The New Maiden album...

[thiswaythatway]

I stopped listening to Maiden around 1990 when No Prayer From The Dying came out. Bruce's voice took a toll from all the heavy touring of the late 80's and it changed. Always sounds like he's straining. I'll give the new album a shot though.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I will have to gov the album a whirl then. Brave new world was a really solid album. I thought it was an excellent comeback of sorts and part of it I feel was due to Smith coming back. Always dug Bruce's solo stuff too though. Anyway I will have to check out the rest of the tunes. At the very least I know nicko will deliver!

 

[Michi]

I will have to gov the album a whirl then. Brave new world was a really solid album. I thought it was an excellent comeback of sorts and part of it I feel was due to Smith coming back. Always dug Bruce's solo stuff too though. Anyway I will have to check out the rest of the tunes. At the very least I know nicko will deliver!

Yeah, Nicko's better than in a long time as well. He actually plays 2-3 different rolls instead of the one he used on DOD for example hahahaha! Nah, he's great!

Bruce is really good. Yeah, he can't hit the high notes like he used to but he has a way around those and he sings with such emotion too!

You can tell I like the album?!

 

[technomancer]

Had a few more listens, this really does kick ass

Even more amazing that Bruce was suffering throat cancer when this was recorded...

 

[Red_Label]

Did anyone else think they intro riff to Speed of Light is just Enter Sandman?

Apart from that the album rocks!

Hehe, didn't think of that I thought it had a kinda Purple vibe to it (the whole song actually), but now that you mention it, there is something very similar to the riffs .

I didn't hear it until buddy pointed it out.. now all I can hear is Enter bloody sandman!!!haha

I don't hear it. But that song is one of my least favorites from the new album.

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Yeah, Speed of light might be the weakest track. All in all I think it´s a lot better than the last three, but not quite as good as Brave new world.

Yeah that's the only one I heard. Lame IMO. But Bruce still has it. One of the few from back in the day that probably still actually practices singing and you can hear it. He's a little low on the high notes which is to be expected at his age, but damn frign good still.

 

[shred-o-holic]

Adrian still smokes though, shits all over everyone else in the band guitar wise I always say!

This x 100. I can't stand Jannick..........the original band minus that joker has always been Maiden to me.

 

[nigelpkay]

Listened to it a couple of times since I bought it on Friday, but IMHO, I think this album is not very good at all.
Sounds very disjointed, like a lot of it was thrown together in the studio with little thought of editing and the overall result. Songs are unmemorable, like everyone's ideas thrown together, weak bridges, choruses, song structures that go nowhere. Most of the solos sound phoned in, although there are some good spots here and there.

The highlight of the album is Bruce's voice considering what he went through. I was very impressed.
But the vocals can't save very weak songs.

I'm a hyper critical Maiden superfan like many others, but I enjoyed The Final Frontier much better than this.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Adrian still smokes though, shits all over everyone else in the band guitar wise I always say!

This x 100. I can't stand Jannick..........the original band minus that joker has always been Maiden to me.

I can't stand Jannick.. the guy is so sloppy and annoying to watch and i never understood why Adrian let's him play some of the solos.

 

[blackba]

Will have to pick this up. Any comment on some of the long songs?

A matter of life and death is my favoite maiden album since Bruce came back. Only bruce album I can't seem to get into is no prayer for the dying. I enjoy final frontier, though it took a while to grow on me, but so did dance of death and brave new world.

 

[Speeddemon]

Adrian still smokes though, shits all over everyone else in the band guitar wise I always say!

This x 100. I can't stand Jannick..........the original band minus that joker has always been Maiden to me.

I can't stand Jannick.. the guy is so sloppy and annoying to watch and i never understood why Adrian let's him play some of the solos.

Not only that (which I totally agree with), but WHY ON EARTH would you play 3 leads in unison when you have 3 friggin' guitarplayers?!

To me (as a reasonable Maiden fan...loved the first 7, No Prayer=meh had its moments, FotD=,meh had its moments, didn't care for XFactor/Virtual XI, quite liked BNW, didn't care for Dance, hated AMOLAD, didn't care for FF) this album sort of feels like a natural progression from No Prayer... Had more of that feel, than FotD had. But at times, the playing is sloppy (I'm looking at you, Nicko!), Bruce's age is showing and lead-wise...heck, Maiden built a career on harmonised twins...DO THAT then!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Adrian still smokes though, shits all over everyone else in the band guitar wise I always say!

This x 100. I can't stand Jannick..........the original band minus that joker has always been Maiden to me.

I can't stand Jannick.. the guy is so sloppy and annoying to watch and i never understood why Adrian let's him play some of the solos.

Not only that (which I totally agree with), but WHY ON EARTH would you play 3 leads in unison when you have 3 friggin' guitarplayers?!

To me (as a reasonable Maiden fan...loved the first 7, No Prayer=meh had its moments, FotD=,meh had its moments, didn't care for XFactor/Virtual XI, quite liked BNW, didn't care for Dance, hated AMOLAD, didn't care for FF) this album sort of feels like a natural progression from No Prayer... Had more of that feel, than FotD had. But at times, the playing is sloppy (I'm looking at you, Nicko!), Bruce's age is showing and lead-wise...heck, Maiden built a career on harmonised twins...DO THAT then!

