I've been reflecting, and I think it's good to get the non-metal fans opinion, and I think it just shows that once you start listening to metal and enjoy it for a long time, you stop realising that the longer songs, even if they have lots of switch ups, just are a bit self-indulgent and you can achieve the same thing with short songs.I really think if Steve took the risk, shortened his songs and started thinking, that a great idea he has to extend the song, will be improved, if he simply starts a new soul. Maybe Steve gets a good idea to extend the song and stays with it, because he thinks that he won't have an idea of such quality, or can't twist that same idea into a new song.I think he should have given this a go.there are some weaker songs on the book of souls, which might have been improved if he had cut "book of souls" for example into, and started the 2nd half as a new song of great quality.Because that song,,as a Masterpiece, But Doesn't need tTo be thatLong.
The first band I was ever obsessed with. 1. Killers 2. Number of the Beast 3. Piece of Mind 4. Powerslave 5. Iron Maiden 6. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 7. Somewhere in Time 8. Brave New World 9. A Matter of Life and Death 10. Fear of the Dark 11. Book of Souls 12. The Final Frontier 13. No Prayer for the Dying 14. Dance of Death 15. The X Factor 16. Virtual XI
@@paulh6673 I would definitely have X factor in the top ten, my bottom two ? It’s like picking my least favourite child but book of souls doesn’t do much for me, senjetsu I’m not crazy about either . For me personally my top six are seventh son, piece of mind , X factor , iron maiden, killers and brave new world . Number of the beast is overrated imo
I love how much love (two of you) gave to Fear Of The Dark! I always see it middle or low on lists, but it's probably my favorite too. Admittedly, it's got that early-90s vibe, but I dig that for sure!
Here's my full ranking; 01: Power Slave 02: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 03: Somewhere in Time 04: Number of the Beast 05: Piece of Mind 06: Iron Maiden 07: No Prayer For the Dying 08: Brave New World 09: A Matter of Life and Death 10: Fear of the Dark 11: Killers 12: Virtual XI 13: The Final Frontier 14: Dance of Death 15: Book of Souls 16: X Factor Now Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want and do a Morrissey list!! This has become my favourite RUclips music channel, btw. Fantastic stuff! I love it!
I'm glad to see Stranger In A Strange Land , from Somewhere In Time, getting so much love. For me it's one of their best songs. Has a dynamic, epic and anthemic sweep to it. I enjoy singing it. I really get into it and the lyrics are pretty good too.
I honestly rate Book Of Souls pretty darn highly. I LOVE “red and the black.” Don’t think I remember any of you mentioning that song. The bass work alone in it is amazing
Y’know what? I appreciate that you guys can embrace a broad range of discographies from new wave to metal. You guys are honest about your degree of familiarity and fandom. It’s appealing that you guys are such good friends and it sets apart this channel and keeps me watching . #1- powerslave #2- number #3- piece of mind #4- 7th son #5- killers. #6- somewhere in time. Book of souls and fear of the dark have moved up for me after more frequent listens . The Live after death and maiden japan ep was the records that put me over the top. Prayer and X factor are the 2 stinkers: when X factor came out though I remember trying so hard to like it and defend it, listened to it 3 times and then I kind of dumped Iron Maiden for 5/6 years before returning to them slowly when Brave new world and dance of death arrived. Great job - please keep it up
Good list 😅 for me 1. Piece of mind even quest for fire. After hearing still life I think a bit of comic relief suits the mood for a bit before some death and destruction again. Perfect album. 2. Dance of death . Slow start bit once it gets rolling! 3 is tough can change everyday but today it's powerslave. 4. For today is seventh son and 5. Number of the beast . Honorable mention Killers . I have trouble ranking it but it's in the top 5 and can be 1 on any given day. Mine even has Paul s Auto graph . And I have a killers tattoo
Great show as usual guys. Been a fan for a long time and I’ve always thought Fear Of The Dark was their most underrated album. It just came out at the wrong time. I remember as a 15 year old telling kids at school how good it was and they all told me that Iron Maiden and metal in general was dead. My favourite is Somewhere In Time
Joe, the bizarre lyrical themes is one of my favourite aspects about Somewhere In Time. I think it's a welcome change up from the previous records, and allows for the softer, spacier sound of the record. It's hard to take your foot off the gas when you're constantly shouting about warfare and death. I also really like Alexander the Great, I don't mind the lyrics because they are so upfront, they don't pretend to be something they're not. I think it's musically interesting throughout and it's a blistering performance by Dickinson, one of his best.
"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is based on a short story by the British novelist Alan Sillitoe and the subsequent 1962 film inspired by this story. Keep up the good work.
Great review, now it's time to bring on the Priest! If you aren't really familiar with them I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by their 70s output (except for their first Rocka Rolla). They are really more hard rock albums with some metal elements, and with some surprisingly good slow songs mixed in here and there, which I'd think would fit your tastes to a certain extent.
My Top 16 Iron Maiden Albums, with Favorite Tracks. 16. Virtual XI (Favorite Track: The Angel and the Gambler) 15. The X Factor (Favorite: The Sign of the Cross) 14. A Matter of Life and Death (Favorite: Different World) 13. No Prayer for the Dying (Favorite: Hooks in You) 12. Fear of the Dark (Favorite: Afraid to Shoot Strangers) 11. Dance of Death (Favorite: Journeyman) 10. The Book of Souls (Favorite: Speed of Light) 9. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Favorite: Can I play with Madness) 8. Brave New World (Favorite: Out of the Silent Planet) 7. The Final Frontier (Favorite: Satellite 15... The Final Frontier) 6. Somewhere in Time (Favorite: Wasted Years) 5. Powerslave (Favorite: The Duelist) 4. The Number of the Beast (Favorite: Invader) 3. Iron Maiden (Favorite: Transylvania/Strange World) 2. Killers (Favorite: Murders in the Rue Mourge) 1. Piece of Mind (Favorite: The Trooper) There You Go, My Ranking.
I really like the lists you guys put up. The contrasts are cool, but it's the agreement with certain albums I really appreciate. Saw a Maiden list where Killers was put next to the bottom. I get personal opinions, but that just shows a lack of understanding for the WHOLE catalog. Once again. Very cool gentlemen.
I felt sorry for Joe while watching this. That said, these are the only 5 Maiden studio albums I need: 5. Seventh Son of the Seventh Son 4. Somewhere In Time 3. Piece of Mind 2. Number of the Beast 1. Powerslave But I listen to Live After Death the most.
I would keep those five, and add Iron Maiden and Killers to that list. The first two albums (both of which featured Paul Di'Anno on vocals) were amazing.
Great episode. Ready for songs tomorrow. My list: 16. Virtual XI 15. The X Factor 14. The Final Frontier 13. Dance of Death 12. A Matter of Life and Death 11. No Prayer for the Dying 10. The Book of Souls 9. Fear of the Dark 8. Iron Maiden 7. Brave New World 6. Killers 5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 4. Number of the Beast 3. Powerslave 2. Piece of Mind 1. Somewhere in Time P
" Somewhere in Time " easily slots into my all time top 50. One of the few albums where I'd give every song at least a 4 out of 5. Plenty of albums could legit be number 1, should be a good watch.
I disagree the loneliness of the long distance runner is a, bit of a durge, never understood the love for this very dull song. The same with Alexander the great. Deja vu I actively detest and wasted years though a good song with a good beat is more pop than metal. The rest of the songs are brilliant though.
16. X Factor 15. Virtual XL 14. Book of Souls 13. The Final Frontier 12. No Prayer For The Dying 11. A Matter of Life and Death 10. Dance of Death 9. Fear of The Dark 8. Seventh Son of A Seventh Son 7. Brave New World 6. Peace of Mind 5. Somewhere In Time 4. Powerslave 3. Killers 2. The Number of The Beast 1. Iron Maiden
Well done for mentioning “Run to the hills” Specifically Was their breakthrough song In uk. Still have my 7” pic sleeve single Important song. Especially thought provoking for Irish Americans slagging off brits
Scream for me Listography! The Duellists an overlooked gem- good call Jason. Perhaps Killers has some of the debut's leftovers and thus not as strong top to bottom but Wrathchild and title track combined with Martin Birch's arrival make it the slightly better of the 2 for me. And the 3 albums immediately following are what place Maiden at the top.
Hello, been watching you guys alot, even when it were a solo show, you have a very good thing going, one thing i would love to see on this channel is all you three going through the discography of the japanese Kraftwerk "Yellow Magic Orchestra" (and Kraftwerk too, if you havent......) i thought it were about time to tell you i enjoy your channel and its highly entertaining, keep up the good work dudes !! peace from Norway ;)
hearing kramzer talk about the repetitive intros on X factor and then immediately skimming through that whole album on spotify for the first time to instantly notice what he was talking about was actually hilarious.
1. Somewhere in Time 2. Powerslave 3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 4. Piece of Mind 5. Book of Souls But I love everything really favourite band of all time
A matter of life and death is my favourite album as a whole listen through. Didn't like it at all at first but it just grew and grew and now I think there's literally no bad songs on it and it's the best mixed album in their catalogue to me. Everything is just awesome even though there are no super hits in the catchy sense. Just a great studio album with every song fitting together perfectly and the tightest they've ever sounded
Great ears from that top right dude. They actually used solid-state Gallien Kruger amps for the first time on Somewhere in Time. That's some great hearing, only marred by placing Fear Of The Dark anywhere close to the top. Anyhoo. Cheers dudes!
Before this I only really knew The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave. Love them all but for whatever reason I never had any of their other albums. I'd discounted the first album years ago because I just couldn't get past the lack of Bruce Dickinson. I ran out of time to listen to all the albums to do a proper ranking here but I will say I enjoyed the first two albums this time around more than before. The last album I got to was No Prayer For The Dying which was a notable step down from everything else I'd heard. I skimmed a bit of the Blaze Bayley stuff and wow, not great. Throughout this I introduced Iron Maiden to the next generation though. My six year old son loved them.
I just saw Iron Maiden last night in Detroit and I had a blast! Lots of people at the show were extremely crazy about Maiden and everyone loved it. A lot of people came from many different countries, and there even were some Canadians that are also came! Everyone is still killing it, even in their mid 60s! Bruce Dickinson was very energetic! And they changed the stage for every single! It's definitely awesome! They played a lot of the hits and fan favorites! Definitely a band that you have to see! They always have a killer show. Oh and Judas Priest and Queensryche are heading to my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 21. I've never seen both of them before, but my dad has. He's a huge fan of both! He's not a Maiden fan like his buddy is. My dad thought that he was going to boring, but he did know a couple of their songs and he likes that new Maiden song Writings on the Wall. He had a blast, too! Seeing Maiden was obviously on my bucket list for shows to see! It was totally awesome!
