SCREAM FOR ME, TV TROPES!!!
Note: Bruce Dickinson solo works don't have a place here.
- Although Iron Maiden started in 1975, it wouldn't be until The '80s that they started to release their albums. With that said, their Self-Titled Album, Iron Maiden, despite what Good Ol' 'Arry 'Arris says about it, has nine anthems, including the basic yet hard-hitting opener "Prowler"
, their first attempt at an epic in "Phantom of the Opera" (that even has their first operatic vocals in the "don't you stray..." before five minutes of instrumental goodness) and "Running Free", with a bass riff so good Bruce lets it continue indefinitely as he introduces the rest of the band. And of course, THE IRON MAIDEN!!!, which always works a set closer, specially when Eddie comes out at the breakdown.
- A year later came Killers, the second album with Paul Di'Anno. OHHHH, I'M CRYING! OHHHHH, DEEP INSIDE ME! OHHHHH, CAN YOU SEE ME? AH-AH-AH! CAN.YOU.SEE.ME? Paul Di'Anno's vocals on the last part of the chorus are impressively high and foreshadow Bruce's. Other highlights include the frantic title track, an adequately creepy view into a serial killer's mind, and the catchy "Wrathchild", that always returns on setlists from time to time.
- Iron Maiden's third and international breakout album came in 1982, with Bruce Dickinson's incorporation to the band. Its name is... The Number of the Beast... and the title track features one of the greatest screams ever. It's so good that Bruce has never replicated it since. Plus, "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is widely considered the band's best song with its highly emotional lyrics about a death row prisoner.
- "Run to the Hills" has a monster riff, and is great for singing along to on the chorus, although most will fail to match the metal scream at the end.
- Piece of Mind:
- The album saw the final piece for 'Golden Years' Maiden be introduced in drummer Nicko McBrain, to the point opener "Where Eagles Dare" starts with him showing off, and bangs on the rest of the way.
- "The Trooper" is the perfect song to go killing zombies with. It has a monster riff and is a great live track, with Bruce in his military jacket waving the flag.
- "Revelations" has more of a moderate tempo overall than Iron Maiden's norm, but damned if it isn't epic.
- "FLYYY!! On your way! Like an eagle! Fly as high as the SUUUN!! On your way! Like an eagle! FLYY!! Touch the sun!" The Metal Scream at the end makes this an absolute classic.
- The album saw the final piece for 'Golden Years' Maiden be introduced in drummer Nicko McBrain, to the point opener "Where Eagles Dare"
- Powerslave:
- "2 Minutes to Midnight". Try listening to The Iron Maidens' cover of the same song (no, that isn't a spelling mistake).note
- "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is just one example of the absolutely epic music that the band cranks out on a regular basis.
- "Aces High" is another great one, in the vein of "The Trooper", but with an introduction by Winston Churchill.
- And finishing the big four of that album (the other four are considered not in the same level), the title track "Powerslave".
- "Flash of the Blade"'s harmonies in the chorus are banshee-like, and it comes with one of the best riffs you'll ever hear.
- "Back in the Village", one of the fastest songs on the album, starts from an incredibly technical riff and and only builds up from there.
- Somewhere In Time:
- The album opens right off showing the interesting incorporation of guitar synths in "Caught Somewhere In Time", and kicks in fast, delivering a Title-Only Chorus ripe for a singalong.
- "Alexander the Great" is seriously epic, and a good study guide to Hellenistic history. Took nearly 40 years to do it live, and it is glorious.
- The album opens right off showing the interesting incorporation of guitar synths in "Caught Somewhere In Time
- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. You've got the absurdly catchy "Can I Play with Madness", the haunting "The Clairvoyant", and "The Evil That Men Do", with an introduction so badass it has to be heard to be believed. It's surprising it's not featured more in movie trailers.
- "The Evil That Men Do" is likely the most epic overall, although the title track is also incredibly powerful and a prime example of Epic Rocking.
- The album has one of the strongest one-two introductory punch, the mystical "Moonchild", showing off actual synths also worked with the band, and the spooky "Infinite Dreams".
- Capping off the experience is "Only the Good Die Young". Not only highly melodic, it manages to encapsulate the sheerly tragic nature of the story.
- "The Evil That Men Do" is likely the most epic overall, although the title track
- No Prayer for the Dying is considered a weak album by most fans, but the title track is beautiful. "Holy Smoke" is also pretty awesome. One of its bonus tracks is a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown". The impressive part of it is that Bruce nails the song's vocals like a fucking champion.
- Fear of the Dark is also divisive, yet it spawned the fantastic title track that remained a concert mainstay (where the crowd even sings along to the instrumentals!); "Wasting Love", Maiden's sole attempt at a power ballad - and it kicks major ass, containing some of the greatest personal lyrics done by the band; and "Be Quick or Be Dead", easily one of the heavier songs in the band's discography, and an excellent opener overall.
- The two Blaze Bayley albums are doomed to be forever unappreciated because of Dickinson's absence, but there's some quality music on there.
- Helps that when Blaze's tracks were sung by Bruce, it's clear how well they fit with the rest of their output, mostly fast songs like "Lord of the Flies", along with the Celtic epic "The Clansman".
- As uneven of an album as it might’ve been, Virtual XI still had one of the most epic final tracks of their entire career in the form of Como Estais Amigos. Everybody gave this song it’s all and delivers a truly sorrowful, yet beautifully crafted gem that not only caps the album off, but the Blaze Bayley era as a whole nicely.
- Helps that when Blaze's tracks were sung by Bruce, it's clear how well they fit with the rest of their output, mostly fast songs like "Lord of the Flies
- From Brave New World:
- If you don't get pumped up by "The Wicker Man"'s opening riff, you might wanna check your pulse.
