Iron Maiden Song By Song Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Zoot Marimba, Nov 8, 2017.

  1. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Ha ha ha:D No, no, not at all. I'm just clueless on the B-sides for this album. And then of course there is Virus (which i do own but cannot remember, haven't listened to it in years.) Plus the first B-side discussed today was (dare i say it,) pretty good, well, compared to the album itself. Just intrigued on the route forward from here, how many B-sides then Virus then Virtual XI. Which again i do own but i've held off listening to. Keeping an open mind.:angel:
     
  2. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    Don't forget about Virus' B-sides. :)

    I know there are 3 original studio B-sides from the X-Factor sessions. Not sure if there are any live B-sides.

    Virus has 2 studio covers that serve as B-sides. There are also multiple previously released rarities over the various formats, including the complete Soundhouse Tapes and Metal For Muthas sessions.
     
  3. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Alas I only bought the 12" of Virus. Looks like i should've bought more to get the full set.
     
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  4. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    I am an CD only guy, so I miss out on the Soundhouse Tapes, but I have the CD single with the Metal For Muthas tracks.
     
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  5. MusicMatt

    MusicMatt Quality over Quantity

    Location:
    California, U.S.A.
    If my calculations are correct we should hit V11 around Sunday
     
  6. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    We have Justice of the Peace, I Live My Way, Doctor Doctor, and My Generation left from The X-Factor. Then Virus. After that it’s Virtual XI.

    I believe that all live b-sides or material from Metal for Muthas, Soundhouse, etc that was released as a b-side to TXF material or Virus should have been covered already when the songs in question originally came up.
     
  7. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    I believe that means Virtual XI will be on Monday.
     
  8. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    There’s also a two part interview with Blaze that was split up into two b sides (which I’m obviously combining)
     
  9. izombie73

    izombie73 Forum Resident

    So I guess now would be a bad time ask "Are we there yet?" :D
     
  10. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    Oh god.
     
  11. rubberhead

    rubberhead I've never made a bad record

    Location:
    NYS
    Agree with what has already been said about "Judgment Day." It's totally not bad, albeit a straight rip of "Be Quick or Be Dead." Nonetheless it gets down to business quickly, rocks at a rapid clip and is a perfectly natural fit for the singer. The lyrics are not horrendous. Most important, the chorus isn't repeated 49 times! In fact, the chorus is perfectly acceptable. Amazing.

    Obviously should have been on the record instead of almost anything else.
     
  12. Standoffish

    Standoffish Smarter than a turkey

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Judgement Day

    Sounds like an a 80s metal song, but I grew up with that stuff so that's okay. Nice driving beat, and some really good solos. This is a good fit for Blaze, and I agree it should have been on the album.

    I mentioned how it would have been cool if Maiden had hired Doro Pesch instead of Blaze. Here's a similar song that gives you an idea of how it would sound. (It's from a 1983 demo, so the sound quality ain't great):
     
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  13. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    I guess we’re “waiting for justice, waiting for justice of the peace...” ?!
     
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  14. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    “Justice of the Peace”

    This one rocks. I’m not a musician so I can’t explain anything technical about this song. All I know is it should have been on The X-Factor. I like it just as much as Judgement Day. Once again, Blaze works on the fast and aggressive songs. The lyrics get a bit hokey here, but I don’t mind them.

    4/5. Crank it.
     
  15. Silksashbash

    Silksashbash Forum Resident

    Location:
    Finland
    I'm lagging behind 'cause my old internet allergy's been worse again.
    Briefly:
    The Edge Of Darkness: Too derivative, too standard the chord progression and the guitar stuff and all of it.
    2 a.m.: Beautiful! A great melody. Could use some editing though, didn't like the silly solo part or the long ending.
    The Unbeliever: Dull.
    Overall thoughts on the album: Before we started I wasn't sure I was going to be able to listen to it through, but I did and liked some of it better than I expected. Still not enough to make it a good album. The production kills the vocals and musically there's just too much there that's not great.
     
  16. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Justice Of the Peace:

    Now we come to Man On the Edge’s second B-Side, written by Dave and Steve, the former landing his only writing credit from this era.
    A pretty solid tune, musically and melodically, although the weak link here is, surprise suprise, Blaze, Who sounds okay-ish At points and then very weak in other parts. Dave gets a strong solo in, and overall, it’s a pretty solid song for the most part.
     
  17. markelis

    markelis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami Beach FL
    It is strange how the B-Sides are so much better. Clearly, Steve was either preoccupied with his personal life or was really looking to convey a theme and feeling in the album’s songs which reflected his then current state of mind. Unfortunately, the result was a lackluster album with a bunch of slow moving songs that were dark and somewhat difficult to embrace. After listening to TXF, I downloaded the b sides (and virus) and listen to them as well. Although I will comment on each song, as a whole, the six b-sides (including virus) are much better and more interesting and more exciting and than TXF (excluding The Sign of the Cross, which I love) .