Long time and old school Iron Maiden fan. Showing my age, I grew up with this band guys. Here's my ranking 16. The X Factor 15. Virtual XI 14. No Prayer For The Dying 13. Dance Of Death 12. The Final Frontier 11. Book Of Souls 10. Fear Of The Dark 9. A Matter Of Life And Death 8. Brave New World 7. The Number Of The Beast 6. Killers 5. Seventh Son Of Seventh Son 4. Iron Maiden 3. Somewhere In Time 2. Powerslave 1. Piece Of Mind The viewers were right Jason, the 3 album run from Piece to Seventh Son is pretty epic. Thanks for the ranking video guys even though Jason and Kram are a bit off base. Hahaha
I just found your channel. Good stuff, agree with the rankings for the most part. I would say both "Number of the Beast" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" are "perfect" albums where every song on those albums are good. My quick and dirty rankings: 16. No Prayer for the Dying 15. Virtual XI 14. The Final Frontier 13. The X Factor 12. Book of Souls 11. Matter of Life and Death 10. Fear of the Dark 9. Powerslave 8. Dance of Death 7. Killers 6. Brave New World 5. Somewhere in Time 4. Piece of Mind 3. Iron Maiden 2. 7th Son 1. Number of the Beast
I used to listen to Iron maiden back in the 80's, i saw them live in Arma di Taggia (Sanremo Italy) World Slavery Tour 1984 i think, I'm not into heavy metal anymore but i still like to listen to them from time to time. My top 5 Albums would still be: 1) Iron Maiden 2) Killers 3) the number of the beast 4) piece of mind 5) power slave
i think their first 4 albums were outstanding. powerslave was a step down, and somwhere in time was a consecutive step down; quit buying their albums (cassettes) after that, but still listen to the first 4 often.
Iron Maiden was using the Gallien-Krueger GK 250RL Solid State amps on Somewhere In Time. They were all the rage in the mid 80's and where also used by RUSH and The Police who both made better use of the amp by using the Clean tones and not the distortion channel. I have owned a couple of these amps and they sound really great (especially clean) but I definitely would not use one to record distorted rhythm guitar tracks. Great video, thanks. (P.S. I saw Iron Maiden with the Scorpions at The University of Washington in Seattle, 1982. Still have the shirt, Girlschool Opened :)
Also, number of the beast is great, bought it the day it came out and saw the tour, but 22 Acacia Avenue and Gangland are a bit on the weaker side (not as good as the weaker tracks on Piece of Mind imo). Also run to the hills I never need to hear again, way over played and I'm not into the chorus at all, a little too whiny). Hallowed be thy name though is definitely one of the best Maiden songs ever. Powerslave is a bit harder to get into but such a great album overall. Piece of Mind though is fantastic, I feel like it's the their "Dark Side of the Moon". Top 5 1. Killers 2. Iron Maiden 3. Piece of Mind 4. Number of the Beast 5. Powerslave Honestly they lost me after that, Somewhere in Time is pretty good but not an album I would want to listen to again (just sold mine on discogs actually), need to re-visit Seventh Son but most of the stuff was so formula by then it was hard to listen to... No comparison to how good they were pre 1985. Great video though, thanks.
16. The X Factor ★ ½ - The Blaze Bayley albums are virtually interchangeable here at the bottom. I don’t think he’s a particularly good singer and he doesn’t fit the band, yet I don’t think he’s the real problem here, the problem is the songwriting. As the early 90’s albums showed, even a prime Bruce Dickinson couldn’t do much to elevate the songs when the quality of material dipped so drastically. 15. Virtual XI ★ ½ - Avoids last place by the tiniest of margins. Some of these choruses really makes it clear that they are scraping the barrel where songwriting is concerned. 14. Dance of Death ★★ - This is a record I’ve always had problems with, and even though this was the newest album when I had my Maiden phase, I didn’t care for it that much even back then. They stumble out the gate with Wildest Dreams, before momentarily redeeming themselves with Rainmaker, the best song on the album. Unfortunately this is where the real trouble begins. I consider this an album of four pillars, No More Lies, Dance of Death, Paschendale and Journeyman, plus a bunch of nothingness in between. The problem is none of those four songs are any good. No More Lies is a bunch of ill-fitting parts with some real jarring cuts between them, and a clunky, generic chorus. The title track is one of the worst songs in their catalogue, they have some nerve basing an almost nine minute song around that lousy guitar riff. Paschendale is the least bad of the lot, and I think it’s considered quite a classic among fans, it’s just never stuck with me. It puts a lot of emphasis on the lyrics, which is not what I’m looking for in my Maiden. Then Journeyman takes us out with a whimper. This song and Wildest Dreams try to recreate the energy of Running Free and Iron Maiden from the debut, but here they just sound like old men and it doesn’t work at all. There are some good ideas here, but none of them turn into actual good songs, Rainmaker being the exception. This turned into a bit of an essay, I’ll try to keep it more brief going forward. 13. The Final Frontier ★★ - I appreciate they are trying something here but these songs just go in one ear and out the other for me. Doesn’t do anything for me at all. 12. No Prayer for the Dying ★★ - A lousy album and a huge fall from grace after the 80’s. 11. Fear of the Dark ★★ - Definitely not the redemption after No Prayer for the Dying like some paint it to be, just a marginally better album. Some real weird choices on here, that three minute intro on Afraid to Shoot Strangers is just excessive to the extreme. 10. A Matter of Life and Death ★★ ½ - Significantly better than Dance of Death but kind of wears you down with a bunch of mid-tempo stuff. Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg is a good late-period Maiden epic. 9. The Book of Souls ★★ ½ - This is a missed opportunity. Cut this down to size and you have a three and a half star record. Unfortunately it’s unbearably long, all of these second era Bruce are to be fair, but this one is really taking the piss. As it is it’s close to three stars but not quite. 8. Killers ★★★ - The weakest 80’s record for me but still a fun listen. 7. Iron Maiden ★★★ ½ - Always preferred this to Killers. Quite a unique record. 6. Piece of Mind ★★★ ½ - Some of their best songs can be found on here, and Nicko McBrain immediately makes his presence felt. Kind of falls apart on side two however. 5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son ★★★ ½ - This is a good album for sure, close to four stars, but I never enjoy it as much as the records I have above it. Doesn’t quite have the energy of the early Bruce stuff, nor the hooks of Somewhere in Time. 4. The Number of the Beast ★★★★ - This could easily be as high as number 2. It’s very fast and heavy throughout, which is both its weakness and its strength. Maybe the quintessential NWOBHM record, great performances throughout, but stays a bit too long in one lane. I’ve also never cared for the title track. 3. Powerslave ★★★★ - The peaks of TNotB are probably higher but this edges ahead on better variety and sequencing. The first two songs are just classics and I also love the title track. 2. Brave New World ★★★★ - Like every other 21st century Maiden record, this is too long. The last three songs could have been cut and I wouldn’t have missed them. With that out of the way, this is a very good record. It’s very much a stadium rock record, written with an eye on a massive world tour following the return of the classic era-lineup but it works so well. The songs are massive yet they don’t meander and are constantly moving forward. The best Iron Maiden album since the 80’s and I don’t think it’s even close. 1. Somewhere In Time ★★★★ - There’s not a lot separating my top four, but the main reason I’m giving the win to Somewhere in Time is this, it’s an album that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The Bruce albums until this point had very heavy lyrical themes, and I never thought they did it particularly well. Here it’s more varied, a lot lighter and quirkier, and I think the same holds true for the music. I like all the songs on here, and if I were to go by the Jason criteria, this is definitely the Maiden record I would reach for most often.
With Metallica, Gn'R and now Maiden you've covered the three pillars of my music listening youth. And even though they hardly ever figure into my listening anymore, Maiden is the band of the three I put highest nowadays. They might top out at four stars, but I still like them a good bit. Really enjoyed doing this, nothing quite like music to make memories come flooding back.
Got wasted with a friend of a friend over in Chiswick a few years go and he used to hang out with Bruce Dickinson. Lovely guy apparently. Never listened to an album. No intention of ever doing so unless you boys change my mind . RUclips comment admin man. Need to leave a comment on one of your other videos boys. Respect
Happy with Jason’s pick for number 1! Seventh son has always been my favourite Maiden album. Tough discography to rank, a lot of great albums for sure.
@@TastesLikeMusicI noticed Jason’s usually not controversial with his number 1 picks. But there’s almost always an out of left field choice in the top 5 somewhere. 😂
1. Iron Maiden 2. Powerslave 3. Killers 4. Seventh Son of the Seventh Son 5. Number of the Beast 6. Piece of Mind 7. A Matter of Life and Death 8. Somewhere In Time 9. Dance of Death 10. No Prayer for the Dying 11. The Final Frontier 12. Fear of the Dark 13. The Book of Souls 14. The X Factor 15. Brave New World 16. Virtual XI Very tough to rank their albums. Such a fantastic metal band! And they're my number one metal band of all time.
Great chat! A footnote to the comment about "Run To The Hills" being the first song (or metal song) addressing the plight of the American Indians - Judas Priest did it with "Savage" (1978) and Queen with "White Man" (1976).
