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Nevermortal

Iron Maiden's Greatest WTF Moment

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The tough of the track

With the wind

And the rain that's beating down on

Your back

Your heart's beating loud

And goes on getting louder

And goes on even more 'til the

Sound is ringing in your head

With every step you tread

And every breath you take

Determination

Makes you run never stop

Got to win got to run 'til you drop

Keep the pace hold the race

Your mind is getting clearer

You're over half way there

But the miles they never seem to end

As if you're in a dream

Not getting anywhere

It seems so futile

 

Run on and on

Run on and on

The loneliness of the long distance runner

 

I've got to keep running the course

I've got to keep running and win at

All costs

I've got to keep going be strong

Must be so determined and push myself on

 

Run over stiles across fields

Turn to look at who's on your heels

Way ahead of the field

The line is getting nearer but do

You want the glory that goes

You reach the final stretch

Ideals are just a trace

You feel like throwing the race

It's all so futile

 

So, what did Bruce and the gang do here?

 

"Say, we've got a song about some ghouls and ghosts, a song about some sort of warrior-king, a song about war....What the hell are we gonna do for the last song?"

 

"How about a song about Cross Country track?"

 

"Oi! That's great! Let's go get piss'd!"

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Hey, they've written songs about Vikings, a whore, and Satan's child ("Invaders," "22 Acacia Avenue," and "The Number Of The Beast," respectively), so let them write a song about Steve's track days.

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Hey, they've written songs about Vikings, a whore, and Satan's child ("Invaders," "22 Acacia Avenue," and "The Number Of The Beast," respectively), so let them write a song about Steve's track days.

Well, only if they agree to strike the Bailey years from the records.

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They've actually done two songs about the same whore ("Charlotte the Harlot", and MAYBE some others that reference 22).

 

And for the record, "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" is apparantly based on a story (which also has a movie about it) assuming the Iron Maiden Commentary isn't steering me wrong (And I don't think it ever has before).

 

Oh, and Harris has said that "Number of the Beast" is, like a few other tracks, based partly on dreams of his (But I do think they snagged some stuff from The Omen).

 

And fuck you. "Sign of the Cross" owns.

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True, Blaze owns it. And though I prefer Bruce singing 'Sign of the Cross' and 'The Clansman' (I'm eagerly awaiting his rendition of 'Lord of the Flies'), I prefer Blaze's singing of Afraid To Shoot Strangers than Bruce's. I love that song.

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See, the Blaze songs were good...but they don't fit. There's something "off" about them. Like, they wrote the music as if Bruce was going to sing to it, but Blaze doesn't sound like Bruce. Remember how Priest made the music darker and heavier when Ripper replaced Halford? I think Maiden should have done that.

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See, the Blaze songs were good...but they don't fit. There's something "off" about them. Like, they wrote the music as if Bruce was going to sing to it, but Blaze doesn't sound like Bruce. Remember how Priest made the music darker and heavier when Ripper replaced Halford? I think Maiden should have done that.

But they DID do that with the X-Factor. It's a dark and depressing record unlike anything Maiden had ever done. Compare 'Fear of the Dark' with 'X Factor' and you'll see.

 

People seem to either love it or hate it. I fall into the former category.

 

On the other hand, I agree with you when it comes to Blaze's second album with maiden, Virtual XI. It was more lighter, and happier, and Blaze DID sound out of place in many of the songs.

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I also fall into the category of people who loved X-Factor. I love dark metal as is, and Maiden's detour into the subgenre worked for me

 

Virtual XI however can rot in metal hell. With the exception of the firey "Futureal", most all the songs sucked, IMO, and it also began their trend of writing songs with the same chorus-lines repeated 500 times within a single song that sadly was carried over onto Brave New World (I haven't heard anything from the new one except for the single though)

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PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT!

 

Sorry, I had a reply typed all up, then it died. Fucker.

 

Anyway, first off, I like Virtual XI, and I'd like to point out that it DIDN'T start that trend. Listen to "Caught Somewhere in Time", "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" or "Running Free". They ALL do that, and "Running Free" is on their first album.

