16
The X-Factor (1995)
-This was former Wolfsbane front man Blaze Bayley's first album with Maiden. He was somewhat familiar with Maiden, but feared it would be a big challenge to step up and try and sing like his predecessor. Adding to the challenge was Steve Harris going through a lot in his personal life, leaving him to produce the album mostly on his own, since producer Martin Birch had retired.
-My opinion: I like the album. It's dark, moody, it's good. The 1990s were the era of dark, moody, grunge songs. It sounds like it fits into the time period of the 1990s. Sure, some of the songs are long, but that's what makes Maiden, well Maiden!! I applaud Blaze for taking the job he was given and running with it. This is one of the more frequently played Iron Maiden albums in my car. "Man on the Edge" is just addictive, with its breakneck pace. So is "Judgement of Heaven", with its lyrics almost pointing the finger to the heavens. Blaze sings his own way, not trying to be like the predecessor, with all his operatic vocals.
15
Virtual XI (1998)
-This was the second and last album with Blaze Bayley. It apparently didn't go over well with Americans, since the title was apparently a soccer (football) reference. What also didn't help was that Blaze was starting to have continual voice problems. Not from substance abuse, as some would think. No, Blaze's voice problems were coming from trying to sing like Bruce Dickinson. He had a physically demanding job and his voice just wasn't able to hold up. Not only that, Martin Birch had, by the time of The X Factor, retired, leaving Steve Harris to act as both producer and bassist. To top things off even more, Steve Harris was going through a divorce from his high school sweetheart, Lorraine. She's the mother of their four kids-Lauren, Kerry, Faye and George-at the time and it added unnecessary stress on the man's mind.
-My opinion: I like it. There were a lot of good songs on here. The somewhat long "The Angel and the Gambler" was good. It was long, but good. The video was a bit humorous, showing Blaze Bayley walking up to an Eddie bartender demanding drinks dressed in a longrider coat and showing the band playing poker or blackjack and showing a close up of Steve Harris' "poker face". Overall, I liked the songs. They fit with the time period-slightly doomy, slightly grunge-y.
14
No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
-This was Janick Gers' debut album on guitar. By this point, guitar slinger Adrian Smith had left to pursue other roads. His "other roads" included a somewhat interesting project called ASAP (Adrian Smith Album Project). This project released one or two albums that have developed an underground following. But with him out of the Maiden picture, a new guitarist was needed. Enter former Gillan guitarist Janick Gers. Since the 1990s were known as the era of "emo", "grunge", Maiden seemed to be trying to keep the faith among the metal fans, but were simply not able to compete against newer metallers, like Anthrax, Sepultura, Fear Factory, Type O Negative, etc. These newer metallers were bringing a newer sound-more aggressive, more flashy, more speed, a darker image and sound. With Bruce Dickinson completing a successful solo record called Tattooed Millionaire, it was obvious from everyone that he was trying to prove he could write just as many songs as Steve Harris. In fact, when Steve Harris heard one of Bruce's songs, "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter", he insisted they use it for Maiden, which let off some of the steam that was continuing to build between the vocalist and bassist.
-My opinion: It was good. There were a few good songs on it. I personally like "Bring You Daughter to the Slaughter", "Mother Russia" and "Hooks in You". Those are my favorites. I mean, the album was good, don't get me wrong, but you can almost imagine the tension in that band running on near overload. You can imagine it was one wrong look, one wrong word before someone starting fighting someone or attempting to kill someone.
13
Dance of Death (2003)
-This album had come three years after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined the Maiden family. A lot of people, especially at Ultimate Classic Rock, look at this album as being a let down. They say that the songs "Paschendale", "Rainmaker", "Wildest Dreams" are the more fine tracks of the album, but they also say that the album is just not enough to warrant listen to, more or less
-My opinion: I actually like the album. Whenever I get to the track "Rainmaker", I end up repeating it 3 or 4 times because I love the frenetic pace of the song. "Paschendale" is a pretty good song too. I like that one because it sounds doomy in some parts, then picks up the pace a little ways down. Despite the fact that the members of Maiden or other Maiden fans don't seem so enthused about the track "Gates of Tomorrow", I love it. It's a great track. It sounds exactly like something Maiden would write-sweeping guitar rhythms, a touch of looking into the future, questioning the future, etc.
