In the "Top 10 Judas Priest tracks post-Painkiller" thread I was looking for recs (thanks to all who contributed). In this instance I have my own opinions, but I'm interested to hear the thoughts of the rest of the MA community.

BNW might seem like an arbitrary demarcation point, but I suspect that if I asked for the top 10 tracks post-Dickinson/Smith return most lists would be filled with material from BNW, so to make it more interesting let's go Dance of Death onwards.

Easier than the Priest thread, too ! (though confession to make, I've still never bought The Final Frontier, so selections from that are based on listening in friends' cars, etc.)

No More Lies
Rainmaker
Montsegur
Journeyman
Different World
The Longest Day
The Alchemist
Death or Glory
Empire of the Clouds
Speed of Light

Alright then, let's see... Not a top 10 but 10 one my favorite songs.

Face in the Sand
Dance of Death
Paschendale
Lord of Light
The Legacy
Brighter than a Thousand Suns
For the Greater Good of God
Coming Home
Speed of Light
If Eternity Should Fail

Well thinking about it as i'm writting this, I really like Dance of Death and A matter of Life and Death, probably because I discovered the band with those albums as a teen back in the 2000s.

Paschendale
Montsegur
Brighter than a Thousand Suns
The Legacy
Coming Home
Starblind
The Talisman
Dance of Death
New Frontier
The Longest Day

I'm not a big fan of A Matter of Life and Death or The Final Frontier, but the last album they did was so cack it retroactively makes them seem like masterworks.

That's a tough one, as I really enjoy their post-reunion albums. Let's see:

Paschendale
Face in the Sand
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
The Longest Day
For the Greater Good of God
Lord of Light
The Legacy
Starblind
The Red and the Black
The Book of Souls

No particular order, and it'll probably change tomorrow. AMOLAD is also clearly my go-to post-BNW album

Rainmaker (More songs like this, please!)
Montsegur
Dance of Death
Paschendale
Journeyman
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg (Should really listen that album again. Somehow find it boring, mostly...)
The Talisman
When the Wild Wind Blows
The Red and the Black
Empire of the Clouds

Yes, Dance of Death is the most important album for me past BNW.

Tough to nail it down to ten, but I gave it a shot.

Rainmaker (Murray / Harris / Dickinson)
No More Lies (Harris)
Different World (Smith / Harris)
These Colours Don't Run (Smith / Harris / Dickinson)
The Longest Day (Smith / Harris / Dickinson)
The Legacy (Gers / Harris)
The Final Frontier (Smith / Harris)
The Alchemist (Gers / Harris / Dickinson)
If Eternity Should Fail (Dickinson)
The Book of Souls (Gers / Harris)

Four from A Matter of Life and Death and two each from the others. Makes sense as AMoLaD is one of my favourite Maiden albums.

Breaking it down from a songwriting perspective, Harris is involved in all except one, which was originally a Dickinson solo song. Dickinson, Smith and Gers have five, four and three credits respectively, with Murray having just the one (Nicko obviously not included in this as he almost never gets credits).

Since I find A Matter of Life and Death to be quality wise right up there with the classics, most of my selection would be from that album, I guess.

Lord of Light
For the Greater Good of God
The Longest Day
Face in the Sand
Isle of Avalon
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
Paschendale
The Great Unknown
Starblind
Montsegur

Absolutely agree with that - an album with five ten-minute songs is all well and good, but sometimes you just want a proper heavy metal track !

Rainmaker would get my vote for best track of the post-BNW era. Wouldn't be out of place on Somewhere In Time or SSOASS.

I'd rank "Rainmaker" as one of their best songs from any era.

1. Starblind. To me, one of their legitimately progressive songs rather than just long. The jerky main rhythm just makes it feel busy and all the mini-leads H peppers over it make it one of their most musically detailed songs, and together with Bruce on top of his occult-astrological game I love every second of it.

2. Lord of Light. Tight, crunchy speed-Maiden, like their take on Holy Wars or something. In some ways maybe even more like a solo-Bruce song, but nothing like an outtake.

3. The Legacy. I'll admit that the song shits the bed at 5:30 when it goes into a sorta-Where Eagles Dare part and then an Out of the Silent Planet rehash later, but the first half of the song is phenomenal. I don't usually like their long, mellow intros but the minstrel feel is interesting enough to work, and when it goes heavy into that gloomy, down-tempo gallop I get the biggest chills. Thematically and stylistically it's really similar to Fates Warning's Epitaph, my favorite song of all time, so I can't possibly place this any lower.

4. The Age of Innocence. This song tends to be neglected, in part because people complain about the "rap verse" (which is just absurd; singing more aggressively and rhythmically for a little bit isn't rapping) and in part because of its position in the tracklisting. Just underrated, the lyrics are a little preachy/political but it goes through a lot of moods and Nicko does a lot of strong fills that push the song firmly.

5. If Eternity Should Fail. Iron Maiden goes a bit more atmospheric and textural, one of their songs that least fits into their overall discography, but that's a good thing. Figures that it's 100% Bruce-written, the mood feels Skunkworks even though the writing/arrangement is something else entirely.

6. The Talisman. Long but great pacing, Gers does the minstrel intro thing again but it gradually builds not in heaviness but this uplifting sense of triumph, sorta Ghost of the Navigator but much stronger rhythms and less repetition.

