This is why I appreciate you, Barry. You give me glimpses into music that I didn’t know as well. Iron Maiden for me was a mixed bag. Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind were the only albums I knew. I very much accept their place in hard rock/heavy metal and truly appreciate their place in it. They obviously have talent. For some reason though, I could just never really get into them. Your list has inspired me to check out the other ones I don’t know in your top 5. I find that music can sound different to you at different times in your life. Thank you for your time and efforts into these lists. I look forward to the next.
Glad you enjoy it, but for me " rainmaker" and "wildest dreams" are really contrived, actually "no more lies" belongs in that pile as well. Run of the mill, creatively bereft idling from a very good band.
Dance of Death never gets enough love! Second only to 7th Son of a 7th Son for me. The sheer diversity of the tracks on Dance of Death make it a standout album for me; each and every track on that album is identifiable and distinct, simultaneously nostalgic and fresh.
I totally agree. I deeply love Age of Innocence and Face in the Sand. for me this whole album is one of their most complete albums. Title track and Paschendale are brilliant. Some of their best song writing.
How about Nicko Mcbrain's foot work on that song? Listen to the kick drum closely; From what I understand, he's just using his usual single Ludwig speed king to achieve that kick drum gallop. Amazing!
Somewhere in Time in general is overlooked in the biggest way. That album doesn't have a single filler track whereas other Maiden albums that are considered their all-time best, ie Powerslave/Number of the Beast have a filler song or two. Somewhere in Time is an album I would put in their top 3.
@@travistotle preach every second on that album shows the band at their musical peak and even the worst songs on it could easily be top 3 material if it were on almost any other Maiden album
Am I the ONLY person to really love A Matter Of Life And Death? It’s in my #2 spot! And The Final Frontier? my #6! Also, Brave New World is my #3, mostly because of Out Of The Silent Planet, which is my #3 favourite song!
As a Maiden fan from the Dianno days , I love Killers and is my personal favorite. I'm not saying it's their best but I love the agression on that album . Maiden have gone a little too progressive for me since.
Killers is better than piece of mind. Certainly rocks much harder though mind does have a lot of true, classics on it as a complete, album it doesn't work as well as killers imho.
I was a huge Maiden fan up to about Powerslave and then my tastes got heavier (and still is). But Killers always seems to draw me back. I consistently find myself going back to it.
Honestly I don't like Heaven can wait It's way too repetitive for me (I like listening to it but after 2 minutes or so I skip, I can't hear "Heaven can waaaiieet, Heaven can..." 10 times). But that's just my opinion. The others are great
"The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" is shite. Plus, if you want to hear a really good song named "Stranger In A Strange Land," then check-out the great Triumph sing of that title on the great album *Thunder Seven.*
Couldn’t agree more. SIT and SSOSS are flawless. I personally love POM and for many years it’s been my favorite Maiden album. However, I love SIT and SSOSS as much as Piece of Mind. These albums switch positions anytime in my list and I’m fine with it. All these 3 albums are amazing.
You truly know how great a band is when everyone's list of favorites is different and you can understand their reasoning for making their lists that way.
Jesse Lucero very true, except for Virtual XI. I like the opening track Futureal, but really can’t find anything memorable about the rest of the album.
No, i can't understand how insane this person is by putting book of souls and the final frontier so high. Final frontier higher than the debut and Killer? Some opinions are just objectively wrong.
I appreciate that people have different tastes, but rating the first two albums this low is something I cant wrap my mind around. They are what put maiden on the map and for good reason
My ranking: 1 - Powerslave 2 - Seventh Son... 3 - Somewhere In Time 4 - Piece Of Mind 5 - The Number ofThe Beast 6 - The Final Frontier 7 - Dance Of Death 8 - Iron Maiden 9 - Killers 10 - Brave New World 11 - A Matter... 12 - The Book Of Souls 13 - The ‘X’ Factor 14 - No Prayer For The Dying 15 - Fear Of The Dark 16 - Virtual XI And top 10 Maiden songs: 1 - Rime... 2 - Powerslave 3 - Phantom OfThe Opera 4 - Hallowed Be Thy Name 5 - Number Of The Beast 6 - Moonchild 7 - Revelations 8 - 22 Acacia Avenue 9 - Stranger In A... 10 - Only The Good Die Young
eric wright I just find Fear Of The Dark a less than medium album for a band like Iron Maiden. Some of the songs like Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Judas Be My Guide, the classic title track and Be Quick Or Be Dead are all absolutely great songs, but some of the others really pull this album down low in my ranking. The Apparition is so unworthy of being on an Iron Maiden album. I prefer Sheriff Of Huddersfield.
The Talisman is excellent. I love every Maiden release, but FF can have some rather boring moments, but El Diablo, Talisman, and Coming Home are highlights of 2000s Maidem
Book of Souls isn’t better than Number of the Beast. Edit: I shall explain, Yes the Book if Souls is a strong album with strong tracks being If Eternity Should Fall, Speed of Light, The Red and the Black, The Great unknown, tears of a clown, and the title track. But the excellence of the Number of the Beast is faster and has stronger tracks such as The title track, The Prisoner, Children of the Damned, Run to the Hills, Hallowed By Thy Name, and 22 Acacia Avenue. The pure speed of Gangland and Run to Hills can over power almost all the speed on The Book of Souls Albums
The Book of Souls is a weak album. Only 4 tracks are possible to listen: If Eternity should fail Speed of Light When the River Rubs Deep Empire of the Clouds (should be a little shorter) The rest is pure garbage and lack of creativity, IMO. The Number of The Beast is a straight forward album. Fast songs, full of energy and unforgettable melodies. The only weak track is Gangland.
Sun and Steel from the Piece of Mind album was always a personal fave - even more so after I met the band during a slow day at an Irish bar in Frankfurt, Germany circa 1987. Very personable guys! I had asked the drummer about the inspiration of Sun and Steel, and suddenly Bruce slid over & enthusiastically related it’s origin. I’ll always appreciate that epic moment!
My ranking: 1) the number of the beast 2) powerslave 3) somewhere in time 4) iron maiden 5) seventh son of a seventh son 6) killers 7) piece of mind 8) brave new world 9) fear of the dark 10) the book of souls 11) dance of death 12) no prayer for the dying 13) a matter of life and death 14) the x-factor 15) the final frontier 16) virtual XI UP THE IRONS!!!
@Anakin ITA Although I don't agree with a fair amount of your rankings, I can still understand and respect what you are saying and maybe why you are saying it. Having said that, once I saw that Somewhere in Time was ranked quite a bit higher than Book of Souls I think your credibility fell into the toilet.
@T Dunph What’s this credibility nonsense? You like what you like. You sound like one of those “fans” who listens to a new album and won’t say whether you like it until you’ve read the reviews.
@@steveopenshaw1219 well which Beiber albums were you drawn quickly to and which ones grew on you? I call out BS when I see it and I am not afraid to throw in a little joke either. I didn't like his list, sorry not sorry.
T Dunph I fear this conversation is doomed, but I’ll bite.. What shite are you calling here? The guy just posted his list. I mean, I don’t know the fellow, but I would hazard a guess that he isn’t going to lose sleep over the fact that you didn’t like it much. But why be a dick about it? His list is his list. It’s not an easy list to make, especially with a band like Maiden, and you just pulled your pants down to your ankles, squatted over it and curled one out on it. And the Beiber comment, what’s that about? If you could try and appreciate different kinds of music, instead of just appreciating how “elite” your taste in music is, then you could learn something from other people’s differing tastes.
Another really really great review and ranking from you. Very well explained with a lot of detailed facts, thank you! My Top 5 are: #5 A Matter of Live and Death #4 Piece of Mind #3 Powerslave #2 Seventh son of a seventh Son #1 The Book of Souls Have a great day : )
Very brave putting Final Frontier so high up the list, Barry! I'm a sucker for that 80's Cyberpunk synth, Blade Runner esque styling so Somewhere in Time is, no surprises, my favourite complete work of theirs, but you can't go wrong with anything from their catalogue honestly, except perhaps the Blayze era. ;) Absolutely love your work with all the other ranking vids etc mate, I look forward to more!
My ranking (super hard to rank the middle part of 8-13 on my list): 16. Virtual XI (the only really bad Maiden album imo) 15. Killers 14. Iron Maiden 13. No prayer for the dying 12. The X-factor 11. The final frontier 10. Dance of death 9. The number of the beast 8. The book of souls 7. Fear of the dark 6. A matter of life and death 5. Brave new world 4. Piece of mind 3. Powerslave 2. Seventh son of a seventh son 1. Somewhere in time
# 1 Somewhere in Time (a big grower) # 2 Piece of Mind (bought the album at the age of 14, now I'm 43) # 2' Seventh Son... # 4 Powerslave # 5 A Matter of Life and Death # 6 Number of the Beast # 7 Killers # 8 Brave New World # 9 First One # 10 Dance of Death # 11 Fear of the Dark/No Prayer for the Dying (I think the best of both could have been a fantastic album) # 12 The Final Frontier # 13 X Factor # 14 Virtual XI "Book of Souls" not dug it enough yet
Piece of Mind is the album that sums up what Maiden is all about. If you had to take one album and try to present it to any random person who didn't know the band, this is the one.
*I was a HUGE Maiden fan (still am) & could hardly wait for "Piece Of Mind" to come out. Went to the store the first day it was available. One of the most disappointing albums EVER. After playing it constantly for 6 weeks hoping it would "get good", I threw it in the trash. Sad. I still don't know exactly what changed between the third and fourth album; but, ouch!*
If you zoom into Number of the Beast then you can see that Eddie is pulling the strings of the Devil who is pulling the strings of Eddie who is pulling the strings on Master of Puppets ;)
Good video. Honestly I enjoyed how varied and different your list was, rather than shoving all the post-reunion albums at the bottom you gave every album an honest and well thought out opinion
Glad to see Book of Souls rated so high. It is an excellent album, especially at this point in their career. Definitely my favorite album to come out in the last 20 years from anyone!!!
DiAnno lives in my heart. Met him by accident in East London a while back. So the first two albuns are what I consider Iron Maiden to be but they were over. So into the New Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson who I also met by accident in the streets of Fulham, we have Piece of Mind, The Number of the Beast, Fear of the Dark, and all the others I bunch together at the bottom, saving a few songs here and there. But too progressive for my liking.
