his fault.
“Lord of the Flies” and “Man on the Edge” are the only genuinely good tracks. The decay that began with No Prayer… (1990) was still very much in evidence.
The bass is too loud in the mix, the tracks are very formulaic with samey acoustic intros before building up to predictable finales, and while the guitar work has the occasional spark of genius, overall it just comes across as okay but disappointing. If it were another band, it would be happily accepted, but this is Maiden and we know they can do much better.

10
Fear of the Dark (1992)

The title track is the best on offer here, a reminder that they could certainly still do it if they really tried.
The singles “Be Quick or Be Dead” and “From Here to Eternity” are accomplished rock songs but nothing to really set them aside from the mire.
This traditional style of metal was desperately unfashionable in the early 90s, so I reckon that this scorn and indifference – despite his protestations - was beginning to wear Steve Harris down.
Also, Bruce’s vocals just aren’t quite in it so maybe he had already decided he was off before the next album.

9
Somewhere in Time (1986)

Adrian Smith’s style of writing is very much in evidence here; solid and memorable, but sometimes indulgent, poppy and a little too safe.
A couple of the tracks go on for too long (such as the opening title song), and it has little edge.
It is very technical, but maybe too much so. I understand them wanting to experiment and move with the times, such as with the introduction of keyboards, but the result is that (paradoxically) this album hasn’t aged well in comparison to the earlier material.
The second half pales beneath the shadow of the first with too much Harris filler.
But it’s not all bad.
Overall, it is well crafted, very moody and atmospheric, can be quite infectious, and is an album that I still enjoy listening to. My main gripe is that there’s not the power that Maiden were once synonymous with.
You might smile and say “good track” but you won’t gurn and punch the air.

8
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)

Maiden’s foray in the oft-ridiculed realm of concept albums is an overall success.
Some might say that the fact that it is a concept album absolves it from much of the criticism. Concept albums are supposed to have cheesy lyrics, keyboards and general poncing about.
Okay, I’ll accept that, and the comedy entertainment value is certainly there. Let’s just say sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
There is filler, a trait that began with Somewhere in Time (1986) and wouldn’t be shaken off until Brave New World (2000).
It is very slick in both composition and technical musicianship, but somewhat repetitive. Sometimes it seems to be the work of a band who have made it and are focussing on trying to keep their crown rather than just kicking ass and enjoy themselves.
That said, “Infinite Dreams”, “The Evil that Men do” and “The Clairvoyant” show that they certainly hadn’t lost it, cracking vintage Maiden anthems all.

7
Piece of Mind (1983)

This quality offering between their two greatest albums of all time has some outstanding songs – “The Trooper”, “Revelations”, “Die with your Boots on” and so on; all very dark, beautifully synchronised and sporting a new chugging sound and buzzsaw production.
The tempo is sometimes frustratingly slow however; they really needed to play songs like “Flight of Icarus” a wee bit faster, as they indeed do when belting them out them live.
Another gripe is that like Somewhere in Time (1986) the second half of the album isn’t anywhere near as good as the first. The chorus of “Sun and Steel” is as cheesy as a tramps’ sock stuffed with out-of-date Egyptian stilton, and the “Quest for Fire” opening lyric is probably the most hilarious thing Steve Harris ever penned, which is quite a remarkable achievement when you consider the competition.
Laughter aside, when they get it right, they really fucking get it right.

6
Dance of Death (2003)

“Wildest Dreams” is a faultless intro, and the rest follow with great choruses, a seamless guitar trio, dickinson singing like his life depended on it, and some brilliant historical and ridiculous fantasy lyrics. Quite a lot of them about death.
The title song’s harmonic “jig” is something that only Maiden would dare to do, and actually pull off.
Some of the songs are overlong and it’s not as immediately appealing as their best four albums, but after a few listens it settles perfectly.
You know you have paid your money for something that has been honed, including a satisfying production that is clean without losing its edge.
After the more hit and miss output between 1986 and 1998, it proves that Maiden are back on top and that Brave New World was not a lucky one-off.

5
Brave New World (2000)

Bruce was back, bringing Adrian Smith, and injecting fresh enthusiasm into a band that had flagged and become a little tired over the last few albums.
Is three guitarists nothing but a gimmick? Nope.
Murray’s fluency, Smith’s methodical approach and Gers’ general rock goddery mould into a confident old-school feel that laughs in the face of trends and really fucking enjoys itself.
We are also treated to what are easily the best two opening songs (“The Wicker Man” and “Ghost of the Navigator”) in the sixteen years since Powerslave (1984).
The title track is pure Maiden opera and much of what follows is nothing short of orchestral. Steve Harris, we salute you.
Oh, and Nicko McBrain FINALLY discovered his kick drum’s potential. Hooray!

