Metal Sludge Gossip Board

I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

Agree. Bruce is a great singer and frontman (though i dont care for the tone of his voice), but I'm amazed they're one of metal's biggest bands. Tons of filler, not one truly fast/heavy song since Be Quick or Be Dead or Man on the Edge (that i know of) and that's 30 years ago. They're thought ofas prog, but they're not. the songs are just really long with the same boring parts stretched out again and again. They dont write about interesting subjects, unless you're a fucking nerd, and like surface level book reports about history. Somehow they're one of the top 3 classic metal bands, and I dont see a reason for it, except for eddie.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 6:23 pm

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

Agree. Bruce is a great singer and frontman (though i dont care for the tone of his voice), but I'm amazed they're one of metal's biggest bands. Tons of filler, not one truly fast/heavy song since Be Quick or Be Dead or Man on the Edge (that i know of) and that's 30 years ago. They're thought ofas prog, but they're not. the songs are just really long with the same boring parts stretched out again and again. They dont write about interesting subjects, unless you're a fucking nerd, and like surface level book reports about history. Somehow they're one of the top 3 classic metal bands, and I dont see a reason for it, except for eddie.

Some excellent points.

Wicker Man is good and is a fast heavy song. Although I prefer judas priest running wild.

In all fairness their good songs are really good. That plus great marketing with Eddie, good management, and a solid live reputation has made them the defacto top metal band along with Metallica and Black Sabbath.

I listened to the Bailey albums for the first time ever after reading the article posted elsewhere on the site.
Most of the songs were crap, one maybe two from each I could imagine would go over well live.
I’ve seen them twice and was very happy to have done so but probably would not go again.
They are consistent, which can’t be said for most of their contemporaries.

Not Powerslave or Somewhere In Time . . .

BernieTaupson wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 8:03 pm It really is remarkable how quickly they turned their fortunes around after basically a whole decade of every project being less popular than the least. They were running on fumes in the Blaze era. Surprised they didn’t pack the whole thing in totally.

Then Bruce and Adrian came back in 99 and they did a brief tour which was well attended and then did a great album and they’ve been on the up ever since.

Priest got back together and did albums that no one really cared about and still play tiny venues.

No one cared about new KISS music and they had to play the Farewell card (twice) to really do big venues again.

Maiden seems to keep capturing that 12-30 bracket in a way the other dinosaur acts just don’t. Maiden crowds are full of young people.

The whole new album /oldies / new album cycle they came up with is fucking genius.

Yep. They seem to have this ongoing appeal. The concert I attended 5 years ago was full of that younger demographic.

killdrum wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 7:38 pm Seventh Son was the last great album to me. Checked out after that one.

Same here. Though I've gotten some later albums cheaply.

Wow, I thought I was the only one who saw through the Maiden Mythology.

Maiden were the first band I saw in 83, I went to my only festival abroad to see them (and Roth) at Donington in 88, I have seen them more than any other band but.... most albums aren't very good.

Apart from their live shows their reputation is built on the first four or if you're generous six albums. I happen to dislike the debut but it is a classic and everything they released before 1988 is better than anything they released later. Powerslave is their GGG, two huge hits and mostly filler, Somewhere has less obvious filler but the top tracks aren't as strong as on their earlier albums and 7th Son is just the first and best of their plodding prog wannabe albums. And apart from the vocals, No Prayer and Fear of the Dark are just barely better than the Blaze albums. I would be curious if the 12-20 year old Maiden fans agree or if they rate FOTD, BNW or BoS as high as the 80s albums.

But there are other bands like that. AC/DC has even more filler but as long as they have the songs from HTH and BIB and Thunderstruck they will pack arenas.

BernieTaupson wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 10:28 pm

Van Ailin' wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 8:12 pm Not Powerslave

Eight tracks, five are filler.

Losfer Words
Back in the Village
Flash of the Blade
The Duellists
Rime of the Ancient Mariner

FTFY. Guess you're one of the "surface level book report" guys Huey was talking about.

BernieTaupson wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 10:28 pm

Van Ailin' wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 8:12 pm Not Powerslave

Eight tracks, four are filler.

Losfer Words
Back in the Village
Flash of the Blade
The Duellists

I dig these tunes... Losfer Words is filler to some, but I enjoy this instrumental interlude.

Maiden was great from Killers through Powerslave, very good on Somewhere in Time, pretty good on 7th Son, and absolute CRAP after that.

You could say this about most bands after their debut.

Like any band that's been around for a good length of time, there is good, bad, and forgettable/filler. But the classic stuff is such for a reason. All you really need is Live After Death.

You can cherry pick the good spots from the rest, although, and I might be in the minority here, I've always thought Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was a really good album top to bottom.

Seventh Son is their masterpiece and is brilliant from start to finish. So no.

Maiden have their status because they’re like AC/DC - they try to make more or less the same record every single time. Sometimes they’re more successful than others, but the goal is the exact same thing. No Turbos, ReLoads, Risks in their catalog.

If you like 10 minute songs with the same looping four chords the entire time, you’ll love it. If you want to hear something new, it’ll drive you mad.

I wish we lived in Iran so these stupid opinions could be dealt with.

