Metal Reviews

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:oops: I mean it is

NP
Nanowar "Other Bands Play Nanowar Gay"

Ah! This one's tuff. My fav maiden albums are Powerslave, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and Somewere in Time, but i went for powerslave for the poll's. Alot of thier albums are fuckin sick. The ones i dont like the most were the ones with Blaze, ugh, i cant stand his voice.

Too bad for you.

+ 1

I like Blaze's voice, but I think the songwriting of Maiden has lost the magic it had.

Blaze (group) > Iron Maiden (with blaze)

Those Maiden albums with Blaze made a mockery of the earlier material. It should never have been done.

I hate to ressurect and old argument, but Brave New World for the win. It's probably my 2nd personal favorite, becuase of some memories attached to it and because it makes me oddly emotional.

That's not to say it doesn't have it's flaws. It does get repetative at times, and some songs could've done better with about half of the time they were given, but just because it's able to make me feel strangely nostalgic, it gets about ten points higher than it would normally get.

What a load of absolute rubbish! :twisted:

Tell me why that is a load of rubbish, because I'm sure most Iron Maiden fans feel the same, like me.

well, it's not Blaze fault if he had been recruted (who would have refused such an amazing opportunity)... and it's not his fault if he came aboard in the worst compositional phase of the band... what he needed was a rawer/agressive type of heavy metal... hélas, all Steve was able to come up with was some of the cheesiest music in the history of Iron Maiden (some that might have been saved if Adrian & Bruce had not left, but they did)... yet, the songs Maiden plays from that era with Dickinson are decent...

Blaze was just a casting mistake so, now, let's all forget about it and hope that the new Iron Maiden will, at least, equal Fear of The Dark (better make it Piece of Mind but I'm certain the guys cannot reach that level of excellence anymore)... :roll:

I also find that to be a load of rubbish. Why?

I dont find ANYTHING wrong with the 2 Blaze/Maiden albums that would make any kind of mockery of their ealier material. Infact, X Factor and Virtual XI are just behind the "classic best" Maiden albums (7th Son, Powerslave, Beast, Time, Self Titled). And they easily are better than the last 2 Maiden albums, and better than Fear Of The Dark and No Prayer For The Dying.

Blaze was the best thing to happen to Maiden after Bruce left. They desperately needed a change of direction and sound after 2 mediocre albums (Prayer, Fear) and i believe that if Bruce had never left, Maiden would have gotten worse and may have disbanded long ago. Enter X Factor. A wonderful album with a great change of pace and sound. More darker, erie, a different side of Maiden that IMO worked very well and contains one of Maidens all-time best tracks "Sign Of The Cross".
Virtual XI is a continuation of Maiden's different sound and direction, but still had the typical old Maiden feel to it. Another winner IMO.
I feel that the Blaze era is a very important part of Maiden's life, which i think saved the band from extinction. Not only is Blaze a fantastic vocalist, but the sound those 2 albums had were a breath of fresh air that was sorely needed.

Majority of Maiden fans will always prefer Bruce for obvious reasons, but its the true Maiden fans that would agree that the Blaze era was something which had to happen for the band to continue, and dont automatically disown that era. Those 2 albums are great and it is a shame some Maiden fans can so easily put them down.

bullshit Trooper of Steel but don't get me wrong because i like both Blaze albums as well. Worst IM album is No prayers for the dying
1 great song, 1 good..the rest is horseshite

Bullshit to what?

Care to elaborate....

sure, what you said about the blaze albums. better than BNW, DoD? i think not! however i believe that's just a matter of taste..but more IM fans like BNW over Virtual XI i think

Possibly more may like BNW over VXI, but i believe VXI is a better album and has overall better songs. IMO BNW only has 3-4 awesome songs while the rest are average or ok/good.

But like you said: personal taste

For sure... that's my opinion too. And Fear of the Dark is a bad album with an incredible song (the self-titled) and 2/3 good ones.

But really, I found all IM from No prayer very uninteresting... and it's not caused by who sings, it's a problem of songwriting.
BNW is a little better than the rest... But Dance of Death is another dissapointment, for me.

You know your argument is bullshit when...

You start talking about "true fans" based on whether they share the same opinion as you.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the X Factor and I don't blame Blaze for the crap on Virtual XI... But there's no reason why Blaze had to join the band to save Iron Maiden. It was Steve's songwriting that was the problem on their mediocre (No Prayer, Fear) and crappy (Virtual XI) albums.

I say true fans, as true fans would never disregard 2 albums from a bands discography.

I dont think it was all about Harris' songwriting for those 2 albums (fear, prayer) that made them mediocre, although it had a great deal to do with it.
The band was tired...mentally and phyically. They put in a shit effort...all of them. Internal disagrements, finally led to Bruce and Adrian* leaving.
I believe that did the world of good as Bruce released one of his personal best albums ever (Chemical Wedding) and Maiden got to refresh and recharge and come back with a great album.
Why people put it down is beyond me. If its just because Blaze was the vocalist, i think that is very shallow.....

The same can go for Ripper replacing Halford for Priest. Just because it isnt their favourite band's singer on the album, they hate it. And i've heard people say that. Its a crap reason to hate the album. I dont wanna change subjects with bands here, but Demolition is a masterpiece. Thats it, back to Maiden

* NOTE: Adrian left after Seventh Son. I didnt mean it to say they left at the same time.

and that was, imo, the reason why Maiden suddenly became a lesser band...
but since Adrian & Bruce are back I think the problem's changed... I think Steve should stay in the band as a symbol (and because he is the BASS SOUND of Maiden) but let the other (Bruce & Adrian first) take the control of the songs & arrangements...
Also, I'd be glad to see Martin Birch back on the producer seat... 8)

NP
Sortilège "Larmes de Héros" (1986, 2nd and last album for this fine french heavy metal act)

oh shit, sorry King Crimson.. I'll never embrace Islands and Beat so I'm obviously not a true fan.

sorry 70's Black Sabbath, your last two releases with Ozzy were kinda patchy. I'm obviously not a true fan.

Sorry also to Mike Oldfield, Judas Priest, Running Wild, Eloy, Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Meshuggah, Celtic Frost, Saint Vitus, Boris and probably every band I like.


FUCKING ROLLEYES