| | Full Review | Ratings (1600) |
Give your Rating |
| 4.0 excellent | CrazyFool84 | February 13th 09 | Despite the heavy criticism this album receives for consisting of the departure of Dickinson and the entrance of vocalist Blaze Bailey, fans should try to remember that what makes Iron Maiden so incredible is the musicians behind it: this means the instrumentalists rather than a heavy focus on the singer. Let's be honest here anyway, Blaze desperately tries to pull off a Dickenson-esqe vocal style, and though he isn't able to get as high, it definitely does the job for a Maiden release. As a band, Maiden has only sounded tighter on their classic releases. Virtually every track here has something enjoyable for the average Maiden fan, and the band even tries to explore a few new signatures/composition structures. My main complaint here would be that the album lacks a flowing feel that Iron Maiden has come to make signature to their sound. Aside from the odd meandering track, however, this is a powerfully underrated disc.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | Resident Metalhead Piranha | July 5th 17 | Bruce left for a reason, and he sounded tired of being Iron Maiden's frontman anyway. Enter Blaze Bayley with a melodic yet lower registered voice, and while he's not the commanding leader Bruce was, he fits like a glove with the morbid material here. "Sign of The Cross" proves to be one of the band's most epic openings and is a highlight in their career with its quite, atmospheric passages, progressive nature, Blaze's vocal performance, and frantic verses. "Lord of The Flies" and "Man on The Edge" are great tunes as well and are uplifted by the fittingly gruff vocals of Bayley. The production values are very nice here with the rhythm section receiving a boost in fullness and clarity. "The Edge of Darkness" is a terrific song, and "Fortunes of War" is fittingly morbid. The familiar musicianship and darker themes are a welcome change from the identity crisis of the previous two records, but the album's length and presence of filler knock this album down to just marginally better than its predecessors. Still a solid album by the group.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | mandan | November 30th 14 | Highly underrated album. People most likely judge it due to the change in vocals. Nevertheless, The X Factor marked a significant improvement over the mediocre No Prayer for the Dying and the decent-but-lacking Fear of the Dark.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | Xenorazr | March 1st 10 | Iron Maiden encounter an odd conundrum on The X Factor, primarily due to Blaze Baylay replacing Bruce Dickinson. The themes, concepts and instrumental aspects of the album are all great, with some slow, dark and atmospheric moments making up most of the highlights. However, Blaze reveals himself as a severely limited vocalist, especially compared to Dickinson. Though he sounds fine when doing slow undertones, when he tries going for louder styles his weaknesses definitely show. Fortunately, this doesn't hinder the album to the point where it isn't enjoyable. Thus, we have a competent release by Maiden overall, but not one that comes to mind when wanting multiple listens.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 1.0 awful | Hot Bowser | September 27th 21 | bruce dick was the one who deflowered the maiden. this is just adultery
Bump |
| 2.5 average | JulioSlayer | September 17th 21 | Review some of my old ratings by comparison with the new album and the context of the time that album was released.
Bump |
| 2.0 poor | GamamJ | November 3rd 20 | Not awful, but very poor, especially clnsidering Maiden standards. The opener and closer are amazing, and it is safe to say this is Maiden?s heaviest album, but the writing, frankly, sucks. Blaze also does not fit the mold the slightest bit. Sounds horrific.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Samuel | July 16th 20 | This album is vastly superior to Virtual XI, and has some legitimate bangers on it, such as "Sign of The Cross" and "Man on The Edge". Other standouts include "Heart of Darkness" and "Lord of The Flies". Blaze honestly sounds great here, and the songwriting far outstrips its successor.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Blazewire | June 22nd 20 | I've got a soft spot for The X Factor album. Darker lyrical content and the first album album with Blaze Bayley as the vocalist. Easily overlooked as the being an album without Bruce Dickinson as the vocalist. This album for me sets up what Maiden would go on to do once Bruce came back to the fold. The longer, more progressive leaning songs. Songs to check out: Man on the Edge, Lord of the Flies, and Sign of the Cross.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | bobcarl2 | December 17th 18 | A collection of solid instrumentals accompanied by a lackluster performance by Blaze in an album that overstays its welcome.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | TP397 | December 13th 16 | I think that this album is excellent in a way. Because it has half of excellent songs (to me) and half of good songs. I also think that this album is a great debut for Blaze.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | Corde64 | March 29th 16 | Very far from being my favorite Maiden's album, I never listen to this one at all, it has some good songs though, but it's just not good enough.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | TheAJMetal | August 27th 14 | If nothing else, The X Factor is definitely the most boring album Iron Maiden has put out to this point. Their first several albums are almost all considered classics in the genre of heavy metal. Even when they began to falter in 1990, No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark were at least definitely Maiden albums, and they weren't totally cringe-inducing. This album features a new vocalist. His voice is much more tiring than Dickinson. He tries to have just as powerful of a voice, but no one can be deceived. Despite everything bad about it, it is definitely an original album with a much darker tone and longer length. This isn't 100% awful but it's just not fun to listen to. At all. I can't imagine it being considered anything but average.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Mitch | June 27th 14 | Fiercely underrated album. Only hated because it's not Bruce, but that's why the album succeeds in being such a great listen. "Sign of the Cross" is the best Iron Maiden song ever.
