Couple more Bruce odds and ends and I'll try to post Scream for Me Brazil tomorrow Recorded at the Chemical Wedding sessions, Bruce & Co. do a damn good job with this Scorpions classic.
I assume this was also recorded during the Chemical Wedding sessions as well. I love that Bruce does the full Vincent Price intro. Bruce does a fantastic performance - this song, and really Alice Cooper in general, is right up Bruce's alley. One thing (of many) that I always appreciate about Alice Cooper is that they/he managed to be intense and creepy without being that heavy.
I’ll post my review of the rest of the solo stuff post as soon as I can. For now I will post Battlezone’s final record. Battlezone, Feel My Pain: Line Up: Paul Di'anno - Vocals Johnny 'Bravo' Wiggins - Guitar Paulo Turin - Guitar, vocals Colin Riggs - Bass, vocals Mark Angel - drums Feel My Pain: We start off with the title cut, which begins with this Wierd intro befor going Into a downtime’s chugging rhythm. Structurally the song still has some of that NWOBHM flavor but updated to a then contemporary setting. Paul is in good voice, the song flows well and has a strong drive to it. Not too bad a way to open the record. C.O.M. 98: A remake of Children of Madness, and I will say I hear a fair amount of Metallica in this song, I do t know if I said that when covering the original version. I will say, the original version is way better, especially the vocals, but this is not too bad. Two songs in, not too bad. Victim: Not a particularly original track but still a good slice of old school metal, I enjoy it. The Forgotten Ones: This is a really good song, has a cool kind of eerie atmosphere to it and Paul sounds great. Best song on the album. Push: WTF is up with that intro? I mean, the rest of the song is okay, but seriously. Snake Eyes: Has Some good parts, and damn does Paul hit some high notes, but I can take or leave this tune as a whole. Smack: I’d rather be on smack than listen to this slog of a song. The Black: Good heavy tune, I dig this one. Fear Pt 1: Decent if inessential. Overall, good record, but I’ll take the first two Battlezones and Murder One Over this, and of course the first two Maidens.
Bruce Dickinson - Scream for Me Brazil (1999) This show was recorded mostly in at São Paulo, Brazil on 4/21/99, which is a couple months after the announcement that Bruce and Adrian were returning to Maiden. A few other songs were recorded at other Brazilian shows that week. The audience is really loud and enthusiastic for this show and at various points you can hear a few of them chanting "maiden". The best one of these happens at the end of Book of Thel where a small group chants for Maiden and then they are supremely drowned out by chants of "BROOSAY, BROOSAY...". It's pretty awesome. The quality of the music is excellent on this only live document from the band, but the audience really makes it special. They're especially loud in singing along with Tears of the Dragon. Jerusalem was recorded at these shows, but didn't make the album due to CD length so it was included on the bonus disc of the Best of Bruce in 2001. Other songs recorded at the shows, but currently unreleased are Powerslave, Tattooed Millionaire, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Taking the Queen & Flight of Icarus. As it is, this is a great live album and the band's really on fire. I love hearing these songs in a more pure form with just the five of them playing live. Bruce played nearly all of the Chemical Wedding, only omitting Machine Men & The Alchemist. Scream for Me Brazil provides a good overview of the "Roy Z" years since we also get a couple songs from Balls to Picasso and 3 from Accident of Birth. Everything's great, but the standouts for me are Book of Thel (with an excellent Adrian solo), Tears of the Dragon and Accident of Birth. This album was reissued along with Alive in Studio A as a 3CD set "Alive". The video from the Bruce Dickinson Anthology DVD set is below. The audio is much better on the CD, though.