 

I still find though, that even though The X Factor is darker and better suited to Blaze, you can still tell in some spots that stuff was written just for Bruce. Listen to the chorus of "Man on the Edge". Blaze just can't seem to go as high as he wants, but hey, your range is your range. Not much he can do about it.

 

Remember how Priest made the music darker and heavier when Ripper replaced Halford?

 

See, the odd thing about this is though, Priest REALLY didn't have to. Ripper has pretty much the EXACT same vocal style as Halford (I mean, he DID sing in a Priest cover band...it was his job) so they could've just kept on going the way they were.

 

But I don't really think they went heavier just because of Ripper. I mean, it had been how many years? Like, 5 since their last CD? And "Painkiller" was a chunk heavier then their other stuff had been. Not a whole lot, but it was there.

 

I think they were just following the natural progression, plus there's the fact that they lost Halford as a writer, which also could've helped change their style.

 

But here's the oddest part, I think:

 

Maiden gets a new singer who sounds different from their old one. They get shat all over for it.

 

Priest gets a singer who sounds the same as their old one. They get shat all over for it.

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But here's the oddest part, I think:

 

Maiden gets a new singer who sounds different from their old one. They get shat all over for it.

 

Priest gets a singer who sounds the same as their old one. They get shat all over for it.

The moral: Don't change your lead singer unless he dies (IE: AC/DC).

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PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT!

 

Sorry, I had a reply typed all up, then it died. Fucker.

 

Anyway, first off, I like Virtual XI, and I'd like to point out that it DIDN'T start that trend. Listen to "Caught Somewhere in Time", "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" or "Running Free". They ALL do that, and "Running Free" is on their first album.[/i]

 

Come on now, you can't compare the 4-5 times the choruses of those songs are sung (with the possible exception of Running Free, which was more punk than metal anyway) with choruses like:

 

"Freedom... Freedom.... Freedom.... Freedom..."

 

"We're blood brothers we're blood brothers we're blood brothers..."

 

"It's a brave new world a brave new world a brave new world..."

 

And of course, my personal favorite

 

"Don't you think I can save you... Don't you think I can save you...

Don't you think I can save you... Don't you think I can save you...

Don't you think I can save you... Don't you think I can save you...

Don't you think I can save you... Don't you think I can save you...

Don't you think I can save you... Don't you think I can save you...

Don't you think I can save you... Don't you think I can save you..."

 

All being repeated more times than I would care to count

 

See, the odd thing about this is though, Priest REALLY didn't have to. Ripper has pretty much the EXACT same vocal style as Halford (I mean, he DID sing in a Priest cover band...it was his job) so they could've just kept on going the way they were.

 

The funny thing to me is that Owens, while possessing Halford's high range, had his own unique low range singing voice that worked very well for him. If you haven't heard it yet, listen to Winters Bane's Heart of a Killer, an excellent metal concept album with Owens at the helm, and he doesn't overdo the high-pitched voices... I mean, I love Rob Halford for the most part, but songs where he uses his high-pitch all the time ("Ressurection") get on my nerves, as opposed to good songs where he alternates or sticks to low range ("Slow Down")

 

As for Owens and JP, I believe it was Tipton and Downing's (moreso Tipton probably, since he's been indicated as the true leader of the group) intention to mold Owens from an original type singer into Halford Jr., going so far as to give him that stupid "Ripper" nickname (a name I hope he's dropped since leaving JP), but hopefully now that he's part of one of the best US metal bands today, he can really step out.

 

Maiden gets a new singer who sounds different from their old one. They get shat all over for it.

 

Priest gets a singer who sounds the same as their old one. They get shat all over for it.

 

Well, there's always that damned if you do/don't element to music

 

If a metal band (not named AC/DC) releases essentially the same album redone 3 times, they're called stagnant and lacking progression

 

If a metal band changes their style immediately from one CD to the next (see: the Euro-goth => Electronic/Techno trend, e.g. Paradise Lost, Tiamat, Theatre of Tragedy, etc.) they're decried as "selling out"

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Actually dude, he's not repeating "Don't you think I can save you" over and over.

 

It's "Don't you think I'm a savoiur/Don't you think I could save you/Don't you think I could save your life".

