The Alchemist: Surprised so many don’t like it. I do. If it’s filler, then I like filler. I agree with cheevyjames, it’s just a bit lost compared to the brilliance of the songs on either side of it.
Revisiting this thread after a long time. Must admit that there's great stuff to be found in their later work.
The Alchemist: This reminds me a little of Be Quick Or Be Dead, certainly prior to the chorus. Its not too bad, the chorus is good and the guitars during the chorus. I like this one, not a classic but a decent album track. 3.5/5
5 posts today, thats not too bad. I guess its slowed a little, not quite a song per day but thats no bad thing. There's plenty of life left in this thread.
I still comment on every song and check it daily. I think the end of school and then 4th of July is impacting participation. I am actually still fired up to hear people’s takes on TFF and BoS so I hope it doesn’t drift away.
Starting starry-eyed a song-for-song-thread about IM's debut-album, becoming victim of a misconception and then willing to pay ALL imaginable dues (not only B-sides, but also side and/or solo-projects from EVERY past and/or members and THEIR B-sides) does cost, no matter how enthusiastic one is. I hope MusicMan1998 will carry on until the end (which isn't that far anymore, I guess)! Some of us already carried his cross for a few short steps, but it's his honor, not ours, to finally climb the mountain.
Isle of Avalon (Smith/Harris) Helping @Musicman1998 again. Even after eight years I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one. I like it but I don't love it and yet I feel like it is a masterpiece. Not much happens throughout and yet it cruises right along. The song starts with a unique rhythm with Nicko leading the way. The guitar rhythm isn't heavy nor is it light in terms of distortion. Lots of single notes are played. This same pattern continues for a while. Bruce comes in at the :26 mark and delivers the lyrics with a soft approach. Lots of eagle screeching effects added throughout as well. At least I think that's what it is supposed to be. At 2:40 the band explodes as does Bruce and finally the melody and rhythm changes. There really isn't a true chorus in this song but with each passing line the tension mounts. The first solo enters the fray at 3:48 and its a good one from Dave. Adrian nails down the next solo and its quite jazzy as is the next part of the song. Soon after the band shifts back to the beginning rhythm and we start all over again with Bruce singing to us about the Arthurian legend. The song comes to an end with a grandiose finale. Somedays this is a 5/5 and others its a 3/5.
Isle of Avalon I like the mood of the opening, but it goes on way too long. After that the song is just a bland mess, that never seems to end. No hook, no melody. It does get interesting in the last part, but it's too late. Overall? Meh.
Isle of Avalon Really struggling to be positive about the songs on this album. Everything is just too samey....not good not bad, but just there!! Whereas A Matter Of Life And Death eventually clicked (mostly) I just cannot get into this album. It feels hard work to listen too. Another forgettable track... 2/5
This thread kinda makes me realize how much I overvalued latter-day Maiden in the past. Not that it's dreadful or anything, but songs like The Alchemist and Coming Home remind me how uninspired they can sound. It doesn't help that Shirley's production is bone dry. It feels like Maiden recorded some of these albums in a Ziploc bag. They still have some wonderful songs on these albums, but there are some real clunkers as well. Which reminds me, I kind of like the intro to the album (Satellite 15), as it's at least something a bit different, even if a little wonky.
Isle of Avalon (Smith, Harris) This is the first epic of the album. I love how this one has a good "slow burn" for the first couple minutes. I love all the atmospheric parts between the verses in the beginning. Bruce sounds great in his lower-register/storyteller mode. He feels a lot more natural singing Steve's lyrics than he has in the past few years. Finally at 2:40 we get the song kicking in. It's a long intro, but it really works for me and I like the gradual buildup. For the "kicking in" verse, the lyrics are pretty wordy and Bruce is slightly struggling, however it bothers me less than on others from this album with those same qualities. The "I hear her crying" section is a chorus I guess? I dig it though. It's a really cool and different sounding melody with nice keyboards behind it. I also love what it does at the end of this section with Nicko's fills and the different riff coming in. I love Adrian in prog-mode, I really do. It's been so much fun to see him step up his song-writing game since being back. This section is no different and it wonderfully transitions to Dave's killer solo. OK, what about the guys changing things up ever so slightly once Dave's solo starts! I love what Steve does underneath. He's been keeping it really simple for the song so far, but that part he plays at the beginning under Dave's solo is cool! Halfway through the solo Nicko brings in a fantastic groove that transitions perfectly into Adrian's solo. This whole middle section, starting with that chorus and through the solos, is so proggy and even though it's Maiden it sounds like nothing they've done before. It floors me how good this part is. In the space between solos where Nicko's just grooving along I love how Steve ever so slowly introduces the next riff. Perfectly done. What a groove! It's in 7/8 and they're just nailing it. Here we are, Iron Maiden playing Prog-Funk. LOVE IT. Now we come to Adrian's solo...it's a work of genius. What the whole band does here is great. The solo itself is really, really long. I don't think there's ever been a singular guitar solo in this band that's lasted as long. Adrian gets SO MUCH time to stretch out and try different things, all while the band grooves along in 7/8 on one chord. Maiden's never done that before. Once again, this album shows the band trying new things and going into different directions. Adrian finishes up with some awesome chordal soloing before the walk-up and back to the vocal tag. Damn, Bruce sounds great there! What a way to come back in. Another reprise of the slow intro verses with Dave & Janick doing the nice atmospheric stuff. This song is just a treat on headphones. The last couple minutes are spent with another fast verse, an Adrian guitar interlude (not harmonized for some reason), another verse and final choruses that takes us out with a huge ending that recalls the old days. My goodness what a ride on this song! I love this song so much and it still floors me like it did 8 years ago. Isle of Avalon is an excellent song that shows the band trying some exciting new stuff. ....reading everyone else's comments - boy, do I have a different opinion than you guys! That's what makes this so much fun.
