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User
Soundoffs 34
Album Ratings 1682
Objectivity 61%
Last Active 02-17-22 1:12 am
Joined 02-03-09
Review Comments 161
| Iron Maiden Ranked
With too much free time on my hands this past week, along with uncertainties about my memories of these albums, I decided to give one of the bands that got me into metal another spin. I also ranked each song on the albums, but I'm not tiering the entire discography of songs together because I'm not insane. | | 17 |  | Iron Maiden
Virtual XI
Oh man when you're listening to the discography chronologically, it's impossible to make it through this album. The most egregious offenders of Iron Maiden Chorus Repeat are on this album, and it's a shocker that When Two Worlds Collide is actually decent. Maybe The Clansman is alright, but I was really burnt out from The X Factor and we had another slow boring intro situation I couldn't not skip around. Futureal's half decent, half sounding like a B-Rate Iron Maiden tribute band. I'm also glad we only had two albums with Blaze Bayley... he clearly is not suited for this kind of music. At least it's only up from here, right? Oh I sure hope Iron Maiden's likely eventual eighteenth album isn't worse than this.
B: When Two Worlds Collide
C: The Clansman, Futureal, Lightning Strikes Twice, Como Estais Amigos
D: Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger, The Educated Fool
F: The Angel and the Gambler | | 16 |  | Iron Maiden
Senjutsu
I was too kind to this album when I first listened to it, but I do remember thinking it was a massive step down from The Book of Souls. Where did all the energy go from that album? The production is ass, the album is too long for the lack of interesting segments, and there's too many boring slow quiet intros. Anything trying to claw its way out of the depths of mediocrity is kicked back down into the pit by these issues.
B: Days of Future Past
C: Hell on Earth, The Time Machine, Stratego, The Writing on the Wall, The Parchment, Lost in a Lost World, Senjutsu, Death of the Celts
D: Darkest Hour | | 15 |  | Iron Maiden
No Prayer for the Dying
Iron Maiden dialing back the prog after Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son could have been fine, but instead we got... this. It's no wonder Adrian Smith left the band before this album because Bruce's "tough guy" voice is grating and really embarrassing. But then you have some songs that are actually pretty good, but unfortunately some awful ones and ones that are kinda eeeeh.
B: Mother Russia, Tail Gunner, Fates Warning
C: The Assassin, No Prayer for the Dying, Run Silent Run Deep, Public Enema Number One
F: Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter, Hooks in You, Holy Smoke | | 14 |  | Iron Maiden
The X Factor
Iron Maiden's modern sound actually started here, but this is everything bad about their modern sound. There are so many long, drawn-out songs with uninteresting quiet intros that go on too long. And, of course, Blaze Bayley's aggressively mediocre voice. I had to skip around most of this album it's pretty boring. At least they open with Sign of the Cross that's mostly all you need this album for.
A: Sign of the Cross, The Edge of Darkness
C: The Aftermath, Man on the Edge, Lord of the Flies, Judgement of Heaven, Blood on the World's Hands, Look for the Truth, 2 A.M., The Unbeliever
D: Fortunes of War | | 13 |  | Iron Maiden
Fear of the Dark
The most peaks and valleys Iron Maiden have had, but unfortunately there's more bad than good. Some songs are embarrassing trend chasing shlock, while others are bangers you'd expect from this band. No Prayer for the Dark would be a great compilation album if you took the best tracks from each.
A: Fear of the Dark
B: Be Quick or Be Dead, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Judas My Guide
C: Childhood's End, The Fugitive, Chains of Misery
D: The Apparition, Wasting Love, Fear is the Key, From Here to Eternity
F: Weekend Warrior | | 12 |  | Iron Maiden
The Final Frontier
This is certainly one of the albums of all time. Too bloated, nothing is really gripping me, but there's also nothing outright bad. Background noise: the album. Next.