4
Iron Maiden (1980)

This tight offering set the bar absurdly high from day one.
Triumphs include “Sanctuary”, the glorious “Phantom of the Opera” and the title track, but like Killers (1981) it works as a complete unit.
It began what Killers built upon with an effortless mix of sublime ambience and full on rock and roll, punk attitude, exquisite harmonies and tempo changes that simply work.
Its peaks are higher than Killers, but overall it lulls very occasionally and the production isn’t a strong point (raw is good, light isn’t).
But these tiny grumbles are all made up for by a snippet of accidental homoerotica in the lyrics to “Running Free”.
Debuts don’t get much better than this.

3
Killers (1981)

This features fewer stand-alone gems than their other best albums (the awesome “Wrathchild” excepted) but makes up for that when listened to as a whole.
From haunting to thunderous, injected with that fist-clenching punk influence that we would never see again, it drifts effortlessly from track to track with a wizard touch that would make Gandalf hang up his hat in a jealous huff.
It just nudges in front of the debut due to a heavier, gritty production, a confident attitude and Di’anno’s finest hour. Though I prefer Bruce overall, he is perfect both on and for this album.
This album has exactly what the 90s output was sorely lacking.

2.
Powerslave (1984)

Listen to the opening two tracks of “Aces High” and “Two Minutes to Midnight”, and if you aren’t making the devil sign and singing along, then there is something wrong with you. Simple as that.
The following songs keep it coasting along very fluently, including two songs back to back about sword-fighting. And why the hell not?
There’s no filler, and it all builds up very nicely to the climax of “Powerslave” and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, both tunes whose timing and melody could not match the lyrical content more.
Dave Murray and Adrian Smith are a joy to listen to, in fact they are all at their peak.
Although “Hallowed be thy Name” (Number of the Beast, 1982) is the best Maiden track ever, “Rime…” features one of the best moments in Maiden, and possibly in trad metal, history.
After the poetic interlude, a drawn out build-up suggesting impending spectacular riffery then delivers exactly that in a moment of pure metal genius that makes me grin, punch the air and announce “I fucking LOVE Iron Maiden and I’m proud of it!” every time.
In case you hadn’t realised that.

1.
Number of the Beast (1982)

From the blistering opener “Invaders”, into the beautiful “Children of the damned” this album just gets better and better.
It has faultless structure (regarding both individual songs and the album as a whole), power, atmosphere and hilarious theatre.
The fact that the title song and “Run to the Hills” are still both live encore regulars 24 years later says a lot.
As does the fact that “Hallowed be thy Name”, a mere album track, is the best Maiden effort ever – official.
Every band member shines, the bass and drums are faultless, and the legendary guitar solos truly began right here.
The only even vaguely weak track is “Gangland”, and it's not a bad one by any means but stuck between “Run to the Hills” and “Hallowed be thy Name”, it never really stood a chance.
What else is there to say? This has it all.
Buy it immediately.
If you already own it, buy it again.


And there it is.
Phew.
I need a lie down.
And apparently, a life.

[bish]

Matt. I am not worthy. I kneel before thee. Which reminds of a cracking story Phil Mogg tells on the new UFO dvd I've just purchased.
Defo not metal,but a massive influence on Steve 'Harry' Harris. Pete Way regularly machine guns the crowd with his bass . Anybody else believe in UFO.

[Dirty Bristow]

This page is a thing of beauty.

Geeks ahoy!

[muddycoffee]

Having sat through Bish's UFO DVDs as well as having seen Iron Maiden 3 times at the city hall when they were at their height, and I was a spotty teenager. I would much prefer UFO these days.
I think Iron Maiden are a set of puffs anyway, because none of them are hard enough to sack the "excess to requirements" guitarist. Who ever heard of a band with three lead guitarists, that is just stupid. They should have a metal solo competition and sack the loser.
Next thing they'll get paul d'anno back and have him rapping with some decks.
They should give it a rest now as they are just too embarrasing.

[duriechstsogut]

I was about to launch into another monologue questioning this opinion, explaining how the whole three guitarists thing works, how the band are currently better than they have been both regarding composition and live performance since the 80s, and that calls for them to "give it a rest" would have been valid during the 90s but certainly not now... but I can't be arsed.