I agree somewhat, but I think BNW and A Matter of Life or Death are as good as the first few albums.
I tapped out of Maiden at Powerslave which I found to be meh. I've heard nothing but the singles since then which I thought were ok but nothing to visit whole albums.
Once Bruce returned, I figured I'd give it a shot. BNW is awesome as is AMOLOD. Dance of Death has its moments. After that I kinda checked out again.

Powerslave was the last one I got into.
Was not a fan of SIT

SiT was their Turbo.

One of the greatest bands in our beloved genre of music.
They released some of the finest tunes/albums of the genre.
"Piece Of Mind" is actually the first album that has more than one filler song... but all in all, their 80's output is untouchable.
Up to that point "Seventh Son" is my fave and I find "Powerslave" to be the weak link (as good as it is)

I'm a sucker for Blaze's era albums, so 90's output is awesome in my book, too. "The X Factor" being one of my top Maiden albums ever. "Fear of the Dark" would be my least fave 90's album (see "Powerslave)".

"BNW" was as good as their previous output, but also had some filler... never liked "Wicker Man" or the last 2 boring songs.

From then on, AMOLAD is the best one, "TFF" being my least favorite (although "Senjutsu" is meh too).

Up the Irons.

BernieTaupson wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 10:28 pm

Van Ailin' wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 8:12 pm Not Powerslave

Eight tracks, four are filler.

Losfer Words
Back in the Village
Flash of the Blade
The Duellists

I actually dug "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" and "Flash Of The Blade."

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

No filler on Piece Of Mind? You must have a version that excludes Quest For Fire.

GoodJudge wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 1:16 pm
No filler on Piece Of Mind? You must have a version that excludes Quest For Fire.

Sure, and Gangland and Invaders are obvious filler on NotB. The problem is that the NotB/PoM filler would be top 3 songs on any of Maiden's post-1988 albums.

Whatever Happened To… wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 4:46 am You could say this about most bands after their debut.

Disagree. To my ears, most bands between between albums 3 and 5. But to my ears, the only really great later Maiden song is "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns." And I didn't like 7th Son of a Seventh Son. That's where it started to fall off for me. I didn't live the sound of "Somewhere In Time," but I grew to like most of the music, especially the album cuts.

Van Ailin' wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 1:46 pm

Whatever Happened To… wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 4:46 am You could say this about most bands after their debut.

Disagree. To my ears, most bands between between albums 3 and 5.

Agree. There's a select few bands that nailed it with the debut. VH, Guns, Ratt, maybe Sabbath. But many more took a few albums to find what they do best. Priest, Scorpions, Leppard, Metallica, Saxon, AC/DC....

Velvis wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 9:33 am I agree somewhat, but I think BNW and A Matter of Life or Death are as good as the first few albums.
I tapped out of Maiden at Powerslave which I found to be meh. I've heard nothing but the singles since then which I thought were ok but nothing to visit whole albums.
Once Bruce returned, I figured I'd give it a shot. BNW is awesome as is AMOLOD. Dance of Death has its moments. After that I kinda checked out again.

Disagree with NNW, but AMOLAD I think is horribly underrated. Sure it has some filler, but had some great tunes. I think the big issue people have is the long intro/outro's on every song. Plus was the first tour where they played the entire album, and NO one wanted to hear it. Love that album. Last one I can listen to and enjoy.

GoodJudge wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 1:16 pm

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

No filler on Piece Of Mind? You must have a version that excludes Quest For Fire.

I said full of filler, which doesn't imply that there is no filler on the first 4 albums. Actually, to be honest killers and number of beast have filler as well.

Quest of Fire is not a Maiden classic but I would take it over most tracks released since piece of mind.

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 3:22 pm

GoodJudge wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 1:16 pm

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

No filler on Piece Of Mind? You must have a version that excludes Quest For Fire.

I said full of filler, which doesn't imply that there is no filler on the first 4 albums. Actually, to be honest killers and number of beast have filler as well.

Quest of Fire is not a Maiden classic but I would take it over most tracks released since piece of mind.

Quest for Fire is an outstanding track!

Most of the classic records are considered classic based on journalist and magazine reviews in the 80s

I was listening to Among the Living yesterday and honestly apart from the title track, none on the songs really hold up today . I struggle to sit through to any of their “classic “ albums . The last 2 records are far superior to any of their 80s output

joey78 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:19 pm Most of the classic records are considered classic based on journalist and magazine reviews in the 80s

I was listening to Among the Living yesterday and honestly apart from the title track, none on the songs really hold up today . I struggle to sit through to any of their “classic “ albums . The last 2 records are far superior to any of their 80s output

Anthrax has aged like milk in general.

pieceofme wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:24 pm I listened to Virtual XI for the first time in years and it was mostly crap which was of no great surprise. I decided to delve into the other albums released prior to this release, and even those revered Bruce albums from the mid and late 80s contain mostly filler.

Powerslave starts strong with the first two songs, but with the exception of the title track the rest is a bore.

Somewhere in time has a total of 3 good songs.

Maiden got away with having a couple of really great tracks surrounded by mediocrity.

And the less said about their post BNW albums the better.

Piece of Mind and Powerslave have 3-4 good songs the rest are crap.

Somewhere In Time is all killer and no filler

7th Son has 6 out of 8 good songs. I like it better than POM and PS.

Fear of the Dark was solid

I like everything from BNW onward. Their run is better than post AJFA Metallica. Talk about a fall from pure badassery.

Shit, I’ll take the lazy Blaze era over Load and Reload.