That is wackiness personified. For a start, Wasted is a 5 fist track. Stranger is a at worst a 4 fist track. And you are at least 2 fists shy on Heaven.....and so on.

Does your hearing aid battery need changing Robit? Those are all 5s.

Wacky, wacky, Rob.

1. Caught Somewhere In Time - 5 fists
2. Wasted Years - 5 fists
3. Sea Of Madness - 4 fists
4. Heaven Can Wait - 5 fists
5. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner - 4 fists
6. Stranger In A Strange Land - 5 fists
7. Deja-Vu - 4 fists
8. Alexander The Great - 5 fists

There's a reason why it's one of Maiden's best two or three albums.

Depends on who you ask. I don't think most fans would rate it above Number, Powerslave or Seven. Its reputation did improve with time though. It seemed underrated in the late 80s/early 90s, now it is kind of overrated, along with Seventh Son.

Heaven Can Wait has a dodgy chorus, but I really like Wasted Years and Sea of Madness. Alexander The Great is very good, but it is no Powerslave or Rime.


EDIT: Changed rhyme to rime.

I would. Only marginally better than SSOASS, but better.

Best two! Indeed, there is a reason. Sentimental, branded fans. They are in love with the idea of Maiden. It seems they aren't really bothered what the music is like as long as it ticks a few standard boxes and the spikey logo is on the cover and all the rest.

Deaf Freddie McDeaf can hear Somewhere In Time was a big step down for Maiden. They were burnt out from a shitload of touring - and they tried something new but there were mixed results. Simple as that. The synths were an awful addition, the new sound was patchy, they started repeating themselves and the songs lost a lot of their previous punch and verve. It was McDonaldized Maiden.

No, it's not total shit, but it just does not compare to their classic material - no way. There's nothing even close to 5 fists on it, nevermind overall.


Prime example right here. (Although I honestly can't tell if you're being entirely serious.)

For example, there is no cotton-picking way on God's green earth that Alexander the Great is anywhere near something like Rime as Statters says. I cannot believe that anyone honestly thinks those 2 songs are really comparable quality.

Maiden fans do tend to be rather one-eyed, especially when it comes to the Dickinson fronted albums, but the dissenting voices are clearly heard nowadays. Perhaps not on here, but I did notice that around the time of A Matter of Life and Death more fans were expressing their disappointment openly and without fear of reprisal.

Brave New World had vocal detractors at first, but that died down relatively quickly after the dust settled and then it became ridiculously overpraised in the ensuing years. It was far more common to hear negative opinions about their new albums after the mid 00's though. Book of Souls was not universally lauded by fans to my knowledge.

As for Somewhere In Time, I think it does have a certain special something about it. It doesn't sound tired or thrown together to my ears, but it is no 5 fister, that's for damn sure.

What a load of rubbish. Stop trying to demean everyone else's views.

Whilst I agree it's not on the same level as Number, Powerslave or Seventh Son, it's certainly a bucketful of 3s, 4s and 5s. I'd put it on par with Piece of Mind, personally.

Grow a pair. If you like shit music or inflate something beyond its due, then your bubble will get deservedly get burst.

Fuck off! Everyone is allowed to like music in their own way. Stop trying to big yourself up by trying to make out you know better than everyone else, despite the fact it is all entirely subjective.

Stop it! You're demeaning my views!

I could sort of understand why you'd think that about Seventh Son which, while being a 5 fist album, is a little too slick and polished, but SiT 1) doesn't sound anywhere near as slick or glossy as that and 2) has some of Maiden's heaviest and most technical songwriting. Listen to the opening of Sea Of Madness, it's definitely not 'McDonaldized'.

I think Vim is obviously taking the piss with his 5 fister comment. At least you'd really hope so.

Hallowed Be Thy Name dropped from setlist:

"the band says it has been forced to drop its anthemic number Hallowed Be Thy Name from its tour after it became embroiled in a legal battle over who wrote it.

Retired rock band manager Barry McKay is taking Steve Harris and Dave Murray, two musicians from Iron Maiden, to court over the song.

He claims it reproduces major parts of another song "Lying in my Shadow", written by musician Brian Quinn, under the name Brian Ingham"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05 ... ong-legal/

That is the same thing like I posted with Ultimate Sin! A lot of 4's & 5's (nothing below) Only HCW I give a 4 too.

What a joke. Seems like someone's money-hungry.

Runner Bean does head more torwards a 3 though. But Stranger's 666 makes up for it even with the Budgie riff.

It's a weaker sound more than a slick one as such. Stranger, for example, has that bouncy synthy thing going on and disco hi-hat. I don't detect much heaviness on the album myself - maybe Sea of Madness. Maiden were never about heaviness anyway. The weakness comes more in the delivery as well as in the sub-par material.

Agreed that Seventh is the slicker sounding album. Which was more of a betrayal at the time for me - even though it had better moments than SIT. Seventh could possibly have been saved with some trimming, rewrites and less polish. SIT was always going to pretty uninspired regardless of porduction.

Yet you love Fighting The World.

Go figure!

Maiden albums are mostly patchy affairs! Thats why their fans wear patches!