Metal Reviews

Its interesting to see how much your ranking differs from mine. I'd like to hear your reasons for your rankings, especially for Powerslave, 7th Son, X-Factor and Virtual XI...35/100 :shock:

Fingon: I had Killers at #13 because I feel the other 12 albums were better than it. Killers really, IMO, only has 2-3 standout tracks (Wrathchild, Murders In The Rue Morgue & Killers), but has 3 rather average tracks (Prodigal Son, Purgatory & Twilight Zone). The rest are OK. I'm not saying its a terrible album, just the least best of the 13 studio albums.

ok, Powerslave is a very good album but I don't like the sound of it... then, I don't like Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner and I find it to be just not as good as other Maiden classics...

Seventh Son is also a very good album but it doesn't have as many great classics as Maiden previous albums had

X Factor would have been a 70/100 with Bruce

Virtual XI is just complete shite... only songs I can save are Clansman & Como Estais Amigos

satisfied ? :twisted:

No, not really. I dont know anyone who has said they didnt like the "sound" of Powerslave, but there's always a first. Seventh Son doesnt have many classic? Lets see....Can I Play With Madness, The Evil That Men Do, 7th Son, The Clairvoyant, Infinite Dreams, Only The Good Die Young...thats almost the whole album.
X-Factor would have been a disaster if Bruce was on vocals....especially with the style of music they played for that album...it siuted Blaze down to a tea.
Virtual XI is a great album. You want good songs.....Futureal, Lightning Strikes Twice, The Clansman, When Two Worlds Collide, Como Estias Amigos

The only truly bad song on VXI is Angel & The Gambler. Educated Fool and Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger are perhaps too repetitive, but are still good.

Iron Maiden is the band that got me into metal when i was just a little kid. It's all their fault!

I worship their albums up to Somewhere in Time, my favourite being Piece of Mind. After that they kinda lost the edge. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying all have some good songs, but too much filler stuff.
I don't like the Blaze Bailey stuff much. A good singer, but he just didn't fit Maiden.
Brave New World was refreshing after the Blaze stuff, but not really a solid album. Dance of Death was a good album, although it had the worst cover art i've ever seen on a Maiden album. :evil:

Everyone knows that Blazes voice sucks, and Maiden never playes his songs exept Clansman and Sign of the Cross. Blaze was just a replacement for a while scince Bruce was in the Olympics. But Blaze is a poser, i dont like him (thats in my opinion so ppl dont start getting all crazy and start blamming me)

Blaze's voice far from sucks, its a great deep, unique voice which is perfect for metal.
About the comment about not playing the Blaze era music at concerts....Blaze co-wrote 8 of the 19 tracks from X-Factor/Virtual XI, both The Clansman and Sign Of The Cross were not written by Blaze. And in some bootleg Maiden live albums when Blaze was the singer, they played many more Blaze-sung tracks.

Explain why he's a poser and I won't "blamm" you of anything.

then tell me mister-Know-it-all, why are there songs from maiden with blaze on the eddie the great cd? because he was a poser? :roll:
altijd wel iets met die rottige 'beter wetende' amateurs :evil:

(see what you made me do? you made me curse in Dutch :shock: )

good lord no...
cheebo chabba sheebie woopie nee na na do die dra drain.
see what you made ME do? you made me curse in jibberish...

I don't think Blaze's voice sux. I think his voice was perfect for the two albums that Maiden released with him. His band, Blaze has come in for a lot of praise, people going to the extent of saying it's better than his work with Maiden. Don't think that would be said about a poser. The majority of the folks who din't like his work in Maiden like the albums by his own band. Blaze isn't someone with the greatest of vocal range, but he was someone who sung within his limitations and has done a great job. Blaze's strength lies in the emotion he puts in his songs.

Thats my opinion on Blaze. I think when he was in the band his voice didnt fit well with the songs or Iron Maiden. He was very monotone, he made these stupid faces on his music videos, and the only songs that are on the Edward the Great are (that i remeber) Futureal, Man on the Edge(which is a very annoying song). The only songs i like by Blaze is Futureal, The Clansman(wich was done very well), and Sign of the Cross(wich is only good when Dickinson sings). And not many people bought his albums, or know his songs. If you compare the style of his songs to Dickinsons songs, Blazes songs are too dull and repetative. At least what Blaze could have done is get a better idea on how Maiden sounds and that could have led him to better albums. I still respect Blaze i just dont like his voice and how he tryed to fit in.

agreed but.... try Blood and Belief
it's the only solo album I heard from Blaze and it's imo much better than what he did with Maiden... I'd call it a solid modern heavy metal album...

and, yes !, it's good to have Bruce back but DoD remains an uninspired album, second to worst after Virtual XI... :(

You remain wrong.

Agree about B&B, very good album indeed. The previous two had less of a groove feel to them and are both excellent as well.

That's easy ... Bruce.

My favorite Maiden Albums:

1. Powerslave 100/100
2. Number of the Beast 98/100
3. Piece of Mind 95/100
4. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 92/100
5. Somewhere In Time 90/100
6. Fear Of The Dark 88/100
7. Brave New World 88/100
8. Killers 85/100
9. No Prayer For The Dying 83/100
10. Iron Maiden 80/100
11. Dance Of Death 75/100
12. Virtual XI N/A
13. X-Factor N/A

I never took the time to listen to the Blaze albums. He's not my type of singer.

Ahhh, we have another ignorant Maiden fan. Only true Maiden fans would have still listened/bought the Blaze-era Maiden albums. Do yourself a favour and check out those albums.

Blaze's band has 3 albums and a live album under their belt, to say that no one knows their songs is silly. If that were the case Blaze's band would have bowed out after the first album. He is very popular in Britan and Europe, especially with the Maiden fans who DID like him when he fronted Maiden.

The way Bruce sings Sign Of The Cross on RIR may sound OK, but it is taking everything away from the original song on the X-Factor. The darkness, the emotion which Blaze put in the song has gone when Bruce put his spin onto it. Bruce even struggles with the song, in some parts he cant even get the words out in time with the music, which is a little sped up too. In the end it sounds like something you'd hear from the Piece Of Mind or Powerslave album. If you wanna hear a GOOD version of that song live, listen to Blaze's "As Live As It Gets"...

The biggest problem with X Factor and VXI is the production. It does detract from some of the songs.

I'll agree that the X-Factor does have production problems, but it doesnt affect the quality of the songs.
As for Virtual XI, i cant hear any production problem at all. Sounds perfect to me, production-wise

The chorus to Lightning Strikes Twice.

Yeah, whats wrong with it....?