12
The Final Frontier (2010)
-At first, people didn't know what to think of Maiden as a sextet (6 person group for those who don't know). Read any interview by Steve Harris where he is asked about having three guitarists and he'll probably respond to something like this- "I always wanted three guitarists anyway.". This album is definitely the more popular album among the Maiden elite. For a group of men all in their 50s to be making an album as epic as this is just a testament to the world of metal. These men not only were competing with the new metallers, they pushed these new metallers aside to show them who really holds the title of kings of the metal world. Not one song on this album is under five minutes, but it did produce some seriously good prog rock-type tracks, like "Isle of Avalon", "The Man Who Would Be King", etc. These prog rock-type songs seem to be right up Steve's alley
-My opinion: Definitely one of the better albums. I'm partial to "El Dorado", "When the Wild Wind Blows", "Satellite 15 (The Final Frontier), "Mother of Mercy". I like "When the Wild Wind Blows" because it starts out soft, showcasing Bruce's amazing vocals and ability to go from soft singing to hitting those air raid siren vocals. It's just a beautiful song. "Mother of Mercy" is a beautiful song as well. "El Dorado" has this driving beat to it, most likely talking about the fictional city of gold in South America. "Satellite 15 (The Final Frontier) has a frenetic, driving pace that is good for head banging your stress away.
11
Fear of the Dark (1992)
-Since this was the last Bruce Dickinson album before he quit, stress was on overload. Steve accused Bruce of sabotaging each concert with practically not singing at all despite the fact that faders (the machines controlling sound) were in working order. This album has an overall dark and doomy vibe to it. Perfect for the 1990s. "Wasting Love" was a for-sure ballad, talking about the loneliness of one night stands. For a sure-fire headbanger, look no further than the opening track "Be Quick or Be Dead". The breakneck pace of the song, combined with the aggressive sound will have you headbanging in no time.
-My opinion: I LOVE THIS ALBUM! This is one of all time favorites. I love the songs. The only ones I'm not too enthused about is "Weekend Warrior", "The Apparition". Other than that, "Judas Be My Guide", I find myself repeating a few times and singing along. "Be Quick or Be Dead" has that breakneck pace that would not sound out of place at a Judas Priest concert. It's great! "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" is your classic 1990s-era Gulf War epic. The video reflects the lyrics by showing British Army tanks roaring through the Middle East. Overall, I love this album. My parents like this aggressive sound. My mom even downloaded this album to her MP3 when she needs aggressive music to jam her stress away!!
10
A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
-This album has a dark and gloomy cover and vibe to it. One of the only albums to be released that does not prominently feature its leering mascot Eddie (here, he is represented by a skull wearing a helmet and crossing two military machine guns). The lyrics reflect war, religion, life and death, themes common to the men of Maiden. With each album, the band considers the idea of making each album about a concept. This one seems to have revolved partially around WWII. In fact, when the guys performed this album in its entirety, fans were not only not hesitant about it-they openly embraced the album
-My opinion: I like it. There were some good tracks I was fond of-"These Colours Don't Run", "Different World". But, some of the songs were a bit on the long side. But then again, does every metal band make three minute or under songs? Overall, with the lyrics reflecting the themes common to Maiden-war, religion, life and death, history, etc.-it's pretty good
9
Brave New World (2000)
-Considering this was the first album to have Bruce Dickinson back on vocals and Adrian Smith rejoining Maiden as guitarist, the three guitars, sometimes known as "The Triple Axe Attack" or "Three Amigos", seems to have worked out for not only the better, but the best. The way all three guitarists mix their sound and unique playing styles together is mind-blowing. It's a testament to metal to be able to have a member come back and do an amazing album. One of the more epic tracks on the album, "Blood Brothers" focuses on past friendship and was also written by bassist Steve Harris about losing his father on the Brave New World tour
-My opinion: Absolutely amazing!! It's like Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith never left. The songs are amazing. "Blood Brothers", "The Wicker Man", "Brave New World", "The Mercenary", "Ghost of the Navigator", "Thin Line Between Love and Hate", amazing! The whole album is just awesome!! I can safely say this is one Maiden album my parents love!!