B: The Alchemist, When the Wild Wind Blows, Isle of Avalon, The Talisman
C: Starblind, Mother of Mercy, The Man Who Would Be King, Satellite 15... The Final Frontier, El Dorado, Coming Home | | 11 |  | Iron Maiden
A Matter of Life and Death
This was the first Iron Maiden album I had besides a greatest hits compilation. Definitely a whiplash from the few classic songs that get you to check the band out. It's similar to Dance of Death, their established modern sound, but with more progressive elements. Unfortunately, this album needs some edits. Some songs are too bloated and need cuts, and others merely exist. If we had my As and Bs and then shaved off a verse/chorus of The Longest Day, I bet this would be regarded much better, but alas.
A: Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
B: The Legacy, Lord of Light, For the Greater Good of God, These Colours Don't Run
C: The Longest Day, The Pilgrim, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, Different World, Out of the Shadows | | 10 |  | Iron Maiden
Brave New World
After dragging myself through the previous four albums chronologically, I now understand the massive praise this album got. It's also a pretty fresh sound for the band, X Factor but refined properly. While Iron Maiden Chorus Repeat is a problem with this album, it's still solid in spite of that. It's like perfectly acceptable background music for the most part. Overall, little grabbed me despite the parts they hammer into your head, but little took me out of things, either.
A: The Wicker Man
B: Brave New World, Out of the the Silent Planet, Ghost of the Navigator, Blood Brothers, The Fallen Angel, Thin Line Between Love and Hate
C: The Mercenary, Dream of Mirrors, The Nomad | | 9 |  | Iron Maiden
Killers
This feels like a bunch of B-Sides that didn't make it on the debut. There are a few songs that stand above the rest, but most of the album is kind of there.
A: Genghis Khan, Murders in the Rue Morgue
B: The Ides of March, Wrathchild, Killers, Purgatory, Prodigal Son
C: Drifters, Innocent Exile, Twilight Zone, Another Life | | 8 |  | Iron Maiden
Dance of Death
This is clearly better than Brave New World, people were probably filtered by the artwork. Okay maybe if you want consistency you'll reach for Brave New World, but I'll take the peaks of this album any day.
S: Paschendale
A: Dance of Death
B: Montsegur, Rainmaker, Face in the Sand, Age of Innocence, Journeyman, No More Lies
C: Gates of Tomorrow, Wildest Dreams, New Frontier | | 7 |  | Iron Maiden
Piece of Mind
The Killers of The Number of the Beast-- the same step down and B-Sides feel permeates this album. At least there are some fantastic songs here, but some songs kind of drag on too long.
S: The Trooper
A: Where Eagles Dare
B: Die With Your Boots On, Revelations, To Tame a Land, Still Life, Flight of Icarus
C: Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel | | 6 |  | Iron Maiden
The Book of Souls
As I could feel the band slowly trending downwards after Dance of Death, I knew that I had fallen into the hype trap for this album. There's no way it's as quality as I initially assumed, right? And it's so long! I was glad to be not only proven wrong, but to see that it was even better than I originally thought-- I'm impressed at how they managed to bang out this monster so late in their life. Sure, it is very long, but they don't really fall into compositional traps that they've been doing in their longer albums. Sure, it could have benefitted from some cuts, but those would be some fillery songs.
S: Empire of the Clouds
A: The Red and the Black, The Book of Souls
B: If Eternity Should Fail, Tears of a Clown, The Great Unknown, When the River Runs Deep, Speed of Light, Death or Glory, Shadows of the Valley, The Man of Sorrows | | 5 |  | Iron Maiden
The Number of the Beast
Kind of wild I used to think this was the worst of Iron Maiden's first seven albums. Probably lingering contrarianism from my teenage years. Some songs are kind of there, but there are definitely some absolute classics on this album and killer guitar solos.
S: Hallowed be thy Name
A: Run to the Hills, Children of the Damned, The Number of the Beast
B: Total Eclipse, 22 Acacia Avenue, The Prisoner, Invaders
C: Gangland | | 4 |  | Iron Maiden
Powerslave
The king of consistency is the name of Powerslave's game. It's pretty widely accepted that the middle four tracks are kind of there compared to the bookending songs, but they're still pretty good in a vacuum.