I respectfully disagree. I honestly feel the opposite. I love fear of the dark so much more. In no prayer for the dying, there's alot of songs that have weird song structure
@@glenntipton6226 fair enough. since I posted that comment I went back and listened to Fear again, and liked it better than I remembered, but I still think it's way inferior to No Prayer... no one's right or wrong tho, it's all opinions :)
The Duelists is an absolute sublime piece of musical craft.All player elements come to the fore, including the vocals, more so with the interplay of the guitars in the instrumental. That said, yes Powerslave is my no.1 album, followed by Piece of Mind.
I have very different opinions (the blaze and Di’anno albums are super high for me lol) but it’s really cool to see another way and you did a great job explaining your choices. Def gonna relisten to Final Frontier and Book of Souls thanks to this. Glad you gave even the albums at the bottom some credit too, sick vid.🤘
Hi. Good job on the video but cant agree less. My top: 1) 7th son; 2) somewhere in time; 3) iron maiden. That low rate on iron maiden and no prayer just killed me. Still, good video.
For me top 5 1. Killers 2. Powerslave 3. Number of the Beast 4. Somewhere in Time 5. Iron Maiden Di'Anno Maiden just has a particular vibe about it that I just adore so both those albums are the bread of my top 5 sandwich which may or may not be a popular opinion.
For me the top 10 albums is: No1 - Killers No2 - Somewhere in time No3 - Iron Maiden No4 - Piece of mind No5 - The number of the beast No6 - Powerslave No7 - Seventh son No8 - Fear of the dark No9 - The X factor No10 - No prayer for the dying
Great work! Stumbled on this because of algorithms, stayed because you speak with passion and sincerity! Loved that this was "your" list and that it contained a few surprises. Excellent stuff!
Thank you so much for this well thought out list. I definitely have much more listening ahead of me, because I’ve only heard: Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast, Powerslave and The Book Of Souls. I’m excited though, because I love what I’ve heard so far. Especially the progressive influence I can definitely hear
Derek Riggs is my favorite illustrator (his Nightflight cover played a part in getting me into Budgie) and growing up his Iron Maiden covers helped influence me to become a graphic artist. When I first saw Somewhere In Time's cover, I just about lost it, and it remains my favorite album cover of all time. Because it wraps around the sleeve, I later bought two complete albums and framed them spine to spine to create a piece of artwork that hangs on my wall just above and behind my computer monitor. Still an inspiration to this day. That the album is good is just an added bonus. As an artist, I have some rather odd views on certain things, and Maiden is no different. I think that Blaze Bailey inadvertently saved Iron Maiden! If he hadn't been such a mediocre fit, Steve Harris et. al. wouldn't have been as receptive to bringing Bruce back into the fold (and getting Adrian Smith as a bonus). Had Blaze stayed, I think Maiden would have fizzled out entirely after one or two more albums. But Blaze was such a mismatched fit with the band that he served as the impetus for the band's renaissance that began with Brave New World.
Seventh Son and Somewhere In Time are tied for my favourite album, barely a mediocre song between them, both very atmospheric, epic and full of a lot of great lead work, the best lead work in metal imo
ricard modo Somewhere In Time .... seemed like it kind of got lost in the shuffle but man I wore that sucker out. Very cutting edge at the time but still heavy and impressive in all the ways we would expect.
Somewhere in Time tbm é o meu favorito, o meu pai tinha o CD mas não sei o que fez com ele que já só tem a caixa 😅 era uma edição especial em que o "s" tinha traços a mais e o "m" e o "w" eram mais largos. A artwork do Somewhere in Time é simplesmente incrível, o que se espera dum desenho que tenha levado 3 meses ao artista com mais de 20 referências nele xD. Discordo é da opinião do criador do vídeo, virtual Eleven é um dos álbuns que mais gosto, e ouço todas as músicas dele, o único problema é 1 ou 2 faixas que podem ser um pouco repetitivas, como "The Angel and The Gambler", de resto é um álbum bastante bom.
@@Fl1x1n boas amigo Demon. eu tenho a felicidade de ter o Somewhere in Time em "disco" vinyl. tens toda a razao na Artwork,é incrivel! Somewhere ,Killers e Powerslave saõ provavelmente as minhas "capas" favoritas, mas lembro da artwork do Running Free ou do Maiden in Japan,aquela linda do The Clansman ,são tantas as minhas favoritas ;) tambem gosto do Virtual Eleven, eu gosto dos 2 Albuns com o Blaze. tenho aqui os 2 cds. sou mesmo ferrenho do inicio da Banda; o EP de estreia ,os 2 Albuns com o Paul Di ´Anno e os registos ao vivo ,Maiden in Japan , Live at the Rainbow, BBC Sessions , etc sâo ouro para mim! eu descobri e fiquei fan da Banda com o Bruce,com o Live After Death era eu miudo. Gastei aquele Vinyl ! depois como sabes vamos descobrindo e dei com o Iron Maiden e o Killers e fiquei maluco ate hoje. aquela rebeldia e atitude do Paul,a voz dele perfeita para aquelas faixas,assombroso. Felizmente para nós a Banda teve sorte nos substitutos e o resto é uma grande Historia com albuns para todos os gostos. Grande Abraço Demon
Your list is pretty spot on. I almost agree with you exactly except I put Book of Souls #1 because I bought not expecting much and instead was treated to a heavy metal masterpiece. Very comex yet compelling metal and the first album IMO to take full advantage of having 3 guitar players in the band. I love every song. It's all killer, no filler. I also have Somewhere in Time ranked a few notches higher. When I first listened to it I remember remarking to a friend that it sounded like Bruce was just going through the motions and it took me out of it for several years. But over the decades it's ended up being the cd I stick in my player in my car the most. I really love the record now. My top 5, maybe 1. Book of Souls 2. Somewhere in Time 3. Number of the Beast And then i agree with your descending order. To be fair Maiden is only maybe in my top 50 favorite bands, where Judas Priest is a top 5 band for me.
glad i found this page, love this stuff i.e. all the background info. well done and i agree with your #1 pick - that album was my introduction to Maiden when i was a kid 🤘🏼
It's sad that A Matter Of Life and Death and Final Frontier are soooo underrated just because they're more complex and most fans are used to the rather short and catchy classics. So many great riffs, amazing vocals and wonderful melodies, those two albums are just pure masterpieces
I think you undervalue fans opinions to say its 'complex' and fans don't get it. I dont begrudge any fans whom love this later period music, but it just doesn't grab me at all. The riffs are paint by numbers...give me a riff like 'Back In The Village' anyday.
@@cumbco Yeah but that's exactly what I meant. Maybe they don't have a Back in the VIllage riff but they don't need one to be just as great. Sure, catchy riffs are cool and all but even the greatest riffs can't even come close to create such a magic and epic atmosphere and tell an emotional story as songs like Dance of Death, TheTalisman or For the Greater Good of God do with some simple but beautiful melodies. I know, it all depends on preferences and it's a completely different style but personally I love their latest records just as much as their classics
@@MegadethGuitarplayer But what makes a Maiden epic nowadays? Repeating a chorus over and over to give a song length does not make an epic imo. Steve Harris writes choruses like that for audience participation (I get that) but it just drags a song down . Somebody please tell Steve Harris that editing is a good thing. I miss Martin Birch, RIP.
@@cumbco For me it's the story behind the songs that makes them epic. Take Empire of the Clouds, it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and it tells a tragic and sad story of people who otherwise would have been forgotten or not be known by so many people. Also Dance of Death, the Talisman, it's more like being told a story than just listening to music. They're not repeating a verse over and over again with different lyrics to give the song length, you just can't tell such complex and detailed stories in the two verses of every standard song. You need to take that time to gradually create such a unique and dense atmosphere. If you like their short and fast songs with cool riffs just listen to their classics, they've got plenty of them. But Maiden fans should accept that they don't want to do the same stuff over and over again after more than 30 years, of course their sound evolves and they want to try something different and more complex. I think that their new albums are still true masterpieces but most fans are just like "that's not their classic heavy metal style!" and don't even give it a real try although it still sounds like Maiden all the way
@@MegadethGuitarplayer I respect your opinion but we differ greatly I guess. Their modern epics feel forced to me and 'Empire' is a prime example of a that. I was 15 in 1982 and the release of 'The Number Of The Beast' changed my musical landscape forever. Followed the band ever since. Other than BNW, the last few albums dont do much for me. You're probably much younger than me but many of us older fans say their golden period of 1980-88 cant be beat.
I love your videos, Barry. All your rankings are really well thought out, and there are ideas you put in that always make me think twice. It's interesting that every Maiden fan's list is probably different - mine is very different to yours - but there are always a few records most put in the same place. I was actually pleasantly surprised as to where you put Number of the Beast, because most would put that at the top; I agree with you, because it's not as perfect as everyone remembers. Something I've always thought about the X Factor - though I don't like it - is that it's the birthplace of 'modern Maiden'. The long intros, Steve's non-mastered production, and the dark atmospheres.
First time watching your reviews. I liked it. I liked a lot, differs from my choices quite much but number still having Piece of mind cassette bought somewhere in 80, number 1 and two I agree wholeheartedly. Awesome review bro, got meself listening old and newer numbers again having different point of view to it like Final Frontier. Thanks for this! Respect.
Another great video thanks for sharing and I like your rankings, not how I would rank but you had a very solid list. My go to Maiden album is Live After Death, I have trouble listening to any of those songs in their studio version haha so that would be my number 1, also wanted to add that I listen to their first album quite often, I love the rawness of it and I love Paul Di'anno on that first album, not as much on Killers tho.