Isle of Avalon I honestly don't remember this track, its like a first listen to me, and i do own the album. To be fair i never gave this album as much attention as AMOLAD but I really like this one, especially (as Cheevyjames calls it,) the Prog-Funk section. I recently bought the "One way glass - Dancefloor Prog" box which is excellent, loads of rare tracks from late 60's/early 70's, that funk section in this song shows Maiden would be great covering one of the tunes on the box set. Really like this track, 5/5 for me. A rare high rating. Want to listen to this again now. Shame the funk section wasnt longer.
The Alchemist - I'm surprised people don't seem to like this too much. It's played at a nice pace, energetic, nice use of harmony guitars, catchy chorus. Nothing wrong here, I dig it! Isle of Avalon - Sort of live listening and typing. The intro and first verses are really nice, they build a lot of tension. What's going to happen next? Now the guitars are coming in with the bass, waiting for the big kick-in... there it is haha! I didn't like the faster/heavier part. They could have probably cut that out and just kept the bridge/solo section for the tension relief. Good song overall though.
Isle of Avalon - Another mixed bag for me. I like the intro section but I think it goes on for too long and the slow build is a bit too slow for my tastes. I really like the chorus though. Overall, this song reminds me of something Rush might have done in the late 70’s or very early 80’s. I respect Maiden for stretching its boundarie, even if the song isn’t really in my wheelhouse. However, my attention comes and goes over the 9 minute course of this song. I have to rank it at a modest 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Isle of Avalon: Some nice guitar work by Dave and Adrian, both turn in strong solos, and Nicko does some pretty decent drum fills, but generally the song is plodding, uneventful, I can go without this one.
There are five songs in a row on this album, starting with "The Alchemist," that are largely indistinguishable to me. However, the slight differences between them can be enormous as one is, I think, among their greatest songs and another is pretty good. "Isle of Avalon" is neither of those. I've listened to it five times in the last two days and it goes down ok but leaves zero aftertaste. There are some interesting moments but what does it all add up to? Another competent but unmemorable song. On the bright side, that's one positive thing about post-reunion Maiden: even when the songs are meh, the band rarely embarrass themselves as they were wont to earlier in their career; they're too wizened and professional for that now.
Isle of Avalon: To me, this song was the highlight of this album from the minute I heard it. So smooth and flowing, nice build, long winding jam. Sure, there is no real chorus, or even song structure for that matter, but this one doesn’t need a chorus or a structure, it just sucks you in with that slow groove that shifts into higher gear. This is one of the more organic, jam sounding songs they have ever done (yes, let’s all forget [or at least not mention] the b-sides fromNPftD and FotD). I get lost in this song every time, I can’t begin to tell where in the song you are while it’s playing (unless I can see the time on the display), but it is such a smooth groovy ride, I just don’t care. I love this song.
"Isle Of Avalon", This is the best song of the album, I've always loved it and on the very first listen it literally blew my mind. It was the highlight, absolutely no doubt about it there's nothing to report or wrong about it. I feel it's very complete package, everything and everyone in the band does/works precisely as should. I remember the moments when I first heard this one, it surely felt something like a new ground for Maiden as it didn't at all sound like something you would expect from them and at the same time it engaged me, also really surprised me as I wasn't really believing what I was hearing. The first epic of the album, I can so sense and see the misty views there when the intro and the song starts, this very visual, atmospheric song. Bruce's voice sounds great here as he's telling the story. Really love this one, this is the first song on the album that really makes it feel unique, it's challenging and long song but also very experimental song, progressive stuff and I like how it doesn't really repeat much at all, somewhat takes time to fully open. The buildup is done with care, feels like the song continues to evolve, build and grow throughout, it's natural change and doesn't feel forced as no hurrying at all, there's great flow. Definitely like that Rush(esque)-part around 4:18, liked it already from the first listen. Interesting, cool instrumental-section with jamming, we get to hear great solos from both Dave and Adrian. Dave's solo is so cool and Adrian's solo got strong sense of jazzy-proge feeling present, I dig it. I was expecting and hoping, that Maiden would be playing this one live on that tour when they were promoting the album, nope, unfornately they didn't (they should have played it as this would have worked nicely) but I can maybe guess that as this is epic song, the buildup takes almost 3 minutes until it finally sort of starts going, and so maybe it was among the reasons for the decision to not to play it live. Would have been interesting to witness this one being recorded in the studio..to hear all the interesting bits played, the instrumental-section, and that little funky-part..also it would have been interesting to hear the guitar solos and any outtakes from them.. So, I will have to grant the full ranks for this masterpiece as it's surely deserved them: 5/5
Isle Of Avalon Great, moody intro/buildup, I really like it. But what some call chorus here (that "I hear her crying" part) is a real downer somehow. I even can't say how they screwed it up, but somehow, they managed to... There are fantastic parts in the song, like steve's solo spot at 4.25 or the repeated lick starting at 7.38. But there's also a Paschendale-ripp-off when the guitar solo starts at 3.44 and at 7.08, we get a not-so-good AMOLAD-moment. So, it's a mixed bag. Somehow, it could've been great, but that "chorus" doesn't allow. Allover, I see it as a salute to classic early-to-mid 70ties prog-rock, lyric-wise and also in the music, flavored with some Maiden-spices on top. It's just that it doesn't work out... It feels too much theoretically designed and not enough felt. Hm.