One of my all time favorite bands. I understand its great importance, but for me DiAnno's records are below almost all of Dickinson's, and Blaze's will always be at the bottom. I actually enjoy Bruce's live versions more than Paul and Bayley's studio tracks. My ranking would be: Masterpieces: 1. Seventh Son 2. Powerslave 3. Piece of Mind 4. The Number Of The Beast 5. Somewhere In Time 6. Brave New World Excellent: 7. Fear Of The Dark 8. A Matter Of Life And Death 9. The Book Of Souls Very Good Records: 10. Killers 11. The Final Frontier 12. Iron Maiden Acceptable: 13. Dance Of Death 14. No Prayer For The Dying Awfull Records (especially for the vocalist): 15. The X Factor 16. Virtual XI Greetings from Gran Canaria
Powerslave is one of my all time favorite albums. It’s been with me since my very early high school days and I find that it hasn’t aged a day. I find it similar to opening a great book. Seeing it 5th in the ratings cuts me deep. You guys made excellent points all throughout this video though. The Maiden catalog needs an updated listen from me as they were once one of my most listened to bands (and they’re fucking amazing live), however if I had to rank them today: 14.) No Prayer For the Dying 13.) AMLOAD 12.) Dance of Death 11.) Fear of the Dark 10.) The Final Frontier 9.) The Book Of Souls 8.) Iron Maiden 7.) Brave New World 6.) Somewhere in Time 5.) Killers 4.) The Number of the Beast 3.) Seventh Son 2.) Piece of Mind 1.) Powerslave
These guys obviously have not listened very much.to power slave, or aces high and 11:58 are weak songs, shows you do not have much depth in your taste. The sam guy rated fear of the dark as a "really good" song. Fear of the dark does not compare to those 2 other songs in the slightest. It is totally a throwaway song, except for the riff.a The other 2 songs riffs melodies and lyrics are all deep, intense and have masterful lyrics Try working out what they are about.The songwriting is amazing, 11:58 I can see someone who doesn't know what it's about, think it's just a gorefest, but it's written about the Western elite mentality, arundthe only time in history when the US and Soviet Union got to 11:58, which is a doomsday clock reference to the closest ever time for a total world war 3. Thisis a historical fact if you do your research happening around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, but it wasn't widely reported. Aces high gives a great intense feeling of what the fighter pilots were going through in the Battle of Britain particularly, when the likelihood was that the Germans were going to win and invade, but the quickly trained high IQ members of the British public were put in Spitfires and told if they didn't succeed everything was over.Harris completely captures this in the intensity but also the depth of the lyrics. The fact that one guy is wearing a white snake T-shirt really sums him up
They’ve always been one of my favorite bands but also one of my worst meet and greet experiences. I met them at a cd signing just before seeing them on the first tour with Blaze and they just looked liked they wanted to crawl in a hole and die and barely spoke. I guess looking at the album they made with him they had good reason but still that stayed with me lol
I haven't listened to your lists yet (we'll see how close we come), but here are my Top 5; 1. Seventh Son... 2. Somewhere in Time 3. Number... 4. Brave New World 5. Powerslave...
Here's my list! 1. Powerslave - One of my absolute favourite metal albums of all time. Hands down fav Maiden! 2. The Number of the Beast - Undeniable, unassailable. Total Eclipse is better than Gangland. 3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Fantastic mix of styles here, sounds great front to back! 4. Brave New World - Maybe a track too long but damn if these songs aren't incredible! 5. Piece of Mind - Really great but slightly overrated. Quest for Fire isn't good. 6. Somewhere in Time - Great songs, but synths can be a bit distracting. 7. Iron Maiden s/t - Raw, but has a swagger to it. Remember Tomorrow is brilliant. 8. The Final Frontier - Way underrated. A few tracks too long, and a few tracks are too long. 9. Killers - Great performances but less memorable songs. 10. Book of Souls - See TFF above. No bad tracks but enough material for two separate albums. 11. Dance of Death - A number of lengthy and unmemorable tracks. Title track is bad. 12. A Matter of Life and Death - See BoS and TFF. Lob off maybe three songs, shorten most. 13. Fear of the Dark - Half good. What works is awesome, but what doesn't is terrible, 14. No Prayer for the Dying - Same, but with even less memorable tracks. Tailgunner is cool. 15. Virtual IX - More focused but the songs aren't great, and Blaze is the wrong singer. 16. The X Factor - A bloody mess, almost unlistenable. Bruce's vocals on live versions of Sign of the Cross are worth checking out.
I enjoy your videos precisely for the dissent between you three, and the fan bases! Seems like everyone has a controversial placement! Here's mine... 1. Powerslave 2. Number of the Beast 3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 4. Brave New World 5. Somewhere in Time 6. Iron Maiden s/t 7. The Final Frontier 8. Killers 9. Senjutsu 10. Piece of Mind (Probably my most controversial placement!) 11. Book of Souls 12. Dance of Death 13. A Matter of Life and Death 14. Fear of the Dark 15. No Prayer for the Dying 16. Virtual IX 17. The X Factor (I find this album borderline unlistenable.)
Nice Whitesnake shirt Kram. Funny/disturbing story about them (not at all related to Iron Maiden): My sister and I went to a Whitesnake record signing in Minneapolis back around 1987 the day before they were opening for Motley Crue at the Met. When we finally got to the table after waiting in line for over an hour, Coverdale gave my sister a kiss on the lips. According to her he slipped her the tongue. She was 12. Rock and roll I guess.
Thanks Guys Great Show, The Maiden Freak that I am here's my rankings, UP THE IRONS !!!. 1. Powerslave = 5 Skulls or Eddies 2. Killers = 5 Skulls 3. 7th Son = 5 Skulls 4. Piece Of Mind = 4.3 Skulls 5, The Number Of The Beast = 4.1 Skulls 6. Brave New World = 4.1 Skulls 7. Somewhere In Time = 4 Skulls 8. Iron Maiden = 4 Skulls 9. No Prayer For The Dying = 3.8 Skulls 10. Final Frontier = 3.5 Skulls 11. Dance Of Death = 3.2 Skulls 12. Book Of Souls = 3 Skulls 13. Fear Of The Dark = 3 Skulls 14. A Matter Of Life And Death = 2.8 Skulls 15. X Factor = 2.5 Skulls 16. Virtual XI = 1.5 Skulls
One of my all time favorite bands, great to see everyone's rankings. Here is mine : 1 - Piece Of Mind 2 - Somewhere In Time 3 - The Number Of The Beast 4 - Powerslave 5 - Brave New World 6 - Iron Maiden 7 - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 8 - Killers 9 - The Book Of Souls 10 - Dance Of Death 11 - The Final Frontier 12 - A Matter Of Life And Death 13 - No Prayer For The Dying 14 - Fear Of The Dark 15 - The X Factor 16 - Virtual XI
Underrated Visionary themes in the lyrics/album covers that are now standard 'conspiracy' topics that are now ubiquitous: transhumanism/time travel/secret tech (SIT), satanism (NoTB), Numerology (7th Son), Egyptology/Illuminati (PS), Dystopian cityscapes (BNW), Demons/Aliens (the 'Eddie' talisman), Dance of Death even alludes to Eyes Wide Shut.
Really love some Iron Maiden albums, I was familiar with most of these albums, heard all of them at least once except Virtual XI and The X Factor ( I had heard a bit of these albums before). First time I have listened to any bands whole discography (this large) in preparation for a youtube show like this from start to finish in a few days. I think the 90s are a low point for the band, the 80s a high point, the 00s somewhere in the middle. 16: The X Factor 15: Virtual XI 14: No Prayer for the Dying 13: Book of Souls 12: Dance of Death 11. A Matter of Life and Death 10: Fear of the Dark 9: Brave New World 8: The Final Frontier 7. Iron Maiden 6. Powerslave 5.Killers 4.Piece of Mind 3.Somewhere In Time 2. Number of the Beast 1.Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
16- Virtual XI 15- X Factor 14- Dance of Death 13-No Prayer for the Dying 12-The Final Frontier 11-A Matter of Life and Death 10-The Book of Souls 9- Fear of the Dark 8- Iron Maiden 7- Brave New World 6- Killers 5- The Number of the Beast 4- Piece of Mind 3- Powerslave 2- Seventh Son 1-Somewhere in Time
I can't get past their early 80's stuff; basically the first 5 albums. The release of 'Run to the Hills' was what got me into Iron Maiden in the first place. I bought the vinyl album and from there, I bought their earlier stuff and got to really appreciate it. I remember loving 'Strange World' from their first album, as well as 'Run to the Hills' and 'Flight of Icarus' amongst others. Although Bruce Dickinson is great, we can't forget Paul and his contribution...
17. The X Factor (1995) 16. Virtual XI (1998) 15. No Prayer For The Dying (1990) 14. The Final Frontier (2010) 13. The Book Of Souls (2015) 12. Senjutsu (2021) 11. Fear Of The Dark (1992) 10. Brave New World (2000) 9. Dance Of Death (2003) 8. A Matter Of Life And Death (2006) 7. Seventh Son Of The Seventh Son (1988) 6. Iron Maiden (1980) 5. The Number Of The Beast (1982) 4. Powerslave (1984) 3. Killers (1981) 2. Piece Of Mind (1983) 1. Somewhere In Time (1986)
Iron maiden never had that weird ideas for song titles. Many song titles and lyrics are named after different novels or movies, like Loneliness of a lone distance runner, which is a well known novel. Brave new world, wicker man, Lord of the flies, somewhere in time, man on the edge (falling down), stranger in a strange land, the duelists etc. etc. are all different movies and novels. And there are many more. Favorite album is 7th son btw.
My top 10 (everything after Brave New World hasn't sparked multiple listens for me, as well as the Blaze albums): 1. Beast 2. Somewhere 3. 7th 4. Piece 5. Powerslave 6. Killers 7. Iron Maiden 8. Fear 9. Brave 10. No Prayer 4 thru 7 are pretty tightly grouped, could shift around week to week
I will say that whilst I agree the length of some later albums does make them less immediately accessible, Book of Souls and A Matter are examples that have really grown on me....I think of them as Opera performances more than metal....🎀🧐
Great show. Joe is definitely closer to the general consensus on how the albums are ranked than Jason and Kramzer. I have to give Killers another listen. Haven't listened to it for years, but I remember being a bit disappointed with the songs when I first heard it (like Jason, I thought it was a clear step down from the debut). I have noticed that the album is generally being pretty highly regarded, so it deserves another chance I think.
@@12spanku I agree. Fear Of The Dark sucks. I only like 2 songs off that album. And Jason has Killers way too low. But respect for having Seventh Son up high because that is a solid album. Probably Top 5 for me.