Overall, I think this is a good analysis of Iron Maiden’s discography, but I feel that Adrian Smith isn’t given enough credit for his contributions, given that he’s one of the best songwriters in the band. There’s no mention of Adrian during the segment on “Somewhere in Time” in spite of the fact he wrote “Wasted Years,” “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Sea of Madness” all by himself. Most fans consider that album Adrian’s finest hour, because he’s the one who carries it. Also, “Brave New World” marked the return of not only Bruce but Adrian as well. In fact, Adrian co-wrote the lead single, “The Wicker Man,” which they still play live to this day. It’s also important to note that one of Bruce’s conditions for returning to the band was that Adrian came with him. If you look at their entire discography, Adrian has songwriting credits on a LOT of songs, and none of them are filler material. “The Prisoner” … “22 Acacia Avenue” … “Flight of Icarus” … “Die With Your Boots On” … “2 Minutes to Midnight” … “Moonchild” … “Can I Play With Madness” … “The Evil That Men Do” … “Paschendale” … “Coming Home” … “Mother of Mercy” … “Starblind” … “The Final Frontier” … “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” … “Lord of Light” … “The Longest Day” … and that’s just a handful. The list literally goes on and on. I don’t think this is an intentional snub on the reviewer’s part though, as he seems to have a genuine love for the band. I’m just surprised that Adrian is overlooked for the most part.
This is my ranking: 16. Virtual XI (Best Song: The Clansman) 15. No Prayer for the Dying (BS: No Prayer for the Dying) 14. Killers (BS: Wrathchild) 13. The X Factor (BS: Sign of the Cross) 12. The Final Frontier (BS: When the Wild Wind Blows) 11. Brave New World (BS: Brave New World) 10. Piece of Mind (BS: The Trooper) 9. Fear of the Dark (BS: Fear of the Dark) 8. A Matter of Life and Death (BS: Brighter Than a Thousand Suns) 7. Iron Maiden (BS: Phantom of the Opera) 6. Somewhere in Time (BS: Wasted Years) 5. Dance of Death (BS: Dance of Death) 4. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (BS: The Evil that Men Do) 3. The Book of Souls (BS: Empire of the Clouds) 2. Powerslave (BS: Rime of the Ancient Mariner) 1. The Number of the Beast (BS: Hallowed be thy Name)
This is a great list - I don't agree with some of the finer details, but I do appreciate your reasoning and insights! I'd somehow trade 7th Son down the list a little to boost the debut and possibly Killers a little more - but that's nitpicky. I entirely agree that Brave New World was a better album than the couple that followed it (The Final Frontier being where they redeemed themselves for me) and Book Of Souls is most definitely their modern classic. And the top 2 - well, some people might swap the order around but I don't think anyone could argue about which 2 albums they would be. I have very high hopes for Senjutsu (glancing at the date) - it should be arriving in the post in the next few days, I think. Really appreciate these videos, thanks for making them!
My all time favourite Iron Maiden album ranks 1. The Number Of The Beast 2 Killers 3 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 4 Powerslave 5 Piece Of Mind 6 Iron Maiden 7 Somewhere In Time 8 Fear Of The Dark 9 Brave New World 10 A Matter Of Life And Death
This is my ranking, followed by the songs I like the most: 16 - Virtual XI (only dig The Clansman and Futureal) 15 - The Final Frontier (El Dorado, The Alchemist) 14 - Killers (Wratchild and Murders in the Rue Morgue) 13 - X-Factor (Man on the Edge, Sign of the Cross, Lord of the Flies) 12 - No Prayer for the Dying (Public Enema Number One, Hooks in you, Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter) 11 - The Book of Souls (If Eternity should fail, Speed of light, When the River Rubs Deep and Empire of the Clouds) 10 - Iron Maiden (Prowler, Phantom of the Opera, Iron Maiden, Sanctuary) 9 - A Matter of Life and Death (Different World, Brighter than a Thousand Suns, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg,For the Greater Good of God) 8 - Dance of Death ( Paschendale, DoD, Wildest Dreams, Rainmaker, Montsegur) 7 - Fear of the Dark (Title track, Be Quick or Be Dead, Judas Be my guide, Afraid to shoot strangers, From here to eternity) 6 - Brave New World ( the only ones I don’t like ate The Nomad and Dream of Mirrors) 5 - The Number of the Beast (don’t like Gangland and Invaders much) 4 - Powerslave (fantastic album, but don’t top the first 3 on this list, cause I listen to them more) My top 3 switches all the time. They’re all #1 in my heart. Here, I’ll list based on what I enjoy the most at this moment: 3 - Piece of Mind 2 - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 1 - Somewhere in Time. These 3 albums are flawless. It’s impossible to find a weaker track. They’re all fabulous for me and are the ones I listen constantly, not because I don’t like the others ( I love all Maiden albums), but there are some albums that are catchy. Well, these are my favorites.
Great list Barry. A great choice for number 1. The 80’s is their most fruitful period for me, although most of their albums are excellent. Very enjoyable video.
I'd love for you to review Maiden's live albums someday, considering a very few bands come close to matching the band's prowess when it comes to playing in front of an audience.
No Prayer For the Dying might not be their best but I have always liked Tailgunner, Holy Smoke and the title track (which I think is hideously underrated melodically), and Run Silent, Run Deep. Somewhere in Time has remained a favourite for two reasons: it was the album that got me into Maiden and secondly, as a gutiar player, I think the solo work is up there with their best (Wasted Years is awesome!). Oddly you have Piece of Mind at number 1 but I never saw that as anything more than the album with the Trooper on it (Revelations is much better on Live After Death). Killers or Seventh Son would probably be my pick of best album.
Great job. I would have placed a few things slightly differently, but overall very good - and what an embarrassment of riches there are in Maiden's catalog! You now need to update the list with Senjutsu....
Thank you Seamus. I hope you are well, this one often gets spoken about in the zoom calls I do. But I think I might have to do an 'update' on this ranking video. Thanks for reminding me.
@@classicalbum Grand thanks 👍 Really looking forward to seeing Red Hot Chilli Peppers in London ✌️ Honest answer now.... what do you think of their new album?
I think I’ll always struggle to put the albums in an order of best to worst, but I’ve tried - including a bit of additional information. 1. Powerslave. I don’t think there is a single song on that album that I don’t like, Aces High probably being my favourite. It’s such a great opening to a live show and is full of energy whilst having meaning behind it. 2. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Yet again, all the songs are ace on SSOASS, either Only the Good Die Young or Can I play with Madness take the top spot song wise - followed by The Evil that Men Do. 3. Brave New World. The majority of songs on this gem I love - it’s such a great comeback album for Bruce. Can’t imagine the buzz caused when it was released, I was too young then. Either Blood Brothers or Dream of Mirrors takes the tops spot for me. 4. The Number of The Beast. It’s a classic. Hallowed be thy name is by far my favourite song from this album - probably one of my favourite songs period - and the likes of The Number of the Beast and Children of The Damned are good songs too. I’m not into Run To The Hills as everyone else seems to be, though. 5. Somewhere in time. Can’t say there is a bad song here, Wasted Years being one of my favourite songs along with Hallowed as I mentioned earlier. Caught somewhere in time and Heaven can wait aren’t bad too, but the likes of Deja Vu and Sea of Madness seem average 6. Killers. Sorry that it ain’t in my top 5, can’t say much more. As I hinted earlier, I wasn’t around at all for maidens older stuff or old enough to understand when the post-blaze albums were released, but I’d probably think higher of it if I was around then. Murders in the Rue Morgue is my favourite from this release. 7. Iron Maiden. Yeah, the debut. It’s good but can’t say the entire album is memorable for me. Phantom of the Opera will always be one of the Maiden greats song wise - the instrumentals in it are bloody amazing 8. The Book of Souls. Receives more criticism than it deserves, it’s amazingly good to say all the lads were in their 50’s/60’s when they made this. Empire of the Clouds will always be something special to me to be honest, simply love the story (and I’ve always thought airships and other weird flying things are cool). The rest of the album is good, but it’s hard to compare it with Maiden when they were younger. 9. Piece of Mind. Sorry. I actually think I should’ve put it higher now I think of it haha. The Trooper is of course a maiden - and a metal - classic, it always will be. Where Eagles Dare and Revelations are also Ace. I must say I totally overlooked Flight of Icarus and Die with Your Boots On when ranking this. Bollocks to me, but it’s not their best work so I’ve caught myself some slack there. 10. Fear of the Dark. Fear of the Dark is yet another classic maiden song in my eyes, but apart from Judas Be My Guide, I cant think of any other song that stands out specifically. Still maiden though, so it’s still good. 11. A Matter of Life and Death. It’s alright, nothing stands out to me though I think The Longest Day is my top pick because of what it’s about. 12. The Final Frontier. Yet again nothing really stands out that much, but it is by no means a rubbish album. If I have to pick a song to be my favourite from it, I’ll probably just say The Alchemist or El Dorado as they’re the only ones I really remember. Yet again, it’s good for an ageing band. 13. Dance of Death. Paschendale. All I can say really. That song is emotional and takes you on a journey while sounding great, but there’s not a lot to say about the rest of the album to be fair. 14. No Prayer for the Dying. Another one I feel bad about ranking harshly, but I only really feel it with Tailgunner. Holy Smoke isn’t too bad either. 15. Virtual XI. Sorry Blaze. Nothing against the Blaze Bayley here, but he’s not Bruce. If this album followed the first two with Paul on vocals it probably wouldn’t be as harshly rated by most (I imagine anyway, everyone seems to stigmatise it for Blaze not being Bruce). Don’t Look to The Eyes of a Stranger is probably the most inclined to be my favourite song of this album - probably only because it was the first song I heard form V XI and I can hear a bit of The Dambuster’s theme in it in places. 16. The X Factor. It’s just a bit plain, isn’t it? So yeah, that’s that summed up. Feel free to disagree, it’s all opinion based after all. I’d much rather listen to my least favourite Maiden album than the highest rated album by someone like Billie Eilish or Stormzy any day.
top 5: 1- Powerslave 2- Iron Maiden 3- Number of the beast 4- Piece of mind 5- Somewhere in Time honorable mentions: Fear of the dark, Killers and 7th son of a 7th son
@@classicalbum Oh....I don't know.....your album rankings are really well done and very well thought out. I look forward to more in the future.....seriously.....one of the better album rankings i've enjoyed watching......very good job overall. Keep up the great work, mate. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised. OH! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Piece of Mind, Number of the Beast and Powerslave the first three Dickinson albums are the pinnacle of all things Maiden. Piece of Mind especially was a tour de force from Dickinson as both a singer and song writer. Songs like Revelations, Quest for Fire and Die with your Boots on arexstand outs from this 1983 classic. Plus the Art Work on the cover really works well in keeping in tune with the albums mood.