Bump |
| 2.0 poor | lalchimiste | April 3rd 14 | Holy fuck this is bad. Recycled riffs, M.I.A. Adrian Smith, horrible vocals.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | Fernando Alves | July 15th 11 | Mission impossible: Replacing Bruce part.1. Some good moments like Man on the Edge or Sign of the Cross are not enough to make this a classic Iron Maiden album. Up the Irons!!
Bump |
| 2.0 poor | ghigno92 | September 21st 10 | The only good song here is "Sign Of The Cross"
Bump |
| 1.0 awful | Spotter | August 5th 10 | Don't listen to it sounds nothing like Iron Maiden. You have to be high to like this album.
Bump |
| 2.0 poor | met65 | July 17th 06 | This is the better album with Blaze, but still is not that great.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | Bard0 | February 13th 25 |
| 3.5 great | Glovoc | December 15th 24 |
| 3.0 good | Timmy | August 1st 24 |
| 1.5 very poor | exciter | April 5th 24 |
| 2.5 average | nbats | March 16th 24 |
| 2.5 average | El Olam | January 13th 24 |
| 3.0 good | Veldin | September 25th 23 |
| 3.5 great | JW1985 | July 31st 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | joitp | June 14th 23 |
| 3.5 great | haley | March 22nd 23 |
| 3.5 great | Rick64 | January 16th 23 |
| 3.5 great | Phasma | December 14th 22 |
| 5.0 classic | Skye09 | December 6th 22 |
| 1.5 very poor | xHaunted | November 29th 22 |
| 3.0 good | quixnd | September 14th 22 |
| 2.0 poor | Djokoll | September 14th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Elmo | July 29th 22 |
| 2.5 average | bungy | June 17th 22 |
| 2.0 poor | Matty CONTRIBUTOR | June 10th 22 |
| 2.0 poor | Davey | May 5th 22 |
| 1.5 very poor | NewDawn | April 20th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | Murilo | March 14th 22 |
| 2.5 average | Brains | November 18th 21 |
| 2.0 poor | Quill | October 30th 21 |
| 2.0 poor | Jero | October 29th 21 |
| 2.0 poor | Lvxfra | October 24th 21 |
| 3.0 good | Metz | October 8th 21 |
| 5.0 classic | salnas | September 24th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | 72haha72 | September 13th 21 |
| 2.5 average | hbr00 | September 13th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | thearth | September 3rd 21 |
| 3.0 good | kodama | September 3rd 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jonatas | August 4th 21 |
| 2.5 average | bens | July 26th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | frye | July 24th 21 |
| 5.0 classic | blubbo | July 5th 21 |
| 3.5 great | Jips | May 25th 21 |
| 2.5 average | Oobaloo | February 28th 21 |
| 2.5 average | Harlz | February 23rd 21 |
| 2.5 average | Zac124 | January 26th 21 |
| 5.0 classic | Basina | December 24th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Brabiz | November 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | jaqm007 | October 14th 20 |
| 2.5 average | Wj2006 | September 23rd 20 |
| 3.0 good | JK1 | April 19th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jay78 | April 7th 20 |
| 2.0 poor | TAN | January 30th 20 |
| 2.7 average | Simon K. STAFF | October 15th 19 |
| 3.5 great | qwenta | October 4th 19 |
| 3.5 great | jmal00 | September 18th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | vil1 | September 8th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | Radex | August 17th 19 |
| 2.5 average | you789 | July 1st 19 |
| 2.0 poor | igi78 | June 26th 19 |
| 3.0 good | josh | June 10th 19 |
| 4.5 superb | Pale | June 9th 19 |
| 3.0 good | Josh | June 2nd 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | qyxxxyq | April 9th 19 |
| 3.5 great | weik | April 3rd 19 |
| 1.5 very poor | Lanteri | March 26th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | kkarron | January 29th 19 |
| 3.5 great | gk1979 | January 28th 19 |
| 2.5 average | MarcoLG | January 24th 19 |
| 2.5 average | rodschi | January 11th 19 |
| 2.0 poor | bSmith | December 14th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | nbarrak | November 30th 18 |
| 2.5 average | bde1314 | November 2nd 18 |
| 2.5 average | KGB777 | October 17th 18 |
| 2.0 poor | J1m1 | September 8th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | kempokid | September 1st 18 |
| 3.5 great | Kasper | July 16th 18 |