Solid as usual gents. However....Somewhere in Time back when it came out had "Wasted Years " as the lead single and it was in hevay rotation on MTV and that song was honestly the closest to a mainstream hit they have ever had. Its quite possibly their most commercial sounding song as well. I recall a lot of the die hards were not happy because they felt Maiden were selling out while other people who couldnt get into Maiden due to their music just being as dense jumped on the train because they finally had a very accessible song to work with....not to mention Adrians opening riff is pretty classic. Most Metal heads instantly know that riff.....and its also one of the riffs you constantly hear in Guitar Center being played by the novice players trying to show off haha. (Even though its a ridiculously simple riff)
Iron Maiden are probably my most nostalgic band from being a teenager. There was a time where all I listened to was Iron Maiden and were unequivocally my favourite band. I even studied for my English Literature exam on The Ancient Mariner by continually listening to their take on it! They quite effectively (and surprisingly) bridged the gap between my adolescent love of prog and metal. And Maiden could do that sort of bombast without veering into complete camp - they’ve always ridden that line well and have only aged with grace. Sometimes they went too far but swiftly pulled it back. And more than that it was the visual aspects to the albums - I loved the inventive ways they used Eddie on the album covers and the different settings used. Somewhere in Time might be one of my favourite album covers ever as there’s so much packed into it that it screams to be viewed in its original vinyl release. Such awesome stuff. They were also the first big band I ever saw live! No gig I’ve been to since could quite match up to that electrifying build up of seeing them. Definitely don’t make up my usual listening pattern these days but I respect their showmanship and Bruce Dickinson will always be one of my favourite metal frontmen (even if I personally disagree with his modern politics). At their best they’re probably still my favourite metal band. Every now and again I get an itch for that bit of OTT metal and Iron Maiden do it best. They are also one of the few legacy metal bands to age with grace and even offer interesting tangents to their musical stylings. The Book of Souls has weak spots but for the most part their run from Brave New World has been consistently great, filled with surprising moments. Where The Wild Wind Blows from The Final Frontier, for example, is a stellar example of their underrated storytelling abilities as communicated through the lyrics and music. Anyway my list! 16. Virtual XI - 1 star - I always want to give Bayley a fair shot but I never enjoy listening to this one 15. No Prayer For The Dying - 1.5 stars - back to basics but without the pomp or inventiveness. Boo! 14. The X Factor - 1.5 stars - I think Sign of the Cross is great and really suits Bayley’s voice. Otherwise this one is a drudge. 13. Fear of the Dark - 2 stars - title track is great. And that’s it. 12. Killers - 2.5 stars - I know some people love this album but its never ever clicked with me. Wrathchild is awesome though. 11. The Book of Souls - 2.5 stars - probably the weakest of the modern run but the title track, If Eternity Should Fail and Empire of the Clouds make it worth a listen 10. Dance of Death - 3 stars - the highs of this one are so high. Paschendale, No More Lies, Rainmaker, Journeyman and the title track are symphonic metal masterpieces but the rest doesn’t quite match up. But it’s still a good time. Bad cover as well. 9. Iron Maiden - 3.5 stars - early and raw and still good 8. Piece of Mind - 3.5 stars - brilliant moments interspersed with taking things too far. The Trooper, Revelations and Where Eagles Dare are brilliant but hearing Bruce later on wailing about dinosaurs and Dune are steps too far 7. The Number of the Beast - 4 stars - incredibly tight and brilliant record only beaten by their innovations on the later 80s albums. Still a monumental classic and Hallowed Be Thy Name has got to be one of the best albums closers ever. As good as Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands :P (feels like sacrilege saying that) 6. A Matter of Life & Death - 4 stars - an underrated one but this one feels like the moodier piece they were aiming for from the Bayley era but there’s much better tonal consistency and the writing is really sharp. I’m very fond of it. 5. The Final Frontier - 4 stars - a perfect distillation of what the band had achieved since the 2000 reboot, this one has a bit of everything and proof that Maiden still has creative rocket juice aplenty 4. Brave New World - 4.5 stars - so much better than it should be, the joy palpable in this record is infectious. Everything is here - soaring Bruce vocals, tricky knotty riffs, daffy concepts that don’t feel dumb and a real heart - Blood Brothers is just 👌. I also love it at the end of the record where Nicko says “I f***** missed this” 3. Powerslave - 5 stars - the perfect 80s metal album. It has everything you can think of when you think classic Maiden. Riffs! Operatic vocals! Insane lyrics! A silly but not too silly tone! And the iconography of this album! Eddie as a mummy! Albatross! RAF dog fights! 2. Somewhere in Time - 5 stars - inventive and ambitious to apply the synthesiser to the classic Maiden formula and it works brilliantly in my eyes. Wasted Years maybe my favourite Maiden song. 1. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - everything they learned from Somewhere in Time is matched with the very best of the rest of their 80s output for a record that combines prog, metal and even pop sensibilities into a bizarre *ahem* beast of an album that has, despite everything against it, aged so so well.
Atfer grinding through a few of these Lp lists of yours, I'm team Joe all the way! No idea what planet those other 2 guys are from....Powerslave a 6? Ludicrous. Maybe I'm still reeling from the Billy Joel episode lol.
I just do my top 10, as I haven't heard anything after Brave New World. 10. Brave New World 9. Killers 8. No Prayer for the Dying 7. Iron Maiden 6. Fear of the Dark 5. Powerslave 4. Piece of Mind 3. The Number of the Beast 2. Somewhere in Time 1. Seventh Son
Jason has good ears-On both Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son, Adrian and Dave used Gallien-Krueger solid state amps. Much less ballsy sounding than tube amps they’ve used the rest of their career. A shame that the Sonic’s are a bit compromised on those two because the material is quite strong.
16. Virtual XI 15. The X Factor 14. Fear of the Dark 13. No Prayer For the Dying 12. Book of Souls 11. The Final Frontier 10. A Matter of Life and Death 9. Somewhere in Time 8. Brave New World 7. Dance of Death 6. Iron Maiden 5. Piece of Mind 4. Killers 3. Powerslave 2. The Number of the Beast 1. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Got into Maiden around 1990 with No Prayer. My friend made me a tape of Live After Death and the rest is history.
To give you an idea of how much I loved Fear of the dark when that came out....it was my favourite album for about 2 years...its now way down my maiden list with a score of 8/10....which is why my star ratings of all their albums might appear high to non metal fans....spent so much time married we've been divorced at least 3 times....🧐
I guess to this group I can admit - statue of limitations - college buddies and I blasted our way into the Seattle Arena in ‘91 to see them using Seattle Thunderbirds hockey tickets for the following night. … ‘arry, we owe you one mate. Stood right in front of Davey wielding that white Strat he was so good.
Jason hit the home run here. I think Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is a true progressive metal masterpiece, and besides Queensrÿche, there weren't many progressive METAL acts in 1988. It's a stunningly beautiful album which combines their metal chops with great catchy epic songwriting. I love everything Maiden did up until 1992, with the exception of No Prayer For The Dying which really lacks decent songs and production. After The X-Factor I tuned out and never really got back into them. Now they're one of those good childhood memory bands for me, alongside KISS, Sabbath and Purple, that I never really listen to anymore as they're music is now part of my DNA and I know it by heart.
Said it before - love how you guys have no pretense. Doesn’t matter that some old guy with some metal or classic rock magazine gave such and such recent album five stars (e.g. “it’s their best album in 25 years.”) If you think it sucks, you say it sucks. You don’t rank things so much based on context - you go more by what the music is telling you, now. Piece of Mind came out for me in 6th grade. I can’t not be in a 6th grade 1983 mindset to some extent when I hear it. If an album doesn’t hold up for someone now without the context, it doesn’t hold up. That’s interesting for me to hear.
I unfortunately don't find the time to listen to big discographies atm as summer semester is keeping me busy. 'The Number of The Beast' is an album I always wanted to listen to though, seems like it's really worth a listen. Have to do it very soon.
@@TastesLikeMusic Why wouldn't I, Joe? They weren't wrong. It's a good album. To be fair, I already owned Number of the Beast. And Piece of Mind and Somewhere in Time are in transit to me as I type this. I'll be checking out Powerslave and 7th Son next. So there's that. And I'm on your side when it comes to Abba and Billy Joel. I just got the new Abba box set, and it is great!
Both bands between priest and Maiden are amazing. Ya Priest is my fav but Maiden is the best metal band. To me the difference is that Priest evolved more and Maiden is basically the same. But that same is phenomenal. Love both. I have lots of friends who like both and disagree but don’t see hate for each other. It’s like what is your fav pie. It’s all great but it’s personal preference.
Interesting to hear and read the debates on Killers. Heavy on the stomp, crush, kill attitude but objectively I think one has to admit several of the songs just don’t hold up. What’s the saying… you’ve been writing the first album all your life then it’s like uh oh …. You really want another album? 😄
SCREAMMM For me Listography!
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Wait for it left hand side …. Wait for it …..
I think the book of souls is so underrated I actually love this album
I've been reflecting, and I think it's good to get the non-metal fans opinion, and I think it just shows that once you start listening to metal and enjoy it for a long time, you stop realising that the longer songs, even if they have lots of switch ups, just are a bit self-indulgent and you can achieve the same thing with short songs.I really think if Steve took the risk, shortened his songs and started thinking, that a great idea he has to extend the song, will be improved, if he simply starts a new soul.
Maybe Steve gets a good idea to extend the song and stays with it, because he thinks that he won't have an idea of such quality, or can't twist that same idea into a new song.I think he should have given this a go.there are some weaker songs on the book of souls, which might have been improved if he had cut "book of souls" for example into, and started the 2nd half as a new song of great quality.Because that song,,as a Masterpiece, But Doesn't need tTo be thatLong.
It gets better and better doesn’t it. I don’t mind the longer songs. Most songs have the 3 lead guitar sound that has truly evolved on BOS & Senjitsu
The first band I was ever obsessed with.
1. Killers
2. Number of the Beast
3. Piece of Mind
4. Powerslave
5. Iron Maiden
6. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
7. Somewhere in Time
8. Brave New World
9. A Matter of Life and Death
10. Fear of the Dark
11. Book of Souls
12. The Final Frontier
13. No Prayer for the Dying
14. Dance of Death
15. The X Factor
16. Virtual XI
The love for killers is great!
The two blaze albums at the bottom. How original. Bet u didn’t even listen to them
@@paulmcgrath6118 Where would you rank them, and what would be your bottom two?
@@paulh6673 I would definitely have X factor in the top ten, my bottom two ? It’s like picking my least favourite child but book of souls doesn’t do much for me, senjetsu I’m not crazy about either . For me personally my top six are seventh son, piece of mind , X factor , iron maiden, killers and brave new world . Number of the beast is overrated imo
The first 7 Maiden albums are the best.
I love how much love (two of you) gave to Fear Of The Dark! I always see it middle or low on lists, but it's probably my favorite too. Admittedly, it's got that early-90s vibe, but I dig that for sure!
Here's my full ranking;
01: Power Slave
02: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
03: Somewhere in Time
04: Number of the Beast
05: Piece of Mind
06: Iron Maiden
07: No Prayer For the Dying
08: Brave New World
09: A Matter of Life and Death
10: Fear of the Dark
11: Killers
12: Virtual XI
13: The Final Frontier
14: Dance of Death
15: Book of Souls
16: X Factor
Now Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want and do a Morrissey list!!
This has become my favourite RUclips music channel, btw. Fantastic stuff! I love it!