Agree with you a lot here, I am a bit surprised however that you don’t mention Adrian Smiths songwriting contributions more and particulary on Somewhere in Time. Of course he is my favorite member of Iron Maiden (and why I wasn’t a happy camper around the time of No Prayer of the Dying,). I consider Adrian to be Maidens second songwriter, the historian and the engineer, almost the Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode) of Iron Maiden if you get my drift. I suppose he is also the bands 4th lead singer, having sung lead on Reach Out the B. side to the Adrian Smith penned Wasted Years. I hate that I have lost the picture disc I had of that one btw… Otherwise, great reviews, and yeah, so tough to list these.
Steve Harris may list X Factor as one of his favorites, but I learned decades ago,- NEVER listen to how an artist feels about his own work. It would be like Davinci telling us he hated the color in the Mona Lisa. Enjoyed this!
A superb breakdown of what I think is the greatest catalogue in Metal history. I agree with most of it although I'd put 'Book Of Souls' quite a bit lower than 'Number Of The Beast' and I'd stick 'Powerslave' at number 1. Thanks for this and all your music reviews. :)
Interesting ranking, I think it is very hard to place them in an order and for me it probably goes; 1 Killers 2 Iron maiden 3 Seventh son 4 Powerslave 5 No of beast 6 Somewhere in time 7 Peace of mind 8 Final frontier 9 Brave new world 10 The rest with Bruce I have ranked based on the overall mix of songs I really enjoy and the amount of times I choose to listen to a record (I need to spin up the most recent ones as they may bubble up the ratings with more repeat plays) However any Maiden album has a mix of good and great songs so any order is justified
My ranking: 1) Powerslave 2) Piece of mind 3) Fear of the dark 4) Number of the beast 5) Brave new world 6) A matter of life and death 7) Dance of death 8) Somewhere in time 9) Seventh son of seventh son 10) No prayer for the dying 11) Iron maiden 12) Killers 13) The X Factor 14) Senjutsu 15) The Final Frontier 16) Book of souls 17) Virtual XI
Brilliant review! I love how different everyones lists are! For what it's worth here's my list (sorry if I upset some fans): 1. Seventh Son (Perfection from start to finish) 2. Brave New World (Also perfection from start to finish. My least favourite track on the album (Nomad) has my favourite Maiden solo by Mr Dave Murray. Thus proving how great this album is!) 3. Piece Of Mind (Although 'Quest for fire' Just...why?) 4. A Matter Of Life And Death (Dreadful production though!) 5. Somewhere In Time (Deja-vu needs more love!) 6. Dance of death (IKR shocking! But the catchiness of rainmaker, heaviness of Montsegur, epicness of DOD & Paschendale and the beauty of Journeyman. I've played it too much to not put it here). 7. Number Of The Beast (Gangland and Invaders. Please no. Also, Hallowed is 100x better live) 8. Powerslave (Really dislike the chorus' in the duellists and back in the village) 9. Book Of Souls (So many good tunes but I'm getting a bit tired of the slow intro and slow outro thing) 10. The Final Frontier (Shoutout to Bruce for singing The Talisman on the whole tour and surviving!) 11. Killers (Clive Burr bringing the groove!) 12. Fear Of The Dark (Trying to retain catchy 80's rock in an era of grunge but still, fear of the dark got me into Maiden) 13. Iron Maiden (Prowler, to me, sounds modern even now. Love it) 14. X Factor (Some solid classics but some totally forgettable. I love the dark atmosphere) 15. Virtual XI (I always thought Blaze sung 'Lightning lightning strikes twice' but then found out he sings 'Maybe lightning strikes twice'. The song was ruined. The Clansman and Futureal are outstanding!) 16. No prayer for the dying (At least the Blaze era tried to do something different. This album is just generic. The Assassin chorus is a disgrace). Sorry if that's your favourite song!
Interesting list. I like that you rank Brave New World #2 It's overlooked in my opinion, but it might be my personal favourite, or maybe also #2, idk You said seventh son... #1 I never really got into this album. I have heard most songs from it but I never really liked it that much. Can you name a few songs from the album which I should maybe listen to again? Or if I need to listen from beginning to ending to get it? (It's a concept album, so maybe🤷)
@@user-me8hy8ew4o Brave New World is a perfect mixture of catchy chorus', epic songs, melodic guitar solos and most of all, good production. I think productionwise the albums have gone downhill since. Not sure if that is Shirley's fault or Harris but new ones are extremely muddy and flat and Bruce isn't prominent. Hmmm Well, The Evil That Men Do is one of my favourite Maiden tunes. I like how they embrace their pop sensibilites on this album (Evil that men do, only the good, Madness). They also throw a 'Revelations' vibe with Infinite Dreams, which has Bruce's best scream ever going into the solo. The Clairvoyant showcases all the guys instrumental abilities whilst maintaining a catchy chorus and atmospheric verses. Admittedly, I had to see Moonchild live to properly appreciate it and the prophecy is the weakest but that feels like lyrically the most important. The imagery of the whole seventh son album is so theatrical and so Maiden to me. Like BNW, they knew exactly what they were doing and they did it with conviction.
@@BaldeWorlde I'l check out the Evil that Men do and Infinite Dreams again. The rest you said which were good are still in my memory (and also the best songs on this album which I remember)
Nice review of their career. My main difference is that I’ve always ranked Somewhere in Time ahead of 7th Son. While it has some great songs, I’ve never understood fanaticism for it.
The metal god himself, Rob Halford, ranking Maidens albums I know it's a while since it was released now but what where would you rank senjutsu on this list?
This is why I appreciate you, Barry. You give me glimpses into music that I didn’t know as well. Iron Maiden for me was a mixed bag. Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind were the only albums I knew. I very much accept their place in hard rock/heavy metal and truly appreciate their place in it. They obviously have talent. For some reason though, I could just never really get into them. Your list has inspired me to check out the other ones I don’t know in your top 5. I find that music can sound different to you at different times in your life. Thank you for your time and efforts into these lists. I look forward to the next.
Thank you for your kind appraisal... do share this video and keep tuning in.
Watch a video of a live concert if you want to get an idea of why people love them. Their most recent tour was awesome!
Listen to Book Of Souls - newer sound - and epic songs.
Yea i have the same problem of not being able to get into them despite enjoying them alot
@Rob Melrose maybe buy the album and enjoy it....lol
Rob Halford ranking Iron Maiden albums.
XD
Rob Halford would need a teleprompter!
Killers and Iron Maiden are really low in my opinion.
@@joaol6789 totally agree with you
Hahaha ha my first impression immediately
Totally overlooked : When Two Worlds Collide, Rainmaker, The Nomad, Lightning Strikes Twice
Rainmaker ... absolutely awesome!
Glad you enjoy it, but for me " rainmaker" and "wildest dreams" are really contrived, actually "no more lies" belongs in that pile as well. Run of the mill, creatively bereft idling from a very good band.
Futureal as well
And Face in the Sand
I love Rainmaker, especially the guitar solo.
Dance of Death never gets enough love! Second only to 7th Son of a 7th Son for me. The sheer diversity of the tracks on Dance of Death make it a standout album for me; each and every track on that album is identifiable and distinct, simultaneously nostalgic and fresh.
Lol
Lol diversity but badly done
Better than that snoozefest 'Book Of Souls'. My opinion of course, BOS gets a lot of love.
I totally agree. I deeply love Age of Innocence and Face in the Sand. for me this whole album is one of their most complete albums. Title track and Paschendale are brilliant. Some of their best song writing.
@Rob Melrose I like the song too Rob, but I feel it should have been edited down by about 4 min, like most of their epics nowadays.
My Favorite Song is “Caught Somewhere In Time”. It’s powerful and the guitar work is awesome. But it seems overlooked.
How about Nicko Mcbrain's foot work on that song? Listen to the kick drum closely; From what I understand, he's just using his usual single Ludwig speed king to achieve that kick drum gallop. Amazing!
Somewhere in Time in general is overlooked in the biggest way. That album doesn't have a single filler track whereas other Maiden albums that are considered their all-time best, ie Powerslave/Number of the Beast have a filler song or two. Somewhere in Time is an album I would put in their top 3.
Agreed the best possible opener to an Iron Maiden album and it sets the tone for my personal favourite Iron Maiden album.
@@travistotle totally agree with you
@@travistotle preach every second on that album shows the band at their musical peak and even the worst songs on it could easily be top 3 material if it were on almost any other Maiden album
Am I the ONLY person to really love A Matter Of Life And Death? It’s in my #2 spot!
And The Final Frontier? my #6!
Also, Brave New World is my #3, mostly because of Out Of The Silent Planet, which is my #3 favourite song!
Matter of Life and Death is a great album its my 2nd fav as well
Hydro 07, I hate it but hey you keep on enjoying it
my no. 2 after 7th son
As a Maiden longtime fan (bought Piece of Mind at 14, now I'm 43) can´t agree more. Fantastic Album. In my top 5.
Their best record from the 21st Century.
Top five for me:
1. Somewhere in Time ( PERFECT ❤)
2. Number of the Beast
3. Powerslave
4. Piece of Mind
5. Iron Maiden debut
First 2 albums, still the best in my opinion.
Killers could be the best!
nearly right. first 3
First two are brilliant. I suppose it depends if you liked Maiden at the start or got into them in the Dickinson years.
Killers is my favorite album in history and Iron Maiden probably would be if the guitars didn’t sound as thin as an anorexic girl 😬
You could rank the first 7 in any order I wouldn't argue. The debut and especially Killers never get enough love.
As a Maiden fan from the Dianno days , I love Killers and is my personal favorite. I'm not saying it's their best but I love the agression on that album . Maiden have gone a little too progressive for me since.
I fully respect your opinion and thank you for commenting upon my video.
I'd say Killers is my 3rd favorite Maiden record, with Piece of Mind and Powerslave just surpassing it in my opinion.
Killers is better than piece of mind. Certainly rocks much harder though mind does have a lot of true, classics on it as a complete, album it doesn't work as well as killers imho.
@jimmysmokes No such thing as a silly review it's called opinions.
I was a huge Maiden fan up to about Powerslave and then my tastes got heavier (and still is). But Killers always seems to draw me back. I consistently find myself going back to it.
