Somewhere In Time.... Best. Maiden. Album. Ever.

Killers is a close #2 for me.

• Jamie
  SSS Agent #181
  Cartoons drenched in reverb!
  The Mystery Men?
  El Capitan & The Reluctant Sadists

I would also recommend Number of the Beast and Powerslave for someone first getting into Maiden. I absolutely love Somewhere in Time and even Seventh Son of the Seventh Son, probably even more than the two I recommended, but I think they're albums that you come to appreciate more once you already know what Maiden is about. I found that for newbies to Maiden those two don't resonate as well as NotB and Poweslave. (And Piece of Mind has a great first side, but things lag a bit towards the end - the production isn't quite as powerful as the other albums, too.)

Ivan

Ivan
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IvanP
(And Piece of Mind has a great first side, but things lag a bit towards the end)

"To Tame a Land" is my favorite tune on that album...the epic tale of Paul Muad'Dib, how he faced the Gom Jabbar and controlled the spice...

no band but Maiden could put "Dune" to music!

Man, I'm late to this one.... Just back from Home Depot

Maiden rulez supremely! I cut my teeth on the ST album and Killers. Also the 'Soundhouse Tapes' is one of the rawest and most brilliant (and sought after) demos ever recorded IMHO.

You can't go wrong getting everything they put out up through Seventh Son and then getting the new album as well. A Matter of Life and Death surprised the hell out of me. Its a stellar album. Very prog. The guitar playing on that album is staggering. Great arrangements from Steve Harris.

Of all the Maiden albums, I probably listen to Killers most. The Paul D'ianno era was the rawest and most urgent sounding of all their work IMHO. I felt it could compete in energy and angst against anything in punk of that time.

From the Bruce Dickinson era, it would have to be # of the Beast. That album is easily one of the greatest in the metal genre.

Ryan
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Ruhar
Of all the Maiden albums, I probably listen to Killers most. The Paul D'ianno era was the rawest and most urgent sounding of all their work IMHO. I felt it could compete in energy and angst against anything in punk of that time.

You know, it took me a while to get into Iron Maiden (self-titled) and
Killers, but now I seem to listen to those two albums all the time!
The song, "Purgatory," from Killers is heavy metal at its best--and
that vocal by Paul Di'Anno gives both Bruce Dickinson AND Rob Halferd
(sp?) a run for their money:

"Pleeeeaaase! Take me away! Take me awaaay! So far awaaaaaaaayyy-
AAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!" If I had a nickel for every eardrum that THAT
riff shattered. . . .

Vince

Is this something you can share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry?!?

mournblade
Paul Di'Anno gives both Bruce Dickinson AND Rob Halferd
(sp?) a run for their money:

sure, who dont give Bruce a run for his money....okay i will get lynched here now..but i have never thought Brucke D be that great everybody says..i think he is not good at all live..

If you want to hear a really great heavymetalsinger please check out Eric Adams of Manowar...Bruce is like a fart in the wind in comparison to him...
ok ill run for cover now...

The reality is that we do not wash our own laundry - it just gets dirtier.

www.myspace.com/tumbleweedofsurf

It was only a couple of years ago that I realized it was a cover.

bigtikidude
OK I keep forgetting to ask this,
does anybody have the Metal Iron Maiden Box set with Eddies face bumped out on the top?

it has a little shot glass with pewter feet on it,
a Family Tree with all the members and other bands they have been in,
with a Ring around it

and then 6 cds
2 of the B sides,
a bunch of Live shows,
and I think the sound house tapes too,
but I need to double check,
as I have seen a bootleg of just the sound house tapes, and if its not in the box set I need to get that.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I do... "Eddie's Archive"
Unfortunately four of the discs got ripped off when my car was broken into. I still have the box and the shot glass though. It does NOT include the Soundhouse tapes though. Its a great addition for Maiden aficionados...

Ryan
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Serpico
sure, who dont give Bruce a run for his money....okay i will get lynched here now..but i have never thought Brucke D be that great everybody says..i think he is not good at all live..

Bruce didn't sound so good live from about '86 until '93, sadly. But have you heard him over the last ten years? I think he's been sounding as good live as on the albums. It's remarkable, he's getting better with age. I think his solo career really helped him as a singer.

BTW, who loves Bruce's Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding? Wow, what amazing, amazing albums.

Ivan

Ivan
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IronMaiden

IvanP
BTW, who loves Bruce's Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding? Wow, what amazing, amazing albums.
Ivan

I'll have to check those out. I'm weary of his solo stuff based on Tattooed Millionaire.

Tattooed Millionaire sucks. That was his first solo album and it was from the height of the hair-metal era ('90) - and he tried to cash in. Oh, and it has the abominable Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian in Maiden right after TM. The most tasteless metal guitarist of all time replacing the most tasteful metal guitarist of all time. Ugh.

Here's how I rate his solo albums:

Balls to Picasso ('94) - his first solo album after quitting Maiden, there was metal fatique among most people, including Bruce, so he tried something different, but it's a failed experiment - tried to create a unique hard-rock sound, with elements of exotic rhythms, etc. - overall it just didn't work, though it has one great song - Tears of a Dragon - it also started his partnership with the amazing guitarist/songwriter Roy Z, though

Skunkworks ('95) - Bruce goes grunge! He got himself an all new band of young guns and they came up with some really cool stuff, though the album does sound pretty derivative in places. But I'd say about half of it is very good.

Accident of Birth ('97) - Bruce was about to give up music since the last two solo albums bombed commercially. Roy Z contacted him and persuaded him to record a true blue metal album, which he agreed to very reluctantly - AND they invited Adrian Smith (who split Maiden in '90) to join them, which he did. This is probably the best Maiden album ever released without an Iron Maiden name. Roy Z showed amazing talent as both a metal guitarist and songwriter, and the team of Roy/Adrian worked as well as or even better than Davey/Adrian. Really, the album is simply perfect. It saved Bruce's music career and paved the way for his and Adrian's return to Maiden two years later. Maiden albums with Blaze on vocals were getting roasted by the critics (rightly so), while AoB was praised to high heavens. Bruce was back, baby!

The Chemical Wedding ('98) - the astonishing follow-up to AoB, featuring the same band. Much heavier than AoB - instead of going for a classic Maiden sound, they decided to go for a much more modern metal sound. The album is a triumph. As good or some people say even better than AoB. The title track is one of my all-time favorite songs. But the whole album is really remarkable - though again, caution, it's HEAVY.

Scream for me Brazil ('99) - live album with the same lineup, absolutely fantastic, really special.

In '99, as Bruce and Adrian are going from strength to strength and Maiden getting more and more pathetic, Steve and Rod invite them back to the fold and boot Blaze. The smartest thing they ever did, though it broke up the band that Bruce had for these last years, and that was a great shame.

Since then Bruce released two solo albums:

The Best of ('01) - a very well done overview of his solo career, a good place to start - though it does have some abominable tracks from Tattooed Millionaire

Tyranny of Souls ('05) - the third in the Roy/Bruce metal trilogy, something he promised the fans he'd do when he joined Maiden. It took a while, and the album doesn't reach the heights of either AoB or TCW, no way. It also lacks Adrian's inimitable guitar and songwrting touches, as well as the the fantastic rhythm section, replacing it with much more generic sounding drummer and bass player (Roy may have played bass). Nevertheless, it's a good album, with a few excellent highlights.

There you go, hope that helps. I'd start with AoB - any Maiden fan would not be disappointed!

Ivan

Ivan
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