We have the same top 6 down to the number!
I'm glad to see Stranger In A Strange Land , from Somewhere In Time, getting so much love. For me it's one of their best songs. Has a dynamic, epic and anthemic sweep to it. I enjoy singing it. I really get into it and the lyrics are pretty good too.
I honestly rate Book Of Souls pretty darn highly. I LOVE “red and the black.” Don’t think I remember any of you mentioning that song. The bass work alone in it is amazing
Y’know what? I appreciate that you guys can embrace a broad range of discographies from new wave to metal. You guys are honest about your degree of familiarity and fandom. It’s appealing that you guys are such good friends and it sets apart this channel and keeps me watching
. #1- powerslave
#2- number
#3- piece of mind
#4- 7th son
#5- killers.
#6- somewhere in time.
Book of souls and fear of the dark have moved up for me after more frequent listens . The Live after death and maiden japan ep was the records that put me over the top.
Prayer and X factor are the 2 stinkers:
when X factor came out though I remember trying so hard to like it and defend it, listened to it 3 times and then I kind of dumped Iron Maiden for 5/6 years before returning to them slowly when Brave new world and dance of death arrived. Great job - please keep it up
Good list 😅 for me 1. Piece of mind even quest for fire. After hearing still life I think a bit of comic relief suits the mood for a bit before some death and destruction again. Perfect album. 2. Dance of death . Slow start bit once it gets rolling! 3 is tough can change everyday but today it's powerslave. 4. For today is seventh son and 5. Number of the beast . Honorable mention Killers . I have trouble ranking it but it's in the top 5 and can be 1 on any given day. Mine even has Paul s Auto graph . And I have a killers tattoo
1 Somewhere in Time
2 7th Son
3 Piece of Mind
4 Powerslave
5 Brave New World
Great show as usual guys.
Been a fan for a long time and I’ve always thought Fear Of The Dark was their most underrated album. It just came out at the wrong time. I remember as a 15 year old telling kids at school how good it was and they all told me that Iron Maiden and metal in general was dead.
My favourite is Somewhere In Time
Joe, the bizarre lyrical themes is one of my favourite aspects about Somewhere In Time. I think it's a welcome change up from the previous records, and allows for the softer, spacier sound of the record. It's hard to take your foot off the gas when you're constantly shouting about warfare and death.
I also really like Alexander the Great, I don't mind the lyrics because they are so upfront, they don't pretend to be something they're not. I think it's musically interesting throughout and it's a blistering performance by Dickinson, one of his best.
"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is based on a short story by the British novelist Alan Sillitoe and the subsequent 1962 film inspired by this story. Keep up the good work.
Great review, now it's time to bring on the Priest! If you aren't really familiar with them I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by their 70s output (except for their first Rocka Rolla). They are really more hard rock albums with some metal elements, and with some surprisingly good slow songs mixed in here and there, which I'd think would fit your tastes to a certain extent.
My Top 16 Iron Maiden Albums, with Favorite Tracks.
16. Virtual XI
(Favorite Track: The Angel and the Gambler)
15. The X Factor
(Favorite: The Sign of the Cross)
14. A Matter of Life and Death
(Favorite: Different World)
13. No Prayer for the Dying
(Favorite: Hooks in You)
12. Fear of the Dark
(Favorite: Afraid to Shoot Strangers)
11. Dance of Death
(Favorite: Journeyman)
10. The Book of Souls
(Favorite: Speed of Light)
9. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
(Favorite: Can I play with Madness)
8. Brave New World
(Favorite: Out of the Silent Planet)
7. The Final Frontier
(Favorite: Satellite 15... The Final Frontier)
6. Somewhere in Time
(Favorite: Wasted Years)
5. Powerslave
(Favorite: The Duelist)
4. The Number of the Beast
(Favorite: Invader)
3. Iron Maiden
(Favorite: Transylvania/Strange World)
2. Killers
(Favorite: Murders in the Rue Mourge)
1. Piece of Mind
(Favorite: The Trooper)
There You Go, My Ranking.
I really like the lists you guys put up. The contrasts are cool, but it's the agreement with certain albums I really appreciate.
Saw a Maiden list where Killers was put next to the bottom. I get personal opinions, but that just shows a lack of understanding for the WHOLE catalog.
Once again. Very cool gentlemen.
I felt sorry for Joe while watching this. That said, these are the only 5 Maiden studio albums I need:
5. Seventh Son of the Seventh Son
4. Somewhere In Time
3. Piece of Mind
2. Number of the Beast
1. Powerslave
But I listen to Live After Death the most.
I would keep those five, and add Iron Maiden and Killers to that list. The first two albums (both of which featured Paul Di'Anno on vocals) were amazing.
Great episode. Ready for songs tomorrow.
My list:
16. Virtual XI
15. The X Factor
14. The Final Frontier
13. Dance of Death
12. A Matter of Life and Death
11. No Prayer for the Dying
10. The Book of Souls
9. Fear of the Dark
8. Iron Maiden
7. Brave New World
6. Killers
5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
4. Number of the Beast
3. Powerslave
2. Piece of Mind
1. Somewhere in Time
P
I like it
Oh shi…here we go. My favorite band of all time. Can’t wait to dive into this one.
" Somewhere in Time " easily slots into my all time top 50. One of the few albums where I'd give every song at least a 4 out of 5. Plenty of albums could legit be number 1, should be a good watch.
I disagree the loneliness of the long distance runner is a, bit of a durge, never understood the love for this very dull song. The same with Alexander the great. Deja vu I actively detest and wasted years though a good song with a good beat is more pop than metal. The rest of the songs are brilliant though.
Right before work, but my evening viewing is sorted now.
16. X Factor
15. Virtual XL
14. Book of Souls
13. The Final Frontier
12. No Prayer For The Dying
11. A Matter of Life and Death
10. Dance of Death
9. Fear of The Dark
8. Seventh Son of A Seventh Son
7. Brave New World
6. Peace of Mind
5. Somewhere In Time
4. Powerslave
3. Killers
2. The Number of The Beast
1. Iron Maiden
Well done for mentioning
“Run to the hills”
Specifically
Was their breakthrough song
In uk. Still have my 7” pic sleeve single
Important song. Especially thought provoking for Irish Americans slagging off brits
Scream for me Listography! The Duellists an overlooked gem- good call Jason. Perhaps Killers has some of the debut's leftovers and thus not as strong top to bottom but Wrathchild and title track combined with Martin Birch's arrival make it the slightly better of the 2 for me. And the 3 albums immediately following are what place Maiden at the top.
The line up from the third album was one and done and it to me really was never topped. Just a special vibe.
Hello, been watching you guys alot, even when it were a solo show, you have a very good thing going, one thing i would love to see on this channel is all you three going through the discography of the japanese Kraftwerk "Yellow Magic Orchestra" (and Kraftwerk too, if you havent......) i thought it were about time to tell you i enjoy your channel and its highly entertaining, keep up the good work dudes !! peace from Norway ;)
hearing kramzer talk about the repetitive intros on X factor and then immediately skimming through that whole album on spotify for the first time to instantly notice what he was talking about was actually hilarious.
1. Somewhere in Time
2. Powerslave
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
4. Piece of Mind
5. Book of Souls
But I love everything really favourite band of all time
Right there with you on Somewhere in Time
A matter of life and death is my favourite album as a whole listen through. Didn't like it at all at first but it just grew and grew and now I think there's literally no bad songs on it and it's the best mixed album in their catalogue to me. Everything is just awesome even though there are no super hits in the catchy sense. Just a great studio album with every song fitting together perfectly and the tightest they've ever sounded
Oh Yeah this is what I've been waiting for my favorite band.
Great ears from that top right dude. They actually used solid-state Gallien Kruger amps for the first time on Somewhere in Time. That's some great hearing, only marred by placing Fear Of The Dark anywhere close to the top. Anyhoo. Cheers dudes!
This is amazinggggg thank u guys I'm a big fan
Joe comes through again with an awesome pick!
Why don’t you just marry him?
@@TastesLikeMusic I don't presume to be worthy of Joe.
Before this I only really knew The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave. Love them all but for whatever reason I never had any of their other albums. I'd discounted the first album years ago because I just couldn't get past the lack of Bruce Dickinson. I ran out of time to listen to all the albums to do a proper ranking here but I will say I enjoyed the first two albums this time around more than before. The last album I got to was No Prayer For The Dying which was a notable step down from everything else I'd heard. I skimmed a bit of the Blaze Bayley stuff and wow, not great.
Throughout this I introduced Iron Maiden to the next generation though. My six year old son loved them.
I just saw Iron Maiden last night in Detroit and I had a blast! Lots of people at the show were extremely crazy about Maiden and everyone loved it. A lot of people came from many different countries, and there even were some Canadians that are also came! Everyone is still killing it, even in their mid 60s! Bruce Dickinson was very energetic! And they changed the stage for every single! It's definitely awesome! They played a lot of the hits and fan favorites! Definitely a band that you have to see! They always have a killer show.
Oh and Judas Priest and Queensryche are heading to my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 21. I've never seen both of them before, but my dad has. He's a huge fan of both! He's not a Maiden fan like his buddy is. My dad thought that he was going to boring, but he did know a couple of their songs and he likes that new Maiden song Writings on the Wall. He had a blast, too! Seeing Maiden was obviously on my bucket list for shows to see! It was totally awesome!
That was the best show I've ever been to! Maiden at Little Caesar's Arena
Long time and old school Iron Maiden fan. Showing my age, I grew up with this band guys.
Here's my ranking
16. The X Factor
15. Virtual XI
14. No Prayer For The Dying
13. Dance Of Death
12. The Final Frontier
11. Book Of Souls
10. Fear Of The Dark
9. A Matter Of Life And Death
8. Brave New World
7. The Number Of The Beast
6. Killers
5. Seventh Son Of Seventh Son
4. Iron Maiden
3. Somewhere In Time
2. Powerslave
1. Piece Of Mind
The viewers were right Jason, the 3 album run from Piece to Seventh Son is pretty epic.
Thanks for the ranking video guys even though Jason and Kram are a bit off base. Hahaha
“A Matter of Life and Death” is phenomenal when you take in the album as a whole. It blows my mind how underrated it is.