Somewhere in Time is my fave. It doesn't have a bad song in it.
Honestly I don't like Heaven can wait
It's way too repetitive for me (I like listening to it but after 2 minutes or so I skip, I can't hear "Heaven can waaaiieet, Heaven can..." 10 times). But that's just my opinion. The others are great
"The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" is shite. Plus, if you want to hear a really good song named "Stranger In A Strange Land," then check-out the great Triumph sing of that title on the great album *Thunder Seven.*
Johanna I was thinking exactly the same thing, heaven can wait is a very weak, annoying song but every other song is very good in the 8.5/10 range.
Bob Schneider Thunder Seven is nothing compared to Maiden. What the actual fuck are you talking about?
Couldn’t agree more. SIT and SSOSS are flawless. I personally love POM and for many years it’s been my favorite Maiden album. However, I love SIT and SSOSS as much as Piece of Mind. These albums switch positions anytime in my list and I’m fine with it. All these 3 albums are amazing.
You truly know how great a band is when everyone's list of favorites is different and you can understand their reasoning for making their lists that way.
Jesse Lucero very true, except for Virtual XI. I like the opening track Futureal, but really can’t find anything memorable about the rest of the album.
No, i can't understand how insane this person is by putting book of souls and the final frontier so high. Final frontier higher than the debut and Killer? Some opinions are just objectively wrong.
I appreciate that people have different tastes, but rating the first two albums this low is something I cant wrap my mind around. They are what put maiden on the map and for good reason
Right, right and right again !
He probably doesn't like Paul Dianno.
@@TheJamie6666 he's overrated.
@@JasonBoreu He really isn't.. He's ounderated if anything.
The first one wasnt really that good, but Killers was a really good album, better than the Blaze stuff IMO, but not better than any of Brices stuff
My ranking:
1 - Powerslave
2 - Seventh Son...
3 - Somewhere In Time
4 - Piece Of Mind
5 - The Number ofThe Beast
6 - The Final Frontier
7 - Dance Of Death
8 - Iron Maiden
9 - Killers
10 - Brave New World
11 - A Matter...
12 - The Book Of Souls
13 - The ‘X’ Factor
14 - No Prayer For The Dying
15 - Fear Of The Dark
16 - Virtual XI
And top 10 Maiden songs:
1 - Rime...
2 - Powerslave
3 - Phantom OfThe Opera
4 - Hallowed Be Thy Name
5 - Number Of The Beast
6 - Moonchild
7 - Revelations
8 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - Stranger In A...
10 - Only The Good Die Young
Book of Souls is a good album.
Wow u have fear of the dark really low
Al Kohallick The Book Of Souls is a decent album (however uneven it is), but I prefer all the albums I have placed higher in my ranking.
eric wright I just find Fear Of The Dark a less than medium album for a band like Iron Maiden. Some of the songs like Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Judas Be My Guide, the classic title track and Be Quick Or Be Dead are all absolutely great songs, but some of the others really pull this album down low in my ranking. The Apparition is so unworthy of being on an Iron Maiden album. I prefer Sheriff Of Huddersfield.
I always had Killers down as my favourite album! It’s musicality and drive hit me between the eyes when I first heard it!
I like Killers too, but there is too much Deep Purple (Coverdale era) aura and influence in many of the songs on it.
Unpopular opinion: Somewhere In Time is my favorite album.
Somewhere in time is one of the best Maiden albums for sure. It's like the musical equivalent of Blade Runner.
Definitely not unpopular. That would be ranking a slow album n° 1, like AMOLAD, Virtual XI, etc.
That’s my opinion too.
It is really great!
@@mjorge0alves I like AMOLAD a good bit, too.
Seventh son is forever my favourite 🤘🏻
Never liked the production on that one.
same here
It's my second favorite mate and the production on that album is brilliant, it had to be with so much going on.
Seventh Son was honestly an acquired taste for me. Had to give it several spins before I came to enjoy it, but eventually it did grow on me.
the Seventh Son album was my first Maiden experience so it'll always have a special place for me
Will agree totally to Piece of Mind... absolutely astonishing...
Great album
An incredible list! While my list would be a wee bit different, I can't argue with any of the reasons you state here for your rankings.
Best: Seventh Son
Worst: Final Frontier, just bores me to tears honestly.
The Final Frontier is great.
The Talisman is excellent. I love every Maiden release, but FF can have some rather boring moments, but El Diablo, Talisman, and Coming Home are highlights of 2000s Maidem
If you listen to the Final Frontier tracks played live on the En Vivo! album they're great and not boring at all.
I honestly find Final Frontier a whole lot better than Seventh Son.
Cool to see Book of Souls ranked highly. It's one of my favourites, probably 2nd after Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
Book of Souls isn’t better than Number of the Beast.
Edit: I shall explain, Yes the Book if Souls is a strong album with strong tracks being If Eternity Should Fall, Speed of Light, The Red and the Black, The Great unknown, tears of a clown, and the title track. But the excellence of the Number of the Beast is faster and has stronger tracks such as The title track, The Prisoner, Children of the Damned, Run to the Hills, Hallowed By Thy Name, and 22 Acacia Avenue. The pure speed of Gangland and Run to Hills can over power almost all the speed on The Book of Souls Albums
hey now! You're CORRECT Sir!!!
Number of the Beast is overrated.
The Book of Souls is a weak album. Only 4 tracks are possible to listen:
If Eternity should fail
Speed of Light
When the River Rubs Deep
Empire of the Clouds (should be a little shorter)
The rest is pure garbage and lack of creativity, IMO.
The Number of The Beast is a straight forward album. Fast songs, full of energy and unforgettable melodies. The only weak track is Gangland.
of course not
@@diegobarros758 Nah, Book Of Souls is great. Particularly the title track and Tears Of A Clown.
Sun and Steel from the Piece of Mind album was always a personal fave - even more so after I met the band during a slow day at an Irish bar in Frankfurt, Germany circa 1987. Very personable guys!
I had asked the drummer about the inspiration of Sun and Steel, and suddenly Bruce slid over & enthusiastically related it’s origin.
I’ll always appreciate that epic moment!
My ranking:
1) the number of the beast
2) powerslave
3) somewhere in time
4) iron maiden
5) seventh son of a seventh son
6) killers
7) piece of mind
8) brave new world
9) fear of the dark
10) the book of souls
11) dance of death
12) no prayer for the dying
13) a matter of life and death
14) the x-factor
15) the final frontier
16) virtual XI
UP THE IRONS!!!
Now this guy knows his stuff.
@Anakin ITA Although I don't agree with a fair amount of your rankings, I can still understand and respect what you are saying and maybe why you are saying it. Having said that, once I saw that Somewhere in Time was ranked quite a bit higher than Book of Souls I think your credibility fell into the toilet.
@T Dunph What’s this credibility nonsense? You like what you like. You sound like one of those “fans” who listens to a new album and won’t say whether you like it until you’ve read the reviews.
@@steveopenshaw1219 well which Beiber albums were you drawn quickly to and which ones grew on you? I call out BS when I see it and I am not afraid to throw in a little joke either. I didn't like his list, sorry not sorry.
T Dunph I fear this conversation is doomed, but I’ll bite.. What shite are you calling here? The guy just posted his list. I mean, I don’t know the fellow, but I would hazard a guess that he isn’t going to lose sleep over the fact that you didn’t like it much. But why be a dick about it? His list is his list. It’s not an easy list to make, especially with a band like Maiden, and you just pulled your pants down to your ankles, squatted over it and curled one out on it. And the Beiber comment, what’s that about? If you could try and appreciate different kinds of music, instead of just appreciating how “elite” your taste in music is, then you could learn something from other people’s differing tastes.
Another really really great review and ranking from you. Very well explained with a lot of detailed facts, thank you!
My Top 5 are:
#5 A Matter of Live and Death
#4 Piece of Mind
#3 Powerslave
#2 Seventh son of a seventh Son
#1 The Book of Souls
Have a great day : )
Very brave putting Final Frontier so high up the list, Barry! I'm a sucker for that 80's Cyberpunk synth, Blade Runner esque styling so Somewhere in Time is, no surprises, my favourite complete work of theirs, but you can't go wrong with anything from their catalogue honestly, except perhaps the Blayze era. ;)
Absolutely love your work with all the other ranking vids etc mate, I look forward to more!
My ranking (super hard to rank the middle part of 8-13 on my list):
16. Virtual XI (the only really bad Maiden album imo)
15. Killers
14. Iron Maiden
13. No prayer for the dying
12. The X-factor
11. The final frontier
10. Dance of death
9. The number of the beast
8. The book of souls
7. Fear of the dark
6. A matter of life and death
5. Brave new world
4. Piece of mind
3. Powerslave
2. Seventh son of a seventh son
1. Somewhere in time
Such hate on killers
@@realenglishman580 for you
# 1 Somewhere in Time (a big grower)
# 2 Piece of Mind (bought the album at the age of 14, now I'm 43)
# 2' Seventh Son...
# 4 Powerslave
# 5 A Matter of Life and Death
# 6 Number of the Beast
# 7 Killers
# 8 Brave New World
# 9 First One
# 10 Dance of Death
# 11 Fear of the Dark/No Prayer for the Dying (I think the best of both could have been a fantastic album)
# 12 The Final Frontier
# 13 X Factor
# 14 Virtual XI
"Book of Souls" not dug it enough yet
How can you forget the name to the first one?
Piece of Mind is the album that sums up what Maiden is all about. If you had to take one album and try to present it to any random person who didn't know the band, this is the one.
*I was a HUGE Maiden fan (still am) & could hardly wait for "Piece Of Mind" to come out. Went to the store the first day it was available. One of the most disappointing albums EVER. After playing it constantly for 6 weeks hoping it would "get good", I threw it in the trash. Sad. I still don't know exactly what changed between the third and fourth album; but, ouch!*
If you zoom into Number of the Beast then you can see that Eddie is pulling the strings of the Devil who is pulling the strings of Eddie who is pulling the strings on Master of Puppets ;)
My top 5 maiden albums:
5.Iron Maiden
4. Somewhere in Time
3. Killers
2. Number of the Beast
1. Seventh son of a Seventh son
Good video. Honestly I enjoyed how varied and different your list was, rather than shoving all the post-reunion albums at the bottom you gave every album an honest and well thought out opinion
Nice list you are the only dude that makes these ranked videos that has good Iron Maiden opinions
Thank you.