The no prayer for the dying feel and sound/production is what I had mentioned too. Almost sounds like they set up in a garrage and crushed a few beers while putting it together. I think the best way to put it is that it sounds like a demo tape? Brave New World really was the standout of the newer Maiden stuff. I still remember when they released "be quick or be dead" or "holy smoke" as singles.... horrible tunes. Kind of felt like things were in decline after Seventh Son and Adrian splitting.

 

[Speeddemon]

To me (as a reasonable Maiden fan...loved the first 7, No Prayer=meh had its moments, FotD=,meh had its moments, didn't care for XFactor/Virtual XI, quite liked BNW, didn't care for Dance, hated AMOLAD, didn't care for FF) this album sort of feels like a natural progression from No Prayer... Had more of that feel, than FotD had. But at times, the playing is sloppy (I'm looking at you, Nicko!), Bruce's age is showing and lead-wise...heck, Maiden built a career on harmonised twins...DO THAT then!

The no prayer for the dying feel and sound/production is what I had mentioned too. Almost sounds like they set up in a garrage and crushed a few beers while putting it together. I think the best way to put it is that it sounds like a demo tape? Brave New World really was the standout of the newer Maiden stuff. I still remember when they released "be quick or be dead" or "holy smoke" as singles.... horrible tunes. Kind of felt like things were in decline after Seventh Son and Adrian splitting.

Agreed! Well, demo-tape is maybe a tad harsh, but I hear what you're saying. (Then again, my demo tape days in my first band (death/thrash) at age 16 were cut on a 4-track Tascam portastudio...That was some crude stuff! Boy, once we upgraded years later to the 8 track Minidisc thingy from Yamaha...the one that can only record 14 minutes on a special MD... )

You know what two good tracks on No Prayer were? Run Silent, and Tailgunner...at least IMHO. Especially that groovy bridge in Tailgunner, friggin' rocks!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Yeah Tail Gunner is the stand out. I was super pumped when I heard that. I kind of felt like it was an Aces High Part II type of tune. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad, it is just that it didn't sound as epic as the albums that preceded it. Seventh Son might of had a lot of verb and delays but it sounded so huge. Same with Somewhere in Time. They had this sound which just consumed the listener.

 

[nigelpkay]

Yeah Tail Gunner is the stand out. I was super pumped when I heard that. I kind of felt like it was an Aces High Part II type of tune. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad, it is just that it didn't sound as epic as the albums that preceded it. Seventh Son might of had a lot of verb and delays but it sounded so huge. Same with Somewhere in Time. They had this sound which just consumed the listener.

I think at the time they were tired of the "epic" thing and wanted to do an album like early Maiden, straight-forward, rocking, punky type thing. For me at the time it was a letdown too, but I understand why they tried that. There are some killer songs on there still, but they are outshined by all the duds.

What I really miss from all the modern Maiden albums is what some previous commentators already mentioned, hardly if all any harmony solos, and for me I also notice Bruce's voice is much higher up in the mix and there is little to no backing vocals from say Adrian, or even even backing vocals/harmonies from Bruce etc...

I feel like since Adrian returned, he hasn't had much input, even his solos are pretty forgettable when before they used to be the thing you would anticipate when you saw them coming up in the liner notes as you were listening to the album.

 

[jkdsteve]

It's alright, couple of standout tracks....not really impressed yet but have the feeling that it's a grower.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

So here is the million dollar question folks.... as much as we don't want to ask this, is Maiden "mailing it in" where studio albums are concerned? Adrian always played inspired solos. His work with Brice's solo stuff is great too. Are they getting sick of thins I wonder.

 

[Michi]

So here is the million dollar question folks.... as much as we don't want to ask this, is Maiden "mailing it in" where studio albums are concerned? Adrian always played inspired solos. His work with Brice's solo stuff is great too. Are they getting sick of thins I wonder.

I really don't feel they are mailing it in. In the studio or live.

I'm getting the vibe that Adrian is trying to evolve as a player, let his blues roots come out more on this album especially. He's trying to improvise a whole lot more than on previous stuff, where he planned stuff out very carefully. If he's managed to pull it off or not is a totally different question altogether IMO.

Wink.

 

[shred-o-holic]

Adrian still smokes though, shits all over everyone else in the band guitar wise I always say!

This x 100. I can't stand Jannick..........the original band minus that joker has always been Maiden to me.

I can't stand Jannick.. the guy is so sloppy and annoying to watch and i never understood why Adrian let's him play some of the solos.

You are dead on with my opinion on this!!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

So here is the million dollar question folks.... as much as we don't want to ask this, is Maiden "mailing it in" where studio albums are concerned? Adrian always played inspired solos. His work with Brice's solo stuff is great too. Are they getting sick of thins I wonder.

I really don't feel they are mailing it in. In the studio or live.

I'm getting the vibe that Adrian is trying to evolve as a player, let his blues roots come out more on this album especially. He's trying to improvise a whole lot more than on previous stuff, where he planned stuff out very carefully. If he's managed to pull it off or not is a totally different question altogether IMO.

Wink.

the beauty of Adrian is he may not have been a great improv player but when he crafts a solo it is awesome. I think I always was attracted to that because I feel I write leads a lot like that. A shame that he is going that way if that is the case. Anyway, I listened to a few more tunes, not bad but the few harmonies I have heard really drag. Bruce still does a pretty good job, can't bag on him too much. I am having issues with how dry a lot of it sounds and the mix/production itself though. Guess it just isn't what I like about Maiden but this also isn't 1988 anymore so maybe I have to get more with it and accept that lol.