I just found your channel. Good stuff, agree with the rankings for the most part. I would say both "Number of the Beast" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" are "perfect" albums where every song on those albums are good. My quick and dirty rankings: 16. No Prayer for the Dying 15. Virtual XI 14. The Final Frontier 13. The X Factor 12. Book of Souls 11. Matter of Life and Death 10. Fear of the Dark 9. Powerslave 8. Dance of Death 7. Killers 6. Brave New World 5. Somewhere in Time 4. Piece of Mind 3. Iron Maiden 2. 7th Son 1. Number of the Beast
Jason we had almost the exact same ranking..switch #6 and #1 and we have same ranking. this was excellent thanks!!! great video
That’s pretty crazy -Jason
I used to listen to Iron maiden back in the 80's, i saw them live in Arma di Taggia (Sanremo Italy) World Slavery Tour 1984 i think, I'm not into heavy metal anymore but i still like to listen to them from time to time. My top 5 Albums would still be:
1) Iron Maiden
2) Killers
3) the number of the beast
4) piece of mind
5) power slave
i think their first 4 albums were outstanding. powerslave was a step down, and somwhere in time was a consecutive step down; quit buying their albums (cassettes) after that, but still listen to the first 4 often.
Iron Maiden was using the Gallien-Krueger GK 250RL Solid State amps on Somewhere In Time. They were all the rage in the mid 80's and where also used by RUSH and The Police who both made better use of the amp by using the Clean tones and not the distortion channel. I have owned a couple of these amps and they sound really great (especially clean) but I definitely would not use one to record distorted rhythm guitar tracks. Great video, thanks. (P.S. I saw Iron Maiden with the Scorpions at The University of Washington in Seattle, 1982. Still have the shirt, Girlschool Opened :)
Also, number of the beast is great, bought it the day it came out and saw the tour, but 22 Acacia Avenue and Gangland are a bit on the weaker side (not as good as the weaker tracks on Piece of Mind imo). Also run to the hills I never need to hear again, way over played and I'm not into the chorus at all, a little too whiny). Hallowed be thy name though is definitely one of the best Maiden songs ever. Powerslave is a bit harder to get into but such a great album overall. Piece of Mind though is fantastic, I feel like it's the their "Dark Side of the Moon". Top 5
1. Killers
2. Iron Maiden
3. Piece of Mind
4. Number of the Beast
5. Powerslave
Honestly they lost me after that, Somewhere in Time is pretty good but not an album I would want to listen to again (just sold mine on discogs actually), need to re-visit Seventh Son but most of the stuff was so formula by then it was hard to listen to... No comparison to how good they were pre 1985. Great video though, thanks.
Woah wasn’t expecting Fear of the Dark sooo High! But it’s good to hear some fresh takes!
16. The X Factor ★ ½ - The Blaze Bayley albums are virtually interchangeable here at the bottom. I don’t think he’s a particularly good singer and he doesn’t fit the band, yet I don’t think he’s the real problem here, the problem is the songwriting. As the early 90’s albums showed, even a prime Bruce Dickinson couldn’t do much to elevate the songs when the quality of material dipped so drastically.
15. Virtual XI ★ ½ - Avoids last place by the tiniest of margins. Some of these choruses really makes it clear that they are scraping the barrel where songwriting is concerned.
14. Dance of Death ★★ - This is a record I’ve always had problems with, and even though this was the newest album when I had my Maiden phase, I didn’t care for it that much even back then. They stumble out the gate with Wildest Dreams, before momentarily redeeming themselves with Rainmaker, the best song on the album. Unfortunately this is where the real trouble begins. I consider this an album of four pillars, No More Lies, Dance of Death, Paschendale and Journeyman, plus a bunch of nothingness in between. The problem is none of those four songs are any good. No More Lies is a bunch of ill-fitting parts with some real jarring cuts between them, and a clunky, generic chorus. The title track is one of the worst songs in their catalogue, they have some nerve basing an almost nine minute song around that lousy guitar riff. Paschendale is the least bad of the lot, and I think it’s considered quite a classic among fans, it’s just never stuck with me. It puts a lot of emphasis on the lyrics, which is not what I’m looking for in my Maiden. Then Journeyman takes us out with a whimper. This song and Wildest Dreams try to recreate the energy of Running Free and Iron Maiden from the debut, but here they just sound like old men and it doesn’t work at all. There are some good ideas here, but none of them turn into actual good songs, Rainmaker being the exception. This turned into a bit of an essay, I’ll try to keep it more brief going forward.
13. The Final Frontier ★★ - I appreciate they are trying something here but these songs just go in one ear and out the other for me. Doesn’t do anything for me at all.
12. No Prayer for the Dying ★★ - A lousy album and a huge fall from grace after the 80’s.
11. Fear of the Dark ★★ - Definitely not the redemption after No Prayer for the Dying like some paint it to be, just a marginally better album. Some real weird choices on here, that three minute intro on Afraid to Shoot Strangers is just excessive to the extreme.
10. A Matter of Life and Death ★★ ½ - Significantly better than Dance of Death but kind of wears you down with a bunch of mid-tempo stuff. Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg is a good late-period Maiden epic.
9. The Book of Souls ★★ ½ - This is a missed opportunity. Cut this down to size and you have a three and a half star record. Unfortunately it’s unbearably long, all of these second era Bruce are to be fair, but this one is really taking the piss. As it is it’s close to three stars but not quite.
8. Killers ★★★ - The weakest 80’s record for me but still a fun listen.
7. Iron Maiden ★★★ ½ - Always preferred this to Killers. Quite a unique record.
6. Piece of Mind ★★★ ½ - Some of their best songs can be found on here, and Nicko McBrain immediately makes his presence felt. Kind of falls apart on side two however.
5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son ★★★ ½ - This is a good album for sure, close to four stars, but I never enjoy it as much as the records I have above it. Doesn’t quite have the energy of the early Bruce stuff, nor the hooks of Somewhere in Time.
4. The Number of the Beast ★★★★ - This could easily be as high as number 2. It’s very fast and heavy throughout, which is both its weakness and its strength. Maybe the quintessential NWOBHM record, great performances throughout, but stays a bit too long in one lane. I’ve also never cared for the title track.
3. Powerslave ★★★★ - The peaks of TNotB are probably higher but this edges ahead on better variety and sequencing. The first two songs are just classics and I also love the title track.
2. Brave New World ★★★★ - Like every other 21st century Maiden record, this is too long. The last three songs could have been cut and I wouldn’t have missed them. With that out of the way, this is a very good record. It’s very much a stadium rock record, written with an eye on a massive world tour following the return of the classic era-lineup but it works so well. The songs are massive yet they don’t meander and are constantly moving forward. The best Iron Maiden album since the 80’s and I don’t think it’s even close.
1. Somewhere In Time ★★★★ - There’s not a lot separating my top four, but the main reason I’m giving the win to Somewhere in Time is this, it’s an album that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The Bruce albums until this point had very heavy lyrical themes, and I never thought they did it particularly well. Here it’s more varied, a lot lighter and quirkier, and I think the same holds true for the music. I like all the songs on here, and if I were to go by the Jason criteria, this is definitely the Maiden record I would reach for most often.
With Metallica, Gn'R and now Maiden you've covered the three pillars of my music listening youth. And even though they hardly ever figure into my listening anymore, Maiden is the band of the three I put highest nowadays. They might top out at four stars, but I still like them a good bit. Really enjoyed doing this, nothing quite like music to make memories come flooding back.
Got wasted with a friend of a friend over in Chiswick a few years go and he used to hang out with Bruce Dickinson. Lovely guy apparently.
Never listened to an album. No intention of ever doing so unless you boys change my mind .
RUclips comment admin man. Need to leave a comment on one of your other videos boys.
Respect
Happy with Jason’s pick for number 1! Seventh son has always been my favourite Maiden album. Tough discography to rank, a lot of great albums for sure.
I’m pretty surprised he didn’t screw this one up. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusicI noticed Jason’s usually not controversial with his number 1 picks. But there’s almost always an out of left field choice in the top 5 somewhere. 😂
Seventh Son is an amazing album
Fantastic album
1. Iron Maiden
2. Powerslave
3. Killers
4. Seventh Son of the Seventh Son
5. Number of the Beast
6. Piece of Mind
7. A Matter of Life and Death
8. Somewhere In Time
9. Dance of Death
10. No Prayer for the Dying
11. The Final Frontier
12. Fear of the Dark
13. The Book of Souls
14. The X Factor
15. Brave New World
16. Virtual XI
Very tough to rank their albums. Such a fantastic metal band! And they're my number one metal band of all time.
Love Dianno he ruled - the right guy at the right time to launch them
Great chat! A footnote to the comment about "Run To The Hills" being the first song (or metal song) addressing the plight of the American Indians - Judas Priest did it with "Savage" (1978) and Queen with "White Man" (1976).
I’m a massive Iron Maiden fan, looking forward to this
Agree on No Prayer for the Dying (not that the Blaze albums are not worse)
Thought they would never come back from that
One of my all time favorite bands. I understand its great importance, but for me DiAnno's records are below almost all of Dickinson's, and Blaze's will always be at the bottom. I actually enjoy Bruce's live versions more than Paul and Bayley's studio tracks. My ranking would be:
Masterpieces:
1. Seventh Son
2. Powerslave
3. Piece of Mind
4. The Number Of The Beast
5. Somewhere In Time
6. Brave New World
Excellent:
7. Fear Of The Dark
8. A Matter Of Life And Death
9. The Book Of Souls
Very Good Records:
10. Killers
11. The Final Frontier
12. Iron Maiden
Acceptable:
13. Dance Of Death
14. No Prayer For The Dying
Awfull Records (especially for the vocalist):
15. The X Factor
16. Virtual XI
Greetings from Gran Canaria
Once again our lists are pretty similar groupings wise👍 nice list once again
Powerslave is one of my all time favorite albums. It’s been with me since my very early high school days and I find that it hasn’t aged a day. I find it similar to opening a great book. Seeing it 5th in the ratings cuts me deep.
You guys made excellent points all throughout this video though. The Maiden catalog needs an updated listen from me as they were once one of my most listened to bands (and they’re fucking amazing live), however if I had to rank them today:
14.) No Prayer For the Dying
13.) AMLOAD
12.) Dance of Death
11.) Fear of the Dark
10.) The Final Frontier
9.) The Book Of Souls
8.) Iron Maiden
7.) Brave New World
6.) Somewhere in Time
5.) Killers
4.) The Number of the Beast
3.) Seventh Son
2.) Piece of Mind
1.) Powerslave
If you’re referring to the averaged list at the end of the video, Powerslave wasn’t really 5th, it was in a 3-way tie for third. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic ah right on, I see now. Makes it a little easier to digest.