My response is therefore a simple yeah, yeah, yeah.

[toe]

Agree fully about "Rime"....

'Then the spell starts to break: the albatross falls from his neck. Sinks down like lead into the sea, Then down in falls comes the
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Cue explosions, solos, crashing waves, outageous fret wankery, drums of doom, oh my god I've just cum in me trousers.

[duriechstsogut]

Absolutely!
But don't forget the extra "lyrics" in the glorious Live after Death version...

"...the RAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!
Yahahaha! WHOAH-hahahahaaa!
Yeheheheah! YEAH!
YOH!
YEAH! OOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
YEAH! YEAH-YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEA-AH YEA-AH YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!
Come on Adrian!"

[toe]

With the arrival of the new Maiden album A Matter Of Life And Death, and with its rating of 10/10 in Metal Hammer, will the graph be updated and will there be a new top 4?

[Dirty Bristow]

OK stop pestering the dude. The graph will be revised, but the time and place and circumstances have to be just so and he'll do it without us bothering him like he's some kind of freak in a show...

...actually...

...have I told you about the class I was teaching where I used Matt as an example...?

[toe]

No, pray do tell ;D

For what it's worth, I can't see how Metal Hammer could have given A Matter Of Life And Death (or AMOLAD as I will now very wankily call it) 10 out of 10. There is no way it ranks alongside Powerslave, Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind... It's a good album, potentially a VERY good album: but a perfect, 10/10 Maiden album? I don't think so.

My grumbles? It's very one paced. Where are the fast numbers to break things up a bit? Where are the Aces High, or Invaders? And what is it with Nicko's drumming? He's becoming a pastiche of himself, all ride cymbal trips and end-of-4-bars tom-tom-snare-tom fills. Also, the last few songs ALL start with a quiet, almost acoustic guitar intro before building from there.

As I said earlier, it's a GOOD album, with some great songs on it. BUT by giving it a perfect 10, Metal Hammer led me to expect a work of dazzling genius, a band revitalised and back to the very peak of their game. What I feel I'm listening to so far is a band who've downed a few Red Bulls and have got a bit of a buzz again. It's early days, admittedly, and I do believe that the album is a grower, but it's going to have to grow like mould in Nailbag's pants before it matches the output from Maiden's classic years. In all honesty, at the minute I still prefer Judas Priest's last release: yes it may have been cheesy and had a couple of gubbins songs, but at least it was METAL and had a sense of humour to it. I firmly believe Loch Ness is a work of metal genius, and had it been on AMOLAD would have been hailed as such.

[duriechstsogut]

It's DEFINITELY a grower.
It’s still far too early for any ranking as yet, and its placing on The Graph® but it's gonna do well, oh yes. It's hot on the heels of Brave New World at the moment.

There’s no filler, the lyrics are bang on, and the tempo changes, the solos and the melodies are vintage Maiden. There are anthemic, theatrical bridges and choruses (“Brighter than a thousand suns”) and some of the soloing over a dual harmony is nothing short of beautiful... fuck everybody who scoffs at the idea of an axe trio.
Even the cheeky, very occasional keyboard snippets fill out the sound nicely.

Complaints? Bruce’s vocals occasionally don’t seem quite as powerful as always. They’re clean and perfect, yeah, but sometimes a little hollow. I hope it’s a production thing and not a decline in the old air-raid siren’s lung cannons. (The rest of the production by Kevin Shirley, who has done a sterling job since Brave New World, is faultless).
I know what you mean about pace, and that bothered me at first, but now it doesn't as much. There are a couple of tracks such as the gorgeous opener “Different World” and “The Pilgrim” that up the tempo. There are some retro bursts of galloping bass that made me grin too.
However, although I really like the last two epic tracks, I think they needed to end on or more thunderous note.
But fuck all that, the complaints are few. The attention to detail is spectacular, and the Smith/dickinson/Harris combos, of which there are several, work very well. Gers contribution is sparse but noticeable... somewhat of an unsung compositional hero methinks.
Overall, it’s damn good fun to listen to… the entire point of bunging on a Maiden CD.