@MusicMatt will post Praying Mantis as soon as he can. In the meantime, let's get into.... Brave New World: Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 May 2000. It was their first studio release since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson (who left in 1993) and guitarist Adrian Smith (who left in 1990) in 1999, as well as the band's first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers, who replaced Smith in 1990, remained with the band. The album artwork and title song are references to the novel of the same name, written by Aldous Huxley. The upper half of the artwork was created by Derek Riggs, with the bottom half by digital artist Steve Stone. The songs "The Wicker Man" and "Out of the Silent Planet" were both released as singles. "The Wicker Man"'s promotional radio release featured extra vocals in the chorus, not present in any other versions of the song. The Brave New World Tour was the tour in support of the album, during which the show at Rock in Rio was recorded and later released as a live album and video. Brave New World peaked at No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart, and has since been certified Gold.[3] In the United States, it debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard200,[4] and registered over 307,000 sales on the Nielsen SoundScan system in 2008.[5] Songs and composition[edit] Brave New World marked the return of vocalist Bruce Dickinson (left) and guitarist Adrian Smith(right). Most of the songs were written before The Ed Hunter Tour and were later recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris. It was the first album the band would record with producer Kevin Shirley, and the first that they would record live in the studio.[6] According to an interview with Adrian Smith, "The Nomad", "Dream of Mirrors", and "The Mercenary" were originally written for 1998's Virtual XI, and former vocalist Blaze Bayley claimed to have provided some lyrics for "Dream of Mirrors", but was not credited.[7] According to Steve Harris, work had also begun on "Blood Brothers" during that period, but it was not completed at the time.[8] "Brave New World" was the release's only song to reappear on the Dance of Death World Tour, the next tour in support of a studio release. None of the tracks from the album were played during the A Matter of Life and Death Tour, although many returned throughout The Final Frontier World Tour, with "The Wicker Man", "Ghost of the Navigator", the title track, and "Blood Brothers" being played during the 2010 leg. The song "Blood Brothers", written by Steve Harris for his late father, was dedicated to Ronnie James Dio throughout the 2010 leg of The Final Frontier World Tour, following his death on 16 May. On the 2011 leg of the tour starting in Australia, "Blood Brothers" would then be dedicated to the victims and friends and family of the band members and audience who were affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake on 22 February. As the tour progressed, the song was also dedicated to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as the revolts in Egypt and Libya and, later, the victims of the 2011 Norway attacks. A live performance of the song from 2012's En Vivo! was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance on 6 December 2012.[9] Critical reception[edit] Reviews for the album were generally positive. Critics were especially warm towards the return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith to the band compared to the previous two releases which featured Blaze Bayley on vocals.[18] Kerrang! described it as "truly towering. Majestic. Bombastic. Titanic. So gloriously in-yer-face you can almost feel its hot breath up your nostrils."[15] Sputnikmusic described it as "one of the band's top albums; alongside the likes of Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and Piece of Mind" and "definitely the easiest album to get into since the band's glory days."[18] Classic Rock stated that, while "it may not take too many strides forward," it "certainly succeeds in reeling back the years to Iron Maiden's heyday."[13] AllMusic were slightly more critical of the album, describing it as "no Number of the Beast", although going on to say that "as comeback albums go, its excellence was undeniable", and likewise giving the album a positive rating.[10] NME were extremely unfavourable towards the release, arguing that the band's past "dismissal of the outside world, which kept them safe all those years, now leaves them looking rather obsolete". The magazine also compared the band to more contemporary acts such as Korn and Slipknot and felt Iron Maiden were "no longer the high priests of the black arts, and seem almost innocent by comparison".[16] Blabbermouth.net were also negative, stating that the band sound "tired and uninspired", and concluding that "[Brave New World] will fail to leave a lasting mark on the face of the current metal scene."[11] Track listing[edit] No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "The Wicker Man" Adrian Smith, Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson 4:35 2. "Ghost of the Navigator" Janick Gers, Dickinson, Harris 6:50 3. "Brave New World" Dave Murray, Harris, Dickinson 6:18 4. "Blood Brothers" Harris 7:14 5. "The Mercenary" Gers, Harris 4:42 6. "Dream of Mirrors" Gers, Harris 9:21 7. "The Fallen Angel" Smith, Harris 4:00 8. "The Nomad" Murray, Harris 9:06 9. "Out of the Silent Planet" Gers, Dickinson, Harris 6:25 10. "The Thin Line Between Love and Hate" Murray, Harris 8:26 Total length: 66:57 Personnel[edit] Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[2] Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals Dave Murray – guitar Adrian Smith – guitar Janick Gers – guitar Steve Harris – bass, keyboards, co-producer Nicko McBrain – drums Additional personnel Kevin Shirley – producer, engineer, mixing Denis Caribaux – second engineer Nicolas Meyer – assistant engineer [19] Rory Romano – assistant engineer Jeff Bova – orchestration on "Blood Brothers" and "The Nomad" George Marino – mastering Derek Riggs – sleeve illustration Steve Stone – sleeve illustration Peacock – sleeve design, sleeve concept Dean Karr – photography Rod Smallwood – management Andy Taylor – management Merck Mercuriadis – management The Wicker Man: We open the record with The Wicker Man, written by Adrian, Steve, and Bruce; the song is inspired by the cult film of the same name from the 1970s and was released as the first single for the record. Lyrically the track deals with our modern society's apathy and self-serving nature, not caring about a problem until it affects us. The track opens with a riff reminiscent of Judas Priest's Running Wild, but in short time, the track becomes classic Maiden. Bruce comes roaring in at :20, reclaiming his place as Iron Maiden frontman, delivering with as much conviction as he always does.And of course, Adrian delivers a stellar solo at 2:33, seriously, it is SO good to hear him again, isn't it? There's also some pretty solid hooks in this tune, as yhou'd expect from an Adrian Smith co-write, while having many Maiden trademarks courtesy of Arry. Even the woahs don't bother me as much. I don't know why, I usually hate them with a passion, but somehow I don't mind them here. While not my favorite track on the record, it's still a strong opener and logical choice for a first single.