S: Rime of the Ancient Mariner
A: Powerslave, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Aces High
B: Flash of the Blade, The Duellists, Back in the Village, Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) | | 3 |  | Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
What an impressive debut. A nice raw, punk edge marks this album, but there are still signs of what the band will become in some songs. Phantom of the Opera is still best Iron Maiden song, fight me.
S: Phantom of the Opera
A: Transylvania, Prowler, Iron Maiden, Remember Tomorrow
B: Charlotte the Harlot, Running Free, Strange World
C: Sanctuary | | 2 |  | Iron Maiden
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Probably the peak of Iron Maiden's progressive style. There are several killer songs, but also some missteps. The title track has a pretty bland chorus lyrically, but the ending part makes up for it. Can I Play With Madness can sometimes be too annoying to listen to. And The Prophecy is kind of a filler interlude. But everything else hits just right.
S: Moonchild, Infinite Dreams, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
A: The Evil That Men Do, The Clairvoyant, Only the Good Die Young
B: Can I Play With Madness
C: The Prophecy | | 1 |  | Iron Maiden
Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden try a more progressive and atmospheric approach for the first time, and everything works out beautifully. There's so many great guitar parts in this album. Most people say Stranger in a Strange Land is the worst song on the album, and it's still pretty good. Better than some of their entire albums, even.
S: Alexander the Great, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Heaven Can Wait
A: Deja Vu, Caught Somewhere in Time, Sea of Madness
B: Wasted Years, Stranger in a Strange Land | |
ballsohard22
05.01.23 | damn dance of death higher than brave new world is a very minority take lol | Zac124
05.01.23 | Dance of Death being in the top 10 is correct. So many great songs are on it and for me, it is their best album post 80s. | charbyno
05.01.23 | I’ll be seeing Iron Maiden on the opening night of the Future Past Tour in Slovenia in a few weeks. I’m really hoping they play Alexander the Great and The Parchment! | mynameischan
05.01.23 | Virtual XI is great but I know I’m in the minority there. Always glad to see No Prayer for the Dying low. That is without a doubt their worst album | Sabrutin
05.01.23 | props for having the debut so high, I love it. SiT is also likely my favorite one too. Sea of Madness B-tier is criminal though, that's like a contender for my favore IM song | pyroflare77
05.01.23 | Good luck charbyno, apparently they've never played Alexander live.
I'm sure Sea of Madness is still pretty good. I was listening to a lot of Iron Maiden, it probably just didn't hit right in that context. If I had the care to do so, I think it would be B+ if that gives you any solace, Sabrutin. | DType
05.01.23 | 1 is 1, 5 is massively overrated and 9 should be higher | Sabrutin
05.01.23 | " If I had the care to do so, I think it would be B+ if that gives you any solace, Sabrutin."
It's okay, I checked your Sigh list and noticed you put In Somniphobia very high which made me very happy | pyroflare77
05.02.23 | Okay, I listened to Sea of Madness again since I recall being wishy washy on which of it or Wasted Years was better. It's A now. I think the chorus feeling a little flat lowered it? But it's more interesting than Wasted Years, that's for sure. | rockarollacola
05.02.23 | Shitjutzu should be last, but #1 is correct. | budgie
05.02.23 | "This feels like a bunch of B-Sides that didn't make it on the debut.
aghhhhhhhhhhhh | pyroflare77
05.02.23 | Wrathchild should be the low point of your album, not a highlight. (It's still a good song, it's just they established a year ago they're mostly above merely good songs). | Butkuiss
05.03.23 | Amolad way too low, and SWIT is by far the weakest of their classic era | Flugmorph
05.03.23 | all bad | Donchivo
09.06.23 | Dance Of Death is a huge snoozefest... No More Lies is the only song that would reach 3.5 or above. Songs themselves sound off and some are overlong. Wildest Dreams is a contestant for worse Maiden song ever. Definitely bottom 5 Maiden and a huge step down from Brave New World...
And I absolutely agree with Buttkuiss points. |
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