These guys obviously have not listened very much.to power slave, or aces high and 11:58 are weak songs, shows you do not have much depth in your taste. The sam guy rated fear of the dark as a "really good" song. Fear of the dark does not compare to those 2 other songs in the slightest. It is totally a throwaway song, except for the riff.a The other 2 songs riffs melodies and lyrics are all deep, intense and have masterful lyrics Try working out what they are about.The songwriting is amazing, 11:58 I can see someone who doesn't know what it's about, think it's just a gorefest, but it's written about the Western elite mentality, arundthe only time in history when the US and Soviet Union got to 11:58, which is a doomsday clock reference to the closest ever time for a total world war 3. Thisis a historical fact if you do your research happening around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, but it wasn't widely reported. Aces high gives a great intense feeling of what the fighter pilots were going through in the Battle of Britain particularly, when the likelihood was that the Germans were going to win and invade, but the quickly trained high IQ members of the British public were put in Spitfires and told if they didn't succeed everything was over.Harris completely captures this in the intensity but also the depth of the lyrics.
The fact that one guy is wearing a white snake T-shirt really sums him up
They’ve always been one of my favorite bands but also one of my worst meet and greet experiences. I met them at a cd signing just before seeing them on the first tour with Blaze and they just looked liked they wanted to crawl in a hole and die and barely spoke. I guess looking at the album they made with him they had good reason but still that stayed with me lol
I haven't listened to your lists yet (we'll see how close we come), but here are my Top 5;
1. Seventh Son...
2. Somewhere in Time
3. Number...
4. Brave New World
5. Powerslave...
Holy shit I didn't expect that very cool!!!
Here's my list!
1. Powerslave - One of my absolute favourite metal albums of all time. Hands down fav Maiden!
2. The Number of the Beast - Undeniable, unassailable. Total Eclipse is better than Gangland.
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Fantastic mix of styles here, sounds great front to back!
4. Brave New World - Maybe a track too long but damn if these songs aren't incredible!
5. Piece of Mind - Really great but slightly overrated. Quest for Fire isn't good.
6. Somewhere in Time - Great songs, but synths can be a bit distracting.
7. Iron Maiden s/t - Raw, but has a swagger to it. Remember Tomorrow is brilliant.
8. The Final Frontier - Way underrated. A few tracks too long, and a few tracks are too long.
9. Killers - Great performances but less memorable songs.
10. Book of Souls - See TFF above. No bad tracks but enough material for two separate albums.
11. Dance of Death - A number of lengthy and unmemorable tracks. Title track is bad.
12. A Matter of Life and Death - See BoS and TFF. Lob off maybe three songs, shorten most.
13. Fear of the Dark - Half good. What works is awesome, but what doesn't is terrible,
14. No Prayer for the Dying - Same, but with even less memorable tracks. Tailgunner is cool.
15. Virtual IX - More focused but the songs aren't great, and Blaze is the wrong singer.
16. The X Factor - A bloody mess, almost unlistenable. Bruce's vocals on live versions of Sign of the Cross are worth checking out.
Somewhere in time my favorite Maiden album
I enjoy your videos precisely for the dissent between you three, and the fan bases! Seems like everyone has a controversial placement! Here's mine...
1. Powerslave
2. Number of the Beast
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
4. Brave New World
5. Somewhere in Time
6. Iron Maiden s/t
7. The Final Frontier
8. Killers
9. Senjutsu
10. Piece of Mind (Probably my most controversial placement!)
11. Book of Souls
12. Dance of Death
13. A Matter of Life and Death
14. Fear of the Dark
15. No Prayer for the Dying
16. Virtual IX
17. The X Factor (I find this album borderline unlistenable.)
Nice Whitesnake shirt Kram. Funny/disturbing story about them (not at all related to Iron Maiden): My sister and I went to a Whitesnake record signing in Minneapolis back around 1987 the day before they were opening for Motley Crue at the Met. When we finally got to the table after waiting in line for over an hour, Coverdale gave my sister a kiss on the lips. According to her he slipped her the tongue. She was 12. Rock and roll I guess.
Whitesnake - the band name could be construed as both sexist AND racist! Gotta love 80s hair metal. 🙄
The two dudes on the top of the screen are fired. Powerslave rules.
Agreed. - Joe
Jason and Kram both have Fear of the Dark in the top 5? I would have lost a lot of money betting against that.
we all would have lost.
Jason having Fear of the Dark and Brave New World at Fear of the dark at number 5 , Brave New World 4. we all would have lost money .
Agreed middle at best.
UP THE IRONS!!!
Well done guys!
Up the Irons! Great video.
Any plans to do album ranking videos for Judas Priest and Blue Öyster Cult.
Not immediately. But someday. - Joe
I saw Maiden on Fear of the Dark tour in Chicago. ....and I lost the shirt I bought
Thanks Guys Great Show, The Maiden Freak that I am here's my rankings, UP THE IRONS !!!.
1. Powerslave = 5 Skulls or Eddies
2. Killers = 5 Skulls
3. 7th Son = 5 Skulls
4. Piece Of Mind = 4.3 Skulls
5, The Number Of The Beast = 4.1 Skulls
6. Brave New World = 4.1 Skulls
7. Somewhere In Time = 4 Skulls
8. Iron Maiden = 4 Skulls
9. No Prayer For The Dying = 3.8 Skulls
10. Final Frontier = 3.5 Skulls
11. Dance Of Death = 3.2 Skulls
12. Book Of Souls = 3 Skulls
13. Fear Of The Dark = 3 Skulls
14. A Matter Of Life And Death = 2.8 Skulls
15. X Factor = 2.5 Skulls
16. Virtual XI = 1.5 Skulls
One of my all time favorite bands, great to see everyone's rankings. Here is mine :
1 - Piece Of Mind
2 - Somewhere In Time
3 - The Number Of The Beast
4 - Powerslave
5 - Brave New World
6 - Iron Maiden
7 - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
8 - Killers
9 - The Book Of Souls
10 - Dance Of Death
11 - The Final Frontier
12 - A Matter Of Life And Death
13 - No Prayer For The Dying
14 - Fear Of The Dark
15 - The X Factor
16 - Virtual XI
Personally, I think Bruce Dickinson should have stuck with producing for Blue Oyster Cult.
He puts his pants on one leg at a time, like everyone else. Except, after he's got his pants on he makes hit records, baby!
Underrated Visionary themes in the lyrics/album covers that are now standard 'conspiracy' topics that are now ubiquitous: transhumanism/time travel/secret tech (SIT), satanism (NoTB), Numerology (7th Son), Egyptology/Illuminati (PS), Dystopian cityscapes (BNW), Demons/Aliens (the 'Eddie' talisman), Dance of Death even alludes to Eyes Wide Shut.
Really love some Iron Maiden albums, I was familiar with most of these albums, heard all of them at least once except Virtual XI and The X Factor ( I had heard a bit of these albums before). First time I have listened to any bands whole discography (this large) in preparation for a youtube show like this from start to finish in a few days. I think the 90s are a low point for the band, the 80s a high point, the 00s somewhere in the middle.
16: The X Factor
15: Virtual XI
14: No Prayer for the Dying
13: Book of Souls
12: Dance of Death
11. A Matter of Life and Death
10: Fear of the Dark
9: Brave New World
8: The Final Frontier
7. Iron Maiden
6. Powerslave
5.Killers
4.Piece of Mind
3.Somewhere In Time
2. Number of the Beast
1.Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
16- Virtual XI
15- X Factor
14- Dance of Death
13-No Prayer for the Dying
12-The Final Frontier
11-A Matter of Life and Death
10-The Book of Souls
9- Fear of the Dark
8- Iron Maiden
7- Brave New World
6- Killers
5- The Number of the Beast
4- Piece of Mind
3- Powerslave
2- Seventh Son
1-Somewhere in Time
I can't get past their early 80's stuff; basically the first 5 albums. The release of 'Run to the Hills' was what got me into Iron Maiden in the first place. I bought the vinyl album and from there, I bought their earlier stuff and got to really appreciate it. I remember loving 'Strange World' from their first album, as well as 'Run to the Hills' and 'Flight of Icarus' amongst others. Although Bruce Dickinson is great, we can't forget Paul and his contribution...
17. The X Factor (1995)
16. Virtual XI (1998)
15. No Prayer For The Dying (1990)
14. The Final Frontier (2010)
13. The Book Of Souls (2015)
12. Senjutsu (2021)
11. Fear Of The Dark (1992)
10. Brave New World (2000)
9. Dance Of Death (2003)
8. A Matter Of Life And Death (2006)
7. Seventh Son Of The Seventh Son (1988)
6. Iron Maiden (1980)
5. The Number Of The Beast (1982)
4. Powerslave (1984)
3. Killers (1981)
2. Piece Of Mind (1983)
1. Somewhere In Time (1986)
Great list!
Iron maiden never had that weird ideas for song titles. Many song titles and lyrics are named after different novels or movies, like Loneliness of a lone distance runner, which is a well known novel. Brave new world, wicker man, Lord of the flies, somewhere in time, man on the edge (falling down), stranger in a strange land, the duelists etc. etc. are all different movies and novels. And there are many more.
Favorite album is 7th son btw.
My top 10 (everything after Brave New World hasn't sparked multiple listens for me, as well as the Blaze albums):
1. Beast
2. Somewhere
3. 7th
4. Piece
5. Powerslave
6. Killers
7. Iron Maiden
8. Fear
9. Brave
10. No Prayer
4 thru 7 are pretty tightly grouped, could shift around week to week
I will say that whilst I agree the length of some later albums does make them less immediately accessible, Book of Souls and A Matter are examples that have really grown on me....I think of them as Opera performances more than metal....🎀🧐
Great show. Joe is definitely closer to the general consensus on how the albums are ranked than Jason and Kramzer. I have to give Killers another listen. Haven't listened to it for years, but I remember being a bit disappointed with the songs when I first heard it (like Jason, I thought it was a clear step down from the debut). I have noticed that the album is generally being pretty highly regarded, so it deserves another chance I think.
Watch at 47:00 to see Joe completely losing his mind.
I don't blame him. Fear of the Dark does not belong anywhere near the top of the list.
Serves him right for ranking Remain in Light #7 in Talking Heads Listography. I threw my computer across the room when he did that.
@@12spanku I agree. Fear Of The Dark sucks. I only like 2 songs off that album.
And Jason has Killers way too low. But respect for having Seventh Son up high because that is a solid album. Probably Top 5 for me.
@@burmajones803 That is true.
Joe’s mild mannered disapproval is the one of the best things about this group.