- "Blood Brothers". A beautiful ballad.
- "The Nomad". Begins with one of Iron Maiden's greatest Epic Riffs, and only gets better from there.
- "The Mercenary". The beginning of the second verse is just that awesome!
- "Dream of Mirrors" has some striking lyrics, specially that chorus (I ONLY DREAM IN BLACK AND WHITE!!!), and the spookiness enhances when it kicks into the faster part.
- "The Thin Line Between Love and Hate" is the most uniquely perfect song they have ever written. Epic mid-tempo intro, then Bruce comes in with possibly his greatest ever vocal performance (including some truly beautiful vocal harmonies in the verse). Then we have the first epic chorus, then a whole bunch of Davey solos, then the SECOND epic chorus, and minds are completely blown the world over. Follow that up with some more solos, a bridge featuring at least 5 guitars playing in harmony and one of the most epic slow melodies ever performed by any band at 6:44, and you have a song that manages to remain uniquely brilliant and unrepetitive for 8 minutes.
- If you don't get pumped up by "The Wicker Man"
- Dance of Death still has awesome music.
- The pinnacle of their epicness, even more so than "Hallowed Be Thy Name", would be "No More Lies".
- To quote the DVD Death On The Road: "Wherever you are from, wherever you're going to... welcome... to the Dance... of Death" (Cue epicness of the title song)
- Hard to find many songs as catchy as "New Frontier". "Out beyond the new frontier / Playing god without mercy without fear / Create a beast made a man without a soul / Is it worth the risk a war of god and man"
- "Rainmaker" has to be one of the most energetic songs of the album, with an Epic Riff of its own. The lyrics are intense enough to help:You tell me we can stop the rain
You tell me that we all can change
You tell me we can find something to wash the tears away - Two great songs named after foreign places: the sadly never played live "Montségur", not losing its melody even in the Motor Mouth sections; and "Paschendale", a war epic where each verse conveys more desperation, and even got a proper stage translation.
- The pinnacle of their epicness, even more so than "Hallowed Be Thy Name", would be "No More Lies"
- A Matter of Life and Death. They've even played it live in its entirety, for Eddie's sake!
- "These Colours Don't Run" illustrates what to expect in the album, a long song simultaneously showing the horrors of war and giving a fist-pumping rhythm.
- "Out of the Shadows" is one of the most epic ballads in the history of ever.
- "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" is painfully epic, subverting the idea of a lengthy intro by plunging into the powerful first verse a line and a half into the song. The bridge just keeps getting more and more stirring and epic...
- "These Colours Don't Run"
- The Final Frontier was introduced by giving out "El Dorado" for free, and by the time the galloping bass kicked in, it's impossible not to get hooked. The second single, "The Final Frontier", was another fast rocker tailor made to open concerts (even if in the album it was only the second part of a longer track). And then the album itself turn out to have to have meaty cuts, such as another naval epic in "The Talisman" (where the calm intro only makes the rocking part more impactful), the evocative lyrics of "Starblind", and the melancholy of "The Man who Would Be King".
- The whole The Book of Souls album is 92 minutes of pure, undiluted awesome. Hell, it needs its own page. Every song on it is an absolute masterpiece!
- "If Eternity Should Fail". Steve was absolutely right to nab it from Bruce's planned solo record. Opening with squelchy synths, tramples into a catchy mid-tempo beat, amazing tempo changes, and beautiful spoken word outro.
- "Speed of Light". Five years without any new material from Maiden, four successful years of touring and cancer horror surrounding Bruce Dickinson later, and Maiden come ripping back onto the scene in August 2015 with a brand new song that boisters out of the speakers with a sense of urgency not seen since the Dance of Death era, cowbell and a beastly scream from Bruce, tasty riffs abounds, mean as fuck drumming and some of the best production in years.
- "The Red and the Black". This song just begs to be played live.
- "The Great Unknown". So dreamy, creepy, and beautiful.
- The title track. Most beautiful Metal song ever.
- "Tears of a Clown". Maiden's salute to the late Robin Williams with a great message and a really cool riff in the beginning.
- "Shadows of the Valley". Sure, the opening riff sounds very similar to "Wasted Years", but when the song kicks in, you are getting some great stuff.
- "The Man of Sorrows" Very somber and some very bluesy riffs make this a great cut off the album.
- DEATH OR GLORY! IT'S ALL THE SAME! DEATH OR GLORY! THE PRICE OF FAME! A fitting tribute to the original Red Baron.
- "When the River Runs Deep" is Maiden's punchiest track since the '80s. Seriously.
- "Empire of the Clouds". Bruce's finest hour, 18 minutes of sheer beauty, realized only by Maiden, and not a second too long. First ever pairings of piano and strings and horns for Maiden, beautiful lyrics about the R101, and just consistently stunning throughout. A serious contender for the best Maiden song of all time. That riff at the 7 minute mark? That is Morse code for S.O.S being played with guitars! Seriously, that has to be one of the most amazing things ever done in a metal song.
- Can we just take the whole album as a crowning example of a band who after 40 years and 16 albums can still put out an album that's both excellent and actually tops the charts, unlike many if not most of their peers?
- "If Eternity Should Fail"
- The band had nothing to prove by the time of Senjutsu, yet right away they took no prisoners with the ominous "Writing on the Wall", helped by an epic video full of Continuity Porn. Then followed it with "Stratego", another fast, galloping song with an anthemic chorus. The East Asian-tinted title track is also very atmospheric.
- Which is the best way to finish this entry. Everything Iron Maiden have done since day one has been awesome and we should be lucky to have such a great band who have entertained us to the same quality for so long. We should also mention that their guitar harmonies were the inspiration for Power Metal and the fact that Metallica, Megadeth, and Lady Gaga are followers of them among others.