8
Somewhere in Time (1986)
-With this album having lyrics revolving around time travel and the band being nearly worn down by the 1984-1985 World Slavery tour, the band was exhausted. They were running for ideas and unfortunately some fans felt the band had slipped several notches when they decided to experiment with guitar synths and bass synths, which at that point in time, was considered the latest technology. Bruce was, by this point, feeling frustrated with Steve Harris rejecting his song ideas when he was writing just as many songs as Steve Harris. But, due to Steve's ideas of what is good and what is not, he didn't particularly care for Bruce's Spanish guitar-type songs or even Adrian Smith's Bryan Adams-type pop rock guitar music. "Wasted Years" is one of the more popular songs on here, with writing credit going to...Adrian Smith
-My opinion: I like the album. Like all albums, it has its good songs and bad. I personally like "Wasted Years". It sounds like something that 80s-era Judas Priest would play only in the sense of the heavy guitar sound. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is great. "Heaven Can Wait" is another one that has quickly grown on me. Ironically, what got me thinking about listening to "Heaven Can Wait" was seeing the band perform it during the film Flight 666. Hearing the live version got me to listen to the studio version and both versions are great!!
7
The Book of Souls (2015)
-This one was a bit on the interesting side. First off, Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with cancer of the head and neck during production. Luckily, the band had just finished doing all the tracks and Steve was just going over it and giving it a quick quality check before Bruce came out with his diagnosis. The songs are intense, breakneck speed, revolve around life, death, religion, war, etc. It's almost as if Maiden is trying to outdo themselves on each album. They most certainly exceeded expectations here.
-My opinion: I like it. The songs are incredibly long, though. I can understand that they made them long in case this was the last album they made and the one they would want to go out on. But, man oh man, are the songs LONG!! There's not one track on here under five minutes. The closing track "Empire of the Clouds" revolves around Bruce's recent affinity for aviation and starts out with a 10 minute piano intro that, surprise surprise, is played by Bruce himself. Out of all the songwriting credits, only one song is credited to Dave Murray, which is shocking. Normally on every album, he has at least 2-3 songwriting credits. Here, just one.
6
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
-This whole album centers around the concept of a "sixth sense", of foresight, of the ability to read the future, etc. The lyrics also revolve around good and evil as well. The chief songwriters were bassist Steve Harris, singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith. This was still when the band was operating as a quintet. On the tour, dubbed the Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour, things had gotten interesting backstage. On a few dates, they had Guns 'N Roses opening for them, most likely touring Appetite for Destruction. According to Slash, in his autobiography, he was quoted as saying something to the effect of "When we were on tour, we were opening for Iron Maiden on their Seventh Son of a Seventh Son tour. I didn't understand their whole stage set. It looked like some sort of polar holocaust. I had found out that Bruce had started taking fencing, so I definitely did not want my ass getting lanced by a fencer's sword." Apparently the backstage tension had started due to something like Guns 'N Roses eating all the food that was reserved for crew members and the members of Maiden or there being a line on the floor designating the space for band and crew for Guns 'N Roses and crew/band members of Maiden and someone had crossed it or some silly thing.
