Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls

[Andromalia]

finished what is likely my 10th play or so. Still not getting Empire of the clouds but confirming that although the first part is a bit weak, "the red and the black" instrumental second part is the most epic maiden song i've heard in a long while. Not to the level of Hallowed be thy name but not far behind either.

summary: yeah, I'll buy another Maiden show ticket. Band I've seen the most in my life, actually, 22 shows if i count properly.

 

[big_aug]

Sorry, but BNW is a GREAT album. And it's really the only good one they've done since reuniting.

That being said, I'm just getting around to listening to the album this afternoon. It's OK. The opening track is great. But, overall, sloppy playing and the same old horse-galloping rhythms and same endings to the songs. So far, nothing is saying to me "HOLY SH*T! THIS IS AMAZING!"

"Speed of Light" is awful, btw.

I hope to come around on this after a few listens the next few days. This album is getting TREMENDOUS publicity and it irritates the f*ck out of me that albums from bands like Machine Head and Priest get a big "Eh" from the world and they move on. Even Sirius turned one of its metal channels into IM Radio this week. I don't know if it's justified because of this album. We'll see.

Jesus Christ I wanted to wrap my car around a tree after the god damned SiriusXM Iron Maiden radio bull..... My new car came with a trial of Sirius and I love Liquid Metal and Jose. It was totally ruined by that god damned Iron Maiden take over for like 10 damn days. ....!!!!

 

[Smoked Porter]

BRAVE NEW WORLD? B R A V E N E W W O R L D ?

To each his own, but NO, BNW is not even close to be a great album.

WHAT ARE YOU?

Just kidding, but I seriously can't even comprehend any Maiden fan not at least liking that album It's the best.

I think this is their most solid album to come out since then. If Eternity Should Fail, The Great Unknown, and The Red and the Black are just awesome. My first impression of Speed of Light was basically, "wtf, that main riff sounds like Motley Crue", but it's grown on me some. I didn't notice any of the mentioned sloppiness on the record, it just sounds organic to me.

 

[EmaDaCuz]

BNW is a honest album, which I devoured when it came out (had to buy another CD, as I basically burned mine after having played it too much) but now I find meh. Still their best post-reunion effort.

As for the sloppy playing, I find the solos UNBEARABLE on this album. On the one hand they want to give the "live feeling", on the other hand the solos are clearly overdubbed and played without any soul and quite poor technique. IIRC, the middle part of Book of Souls features a sequence of 3 solos, each of which makes me say "Who the hell is playing this? A kid from Guitar Center?". And I normally like Maiden's solos, despite being idiosyncratic to whatever gets played past the 12th fret.

One last thought, The Red and The Black is probably the worst song on the album, how can you guys like it so much?

 

[chopeth]

I second BNW is the best album far from the rest after seventh son. BNW is the best come back after the demise of a band (blaze bayley era in case somebody missed that) ever. I don't know about the last one yet, but not any album in 15 years reach that greatness level imo.

 

[drmosh]

Having given it more plays I must say it's actually really good. IMO the weakest song is speed of light, no idea why they chose that as a single.

 

[p0ke]

One last thought, The Red and The Black is probably the worst song on the album, how can you guys like it so much?

I don't know. I haven't really analyzed it, I just like it. Why don't you like it?

IMO the weakest song is speed of light, no idea why they chose that as a single.

Yeah, but even that works when it comes after If Eternity Should Fail, imo. I think it's the weakest song too, though. They should've made Tears of a Clown the single instead.

 

[jahosy]

Been listening to bos since release day and its awesome. Can already imagine If eternity should fail being a ripping opening to the tour! Hope they play empire of the clouds.

 

[ArtDecade]

Bunch of whining wankers around here. It's a new album - it's Maiden - it's great.

 

[metallatem]

Bottom line for me is that you can't fully judge a Maiden album for years after it comes out. I remember when Powerslave came out, it was the beginning of my senior year of high school. I got the record and remember feeling a little disappointed by it. Now I think it's obviously one of their best.

P.S. Yes, I am that old...

 

[electriceye]

Bottom line for me is that you can't fully judge a Maiden album for years after it comes out. I remember when Powerslave came out, it was the beginning of my senior year of high school. I got the record and remember feeling a little disappointed by it. Now I think it's obviously one of their best.

P.S. Yes, I am that old...

Uhhhhh.....WHAT? I was in 8th grade that year and the release (and following tour) was MASSIVE. How can you even say that? The Powerslave tour was the biggest metal tour ever put on up to that point in history. Aces High was a HUGE hit single. And Live After Death is still one of the greatest live albums EVER.

Maybe for you, you can't judge for a few years. But you must have been sleepy if PS took years to click with you.

Sadly, that's the album that set the standard for me with them. And, other than a few close calls (SIT was great), nothing has come close to it.

 

[ArtDecade]

Uhhhhh.....WHAT? I was in 8th grade that year and the release (and following tour) was MASSIVE. How can you even say that? The Powerslave tour was the biggest metal tour ever put on up to that point in history. Aces High was a HUGE hit single. And Live After Death is still one of the greatest live albums EVER.

I think I know what the other guy means. Powerslave is fantastic, but its a different sound than the albums that led up to it. If you were expecting a Piece sequel, you didn't get it. The band grew and their musicianship grew. That said, it was a massive tour, but it wasn't because of Aces High being a big single.

Iron Maiden Tour > Killer World Tour > Beast On The Road > Piece Tour

All of those tours were pretty friggin' big. Each was played to a 100+ venues in cities all over the world. By the time they were headlining on the World Piece Tour, they were already playing huge arenas. It wasn't Powerslave that suddenly made them huge. It was already a long time coming. The World Slavery Tour solidified it.

 

[electriceye]

I think I know what the other guy means. Powerslave is fantastic, but its a different sound than the albums that led up to it. If you were expecting a Piece sequel, you didn't get it. The band grew and their musicianship grew. That said, it was a massive tour, but it wasn't because of Aces High being a big single.

Iron Maiden Tour > Killer World Tour > Beast On The Road > Piece Tour

All of those tours were pretty friggin' big. Each was played to a 100+ venues in cities all over the world. By the time they were headlining on the World Piece Tour, they were already playing huge arenas. It wasn't Powerslave that suddenly made them huge. It was already a long time coming. The World Slavery Tour solidified it.

I actually meant Two Minutes to Midnight as the bigger single.



Also, the more I listen to the album (I'm on my 7th listen or so), the two songs I like most are Tears of a Clown and Empire of the Clouds. The funny thing is, those are Bruce SOLO songs, not IM songs, IMO.

 

[metallatem]

I'm really digging Tears of a Clown and If Eternity Should Fail. Can't wait to see them on the next tour. They already announced South Africa, Australia and New Zealand dates.

 

[shadowlife]

Really liking the album. Maybe their best album since reuniting with Bruce and Adrian.The title track is my favorite song of theirs since "The Evil That Men Do"...