"Alexander the Great" taught me more than any history class at school ever did. It has become my favourite Maiden track, proggy as f-.
Glad to see Book of Souls rated so high. It is an excellent album, especially at this point in their career. Definitely my favorite album to come out in the last 20 years from anyone!!!
You are correct.
DiAnno lives in my heart. Met him by accident in East London a while back.
So the first two albuns are what I consider Iron Maiden to be but they were over. So into the New Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson who I also met by accident in the streets of Fulham, we have Piece of Mind, The Number of the Beast, Fear of the Dark, and all the others I bunch together at the bottom, saving a few songs here and there. But too progressive for my liking.
I love Dance of Death and feel it is higher up on the list
No Prayer is easily my favourite of their post 80s stuff. never really understood the harsh criticism. Fear Of The Dark I find pretty boring mostly...
The tracks are all lame and there's no real standout track
I respectfully disagree. I honestly feel the opposite. I love fear of the dark so much more. In no prayer for the dying, there's alot of songs that have weird song structure
@@glenntipton6226 fair enough. since I posted that comment I went back and listened to Fear again, and liked it better than I remembered, but I still think it's way inferior to No Prayer... no one's right or wrong tho, it's all opinions :)
@@CS-mo7xp kudos to you for keeping this conversation mature and open minded. This is something I never see in the comments section lol
@@glenntipton6226 yeah we did pretty well there, lol
The Duelists is an absolute sublime piece of musical craft.All player elements come to the fore, including the vocals, more so with the interplay of the guitars in the instrumental. That said, yes Powerslave is my no.1 album, followed by Piece of Mind.
Powerslave is my favorite album and the Duelists is my favorite song. It proves magic can be real.
It sounds weak compared with For Whom The Bell Tolls
It's so strange, we have completely different lists, but I can absolutely see how you came to your conclusions. Great video
I have very different opinions (the blaze and Di’anno albums are super high for me lol) but it’s really cool to see another way and you did a great job explaining your choices. Def gonna relisten to Final Frontier and Book of Souls thanks to this. Glad you gave even the albums at the bottom some credit too, sick vid.🤘
Thank you for watching
Hi. Good job on the video but cant agree less.
My top:
1) 7th son;
2) somewhere in time;
3) iron maiden.
That low rate on iron maiden and no prayer just killed me.
Still, good video.
You really do a great job on your videos. Very informative. Your way makes your videos very accessible. Keep up the great work.
Thank you very much!
For me top 5
1. Killers
2. Powerslave
3. Number of the Beast
4. Somewhere in Time
5. Iron Maiden
Di'Anno Maiden just has a particular vibe about it that I just adore so both those albums are the bread of my top 5 sandwich which may or may not be a popular opinion.
For me the top 10 albums is:
No1 - Killers
No2 - Somewhere in time
No3 - Iron Maiden
No4 - Piece of mind
No5 - The number of the beast
No6 - Powerslave
No7 - Seventh son
No8 - Fear of the dark
No9 - The X factor
No10 - No prayer for the dying
Great work! Stumbled on this because of algorithms, stayed because you speak with passion and sincerity! Loved that this was "your" list and that it contained a few surprises. Excellent stuff!
Great rankings! I think the Final Frontier and Caught Somewhere in Time are extremely underrated, and they're in my top 5 for sure.
This channel is really great!
Thank you so much for this well thought out list. I definitely have much more listening ahead of me, because I’ve only heard: Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast, Powerslave and The Book Of Souls.
I’m excited though, because I love what I’ve heard so far. Especially the progressive influence I can definitely hear
Thank you for watching
Derek Riggs is my favorite illustrator (his Nightflight cover played a part in getting me into Budgie) and growing up his Iron Maiden covers helped influence me to become a graphic artist. When I first saw Somewhere In Time's cover, I just about lost it, and it remains my favorite album cover of all time. Because it wraps around the sleeve, I later bought two complete albums and framed them spine to spine to create a piece of artwork that hangs on my wall just above and behind my computer monitor. Still an inspiration to this day. That the album is good is just an added bonus.
As an artist, I have some rather odd views on certain things, and Maiden is no different. I think that Blaze Bailey inadvertently saved Iron Maiden! If he hadn't been such a mediocre fit, Steve Harris et. al. wouldn't have been as receptive to bringing Bruce back into the fold (and getting Adrian Smith as a bonus). Had Blaze stayed, I think Maiden would have fizzled out entirely after one or two more albums. But Blaze was such a mismatched fit with the band that he served as the impetus for the band's renaissance that began with Brave New World.
Seventh Son and Somewhere In Time are tied for my favourite album, barely a mediocre song between them, both very atmospheric, epic and full of a lot of great lead work, the best lead work in metal imo
ricard modo Somewhere In Time .... seemed like it kind of got lost in the shuffle but man I wore that sucker out. Very cutting edge at the time but still heavy and impressive in all the ways we would expect.
I agree 7th son is my favourite maiden album.
A matter of life and death, Powerslave and Somewhere in time are my favorites right now.
Greetings from Portugal.
up the Irons!
Somewhere in Time tbm é o meu favorito, o meu pai tinha o CD mas não sei o que fez com ele que já só tem a caixa 😅 era uma edição especial em que o "s" tinha traços a mais e o "m" e o "w" eram mais largos. A artwork do Somewhere in Time é simplesmente incrível, o que se espera dum desenho que tenha levado 3 meses ao artista com mais de 20 referências nele xD. Discordo é da opinião do criador do vídeo, virtual Eleven é um dos álbuns que mais gosto, e ouço todas as músicas dele, o único problema é 1 ou 2 faixas que podem ser um pouco repetitivas, como "The Angel and The Gambler", de resto é um álbum bastante bom.
@@Fl1x1n boas amigo Demon.
eu tenho a felicidade de ter o Somewhere in Time em "disco" vinyl.
tens toda a razao na Artwork,é incrivel! Somewhere ,Killers e Powerslave saõ provavelmente as minhas "capas" favoritas, mas lembro da artwork do Running Free ou do Maiden in Japan,aquela linda do The Clansman ,são tantas as minhas favoritas ;)
tambem gosto do Virtual Eleven, eu gosto dos 2 Albuns com o Blaze.
tenho aqui os 2 cds.
sou mesmo ferrenho do inicio da Banda;
o EP de estreia ,os 2 Albuns com o Paul Di ´Anno e os registos ao vivo
,Maiden in Japan , Live at the Rainbow, BBC Sessions , etc sâo ouro para mim!
eu descobri e fiquei fan da Banda com o Bruce,com o Live After Death era eu miudo.
Gastei aquele Vinyl !
depois como sabes vamos descobrindo e dei com o Iron Maiden e o Killers e fiquei maluco ate hoje. aquela rebeldia e atitude do Paul,a voz dele perfeita para aquelas faixas,assombroso.
Felizmente para nós a Banda teve sorte nos substitutos e o resto é uma grande Historia com albuns para todos os gostos.
Grande Abraço Demon
Your list is pretty spot on. I almost agree with you exactly except I put Book of Souls #1 because I bought not expecting much and instead was treated to a heavy metal masterpiece. Very comex yet compelling metal and the first album IMO to take full advantage of having 3 guitar players in the band. I love every song. It's all killer, no filler. I also have Somewhere in Time ranked a few notches higher. When I first listened to it I remember remarking to a friend that it sounded like Bruce was just going through the motions and it took me out of it for several years. But over the decades it's ended up being the cd I stick in my player in my car the most. I really love the record now. My top 5, maybe
1. Book of Souls
2. Somewhere in Time
3. Number of the Beast
And then i agree with your descending order. To be fair Maiden is only maybe in my top 50 favorite bands, where Judas Priest is a top 5 band for me.
Very good commentary, appreciate your point of view. Going to go back and give the catalog run through. For my Killers, S/T, POM...
My top three Iron Maiden album covers are: "Live After Death", "Somewhere In Time" and "Powerslave".
glad i found this page, love this stuff i.e. all the background info. well done and i agree with your #1 pick - that album was my introduction to Maiden when i was a kid 🤘🏼
Nice to see some love for POM. Dianno albums would be near the top for me, they had an edge not seen since.
Honestly, the Dianno albums are actually my favorite maiden albums
Great list. I mostly agree with you and I like the fact you got the balls to put Iron Maiden and Killers so far back in it.
They are great albums, but I prefer the ones I put higher. Thank you for watching
It's sad that A Matter Of Life and Death and Final Frontier are soooo underrated just because they're more complex and most fans are used to the rather short and catchy classics. So many great riffs, amazing vocals and wonderful melodies, those two albums are just pure masterpieces
I think you undervalue fans opinions to say its 'complex' and fans don't get it. I dont begrudge any fans whom love this later period music, but it just doesn't grab me at all. The riffs are paint by numbers...give me a riff like 'Back In The Village' anyday.
@@cumbco Yeah but that's exactly what I meant. Maybe they don't have a Back in the VIllage riff but they don't need one to be just as great. Sure, catchy riffs are cool and all but even the greatest riffs can't even come close to create such a magic and epic atmosphere and tell an emotional story as songs like Dance of Death, TheTalisman or For the Greater Good of God do with some simple but beautiful melodies. I know, it all depends on preferences and it's a completely different style but personally I love their latest records just as much as their classics
@@MegadethGuitarplayer But what makes a Maiden epic nowadays? Repeating a chorus over and over to give a song length does not make an epic imo. Steve Harris writes choruses like that for audience participation (I get that) but it just drags a song down . Somebody please tell Steve Harris that editing is a good thing. I miss Martin Birch, RIP.