-My opinion: Overall, interesting would be how I would describe it. "Can I Play With Madness?" is my top favorite track here. Other than that, it's okay
5
Iron Maiden (1980)
-Obviously, any band's first album is either going to make or break the charts. Not everyone has a great album first out of the starting gate. This was the band's introduction to the world, when they had punk fan Paul Di'Anno on vocals. His raspy voice lent a punk edge to the music, giving the world the impression they were a punk-metal band. Despite songwriting problems and production challenges, the album threw out there some good songs, like "Prowler", "Running Free", "Sanctuary", "Iron Maiden", "Phantom of the Opera" and even "Charlotte the Harlotte", whose writing credit goes solely to Davey Murray
-My opinion: It's good. It has that punk edge that I like because I do enjoy punk music. I personally like "Charlotte the Harlotte" because it's a good song and plus, Dave Murray wrote it. What can I say? He's my favorite one. He's still cute. But overall, the songs are great. I'm not too enthused about "Phantom of the Opera", but "Charlotte the Harlotte", "Prowler", "Running Free", "Sanctuary" and "Iron Maiden" are my favorite tracks
4
Killers (1981)
-Steve Harris was nearly ready to kill Paul Di'Anno. Pure and simple. Fed up with the singer's substance abuse issues and prima donna ways, he was ready to move on with a new vocalist. This album fared somewhat well, but it would prove to be the last days of Paul Di'Anno. There were some good tracks, like "Wrathchild", "Murders in the Rue Morgue".
-My opinion: It's okay. I mean, I like the tracks "Twilight Zone", "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "Wrathchild", but I would say those three are the only tracks I like. I didn't care for the other songs.
3
Piece of Mind (1983)
-This album cemented the somewhat stable lineup they had until 1990. This album can be considered a landmark of a sorts. This is not only drummer Nicko McBrain's first album, but it is also the second album to feature Bruce Dickinson on vocals. The tracks all prove the band members have songwriting talents. Steve Harris writing blistering tracks like "The Trooper", "Dune", Bruce bringing heavy metal fire on "Revelations", Nicko creating art on "Where Eagles Dare" and finally Steve Harris and Adrian Smith tag teaming each other on "Flight of Icarus"
-My opinion: This was the album that got me into Iron Maiden. When my stepdad was watching the 2010 Sonisphere Festival on VH1 Classic (when it was still on TV), I had recognized the track "The Trooper" from being the opening theme to this 11 part metal documentary called Metal Evolution, which I was fond of watching. Of course, hearing it, my stepdad remarked the same thing- "Isn't that song the opening theme to Metal Evolution? Wow, I didn't know that was song was by Iron Maiden." Overall, I love this album because it is special to me for the reason up above. Piece of Mind will always be special to me because it was the album that got me into Iron Maiden.
2
Powerslave (1984)
-The subsequent tour for this album, dubbed The World Slavery Tour, nearly exhausted all the band members to death. In fact, the title track, "Powerslave", is even about being slaves to a higher power. In fact, the "higher power" in the band member's eyes was Rod Smallwood, who was urging the band to tour this album. This album churns out some of the band's best known material, even to this day. "Aces High", always prefaced by "Churchill's Speech", "2 Minutes to Midnight", even the grandiose, sweeping epic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
-My opinion: This album took some time to grow on me. I do like it now. But initially, I only liked one track-"2 Minutes to Midnight". Thankfully, I do love the album now. One track that does make me laugh a little is "Flash of the Blade". You can practically hear Bruce Dickinson singing about the joys of fencing, a sport he is overly fond of.
1
The Number of the Beast (1982)
-This is said to be the album in which all their hard work was based on. For one thing, this was Bruce Dickinson's vocal debut. On the title track, during the opening, he had to do numerous overdubs of that incredible epic shriek. He was so frustrated with having to do overdubs that he was throwing furniture around the studio. He was practically crying with desperation "What do you want?" to the producer, Martin Birch. With the title suggesting the band members were Devil worshippers, to the galloping rhythm of "Run to the Hills" to the haunting "Hallowed Be Thy Name", there's literally no way to top this one.
-My opinion: This one is good. I do love it. The tracks are great. For his first time out with Iron Maiden, Bruce holds up well. His voice was suited for this type of music. The songs are great. I love the album artwork. Everything about this is good.
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