Not much that I can say that you didn't nail, so I'll use your excellent review as a springboard, if you don't mind. Yes, the first time I heard it I thought Running Wild, which is cool because I love that song too. This song, to me, shows what the band missed with Adrian not there - GREAT HOOKS, as well as good soloing. I always liked his Blues rock influences and his melodic style, which contrasted so well with what I considered to be Dave's more ethereal style. Being a big Blackmore fan, I can see his influence in Adrian's playing as well. It's like having Blackmore and Kossoff in the same band, in a way. The band sounds energized, and I do love it when Maiden can put together a strong hooky fast song. This one delivers. 9.1 out of 10.
Praying Mantis, Forever in Time 1998 Tony O'Hora - Vocals Dennis Stratton - Guitar Tino Troy - Guitar, Keyboard Chris Troy - Bass, Keyboard Bruce Bisland - Drums 1. Wasted Years - What a familiar title. Like the Maiden tune this also opens with guitar fretboard goodness. Unfortunately this is not as good. 2. The Messiah - This is good. Great chorus even if it does remind me of Journey. 3. Best Years - Intro reminds me of Jefferson Starship. In fact even though this album was done in '98 it sounds like a product from the eighties. Its not bad. Not very good either. 4. Blood of an Angel - Wow this singer, Tony, really does a good Jon Bon Jovi impersonation. "I can taste the blood of an angel" Bizarre lyric for sure. Song is ok. 5. Valley of the King - Soft intro. Yep, a power ballad. Its alright. 6. Changes - Good song. Question though, we're these guys ever considered metal? 7. Man Behind the Mask - Probably the best song off the album. 8. Remember My Name - Another ballad and not a very good one. 9. The Day the Sun Turned Cold - Probably the most Maiden sounding song off the album. Long and the lyrics mention "the beast." This is a good one. 10. Forever In Time - Title track. Ha, they sing "Hallowed Be Thy Name" in the lyrics. Another fine selection ends the album. I take it back, this is the best song off the album. Nice little instrumental section in the middle. Overall this is a good album and the best I've heard from this band. They have a very '80's sound to them and any of the songs would fit nicely on any '80s movie soundtrack. If I saw this in a used bin for $4.99, I'd pick it up.
Bruce once said years ago that his original title for this album was Brazil Nuts ... whatever it's title, it should have been a double-album and included all those aforementioned tracks from the solo era (I understand why any Maiden numbers would be omitted at that particular time)... that would have ROCKED... as would a much better album sleeve, for sure! Okay, now I'm definitely done with the Bruce solo era... onto to the reunion era...
Here's US radio version of "The Wicker Man": The radio version of the song differs from the album track, with the chorus' first and third line "Your time will come" followed by the line, "Thy will be done", and the last line is followed by "Don't turn, don't run." This is the case for every chorus except for the third chorus in which the third line is followed by "I'll be the gun" and the fourth line is followed by "Burn on my son." This version is considered extremely rare.
Oh, I see that I've fallen a bit behind as my last review was of "Accident Of Birth" (and some Di'Anno-albums), so need to catch up with the rest here. Im gonna start tomorrow catching up with the thread, need to listen some albums and write few reviews (actually more than few) but I try to do them all atleast during the weekend. Take care people and cya!