@@cumbco For me it's the story behind the songs that makes them epic. Take Empire of the Clouds, it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and it tells a tragic and sad story of people who otherwise would have been forgotten or not be known by so many people. Also Dance of Death, the Talisman, it's more like being told a story than just listening to music. They're not repeating a verse over and over again with different lyrics to give the song length, you just can't tell such complex and detailed stories in the two verses of every standard song. You need to take that time to gradually create such a unique and dense atmosphere. If you like their short and fast songs with cool riffs just listen to their classics, they've got plenty of them. But Maiden fans should accept that they don't want to do the same stuff over and over again after more than 30 years, of course their sound evolves and they want to try something different and more complex. I think that their new albums are still true masterpieces but most fans are just like "that's not their classic heavy metal style!" and don't even give it a real try although it still sounds like Maiden all the way
@@MegadethGuitarplayer I respect your opinion but we differ greatly I guess. Their modern epics feel forced to me and 'Empire' is a prime example of a that. I was 15 in 1982 and the release of 'The Number Of The Beast' changed my musical landscape forever. Followed the band ever since. Other than BNW, the last few albums dont do much for me. You're probably much younger than me but many of us older fans say their golden period of 1980-88 cant be beat.
Just want to say I love your ranking videos
You know your stuff keep up the great work
I love your videos, Barry. All your rankings are really well thought out, and there are ideas you put in that always make me think twice. It's interesting that every Maiden fan's list is probably different - mine is very different to yours - but there are always a few records most put in the same place. I was actually pleasantly surprised as to where you put Number of the Beast, because most would put that at the top; I agree with you, because it's not as perfect as everyone remembers. Something I've always thought about the X Factor - though I don't like it - is that it's the birthplace of 'modern Maiden'. The long intros, Steve's non-mastered production, and the dark atmospheres.
Rush sounded as vital and inspired on Clockwork Angels as any band has late in their career.
a fantastic swan song 🎶
First time watching your reviews. I liked it. I liked a lot, differs from my choices quite much but number still having Piece of mind cassette bought somewhere in 80, number 1 and two I agree wholeheartedly. Awesome review bro, got meself listening old and newer numbers again having different point of view to it like Final Frontier. Thanks for this! Respect.
Thank you for watching..
You nailed it, Piece of Mind, is hands down their best.
Thank you... I'm torn between that and 'Powerslave' to be honest
Another great video thanks for sharing and I like your rankings, not how I would rank but you had a very solid list. My go to Maiden album is Live After Death, I have trouble listening to any of those songs in their studio version haha so that would be my number 1, also wanted to add that I listen to their first album quite often, I love the rawness of it and I love Paul Di'anno on that first album, not as much on Killers tho.
I was going to list mine, but aside from a few small disagreements at the lower end, spot-on!
You sound extremely well-educated and always delightful to listen to.
Very Good presentation...enjoyed and informative..thank you
Overall, I think this is a good analysis of Iron Maiden’s discography, but I feel that Adrian Smith isn’t given enough credit for his contributions, given that he’s one of the best songwriters in the band.
There’s no mention of Adrian during the segment on “Somewhere in Time” in spite of the fact he wrote “Wasted Years,” “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Sea of Madness” all by himself. Most fans consider that album Adrian’s finest hour, because he’s the one who carries it.
Also, “Brave New World” marked the return of not only Bruce but Adrian as well. In fact, Adrian co-wrote the lead single, “The Wicker Man,” which they still play live to this day. It’s also important to note that one of Bruce’s conditions for returning to the band was that Adrian came with him.
If you look at their entire discography, Adrian has songwriting credits on a LOT of songs, and none of them are filler material. “The Prisoner” … “22 Acacia Avenue” … “Flight of Icarus” … “Die With Your Boots On” … “2 Minutes to Midnight” … “Moonchild” … “Can I Play With Madness” … “The Evil That Men Do” … “Paschendale” … “Coming Home” … “Mother of Mercy” … “Starblind” … “The Final Frontier” … “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” … “Lord of Light” … “The Longest Day” … and that’s just a handful. The list literally goes on and on.
I don’t think this is an intentional snub on the reviewer’s part though, as he seems to have a genuine love for the band. I’m just surprised that Adrian is overlooked for the most part.
This is my ranking:
16. Virtual XI (Best Song: The Clansman)
15. No Prayer for the Dying (BS: No Prayer for the Dying)
14. Killers (BS: Wrathchild)
13. The X Factor (BS: Sign of the Cross)
12. The Final Frontier (BS: When the Wild Wind Blows)
11. Brave New World (BS: Brave New World)
10. Piece of Mind (BS: The Trooper)
9. Fear of the Dark (BS: Fear of the Dark)
8. A Matter of Life and Death (BS: Brighter Than a Thousand Suns)
7. Iron Maiden (BS: Phantom of the Opera)
6. Somewhere in Time (BS: Wasted Years)
5. Dance of Death (BS: Dance of Death)
4. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (BS: The Evil that Men Do)
3. The Book of Souls (BS: Empire of the Clouds)
2. Powerslave (BS: Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
1. The Number of the Beast (BS: Hallowed be thy Name)
This is a great list - I don't agree with some of the finer details, but I do appreciate your reasoning and insights!
I'd somehow trade 7th Son down the list a little to boost the debut and possibly Killers a little more - but that's nitpicky. I entirely agree that Brave New World was a better album than the couple that followed it (The Final Frontier being where they redeemed themselves for me) and Book Of Souls is most definitely their modern classic. And the top 2 - well, some people might swap the order around but I don't think anyone could argue about which 2 albums they would be.
I have very high hopes for Senjutsu (glancing at the date) - it should be arriving in the post in the next few days, I think.
Really appreciate these videos, thanks for making them!
My pleasure
My all time favourite Iron Maiden album ranks
1. The Number Of The Beast
2 Killers
3 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
4 Powerslave
5 Piece Of Mind
6 Iron Maiden
7 Somewhere In Time
8 Fear Of The Dark
9 Brave New World
10 A Matter Of Life And Death
This is my ranking, followed by the songs I like the most:
16 - Virtual XI (only dig The Clansman and Futureal)
15 - The Final Frontier (El Dorado, The Alchemist)
14 - Killers (Wratchild and Murders in the Rue Morgue)
13 - X-Factor (Man on the Edge, Sign of the Cross, Lord of the Flies)
12 - No Prayer for the Dying (Public Enema Number One, Hooks in you, Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter)
11 - The Book of Souls (If Eternity should fail, Speed of light, When the River Rubs Deep and Empire of the Clouds)
10 - Iron Maiden (Prowler, Phantom of the Opera, Iron Maiden, Sanctuary)
9 - A Matter of Life and Death (Different World, Brighter than a Thousand Suns, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg,For the Greater Good of God)
8 - Dance of Death ( Paschendale, DoD, Wildest Dreams, Rainmaker, Montsegur)
7 - Fear of the Dark (Title track, Be Quick or Be Dead, Judas Be my guide, Afraid to shoot strangers, From here to eternity)
6 - Brave New World ( the only ones I don’t like ate The Nomad and Dream of Mirrors)
5 - The Number of the Beast (don’t like Gangland and Invaders much)
4 - Powerslave (fantastic album, but don’t top the first 3 on this list, cause I listen to them more)
My top 3 switches all the time. They’re all #1 in my heart. Here, I’ll list based on what I enjoy the most at this moment:
3 - Piece of Mind
2 - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
1 - Somewhere in Time.
These 3 albums are flawless. It’s impossible to find a weaker track. They’re all fabulous for me and are the ones I listen constantly, not because I don’t like the others ( I love all Maiden albums), but there are some albums that are catchy. Well, these are my favorites.
Great list Barry. A great choice for number 1. The 80’s is their most fruitful period for me, although most of their albums are excellent. Very enjoyable video.
I'd love for you to review Maiden's live albums someday, considering a very few bands come close to matching the band's prowess when it comes to playing in front of an audience.
No Prayer For the Dying might not be their best but I have always liked Tailgunner, Holy Smoke and the title track (which I think is hideously underrated melodically), and Run Silent, Run Deep. Somewhere in Time has remained a favourite for two reasons: it was the album that got me into Maiden and secondly, as a gutiar player, I think the solo work is up there with their best (Wasted Years is awesome!). Oddly you have Piece of Mind at number 1 but I never saw that as anything more than the album with the Trooper on it (Revelations is much better on Live After Death). Killers or Seventh Son would probably be my pick of best album.
I’ve always thought Run Silent, Run Deep would be a great live song, but I don’t believe that it’s ever been performed live.
I feel No Prayer For The Dying would be in the middle of my list.
Great number 1 ,I agree it better than number of the beast
Great job. I would have placed a few things slightly differently, but overall very good - and what an embarrassment of riches there are in Maiden's catalog! You now need to update the list with Senjutsu....
Hey, what do you use to float graphics above your video?
Any editing software will allow you to put one image above the other
Still a great ranking video second time round 👏
Where would you place their latest one, if you could do an update?
Thank you Seamus. I hope you are well, this one often gets spoken about in the zoom calls I do. But I think I might have to do an 'update' on this ranking video. Thanks for reminding me.
@@classicalbum Grand thanks 👍 Really looking forward to seeing Red Hot Chilli Peppers in London ✌️
Honest answer now.... what do you think of their new album?
Not heard the new one. I saw them at Reading Festival a few years back
@@classicalbum Not sure yet. Initially I was not impressed, but it has grown on me a tad!
We can argue for the Iron Maiden discograohy all day, but i TOTALLY agree with you about the first 4. I also put them in the exact order.
I think I'm the only person in the world who likes "The Angel and the Gambler". Never heard anyone say they like it. I love it, its so catchy.
Hello from Puerto Rico.My favorites Iron Maiden albums are Powerslave and Brave New World.
I think I’ll always struggle to put the albums in an order of best to worst, but I’ve tried - including a bit of additional information.
1. Powerslave. I don’t think there is a single song on that album that I don’t like, Aces High probably being my favourite. It’s such a great opening to a live show and is full of energy whilst having meaning behind it.
2. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Yet again, all the songs are ace on SSOASS, either Only the Good Die Young or Can I play with Madness take the top spot song wise - followed by The Evil that Men Do.
3. Brave New World. The majority of songs on this gem I love - it’s such a great comeback album for Bruce. Can’t imagine the buzz caused when it was released, I was too young then. Either Blood Brothers or Dream of Mirrors takes the tops spot for me.
4. The Number of The Beast. It’s a classic. Hallowed be thy name is by far my favourite song from this album - probably one of my favourite songs period - and the likes of The Number of the Beast and Children of The Damned are good songs too. I’m not into Run To The Hills as everyone else seems to be, though.
