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Topic: Iron Maiden Recommendations Posted: August 17 2010 at 21:06
I have all of their albums. I prefer the Dickinson era to either Di'Anno or Bayley, but the others aren't bad. The self titled debut, and Killers are very good straight up metal albums (not a lot of prog metal, except for Phantom of the Opera). Number of The Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave are all classics (especially the latter. Powerslave might be my favourite IM album). Somewhere In Time was a departure from their earlier sound, and a bit of a risk (there's more synths and experimentation with longer song structures there), but good stuff. This experiment with prog metal culminated in 1988's awesome Seventh Son. One I can highly reccomend.
It went a bit hazy after that. No Prayer For The Dying was a weak album. Fear Of The Dark was actually decent, with a great title track, but it had a fair bit of filler. The X Factor, with Blaze on vocals, was actually a solid album with some great tracks (Sign of the Cross, Lord of The Flies, Man On The Edge). The best tracks are the first few, though. Virtual XI may be, along with No Prayer..., the weakest Maiden offering.
Everything from the Dickinson/Smith reunion period onwards (Brave New World, Dance Of Death, A Matter of Life And Death, The Final Frontier) is all great, IMO. They write very long, epic proggy songs these days. And Dickinson has never sounded better.
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Posted: August 16 2010 at 19:10
The self titled debut,Killers,The Number of the Beast,Piece of Mind,Powerslave and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son are incredible,essential and highly recommended.
I don't care much for Somewhere in Time,No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark,they aren't bad,just weak compared to earlier stuff.
Most people stay away from the Blaze Bayley albums,but I think The X-Factor isn't bad,it contains some great tunes,especially Sign of the Cross.
All their albums since they reunited are excellent,but you should definitely check out their earlier stuff first.
Edited by TheProgtologist - August 16 2010 at 19:10
There's a completely different vocal style between Paul and Bruce (don't worry about Blaze), so as an introduction you'd have to look at both.
So I would recommend Killers for the early years and Powerslave for Bruce's reign. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is essential Maiden.
i grew with iron maiden,, my brother got me into them when i was like 10 or so. and i agree with you i love every album until 7th son (including), and yes powerslave is probably the best old maiden from bruce´s era - just listen to rhyme of the ancient mariner or powerslave!
I don´t agree when you say "dont worry with blaze": i prefer blaze´s singing over dickinson´s (i´m not saying he is better) and i think he did a great job with the x factor, which is the only Iron Maiden album i can listen from beggining to end.
Dont get me wrong i love maiden, but with some bands i feel this thing (let´s call it a phenomena) that makes me not listen to their albums, even though they are good and and haave great songs.
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Posted: August 12 2010 at 01:18
I never really liked Dickinson's era and also didn't get into it. But I quite liked Iron Maiden and Killers. BTW: Is it just me or does most of IM material with Dickinson sound like a simplified version of Led Zep's Achillies Last Stand?
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Posted: August 11 2010 at 23:20
I just listened to A Matter of Life and Death for the first time recently (I've had it for quite a while but I kinda forgot about it.....) and I have to say it's an excellent album. A lot of bands tend to lose steam when they're around as long as Maiden has but they seem to be doing just fine. Still making awesome music. I'm really looking forward to The Final Frontier now.
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Posted: August 11 2010 at 22:42
lensag wrote:
For me i still prefer Iron Maiden or Killers above everything else (but specially the debut album).
It's funny I own and love all albums up to and including 7th Son, and many of my favourite songs are from Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave, but I think the two Paul DiAnno albums are the most consistent and complete; every song is good.
There's a completely different vocal style between Paul and Bruce (don't worry about Blaze), so as an introduction you'd have to look at both.
So I would recommend Killers for the early years and Powerslave for Bruce's reign. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is essential Maiden.
For me i still prefer Iron Maiden or Killers above everything else (but specially the debut album).
People dont usually like it but the x factor is a reaally good album from Bayley´s era - totally diferent from everything else they´ve done but very very cohesive.
"when routine bites hard and ambitions are low,
and resentment rides high but emotions won´t grow
And we´re changing our ways, taking different roads..
Then love, love will tear us apart again.."
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Posted: July 14 2010 at 22:04
My personal favorite Maiden albums are Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Brave New World. Powerslave, Number of the Beast, Dance of Death, and Piece of Mind are also very good and worth checking out.
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Posted: July 14 2010 at 20:45
First of all, stop calling them Iron Maiden, and just call them Maiden. It makes you sound like a fan.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a wonderful prog metal record, released in 1988, my #1 prog metal album from the 80s. You definitely want to listen to it. I'm the biggest prog metal fan so you better believe me.
There are some cute chicks, I believe, on the Live After Death DVD. It's really cool to watch and dance to the concert.
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Posted: July 14 2010 at 11:39
Powerslave
Seventh Son of a seventh son
Somewhere in time
Piece of Mind
Personally, my favourite album is Number of the Beast, but that's more for sentimental reasons. It's a great NWOBHM album, with little to no prog metal credentials.
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 11:51
J-Man wrote:
Iron Maiden is one of my favorite heavy metal bands, and are miles and miles ahead of these "pseudo California 80's hair band wanna bes" you speak of.
I would recommend starting with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Somewhere In Time, Powerslave, and A Matter of Life and Death if you're looking from a progressive standpoint. All of these albums I can confidently call progressive heavy metal, even though no one ever agrees with me. If you're looking for pure heavy metal, Killers and The Number of The Beast are essential as well.
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Iron Maiden Recommendations
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