Wicker Man He's back! Strike that, they're back! It was my friend who informed me that Bruce and Adrian had returned to Maiden and that they had a new album out. He told me that the new album was coming out tonight at midnight so we went to the mom and pop record store that was holding a midnight release party to pick it up. Do they still have those? After getting home and ripping the plastic off of the CD the first thing I noticed as I thumbed through the booklet was the very unique smell of the pages. Weird I know but it was distinctive and sadly the smell has all but disappeared today. Oh that main riff! Incredibly fun to play on guitar. I immediately loved the sound of this. Heavy and so much better sounding than the previous works although, remember this was the first I've heard from Maiden since that horrible day I sampled the X-Factor for the first time. Insanely catchy chorus with Davey hitting the high notes on the fretboard adds to the overall package. Blistering solo from Adrian. At 3:48 as the song enters the final bit, the woahs come in and sounds fantastic! Probably my favorite part of the song. On the second run through of woahs' Adrian adds a little spice to it with some extra chords. For me, best song on the record. 5/5
The Wicker Man - Yaaaaay we made it, Bruce is back, Adrian too, great opening track. Realising I didnt buy this upon release, in fact after Best of the Beast the next Maiden album I bought on release day was A Matter of Life and Death, it was only after that one being so good I went back and bought the previous 2 reformation albums. So a 10 year gap all told. The whoas at the end are fine as they're at the end and short, not used as the same old Maiden trick mid song. This one works well, still like it a lot. So happy we've finally made it to this era.
Before I jump into Wicker Man, I want to set the stage for how we got here. On Feb 10th, 1999 Maiden announced on their website that Bruce & Adrian had returned to the band: IRON MAIDEN OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE ... 10/02/99 BRUCE DICKINSON AND ADRIAN SMITH ARE BACK!! The new line-up is (left to right) Dave Murray (Guitar), Janick Gers (Guitar), Nicko McBrain (Drums), Bruce Dickinson (Vocals), Steve Harris (Bass), and Adrian Smith (Guitar). This will be the first time Maiden have had a three guitar onslaught on stage. PC game "Ed Hunter" is set for Worldwide release in May. Full details soon. Tour dates in USA/Europe currently being lined up for July/August/September. New studio album to be recorded at the end of this year. Full World Tour in 2000. Spoiler: Q&A With New Maiden Lineup EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH NEW MAIDEN LINE UP... 10/02/99 ... Anticipating another 8,000 messages on the Bulletin Board in response to this incredible news, the site Administrator managed to track down the lads and ask them a few pertinent questions. Find out just what they had to say below. 1) How does it feel to be back together after so long? Bruce Dickinson: It doesn't feel like so long, in fact, at all. When we got back in the room together, me and Steve gave each other a great big hug. He's only ever hugged me three times in my life! Fantastic and great fun. We're all looking forward to making great music and having a phenomenally good time. It was great. We're all making plans as to how we're going to enjoy ourselves while playing this great stuff. Steve Harris: I think it's going to be really exciting to have Bruce and Adrian back. I'm very excited that there's six people in the band. Three guitar players and all that - I'm looking forward to it a lot. As far as I know, there's no-one in metal or rock that's really done the three guitar thing apart from Skynyrd. I really like the Skynyrd stuff - not that it'll be like that, but it should be interesting. Adrian jammed with us at Donington and it felt great to have three guitar players. Dave Murray: I think the chemistry within the band has increased with getting Bruce and Adrian back. The magic that was there before, I think we can re-create again. There was something still there from X amount of years ago between us, and getting back together, there's a real excitement. It's a kind of excitement between everybody. You can really feel it, and I think it's going to be great. There's so much chemistry with this line up now. Janick Gers: It's incredible to be back together with Bruce. He's an incredible singer. We've kept in touch over the years anyhow, as I have done with Adrian, and it's going to be really interesting with three guitars. I don't know how they're going to fit us all on stage but it's going to be a very powerful sound and we're all really excited about it. Adrian Smith: That feels great. It's great to be playing back with the guys again. Everyone's relaxed and happy about it and we're looking forward to playing all the classic Maiden songs on this tour. It's kind of uncanny. I've seen everyone individually over the years, but it's the first time we've all been together in a working situation for a long time - it must be almost 8 years in times of the band. We built up our own language over a period of time. We fell back into that straight away. Nicko McBrain: Really good, in that it doesn't really feel as though we've been apart as long as it has been. I suppose when you get a bond like the one we had, it's very, very strong. It's quite a strong essence, the bonding side of things, to actually feel like that after 7 years for Adrian and 4/5 for Bruce. It was really good and very exciting. 