Went to see these two nights ago (for those of you not reading this on the night it was written, I saw them on March 19th). After a 4 hour ride to London with 4 sweaty men, countless rides on the tube, a brisk walk through Soho and a near gun fight outside the London Brixton Academy, I was there. I was so glad that I went. Brilliant atmosphere, brilliant crowd, brilliant day. Any way, onto the review.
I got this album because I was oing to see the aforementioned concert, just incase that they were going to do this instead of a medley. I am so glad I splashed out on this fantastic album.
~ HighLights ~
Wicker Man (Number 1 on the Album) Ghosts Of Navigators (Number 2 on the Album) Out of the Silent Planet (Number 9 on the Album)
Lets face it, without Bruce Dickinson, the slightly eccentric frontman, the brilliant lyrics, mostly written by the awesome Steve Harris, are wasted. The album that came before this, X-Factor, was a poor attempt at life after Bruce with Blaze Bayley tacking over the singing duties, rather unsuccessfully, might I add.
~ Covers ~
The front cover of this album shows the bands mascot, Edward T. Hunter (Ed Hunter), a half dead, zombie type monster, looking over a city from the future in cloud form.
The back of the album features the track listings and a picture of Maiden looking to the skys.
~ Track 1 : Wicker
Man ~
A classic. Excellent vocals provided by Bruce Dickinson. It starts out slow, but soon fastens up and the song starts to kick off, big style.
The chorus is chanted anthetically and the lyrics, done by Steve Harris, are absolutely awesome. It is the type that circles in your head for hours at a time.
If this ong was sung by anyone else other than Bruce Dickinson, it would fall flat on its arse. With Bruce though, it is pulled off flawlessly. In a couple of years time, this will almost certainly be a classic.
Like every good metal song, it has a fantastic, roller-coaster ride of a guitar solo.
Rating - 9/10
~ Ghost Of the Navigator ~
Another classic song, with well thought out lyrics, well chosen riffs and well placed drumming.
Iron Maiden really show what they are made of on this track and, at the concert, this is the song which got sung along to the most.
I personally think that this is one of the best on the album, only narrowly beating Brave New World out of the top 3.
8/10
~ Brave New World ~
The songs title track is a good one. It starts off boring and somber, but eventually picks up with brilliant guitar and excellent vocals by Mr. Dickinson.
The worst part about the song is the start and end (which are both the same). If it wasn't for them, the song would be a classic.
The chorus is the best part of the song by mile with Bruce chanting 'In a Brave New World' like his life depended on it.
This was also a song which got a loud shout from the Maiden faithful.
7 3quarters / 10
~ Blood Brothers ~
A good song, but not outstanding by any means. It all just seams a bit dull for me, with very little life, apart from the chorus, which is the highl;ight of the song.
The guitar in this is very pedestrian and just kind of sinks into the background during the song.
Even Bruces voice doesn't seam as good as usual on this track.
Still, it got a loud cheer at the Maiden concert and was sung along to loudly.
6/10
~ The Mercenary ~
The mercenary is a very lively song from the start. It is another one of the songs that almost got into the top 3 but was beaten out because of the strength of the rest.
In any other album from the last decade, the song would be one the best, but on this, it hardly gets a look in.
The guitar in this is excellent as usual and the vocals are even better.
In the words of Steve Harris, this song is about someone who has 'nowhere to run and nowhere to hide'; and he's got to 'kill to stay alive'.
8/10
~ Dream Of Mirrors ~
A quite boring song. It has nothing special guitar wise, and it is only picked up by its chorus.
This song is where the album starts to flop and this is where it loses it 5 st*r rating.
I don't really enjoy it that much, but the rest of the maiden fans adore it and were sing at the top of their voices to it.
There really is no heavy parts to this song and it sinks well below the sky-high standards of Maiden.
5 and a half / 10
~ Fallen Angel ~
A good start to the song, some good, exciting guitar to start off, which is soon backed up by Bruces unique voice.
It doesn't match up to the rest of the albums work though. There is little chorus and nothing memorable in the song because of that. I had to get the album out and listen to it to remember this ong it is that weak.
It could of been made a lot better by a good old sing along chorus.
I cannot fault them on the guitar solo though. It is solos like these that make me wonder how Steve Harris didn't get into the top 100 guitarists.
6/10
~ Nomad ~
A very average song, very pedestrian. Nothing new, nothing shocking, nothing to excite you.
It starts how it means to go on, average.
Bruces singing doesn't seem to be its usual self in this poor excuse for a song.
The guitar that backs Bruce uup is quite good though and it pulls the rest of the song up.
6/10
~ Out of the Silent Planet ~
Beware; this song is anything but silent.
In a few years time, this will be a classic with 'Run to the Hills' and '2 Minutes to Mid-night'
The lyrics are awesome on this song and the guitar, yet again, makes me wonder why none of the Maiden crew got into the top 100 guitarist but Eric Clapton did. Hmmm.
The chorus is very infectious and is very easy to sing along to and remember. I was gutted when they didn't play this at the concert.
OotSP was one of only two singles from this album (with 'Wicker Man') and topped many foriegn charts
9 and a half / 10
~ Thin Line between Love and Hate ~
A good song with a dodgy opening. It is miostly drum dominating the start, but it fades into the backgroung when Bruces voice starts.
It has all of the ingredients for a class Metal song, but it doesn't do it for me.
The chorus makes me think of the 80's for some reason (don't ask me why).
The solo is spot on though and is like a little 5 second roller coaster.
7/10
~ Overall ~
This album could go on to be a classic in a few years time but, at the moment, it needs to be matured a bit more.
If you are going to buy a maiden album, buy the legendary ' Number of the Beast'.
~ Future ~
Maiden have brought out a live album called 'rock in Rio', which was recorded in, you guessed it, Rio De Janero.
They are also bring out a new album next year, full of totally new material.
They are also live on the web, 21st March 8pm (yes I am aware that is the date I am writing on). Roll on 8pm...
this is a great album, and i agree that without Bruce Dickinson Maiden don't sound quite right. both Blaze Bayley and Paul Di'Anno were good, but not quite good enough. i saw the Brave New World concert in Birmingham and it was a brilliant show. cheers, Paul
One of the most comforting things about living in the UK is knowing what you can rely on: ... more
bank holidays will be rainy, beans will be on the breakfast menu and Britain's homegrown heavy metal heroes will continue rocking well into their twilight years. ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
One of the most comforting things about living in the UK is knowing what you can rely on: ... more
bank holidays will be rainy, beans will be on the breakfast menu and Britain's homegrown heavy metal heroes will continue rocking well into their twilight years. ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Lots of good tracks, lots of classic Maiden and an album to suit all1 Disadvantages: More tracks could be on the album! The more Maiden, the better!
Mar 21st, 2002
(Apr 4th, 2002)
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