Solid as usual gents. However....Somewhere in Time back when it came out had "Wasted Years " as the lead single and it was in hevay rotation on MTV and that song was honestly the closest to a mainstream hit they have ever had. Its quite possibly their most commercial sounding song as well. I recall a lot of the die hards were not happy because they felt Maiden were selling out while other people who couldnt get into Maiden due to their music just being as dense jumped on the train because they finally had a very accessible song to work with....not to mention Adrians opening riff is pretty classic. Most Metal heads instantly know that riff.....and its also one of the riffs you constantly hear in Guitar Center being played by the novice players trying to show off haha. (Even though its a ridiculously simple riff)
Iron Maiden are probably my most nostalgic band from being a teenager. There was a time where all I listened to was Iron Maiden and were unequivocally my favourite band. I even studied for my English Literature exam on The Ancient Mariner by continually listening to their take on it!
They quite effectively (and surprisingly) bridged the gap between my adolescent love of prog and metal. And Maiden could do that sort of bombast without veering into complete camp - they’ve always ridden that line well and have only aged with grace. Sometimes they went too far but swiftly pulled it back. And more than that it was the visual aspects to the albums - I loved the inventive ways they used Eddie on the album covers and the different settings used. Somewhere in Time might be one of my favourite album covers ever as there’s so much packed into it that it screams to be viewed in its original vinyl release. Such awesome stuff.
They were also the first big band I ever saw live! No gig I’ve been to since could quite match up to that electrifying build up of seeing them.
Definitely don’t make up my usual listening pattern these days but I respect their showmanship and Bruce Dickinson will always be one of my favourite metal frontmen (even if I personally disagree with his modern politics). At their best they’re probably still my favourite metal band. Every now and again I get an itch for that bit of OTT metal and Iron Maiden do it best. They are also one of the few legacy metal bands to age with grace and even offer interesting tangents to their musical stylings. The Book of Souls has weak spots but for the most part their run from Brave New World has been consistently great, filled with surprising moments. Where The Wild Wind Blows from The Final Frontier, for example, is a stellar example of their underrated storytelling abilities as communicated through the lyrics and music.
Anyway my list!
16. Virtual XI - 1 star - I always want to give Bayley a fair shot but I never enjoy listening to this one
15. No Prayer For The Dying - 1.5 stars - back to basics but without the pomp or inventiveness. Boo!
14. The X Factor - 1.5 stars - I think Sign of the Cross is great and really suits Bayley’s voice. Otherwise this one is a drudge.
13. Fear of the Dark - 2 stars - title track is great. And that’s it.
12. Killers - 2.5 stars - I know some people love this album but its never ever clicked with me. Wrathchild is awesome though.
11. The Book of Souls - 2.5 stars - probably the weakest of the modern run but the title track, If Eternity Should Fail and Empire of the Clouds make it worth a listen
10. Dance of Death - 3 stars - the highs of this one are so high. Paschendale, No More Lies, Rainmaker, Journeyman and the title track are symphonic metal masterpieces but the rest doesn’t quite match up. But it’s still a good time. Bad cover as well.
9. Iron Maiden - 3.5 stars - early and raw and still good
8. Piece of Mind - 3.5 stars - brilliant moments interspersed with taking things too far. The Trooper, Revelations and Where Eagles Dare are brilliant but hearing Bruce later on wailing about dinosaurs and Dune are steps too far
7. The Number of the Beast - 4 stars - incredibly tight and brilliant record only beaten by their innovations on the later 80s albums. Still a monumental classic and Hallowed Be Thy Name has got to be one of the best albums closers ever. As good as Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands :P (feels like sacrilege saying that)
6. A Matter of Life & Death - 4 stars - an underrated one but this one feels like the moodier piece they were aiming for from the Bayley era but there’s much better tonal consistency and the writing is really sharp. I’m very fond of it.
5. The Final Frontier - 4 stars - a perfect distillation of what the band had achieved since the 2000 reboot, this one has a bit of everything and proof that Maiden still has creative rocket juice aplenty
4. Brave New World - 4.5 stars - so much better than it should be, the joy palpable in this record is infectious. Everything is here - soaring Bruce vocals, tricky knotty riffs, daffy concepts that don’t feel dumb and a real heart - Blood Brothers is just 👌. I also love it at the end of the record where Nicko says “I f***** missed this”
3. Powerslave - 5 stars - the perfect 80s metal album. It has everything you can think of when you think classic Maiden. Riffs! Operatic vocals! Insane lyrics! A silly but not too silly tone! And the iconography of this album! Eddie as a mummy! Albatross! RAF dog fights!
2. Somewhere in Time - 5 stars - inventive and ambitious to apply the synthesiser to the classic Maiden formula and it works brilliantly in my eyes. Wasted Years maybe my favourite Maiden song.
1. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - everything they learned from Somewhere in Time is matched with the very best of the rest of their 80s output for a record that combines prog, metal and even pop sensibilities into a bizarre *ahem* beast of an album that has, despite everything against it, aged so so well.
Atfer grinding through a few of these Lp lists of yours, I'm team Joe all the way! No idea what planet those other 2 guys are from....Powerslave a 6? Ludicrous. Maybe I'm still reeling from the Billy Joel episode lol.
Kramzer hating on "Infinite Dreams" and Seventh Son when they are two of my favorites from them :o
"Seventh Son" will be in my top 10 songs. That song is evil (by which mean good.)
How dare he!!
Loneliness of the long distance runner was a British movie. Interesting inspiration for a metal song!
Yes, starring the awesome Tom Courtenay. 🤟
@@mattymac1399 absolute legend
I just do my top 10, as I haven't heard anything after Brave New World.
10. Brave New World
9. Killers
8. No Prayer for the Dying
7. Iron Maiden
6. Fear of the Dark
5. Powerslave
4. Piece of Mind
3. The Number of the Beast
2. Somewhere in Time
1. Seventh Son
No prayer for the dying is underrated. So many good songs on that album.
Maiden was originally Steve Harris' dream/baby...it's no surprise the galloping base drives the band👍
Jason has good ears-On both Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son, Adrian and Dave used Gallien-Krueger solid state amps. Much less ballsy sounding than tube amps they’ve used the rest of their career. A shame that the Sonic’s are a bit compromised on those two because the material is quite strong.
"Somewhere in Time" and "Seventh Son..." are my 2 fav albums.
Can you do a Rolling Stones ranking video? I know Jason did it a few years ago but I'd love the other guys their opinions.
Eventually. -Jason
And now you have to rank Judas Priest as well
Ohhhh we will. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic Looking forward!
@@TastesLikeMusic I'm really looking forward to Judas Priest.
16. Virtual XI
15. The X Factor
14. Fear of the Dark
13. No Prayer For the Dying
12. Book of Souls
11. The Final Frontier
10. A Matter of Life and Death
9. Somewhere in Time
8. Brave New World
7. Dance of Death
6. Iron Maiden
5. Piece of Mind
4. Killers
3. Powerslave
2. The Number of the Beast
1. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Got into Maiden around 1990 with No Prayer. My friend made me a tape of Live After Death and the rest is history.
my top 4:
1. Piece of mind
2. Seventh son
3. Powerslave
4. Somewhere In Time
To give you an idea of how much I loved Fear of the dark when that came out....it was my favourite album for about 2 years...its now way down my maiden list with a score of 8/10....which is why my star ratings of all their albums might appear high to non metal fans....spent so much time married we've been divorced at least 3 times....🧐
First to view. Gotta see where Brave New World ranks. That one is a sleeper and rocks.
I don't know how most Maiden fans rank it but to me it's among their very best.
I guess to this group I can admit - statue of limitations - college buddies and I blasted our way into the Seattle Arena in ‘91 to see them using Seattle Thunderbirds hockey tickets for the following night. … ‘arry, we owe you one mate. Stood right in front of Davey wielding that white Strat he was so good.
Jason hit the home run here. I think Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is a true progressive metal masterpiece, and besides Queensrÿche, there weren't many progressive METAL acts in 1988. It's a stunningly beautiful album which combines their metal chops with great catchy epic songwriting. I love everything Maiden did up until 1992, with the exception of No Prayer For The Dying which really lacks decent songs and production. After The X-Factor I tuned out and never really got back into them. Now they're one of those good childhood memory bands for me, alongside KISS, Sabbath and Purple, that I never really listen to anymore as they're music is now part of my DNA and I know it by heart.
Funny that you should mention the Priest vs Maiden rivalry. I've always liked both so I;ve never understood that. Both great Metal bands.
Said it before - love how you guys have no pretense. Doesn’t matter that some old guy with some metal or classic rock magazine gave such and such recent album five stars (e.g. “it’s their best album in 25 years.”) If you think it sucks, you say it sucks. You don’t rank things so much based on context - you go more by what the music is telling you, now.
Piece of Mind came out for me in 6th grade. I can’t not be in a 6th grade 1983 mindset to some extent when I hear it. If an album doesn’t hold up for someone now without the context, it doesn’t hold up. That’s interesting for me to hear.
Off the Powerslave album, Flash of the Blade is used in Dario Argento's Phenomena.
I unfortunately don't find the time to listen to big discographies atm as summer semester is keeping me busy. 'The Number of The Beast' is an album I always wanted to listen to though, seems like it's really worth a listen. Have to do it very soon.
It's worth checking out
I purchased a copy of "Fear of the Dark" based upon Jason and Kramzer's high recommendations, so the boys owe you a cut of that particular royalty. 😉
Why the heck would you take their recommendations on Maiden??? - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic Why wouldn't I, Joe? They weren't wrong. It's a good album.
To be fair, I already owned Number of the Beast. And Piece of Mind and Somewhere in Time are in transit to me as I type this. I'll be checking out Powerslave and 7th Son next. So there's that.
And I'm on your side when it comes to Abba and Billy Joel. I just got the new Abba box set, and it is great!
Both bands between priest and Maiden are amazing. Ya Priest is my fav but Maiden is the best metal band. To me the difference is that Priest evolved more and Maiden is basically the same. But that same is phenomenal. Love both. I have lots of friends who like both and disagree but don’t see hate for each other. It’s like what is your fav pie. It’s all great but it’s personal preference.
Interesting to hear and read the debates on Killers. Heavy on the stomp, crush, kill attitude but objectively I think one has to admit several of the songs just don’t hold up. What’s the saying… you’ve been writing the first album all your life then it’s like uh oh …. You really want another album? 😄
I've always thought the (rightfully maligned) Angel and the Gambler was an attempt at a UFO style track.