5. Somewhere in time. Can’t say there is a bad song here, Wasted Years being one of my favourite songs along with Hallowed as I mentioned earlier. Caught somewhere in time and Heaven can wait aren’t bad too, but the likes of Deja Vu and Sea of Madness seem average
6. Killers. Sorry that it ain’t in my top 5, can’t say much more. As I hinted earlier, I wasn’t around at all for maidens older stuff or old enough to understand when the post-blaze albums were released, but I’d probably think higher of it if I was around then. Murders in the Rue Morgue is my favourite from this release.
7. Iron Maiden. Yeah, the debut. It’s good but can’t say the entire album is memorable for me. Phantom of the Opera will always be one of the Maiden greats song wise - the instrumentals in it are bloody amazing
8. The Book of Souls. Receives more criticism than it deserves, it’s amazingly good to say all the lads were in their 50’s/60’s when they made this. Empire of the Clouds will always be something special to me to be honest, simply love the story (and I’ve always thought airships and other weird flying things are cool). The rest of the album is good, but it’s hard to compare it with Maiden when they were younger.
9. Piece of Mind. Sorry. I actually think I should’ve put it higher now I think of it haha. The Trooper is of course a maiden - and a metal - classic, it always will be. Where Eagles Dare and Revelations are also Ace. I must say I totally overlooked Flight of Icarus and Die with Your Boots On when ranking this. Bollocks to me, but it’s not their best work so I’ve caught myself some slack there.
10. Fear of the Dark. Fear of the Dark is yet another classic maiden song in my eyes, but apart from Judas Be My Guide, I cant think of any other song that stands out specifically. Still maiden though, so it’s still good.
11. A Matter of Life and Death. It’s alright, nothing stands out to me though I think The Longest Day is my top pick because of what it’s about.
12. The Final Frontier. Yet again nothing really stands out that much, but it is by no means a rubbish album. If I have to pick a song to be my favourite from it, I’ll probably just say The Alchemist or El Dorado as they’re the only ones I really remember. Yet again, it’s good for an ageing band.
13. Dance of Death. Paschendale. All I can say really. That song is emotional and takes you on a journey while sounding great, but there’s not a lot to say about the rest of the album to be fair.
14. No Prayer for the Dying. Another one I feel bad about ranking harshly, but I only really feel it with Tailgunner. Holy Smoke isn’t too bad either.
15. Virtual XI. Sorry Blaze. Nothing against the Blaze Bayley here, but he’s not Bruce. If this album followed the first two with Paul on vocals it probably wouldn’t be as harshly rated by most (I imagine anyway, everyone seems to stigmatise it for Blaze not being Bruce). Don’t Look to The Eyes of a Stranger is probably the most inclined to be my favourite song of this album - probably only because it was the first song I heard form V XI and I can hear a bit of The Dambuster’s theme in it in places.
16. The X Factor. It’s just a bit plain, isn’t it?
So yeah, that’s that summed up. Feel free to disagree, it’s all opinion based after all. I’d much rather listen to my least favourite Maiden album than the highest rated album by someone like Billie Eilish or Stormzy any day.
Nice to hear The Book of Souls get so much respect, as I believe it's completely deserved. Great recording !
Will Traynor Garbage.
@@thefonzkiss Nah
Fine it's a good older band offering but this guy really put it above beast?
top 5:
1- Powerslave
2- Iron Maiden
3- Number of the beast
4- Piece of mind
5- Somewhere in Time
honorable mentions: Fear of the dark, Killers and 7th son of a 7th son
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY! A "MAIDEN" SHIRT! A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! (I hope you know I'm only having fun with you, mate......seriously......LOVE the rankings.)
What ranking would you like to see?
@@classicalbum Oh....I don't know.....your album rankings are really well done and very well thought out. I look forward to more in the future.....seriously.....one of the better album rankings i've enjoyed watching......very good job overall. Keep up the great work, mate. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised. OH! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I might do a Queen ranking.... although I'll warn you in advance i dont have a Queen T-shirt 😉
@@classicalbum LOL! I'm sure FREDDIE would also find the humour in that. :P
Piece of Mind, Number of the Beast and Powerslave the first three Dickinson albums are the pinnacle of all things Maiden. Piece of Mind especially was a tour de force from Dickinson as both a singer and song writer. Songs like Revelations, Quest for Fire and Die with your Boots on arexstand outs from this 1983 classic. Plus the Art Work on the cover really works well in keeping in tune with the albums mood.
Agree with you a lot here, I am a bit surprised however that you don’t mention Adrian Smiths songwriting contributions more and particulary on Somewhere in Time. Of course he is my favorite member of Iron Maiden (and why I wasn’t a happy camper around the time of No Prayer of the Dying,). I consider Adrian to be Maidens second songwriter, the historian and the engineer, almost the Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode) of Iron Maiden if you get my drift. I suppose he is also the bands 4th lead singer, having sung lead on Reach Out the B. side to the Adrian Smith penned Wasted Years. I hate that I have lost the picture disc I had of that one btw… Otherwise, great reviews, and yeah, so tough to list these.
Steve Harris may list X Factor as one of his favorites, but I learned decades ago,- NEVER listen to how an artist feels about his own work. It would be like Davinci telling us he hated the color in the Mona Lisa. Enjoyed this!
What are you implying?
I ranked all of maidens albums and put seventh son at number 12 haha - still though amazing video and very informative!
Thank you, I love your videos, professionally cool, M
Thanks
A superb breakdown of what I think is the greatest catalogue in Metal history. I agree with most of it although I'd put 'Book Of Souls' quite a bit lower than 'Number Of The Beast' and I'd stick 'Powerslave' at number 1. Thanks for this and all your music reviews. :)
Interesting ranking, I think it is very hard to place them in an order and for me it probably goes;
1 Killers
2 Iron maiden
3 Seventh son
4 Powerslave
5 No of beast
6 Somewhere in time
7 Peace of mind
8 Final frontier
9 Brave new world
10 The rest with Bruce
I have ranked based on the overall mix of songs I really enjoy and the amount of times I choose to listen to a record (I need to spin up the most recent ones as they may bubble up the ratings with more repeat plays)
However any Maiden album has a mix of good and great songs so any order is justified
My ranking:
1) Powerslave
2) Piece of mind
3) Fear of the dark
4) Number of the beast
5) Brave new world
6) A matter of life and death
7) Dance of death
8) Somewhere in time
9) Seventh son of seventh son
10) No prayer for the dying
11) Iron maiden
12) Killers
13) The X Factor
14) Senjutsu
15) The Final Frontier
16) Book of souls
17) Virtual XI
Thank you for ranking Fear of the Dark so high, it's a masterpiece. Can't agree with ranking Killers so low but much respect to your list.
Awesome list , it coincides with mine , I 'm gonna check Black Sabbath reviews , what another one ?
Brilliant review! I love how different everyones lists are! For what it's worth here's my list (sorry if I upset some fans):
1. Seventh Son (Perfection from start to finish)
2. Brave New World (Also perfection from start to finish. My least favourite track on the album (Nomad) has my favourite Maiden solo by Mr Dave Murray. Thus proving how great this album is!)
3. Piece Of Mind (Although 'Quest for fire' Just...why?)
4. A Matter Of Life And Death (Dreadful production though!)
5. Somewhere In Time (Deja-vu needs more love!)
6. Dance of death (IKR shocking! But the catchiness of rainmaker, heaviness of Montsegur, epicness of DOD & Paschendale and the beauty of Journeyman. I've played it too much to not put it here).
7. Number Of The Beast (Gangland and Invaders. Please no. Also, Hallowed is 100x better live)
8. Powerslave (Really dislike the chorus' in the duellists and back in the village)
9. Book Of Souls (So many good tunes but I'm getting a bit tired of the slow intro and slow outro thing)
10. The Final Frontier (Shoutout to Bruce for singing The Talisman on the whole tour and surviving!)
11. Killers (Clive Burr bringing the groove!)
12. Fear Of The Dark (Trying to retain catchy 80's rock in an era of grunge but still, fear of the dark got me into Maiden)
13. Iron Maiden (Prowler, to me, sounds modern even now. Love it)
14. X Factor (Some solid classics but some totally forgettable. I love the dark atmosphere)
15. Virtual XI (I always thought Blaze sung 'Lightning lightning strikes twice' but then found out he sings 'Maybe lightning strikes twice'. The song was ruined. The Clansman and Futureal are outstanding!)
16. No prayer for the dying (At least the Blaze era tried to do something different. This album is just generic. The Assassin chorus is a disgrace). Sorry if that's your favourite song!
Interesting list. I like that you rank Brave New World #2
It's overlooked in my opinion, but it might be my personal favourite, or maybe also #2, idk
You said seventh son... #1
I never really got into this album. I have heard most songs from it but I never really liked it that much. Can you name a few songs from the album which I should maybe listen to again? Or if I need to listen from beginning to ending to get it? (It's a concept album, so maybe🤷)
@@user-me8hy8ew4o Brave New World is a perfect mixture of catchy chorus', epic songs, melodic guitar solos and most of all, good production. I think productionwise the albums have gone downhill since. Not sure if that is Shirley's fault or Harris but new ones are extremely muddy and flat and Bruce isn't prominent.
Hmmm Well, The Evil That Men Do is one of my favourite Maiden tunes. I like how they embrace their pop sensibilites on this album (Evil that men do, only the good, Madness). They also throw a 'Revelations' vibe with Infinite Dreams, which has Bruce's best scream ever going into the solo. The Clairvoyant showcases all the guys instrumental abilities whilst maintaining a catchy chorus and atmospheric verses. Admittedly, I had to see Moonchild live to properly appreciate it and the prophecy is the weakest but that feels like lyrically the most important. The imagery of the whole seventh son album is so theatrical and so Maiden to me. Like BNW, they knew exactly what they were doing and they did it with conviction.
@@BaldeWorlde I'l check out the Evil that Men do and Infinite Dreams again. The rest you said which were good are still in my memory (and also the best songs on this album which I remember)
Good reviews. I like number, no prayer, piece in top 3.
Nice review of their career. My main difference is that I’ve always ranked Somewhere in Time ahead of 7th Son. While it has some great songs, I’ve never understood fanaticism for it.
The metal god himself, Rob Halford, ranking Maidens albums
I know it's a while since it was released now but what where would you rank senjutsu on this list?
I've done an updated version of this video