    I am traveling again on business, so I’ll keep this short, but I will say about justice of the peace and judgment day that I like them both. While I like many of the songs TXF enough to listen to them occasionally, they move too slow for me to want to listen to the album as a whole. These two songs get right to the point without the slow intro,, they have great solos and exciting drumming. Blaze sounds better on these songs. Knowing the songs are by iron maiden, they are of course still a pale comparison to what has come before, but if this had been presented as a new, young band, these two songs would at least have possibly inspired me to want to hear more.
     
  18. MusicMatt

    MusicMatt Quality over Quantity

    Location:
    California, U.S.A.
    Justice of the Peace

    Another that should've made the album over dreck like 2am. Fast, short and to the point. I really like that melody shift starting at :56. The theme of the song once again touches on the lament that the times have changed and not for the better. "walking down the street where everyone knew everyone and all the house's doors were open..." I can really relate to this line. For example, growing up on my street all throughout the 80's I probably knew 75% of all my neighbors but by the time we moved in the mid 90's that number dropped to around 15%. Great solo from Dave. At 2:43 we are treated to another awesome melodic verse "It must be the cynic in me but I don't really like things now..." So true and its not an old man yells at clouds thing, we really have come apart as a society. I love this song. 5/5
     
  19. Sanguinus

    Sanguinus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glendale
    If it was Sign of the Cross and then the B-sides, this album would have ruled. It's a shame. Justice of the Peace is definitely great. Brings back that melodic edge that I know they're capable of.
     
  20. rubberhead

    rubberhead I've never made a bad record

    Location:
    NYS
    Yeah again, "Justice of the Peace" is pretty easy to listen to; tight, fast and mostly in Bayley's range. As for the lyrics, they're actually not entirely inarticulate in starting a point of view on a social issue, which is nice (whether or not you agree that society is being ruined by the justice system letting insane criminals wantonly go free).

    It's still nothing great or special but it's better than the absolute dreck on the album.
     
  21. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    Justice of the Peace.

    This is terrible. I know we're all feeling like starving children at this point but come on. The only thing this song has going for it is the fact that it's less than four minutes long.

    But it's still awful. First of all it sounds a lot like Futureal but not as good (and Futureal is no classic!).

    Second, the "when I remember back the memories...." and "I long for the times..." are some of the most embarrassing and trite lyrics ever recorded by anyone; the fact that they're on an Iron Maiden recording is baffling.

    What time does the Puppet Show start? Jesus!!!o_O
     
  22. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    Justice of the Peace

    Finally we get to a Dave song and even though it's not his best, he still brings something halfway decent to the table. There's no reason that he shouldn't have got a credit on the album while Steve's endless war/book/movie songs take up so much room. Then again, it's not like TXF sold that many copies so he probably didn't miss out on too many royalties. The lyrics are Steve's and to me he does sound like a cranky old man yelling at clouds. I'm not thrilled with Blaze's voice at all on here and I think he sounds bad on the chorus (with backing vocals by Steve, sounds like). The middle section is kind boring with an annoying solo. What's up with Blaze's weak "oh, oh ohh" right after the solo? Normally I'd say this song should be relegated to a B-side, but since the main album's material is so weak, it would actually improve The X Factor if it was on there. That's sad. Even the guy who writes one song per album is losing it. The only things I really like about this song are the brevity and the pace.
     
  23. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    "Justice Of The Peace", take it easy way now, tight, fast and straight to the point. Solid song here but nothing remarkable, but have to still wonder why and how they decided to keep that album so heavy on the slow moving and building up songs.
    Maybe they could have been more careful when picking out the songs, and they should have added these faster pieces more there. It could have been improved so easily. Even if this ain't masterpiece, it would have been great addition to the album.
    I keep thinking, where's that little guitar-riff (or thing what it is anyways?) around the choruses so familiar? I think this is ok but for certain reason it was left as b-side, maybe it's a bit generic fast piece but lacks that final thing, "it" and not enough unique to really stand out much.
    Like my mate @SizzleVonSizzleton said this reminds a bit like "Futureal", but for me that song is better, not classic of course but better still. I will give this song the rank: 4/5 only got it when I kept thinking and ranking it among the other songs on the album.
     
  24. izombie73

    izombie73 Forum Resident

    Justice of the Peace

    Don't really like this one. The music part is not so bad, the lyrics and the vocalist kind of kill it for me though.
     
  25. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    I can't remember if we talked about this during Fear of the Dark, but there was a promo CD for The Fugitive. It has an 18 minute long interview with it. Does anyone have this, or better yet, a youtube link?

    Iron Maiden - The Fugitive
     
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