2) Three Guitars for the first time - how will that work and do you find it exciting? Bruce Dickinson:: I'm really excited. The characters of the three guitarists actually blend very well. Jan has this completely anarchic style, which in a sense can now be set free, as before he had to fulfil Adrian's parts and his parts. Davey has a very distinct style. They all have. They're all capable of being as disciplined as they need to be, but they've all got such separate personalities that it's going to be fantastic. I think with Adrian back in the band, he's going to make such a huge contribution. Having worked with him he's as good, if not better than he ever was. There's always work for three guitars in a Maiden song, simply because of the number of guitars that we laid down in the studio that we never ever do live. In actual fact the old Maiden songs will sound even better with three guitars. The new stuff may possibly take to a whole new level. Steve Harris: It's difficult to say if the three guitars will affect the writing, as in the past we've written stuff where there were two guitars and another behind it or three either unison or harmony guitars anyway. So I don't think it'll be a big problem and I don't think it'll take us in a different direction, or anything like that. Sometimes when we break away and do harmonies live, with the bass and drums, it opens it up and sounds really good like that, but sometimes on an album we put a rhythm guitar there, and live you can't do that. Now we can! Dave Murray: I suppose Skynyrd are one of the only bands around with that sort of line up. With Maiden, on the material side of it, it really weighs favour between guitars. In fact there's a lot of stuff on the studio albums with three guitar harmonies anyway, and that's most of the old material, so we'll be able to incorporate that in. And also, I think with the new stuff as well. People are going to be thinking that we'll be doing three part guitar, so I think it's going to actually broaden the whole thing. It's going to widen and give it another dimension. Sometimes they say less is more, but I think in this case, more is heavier! More is going to be bigger, so I'm really looking forward to it, and the thing is, with Adrian, it's going to widen the whole scope musically, where we can do more things within the band musically, so I think it's going to take shape very well. Subconsciously, I think we will write differently also; it'll be there in the back of your head, because you can actually add things in there. I think it's going to affect things - slightly - it'll make things a lot broader in some sense, but that we're yet to find out. I really think it's going to work great. It'll broaden the sound and make it damn fat! Janick Gers: Really interesting because the aesthetics of it. You can actually double up in various chords and stuff, so we can make it a kind of bigger sound in various parts. The galloping parts will be the same, but probably distinctly heavier, because of the extra part there. There may be various parts where we might leave the bass and the two guitars might go off and might have a rhythm under them. And obviously, where we can add three part harmonies, that would be real fun to do. There's quite a lot of different things we can actually put into the songs and bring them into the year two thousand. I suppose if you want to look at it like that, it could be very exciting. Adrian Smith: If ever there was a band where three guitars could compliment the music, it was Maiden. There are a lot of guitar harmonies and guitar parts. The songs are long and I think there's a lot of space there for three guitar players. It will compliment the music and it's never really been done before in the rock and metal field - obviously Skynyrd, but I don't think in the metal field it's been done, which gives it an exciting dimension. I think it will sound amazing as we all play slightly differently. In a concert situation it will be interesting as well, because it keeps changing the focal point which makes it interesting from an audience perspective. I also think, as we haven't worked together in this format yet, I imagine that as we write together, Janick Dave and I will write together. There's a lot of interesting stuff we can work with - but I don't think it means we're going to have 98 guitar solos in each song, I think it'll be more of a textural thing. Who knows! It's difficult to say until we start working. At best, it will add another dimension to the band and will compliment what we already have. Nicko McBrain: Chaos! Absolute chaos! First of all I think it's going to bring an added strength that has previously been un-tapped. So we know that Adrian's guitar style worked for so many years with the band and then when Janick came in, his style of playing is quite fiery and very effervescent, compared to Adrian who's more laid back and a more controlled player. We've got the best of both worlds there, but I said to the guys that they need to take out added insurance for on stage as there's 5 of them running around! It's going to be like the Grand National meets RollerBall! I'm looking forward to it and it's going to be a challenge, an exciting one, with the three guys, especially on the older songs. There's going to be picking and choosing who does what solo, and maybe even adding new parts as you can't have one guy standing there while everyone else is playing! The people are going to be so excited seeing the three guys up there in the first place, but with the added dimension of the musical parts involved, I think it's going to very exciting. 