| 3.5 great | Ale21 | June 10th 18 |
| 1.5 very poor | Santet | April 18th 18 |
| 3.0 good | eirinn | March 28th 18 |
| 2.0 poor | Basara | March 16th 18 |
| 2.5 average | gtekkk | March 3rd 18 |
| 3.5 great | Rosier | February 9th 18 |
| 3.0 good | Defcol | December 28th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Fear | December 28th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Jedaum | December 24th 17 |
| 3.0 good | RONFL | December 19th 17 |
| 1.5 very poor | Elynna | December 5th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Helen28 | December 4th 17 |
| 2.0 poor | Marci | November 21st 17 |
| 2.5 average | epmxcx | November 16th 17 |
| 3.0 good | TheGuy | November 15th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Jokurr | November 7th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Darxeve | November 6th 17 |
| 2.5 average | adios | October 8th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | motor51 | October 4th 17 |
| 2.5 average | Emelic | September 12th 17 |
| 3.0 good | Jhator | August 28th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | ssak | August 20th 17 |
| 2.0 poor | ogan | August 17th 17 |
| 3.5 great | jnedi | August 7th 17 |
| 3.5 great | Arokan | July 31st 17 |
| 1.5 very poor | jsoares | June 11th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | P0laris | March 29th 17 |
| 3.0 good | klesa | March 25th 17 |
| 3.0 good | Gbhill | February 14th 17 |
| 1.5 very poor | mask | December 16th 16 |
| 2.0 poor | chape | December 3rd 16 |
| 1.5 very poor | Wolfe | November 29th 16 |
| 2.0 poor | Smorge | November 28th 16 |
| 2.0 poor | colen | November 20th 16 |
| 2.0 poor | amhc | November 15th 16 |
| 3.0 good | Xurxo | November 8th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | leopm | November 8th 16 |
| 2.5 average | btscott | October 30th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Gozpot | October 20th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Twiddlw | October 17th 16 |
| 1.5 very poor | cahz | October 12th 16 |
| 3.5 great | DarthGL | September 25th 16 |
| 1.5 very poor | ladyevil | September 17th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Faenrir | September 13th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | TJCombo | September 6th 16 |
| 1.5 very poor | abarbi | September 6th 16 |
| 3.5 great | gilly | August 28th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | kark | August 24th 16 |
| 3.0 good | DaveD | August 18th 16 |
| 2.5 average | zantxu | August 3rd 16 |
| 1.5 very poor | bbgames | July 28th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Lanas | July 22nd 16 |
| 2.5 average | scxr91 | May 27th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | PG2001 | May 21st 16 |
| 2.5 average | SB129 | May 16th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Minas1 | May 2nd 16 |
| 2.0 poor | Wajd | April 6th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Issa | March 15th 16 |
| 2.5 average | quixand | January 24th 16 |
| 2.0 poor | hpmk26 | January 18th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Fenix | January 7th 16 |
| 3.0 good | C3PO | November 24th 15 |
| 3.0 good | Pegana | November 18th 15 |
| 4.5 superb | desertm | November 17th 15 |
| 2.5 average | orlock | November 12th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | Bierlag | October 24th 15 |
| 2.5 average | knutan | October 12th 15 |
| 2.0 poor | Fozzie | September 25th 15 |
| 3.0 good | Jeejee | September 19th 15 |
| 3.0 good | Thiagao | September 18th 15 |
| 1.5 very poor | Asudifo | September 13th 15 |
| 2.5 average | Faustus | September 9th 15 |
| 2.5 average | VVild18 | September 7th 15 |
| 2.5 average | Jsalway | September 6th 15 |
| 3.5 great | dmnaiz | September 2nd 15 |
| 3.0 good | Icesky | August 25th 15 |
| 2.5 average | Hydra12 | August 23rd 15 |
| 3.0 good | jpolf | August 10th 15 |
| 2.5 average | manu8a | August 3rd 15 |
| 3.0 good | Irving EMERITUS | July 21st 15 |
| 2.0 poor | silva | July 19th 15 |
| 4.5 superb | Paul | July 9th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | footsal | June 20th 15 |
| 2.0 poor | SuzyC | March 24th 15 |
| 3.0 good | Aion | March 6th 15 |
| 1.0 awful | Jeclub | January 20th 15 |