 

And I wasn't talking about how many times the chorus themselves are being sung - and I didn't think you were either. Just the fact that the chorus' are literally the same phrase over and over and over again. It generally only seems to be about 4 times per chorus anyway, no matter what the song, but hey...

 

Anyway, the bottom line is, Maiden repeating themselves within their chorus' is nothing new, though it's true that these days, they seem to repeat the repeating chorus' more often then in prior years. Sound good?

 

Oh, and I'm going to have to look into this Winters Bane stuff...Oh, and you don't think there's a slight gray area between the exact same album three times, and radically different albums?

 

As for Owens and JP, I believe it was Tipton and Downing's (moreso Tipton probably, since he's been indicated as the true leader of the group) intention to mold Owens from an original type singer into Halford Jr.

 

Where'd you hear that? Considering that Owens used to sing in a Priest cover band, I didn't think he NEEDED to be molded in Halford Jr...on account of it was his job to be Halford Jr.

 

Also, Daryl, I suppose you could argue that they could've found a singer with a better range then Blaze. Which reminds me...I once saw an article in some metal magazine (I think it was an interview with Jericho, actually) where he essentially said that Maiden HAD better choices for the vocalist...but they picked Blaze because he's British, and the others weren't. I dunno how much truth there is in that, but whatever...

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Actually dude, he's not repeating "Don't you think I can save you" over and over.

 

It's "Don't you think I'm a savoiur/Don't you think I could save you/Don't you think I could save your life".

 

Yes I know what the wretched chorus to "Angel and the Gambler" is, I wasn't gonna type the whole thing out though, plus I was being somewhat facetios.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is, Maiden repeating themselves within their chorus' is nothing new, though it's true that these days, they seem to repeat the repeating chorus' more often then in prior years. Sound good?

 

That was what I was saying, so yes.

 

Oh, and I'm going to have to look into this Winters Bane stuff...

 

and you should

 

Oh, and you don't think there's a slight gray area between the exact same album three times, and radically different albums?

 

I'm not sure what you mean here, but I was running with your remark about IM and JP both getting shit upon for the exact opposite circumstances, hence I thought of similar situations I've seen in the metal world over the last 5 years.

 

As for Owens and JP, I believe it was Tipton and Downing's (moreso Tipton probably, since he's been indicated as the true leader of the group) intention to mold Owens from an original type singer into Halford Jr.

 

Where'd you hear that? Considering that Owens used to sing in a Priest cover band, I didn't think he NEEDED to be molded in Halford Jr...on account of it was his job to be Halford Jr.

 

Notice I said "I believe" that was the case, meaning it's just my own opinion and all. While I've heard the whole cover band thing, the only real band I'd heard him being in before was WB, and he only sounded moderately like Halford, but he stuck to his low range most of the time, hence my belief he was taken as a fairly original vocalist with which JP could've taken a new direction, but instead limited him.

 

Be that as it may, he's out of there now, and I hope he dropped the stupid nickname too. I refused to call him by that from day one.

 

Also, Daryl, I suppose you could argue that they could've found a singer with a better range then Blaze. Which reminds me...I once saw an article in some metal magazine (I think it was an interview with Jericho, actually) where he essentially said that Maiden HAD better choices for the vocalist...but they picked Blaze because he's British, and the others weren't. I dunno how much truth there is in that, but whatever...

 

I remember hearing in an interview with Michael Kiske that he had been a consideration as a replacement, but the thought of a British metal band with a German lead singer didn't sit well with them.

 

Now, I think he was cracking a joke when he said that, but if what you say is true, that would shed a different light on it.

 

BTW, I still enjoy Blaze as a vocalist and think he gets unfairly shit upon, and I would suggest that metal fans check out his post-Maiden solo releases

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Kiske as Maiden's vocalist would have been interesting. Though if memory serves, he no longer had any interest in singing metal anymore.

 

The reason why Blaze was chosen is because Harris liked the guy (both personally and as a singer).

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Maiden's new single is awful. The best song of their new album is "Face in the Sand", you should all check that out.

 

As far as Priest goes, I actually dislike them after Halford left. Jugulator was a huge letdown for me.

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