3) How do you think the fans will feel about the band reforming Bruce Dickinson: I think they'll be quite pleased. It means that I don't have to play possum when people ask me questions. It's going to be fantastic. I've become very conscious, in terms of Emails and personal encounters with fans who have never seen Maiden with me, and there's an enormous number of young fans who have never seen Maiden except on video - Live After Death etc. - and that's terrifically exciting as I think this is a huge opportunity to bring together effectively three generations of Rock fans, from people who were into rock in the 70's and got into Maiden. Then you have all the people who have got into the band in the 80's and now a whole generation from the 90's. We're looking at another century of people. It's marvellous as I think that, certainly for me, I don't want to live up to people's expectations: I want to exceed them. Steve Harris: It's difficult to say, but I think they will be excited about it, especially the young fans even more so as Adrian left the band 8 years ago. So there's a lot of fans that haven't seen either one or both of them. It's really exciting. Dave Murray: The fans that are from the 80's, it's going to spark that excitement back again and get them interested again in a way, if they had decided to move onto other things. The old fans are going to be like "Yeah - let's go and check it out" and also the new fans - looking at the stuff on the Internet, and the general vibe - it looks like they're really excited about this anyway. These fans have never seen this line up - there's going to be a lot of excitement, and you can feel the buzz already. Janick Gers: I think the kids who are into the band are really going to accept this, because there's been a grand swell of support for Bruce over the years, anyhow, and he's got a great voice. It's going to be very exciting and I think the people who are going to come to see it (I think there's a lot of people out there who haven't actually seen Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson in) are going to be very, very excited. From a fan point of view, I think you've got the best of both worlds. You've got the Iron Maiden of the 90's with Bruce in there, giving it everything, and he hasn't been there for a while, so he's going to be well fired up. Adrian Smith: Well, we do get a lot of feed back from the Internet and there have been constant rumours for the last couple of years of a reformation of the 80's line up. A lot of feed back on that, so I think a lot of people are going to want to see it, simply because I've been out on the road with Bruce for the last couple of years, and from what I have gathered on the road, people will be very interested to hear it. I think it's going to be really cool, because of the atmosphere between us. There's a good feeling about this tour and you can sense the anticipation and the buzz about it. Nicko McBrain: I think the fans will be absolutely ecstatic. There's going to be some people who will be upset as they were in to Blaze, but I think once they see the reformed band as it is, they'll be probably very happy about things - it's still Maiden - I think they're going to be as excited as we are As far as what the kids will think; I think they'll be really happy. 4) We understand you've done a photosession which was probably the first thing you've done since getting back together. How did it go? Bruce Dickinson: You know you're back in Iron Maiden when you get sandwiches and beer. No other photo session where they ever provide anything! Seriously though it was very easy. Being with the guys and Ross Halfin taking pictures it was just the same as ever. It really felt like we'd been on holiday and just got back after a couple of weeks. It's scary! Time travel! Steve Harris: Really normal. Really natural. It felt right. It didn't feel strange or anything like that - it felt really good. Dave Murray: It was a case like we'd never been apart! It felt like the band had never split in loads of directions. It was very natural - very comfortable - and there was a spark there and a glimmer in everyone's eyes. You felt that something special was happening there. It was as though we hadn't really parted. Bruce just did that photosession, just like we'd had a couple of months off. It didn't feel like 5 years at all. It just felt like a couple of months. Which is great because it shows that that magic is still there. Janick Gers: Yeah, it was very weird, the photosession, because, obviously that was the first time we all got together. I mean, I've known Adrian for a long time anyhow, but the actual 6 of us together. You know when you walk into a room, you feel a chemistry with the people you're with, and I must say, I felt a really good