| 2.5 average | megared | January 9th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | lecag | January 1st 15 |
| 2.5 average | Aaron77 | December 24th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | KyleW | December 22nd 14 |
| 1.5 very poor | slaps | December 17th 14 |
| 3.5 great | Kalhur | December 9th 14 |
| 2.5 average | Titan | November 28th 14 |
| 3.5 great | CRJ | November 19th 14 |
| 2.0 poor | DrDom | October 24th 14 |
| 2.5 average | Lassie | October 15th 14 |
| 4.5 superb | Sat13 | October 11th 14 |
| 3.0 good | ariich | October 4th 14 |
| 1.5 very poor | Altheus | September 1st 14 |
| 2.5 average | Surtur | July 28th 14 |
| 2.5 average | DrJohn | July 27th 14 |
| 2.5 average | betray | July 1st 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | Guacker | June 23rd 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ware | June 16th 14 |
| 2.0 poor | adr | June 1st 14 |
| 3.0 good | Roman | April 22nd 14 |
| 2.5 average | ngk44 | April 16th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | lensag | March 20th 14 |
| 3.5 great | Louis04 | February 17th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sithese | February 17th 14 |
| 4.5 superb | Sebe | February 1st 14 |
| 3.0 good | bing93 | January 19th 14 |
| 3.0 good | gas83 | January 3rd 14 |
| 3.5 great | amigou | December 31st 13 |
| 2.5 average | stosick | December 30th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | artine | December 17th 13 |
| 3.0 good | theleo | December 14th 13 |
| 1.0 awful | willow | November 17th 13 |
| 3.0 good | deslad | November 6th 13 |
| 3.0 good | Kazem | October 14th 13 |
| 2.5 average | afafard | September 15th 13 |
| 2.5 average | Zydar | September 6th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | nashet | September 5th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | rawolo | September 3rd 13 |
| 2.5 average | alarm | August 13th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | lubo | August 5th 13 |
| 3.5 great | Fra | May 24th 13 |
| 1.5 very poor | Jackus | May 16th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | ramon | May 15th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | Trey STAFF | May 3rd 13 |
| 2.5 average | kual21 | April 3rd 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | NickBass | February 28th 13 |
| 2.5 average | roig | February 26th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | arthen | February 17th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | Splint | February 16th 13 |
| 2.5 average | Alex C. | January 30th 13 |
| 2.5 average | Veritus | January 21st 13 |
| 2.0 poor | Zeg | December 30th 12 |
| 3.0 good | Xav | December 26th 12 |
| 2.8 good | manosg EMERITUS | December 24th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Dunpeal | December 24th 12 |
| 2.5 average | nicowyp | December 8th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | stams83 | November 11th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | 7trials | November 3rd 12 |
| 2.0 poor | Sunlar | October 30th 12 |
| 2.5 average | outro | October 29th 12 |
| 2.5 average | srm90 | October 19th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Derudo | October 16th 12 |
| 3.5 great | zenin | October 5th 12 |
| 3.0 good | sagu | September 29th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | ron19 | September 27th 12 |
| 3.0 good | Yoz | September 20th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | Dime22 | September 13th 12 |
| 3.0 good | goliva | September 8th 12 |
| 3.0 good | bohmoh | August 29th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Curse. | August 26th 12 |
| 5.0 classic | Avior27 | August 24th 12 |
| 2.5 average | KDH88 | August 13th 12 |
| 1.0 awful | Joebob | August 6th 12 |
| 3.0 good | mho | June 29th 12 |
| 3.5 great | MilanL | June 16th 12 |
| 2.0 poor | Rizen | May 23rd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | rinai | May 13th 12 |
| 3.0 good | Cyuss | April 14th 12 |
| 2.5 average | ZedO | March 29th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | leycec | March 25th 12 |
| 3.0 good | SeiGor | March 10th 12 |
| 3.5 great | facupm | March 1st 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | thosava | February 27th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Siamois | February 22nd 12 |