Toe… you hark back to the mighty works of the early 80s. I think nostalgia has a lot to do with this, and I’m guilty of this myself, and it is difficult to view anything since purely objectively, but it has to be done.
Their recent stuff is extremely high quality, and some of it can be very reminiscent of their Beast/Piece of Mind classics… I hear strands of stuff like Revelations and Children of the damned a lot on this album (Yes, I’ve noted that it’s the slower works, and I too sometimes yearn for another Aces High).

There is also the context. After all the trouble of the 90s – Bruce leaving, animosity, the darkness in Harris’ life, problems with Blaze, apathy towards trad metal, etc, they have returned in the noughties as a content unit doing what they love, doing it very well and clearly enjoying themselves. That really comes across on A Matter of Life and Death.
Not 10 out of 10, but a fucking triumph all the same.
God bless em, every one. Long may they reign.
UP THE IRONS!
\m/
\m/
\m/

[duriechstsogut]

Oh, and one other thing Toe, here's a quote from Nicko from the Maiden bio regarding his first kit that might restore him in your estimation...

"I must've been 11 or 12 and it was what used to be called a John Gray Broadway kit. One snare, one tom, one cymbal, two sticks and a pair of brushes. I wasn't interested in no brushes. I just wanted to hit things."

[toe]

Well I'm sorry to say that the new Mastodon album has kicked the crap out of my ears since Mucous gave me a copy and has relegated the new Maiden to the subs' bench. Such is the brutal way of METAL.

[toe]

although fair play comment about the brushes

[duriechstsogut]

EVERYBODY is raving about the new Mastodon CD, from yourselves to message boards and even the Observer.
I need to own it. Immediately.

[muddycoffee]

Well Ladies,
I have actually got the new Iron Maiden Album tonight from Sainsbury's for £9.79,

and it sounds great.

Just heard the track Brighter than a thousand suns, and was extremely impressed.
Good work..

[muddycoffee]

I am listening to the album again this morning at work,
and on the second listen I am impressed at how Harris' Bass playing has improved and moved into more modern and interesting syles. In his early years he was mainly playing rattling trebly root based galloping bass lines, whereas now he is playing augmented notes at the most appropriate moments to make the chord voicings more complex and interesting.
Credited as the Keyboardist for the album, it is clear where he has got this from.

I am again impressed with the song "Brighter than a thousand suns", whose, main verse sections are played in a 7 beat bar and general sound reminds me of Megadeth.

With belive it or not a small sections which remind me of the blues-rock of Badlands

[bish]

OO OO OO so much interest. I'M going to see Maiden in Manc ! Got some standing tickets at an extortionate price from EBAY for me (northern lingo)birthday. I can't fuckin wait to hear the new songs live. They rock on record - they blew my speakers with rock n roll. Now who said that. Can anyone remember?
Mastadon. Wow it truly is amazing. Aggresive cliche free metal of the highest order. It even has jazz passages and ballads that dont go all Bon Jovi or unecessary on you.
I can also recommend the new Campbell and Lanegan cd. If you like Tom Waits you'll love this acoustic ,smoky, lost love, brush across your temples.

[toe]

Matt I would do you a copy of the Mastodon but knowing how much you value owning the original CDs I would suggest you rush to the nearest music retailers and demand that they allow you to purchase Blood Mountain. It is a monstrous throbbing phallus of a Metal album, a masterpiece that will be hailed for decades.

[muddycoffee]

Toe,
I'll have his copy.
I have never heard of mastodon apart from this thread..
But they sound highly reccommended.

How are you doin' with those 7 beat bars?

[toe]

7 beat bars? Piece of piss. I've drummed to a song written in Iambic Penatmeter before, so anything that flat-nosed percussive poltroon can do, so can I. Just nowhere near as well, obviously.

[muddycoffee]

Well you say that MCbrains is good but I detect inertia when the music changes pace or into a different timing.
I think this is because either : -
1) he can't seem to seemlessly change pace without it sounding sloppy
2) they are using a click track which has clinical changes between timing, where a natural timekeeper would over or underemphasise the timing changes so they sound right.

His strong points in my view are his interesting snare combinations and over the top tomtom fills.
didl didl didl didl, didl didl didl didl dooof..

[muddycoffee]

Mastodon.
Thanks to Mucous, I have a copy of this to listen to as well.
I would rate it as heavy rock which has been produced in an extremely hard and heavy way.
My best description of what they sound like is a Black Sabbath of the 21st century.

I like the frantic but still accurate drumming, and the inventive modal scales-based guitar riffs.
They are also very inventive with their frequent changes, and the music is never boring.

Rock On..