atmosphere when I walked into the room, and it held right through the photoshoot. Fun was had. There was definitely a kind of electricity between the characters in the band and if we can get that into the music and get it on stage; I think the chemistry between the 6 of us could be very exciting. Adrian Smith: It went really well, apart from the fact I had flu. It went very well. There's a lot of peripheral stuff you have to do, but it was actually fun and painless, and that's the highest praise you can give to a photosession! More importantly, it was a chance for us all to meet up and hang out for a couple of hours and we started to scratch the surface talking about the musical side of things. I think you need the chemistry as the band is made up of such personalities and that makes it what it is. Nicko McBrain: It was great - as I said earlier - it was as though we just walked in and picked up from we'd just walked off stage and off the end of a tour the previous week. It really was. It was really just a question of a bunch of old mates, getting together who hadn't had a drink up for a while! Although we were talking about making a new album, making music, but that was the general feel. Very good. Everyone had a great time and a bit of a chuckle. There wasn't any tension in the air, even at the beginning. It was just "Oh! Here we are. OK, let's get on with it. What do we want to do now". It was a great day and we got an awful lot done. You think it would be absolute chaos because of everyone getting together for the first time for 7 or 8 years, but we got a lot of work done and we thoroughly enjoyed it, as we normally hate photosessions, but it went really well. Then came Ed Hunter, the album: Spoiler: Ed Hunter album info Ed Hunter, the video game/compilation album, was released on May 17, 1999. The set included the Top 20 Tracks that were supposedly voted on by Maiden fans on ironmaiden.com. It was completely coincidence (wink wink) that the only non-singles included were Phantom of the Opera, Clansman, Tailgunner, Killers and Powerslave (all live favorites), that there were no rare tracks or songs never played live, and that all 11 albums were represented. Rod swears, that's how everyone really voted. Tracklist: 1. Iron Maiden (live) 2. The Trooper 3. The Number of the Beast 4. Wrathchild 5. Futureal 6. Fear of the Dark 7. Be Quick or Be Dead 8. 2 Minutes to Midnight 9. Man on the Edge 10. Aces High 11. The Evil That Men Do 12. Wasted Years 13. Powerslave 14. Hallowed Be Thy Name 15. Wrathchild '99 (on US version only....remix of the original Killers recording with overdubbed Bruce vocals from 1999) 16. Run to the Hills 17. The Clansman 18. Phantom of the Opera 19. Killers 20. Stranger in a Strange Land 21. Tailgunner The summer/fall of 1999 brought the reunion tour and the debut of the Three Amigos: Spoiler: My thoughts on the Ed Hunter Tour I caught 2 shows on this tour if I would've had the means, I would've seen every show. After witnessing the band with Blaze on the X Factour, I made up my mind that I was done with seeing them live. After Virtual XI, I was done with buying any new studio albums. The return of Bruce and Adrian nullified both of those statements. I had seen them both on the Accident of Birth tour (f'n amazing) so I was really psyched to see what they would bring to Maiden. The first show I saw was in San Antonio on Aug. 7, 1999 and it was excellent. I *loved* it. I also caught the following night in Dallas, the final night of the US leg. Even though I'd seen an excellent show the night before, I was not prepared for what I saw in Dallas. They played at the old Bronco Bowl and anyone who ever saw a show there knows how cool of a venue it was. The place was packed to the rafters; it was a hot summer night and as sweaty as the audience was, I've never been a part of an audience so amped for a Maiden show. The audience was simply amazing and the band was possibly the best I've ever seen them. I'd say this gig was tied for me with a show from the Somewhere Back in Time tour in 2008. Maiden was on fire that night and it was clear how much the audience loved seeing Bruce and Adrian back. This was a few thousand die hard Maiden fans saying "thank you" in the best possible way. It was electric being in the Bronco Bowl that night. The setlist consisted of the Ed Hunter album, minus Stranger since they dropped that earlier in the tour and Be Quick/Tailgunner since they didn't play those on any of the dates. I loved that they started the show with Churchill's Speech before going into Aces High. There was literally no better way to start a Maiden show for the return of Bruce & Adrian. The third song of the night was the one where it was really clear why Janick was kept and they went with the three-guitar lineup: The Trooper. Hearing that harmony part played by them was amazing. Blew my mind. I had no idea that song (one I already loved) could sound so freakin' amazing. Song after song, one after another, was brilliant. The encore consisted solely of the three NOTB songs and again it was perfect. This show was the prefect example of why they needed to tour first before releasing a new album. It brought everyone back in the fold and they showed that they were at the top of their game. I'll never forget that 1999 show as long as I live.