| 3.0 good | Yax | February 18th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Reason | December 28th 11 |
| 2.5 average | Coast | December 25th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Bobtrap | December 18th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | KILL | November 28th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | Apina | November 26th 11 |
| 3.0 good | Sacca | November 24th 11 |
| 3.0 good | junkie | November 16th 11 |
| 2.5 average | endtell | November 13th 11 |
| 2.5 average | itzcalv | October 21st 11 |
| 3.5 great | tkleo | October 19th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Anonymo | October 18th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | eran555 | October 1st 11 |
| 3.5 great | stotty | September 25th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | Knave | August 27th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | op3th | August 19th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | tribszn | August 16th 11 |
| 2.5 average | zacab | August 15th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | true | July 26th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Dvase1 | July 20th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | Phaze | July 11th 11 |
| 1.5 very poor | telex | June 29th 11 |
| 1.0 awful | War | June 26th 11 |
| 3.5 great | LWR | June 18th 11 |
| 2.5 average | Lebren | June 11th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | Muzix | May 22nd 11 |
| 5.0 classic | Zo0lz | April 15th 11 |
| 2.0 poor | Jiffi | March 30th 11 |
| 2.5 average | Zaltys | March 24th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | itsdark | March 11th 11 |
| 3.5 great | Oli100 | February 9th 11 |
| 2.5 average | MacOlzu | February 5th 11 |
| 3.0 good | Pace | January 8th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Bobek9 | December 6th 10 |
| 1.5 very poor | Lame144 | December 4th 10 |
| 2.5 average | wrax | November 21st 10 |
| 3.0 good | madmok | November 12th 10 |
| 2.0 poor | silmar | October 16th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Clayton | October 4th 10 |
| 2.0 poor | Dwap | September 21st 10 |
| 2.5 average | Nego | September 10th 10 |
| 1.5 very poor | cotras | September 10th 10 |
| 2.0 poor | noisy | September 5th 10 |
| 1.0 awful | Tezuki | August 25th 10 |
| 3.0 good | thawey | August 23rd 10 |
| 2.5 average | Luffy | August 21st 10 |
| 3.5 great | Voivod STAFF | August 14th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Caveman | August 2nd 10 |
| 3.5 great | Yusuf | June 9th 10 |
| 2.5 average | guddy7 | June 5th 10 |
| 2.0 poor | Rhino | May 12th 10 |
| 3.5 great | xcouzi | April 15th 10 |
| 1.5 very poor | Padraga | March 21st 10 |
| 3.5 great | HBTN | March 21st 10 |
| 2.0 poor | Jind | March 7th 10 |
| 2.5 average | Thef | February 16th 10 |
| 2.5 average | MrGM | February 13th 10 |
| 1.5 very poor | NSlave | January 7th 10 |
| 1.5 very poor | Ire | December 1st 09 |
| 3.0 good | aeuk | November 16th 09 |
| 2.0 poor | Jumaos | October 9th 09 |
| 3.0 good | mar1s | October 1st 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | UniBr0w | July 29th 09 |
| 3.5 great | xcrari | July 27th 09 |
| 1.5 very poor | feav233 | June 15th 09 |
| 3.0 good | jybt | May 30th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | chdahi | April 2nd 09 |
| 1.5 very poor | jambian | December 25th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | feehan | October 14th 08 |
| 2.5 average | gafel | September 10th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | quaazi | August 1st 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | soneast | July 30th 08 |
| 2.5 average | J34 | July 2nd 08 |
| 3.0 good | Mikesn EMERITUS | May 1st 08 |
| 1.5 very poor | Kyle Ward EMERITUS | March 30th 08 |
| 2.5 average | Zizzer | December 22nd 07 |
| 1.0 awful | Rawar | December 12th 07 |
| 4.0 excellent | Maz | November 29th 07 |
| 2.5 average | Arlan89 | October 24th 07 |
| 2.0 poor | epizoan | September 30th 07 |
| 1.0 awful | jk2two | September 5th 07 |
| 4.5 superb | zyend | January 23rd 06 |
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