The Wicker Man As soon as it starts up you know it's going to kick ass. The mix, while not perfect, is a million times better and clearer than the last two Maiden albums. The attitude is here. No one sounds bored, everyone's on board. You can hear it. I love that pre-chorus, that sounds like Bruce's work. The chorus sounds like Steve all the way. The riffs are all Adrian, except the sing-along bridge which is pure Steve. I love how all 3 worked on this song. They each get their hands in there to write a great song. Adrian plays a fantastic solo as well as that great post-solo riff. I think it's only appropriate that Adrian gets the first solo on the album. Nicko plays some cool stuff underneath the solo (not mixed loud enough, but it's still there). The tempo change for the post-chorus sing-along section, is really good. I'd rather not have the whoa's, just do it instrumentally, but I don't hate it. The section is good enough to make me not even care, though. 4 and half minutes and that's exactly what we need from the opening track and first single. Iron Maiden is alive again. I love this song...I mean, I've heard this thousands of times since 1999 and I still get this rush when listening to it. Great, great song. Well done, boys. Welcome home, it's been too long, we've missed you! @SammyJoe thanks for posting that US radio promo version! I actually like the basic mix better on this one.
Brave New World I have to admit that I never bought this album. I did like and buy The Wicker Man as an MP3 when I heard it. I am also glad that Tidal has all the Maiden albums in full MQA glory. I think for me, as a fan I just lost interest in the band and had moved on to other types of music. I would have been more into Mudvayne, Linkin Park or even Limp Bizkit at this point I am glad to be revisiting this album and may feel differently by the time we have all discussed it. I look forward to everyone's input and maybe even a couple good stories along the way.
I remember hearing it this way and thinking I liked the album version a lot better. Thanks for posting as I had forgotten all about it.
I had never heard the US radio mix version before. It’s...weird. Hmm. Can’t say I like those additional lines in the chorus. They sound crammed in and confusing. Overall The Wicker Man isn’t one of my favorites on the album. But it’s still stellar and how can one complain about the gang being back together again?! I didn’t hear this until 2013 or so. I had a lot of catching up to do.
I really love a lot of the 21st century albums but Brave New World is, to my mind, the worst by far. And the problems start with "The Wicker Man." It sounds like they spent a lot of time working to create a short song that would open the album and announce "We're back." And for that reason it doesn't sound natural to me, more like a simulation of a decent Iron Maiden song from the old days with a verse, pre-chorus and chorus crudely welded together from different, basic Maiden building blocks and, inevitably, ending with the whoahs. Do I hate it? Not at all. Do I love it? No way. I was NOT jumping up and down when the CD started playing, more rolling my eyes at what was already sounding like a cash-grab. I think I've mentioned this before but a little personal background: I started listening to Maiden before the release of Killers but quit after Powerslave. I never heard any of the subsequent albums until I heard "The Clairvoyant" on the radio in the late 90s and was reminded how much I loved that band once upon a time. I then bought up all the CDs and while there was a lot I didn't like, I was back as a fan and very excited when news of the reunion came. It wasn't until Dance of Death that my anticipation was paid off at all, though.
The Wicker Man Great song, excellent way to open up the album and a return to form for the band. It was a great intro during the gigs that followed too A side story on the album and in particular The Wicker Man, id never listened to Iron Maiden before until aged 17, my brother and 2 friends invited me to go with them to the Clive Burr MS gig at Brixton in 2002. The atmosphere built in a mix of booze and recently declassified Cannabis (for the Brixon area only, which didn't last too much longer incase you wonder but the Dj was advocating its use to the crowd) filled the theatre with UFO's "Doctor, Doctor" blasting through the speakers signaling the bands imminent arrival. The lights go back, the choral music places before Adrian Smith is lit by a single light, hitting the opening chords of The Wicker Man before the band spring to the stage as Nico's drums errupt in perfect timing with the lights. It was love at first chord. So yeah, whilst my love affair with Maiden hasnt been a long as others, this song holds a special place in my heart. As first impressions count, and it left a VERY good one. Interestingly, on the Best of Bruce CD there is a song The Wicker Man too, but completely unrelated to the Maiden song of the same name which he talks briefly about during the Voice of Crube track on cd2.
Thoughts on Brave New World later... Hoping and praying that Bruce returning with Adrian would find Maiden finding their mojo again. The Blaze era....well, it was a catastrophe. Poor, boring and overlong songs married to a singer who just didn't fit. Thing is tho...I hadn't forgot just how badly it unravelled after Fear Of The Dark, which I thought was average at best. The ensuing tour showed a band at odds with their singer who appeared bored and restless. Make no bones about it....Bruce returned in part, because his solo career had bombed. He also, missed the limelight. The Wicker Man Blatent Rip off intro of Priest's Running Wild....but praise the lord the band sounded back again. After years of decay.....was this the turning point. 4/5