7. Mother of Mercy. This is where the songs become merely very good, but I like a lot it when they play a bit slower and heavier.

8. Paschendale. Parts of it feel really hack-ish, like that damned condor cry sample, or some of the clumsy lyrics, and this is the song that set the standard for obligatory overlong anti-war songs in their discography. Regardless, they put a lot of effort and passion into it, and when I put aside the very high standards I have for them, I can't deny that this is a worthy song.

9. Gates of Tomorrow. Also a spaced-out Skunkworks feel only this one is a relatively normal song.

10. Speed of Light. This one goes pretty deep into a happy-Maiden-rocker style thing I often despise, but for some reason I like it.

Not so in my opinion, I personally think that while BNW is a good album, only The Wicker Man and Blood Brothers really qualify for a greatest hits collection.

To answer the original question:

No More Lies
Montsegur
Paschendale
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
Out Of The Shadows
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
For The Greater Good Of God
The Legacy ------> the single best post 1999 song Maiden have written
Isle Of Avalon
The Red And The Black

Way to move the goalposts. You might as well title the thread "top 10 songs from the Maiden albums that are shit." Still I'm a sucker for a challenge, and I could probably do this better than I could with Priest.


Unordered.

Rainmaker
The Pilgrim
When The River Runs Deep
Paschendale
No More Lies
For The Greater Good of God
Wildest Dreams
The Longest Day

That's kind of the point...

I'm surprised that 'The Alchemist' has only been mentioned a couple of times so far.

-Rainmaker
-Montségur
-Dance of Death
-Paschendale
-Face in the Sand

(Dance of Death is probably their worst post-Brave New World album as a whole but this five songs are among their best songs ever, if all the songs in the album were this good I'd probably rank it better than Brave New World)

-Brighter than a Thousand Suns
-The Pilgrim
-For the Greater Good of God
-If Eternity Should Fail
-The Red and the Black

I'll rank the albums too because I love ranking albums:
1. A Matter of Life and Death
2. The Book of Souls
3. The Final Frontier
4. Dance of Death

(A Matter of Life and Death is actually one of my favourite Maiden albums)

I'll just go in chronological order:

1. Rainmaker
2. Montsegur
3. Paschendale
4. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
5. For the Greater Good of God
6. Satellite 15... The Final Frontier
7. Coming Home
8. If Eternity Should Fail
9. The Book of Souls
10. Tears of a Clown

Honestly, I would omit 'Satellite 15' and leave just 'The Final Frontier' if I could, but whatever. 'The Final Frontier' is a really difficult album for me; it never quite clicked.

Great idea for a thread. I actually like the reunion stuff as much as their old stuff to be honest, and that's coming from a long time fan. There's plenty of songs that could get into my top ten on a different day but today its these, in chronological order:

Rainmaker - great simple, uplifting song with a fantastic singalong chorus.

Dance of Death - Love their long epic stuff and this is one of my faves. Love the intro and the orchestral parts.

These Colours Don't Run - Love the lyrics on this one and the vocal lines, great chorus.

Brighter Than A Thousand Suns - One of my fave Maiden songs, pretty heavy for Maiden, some of their best riffs on this.

The Longest Day - Love the build up then the release of the bridge and chorus. Find the lyrics emotional on this one.

The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg - Always liked the groove of this song, no typical Maiden harmonies or melodies, just solid.

Coming Home - Great hard rock song, personal lyrics, love the small guitar part before the chorus.

The Talisman - Another favourite epic. Love the build up and the drive of the song when it gets going. Bruce does a great job here.

If Eternity Should Faail - Sounded like an old classic when I first heard it. Just something about this song.

Empire of the Clouds - A fantastic epic from Bruce. Absolutely adore the whole piano intro with the vocal melody. So different for them but works completely. Great story telling and the music totally fits the lyrics.

This is tough. I am a huge fan of renion-era Maiden. Brave New World is the best I think bu AMOLAD is pretty close behind. Rivals the classics imo. So here goes:

Rainmaker
As mentioned just a catchy melodic rocker with a great chorus.

Paschendale
Dance of Death isn’t the strongest album of this era but this might be the best post BNW song.

Brighter than a Thousand Suns
The Reincarnaion of Benjamin Breeg
The Legacy
This whole album is heavy and epic and awesome and these are the 3 I gravitate to the most

Coming Home
The Talisman
Weakest album since Blaze but these tracks are great. I like el dorado too m

If Eternity Should Fail
Death or Glory
Tears of a Clown

Here are my recommendations:

1. No More Lies
2. Dance of Death
3. Journeyman
4. These Colours Don't Run
5. Paschendale
6. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
7. Empire of the Clouds
8. If Eternity Should Fail
9. El Dorado
10. Tears of a Clown

As you can see, Dance of Death is a favorite of mine. I just love its melancholic atmosphere yet diverse songwriting. A Matter of Life and Death also oozes with atmosphere but is basically The X Factor with Dickinson on vocals. The Book of Souls has some great songs, some good songs and a few fillers and would have been better if it it just had been one disc with eight songs. The Final Frontier is Iron Maiden's weakest release in my book which never really clicked with me. The songs are unnecessarily long and even sound cacophonous in a failed attempt at progressive songwriting and a terrible production.

I, on the other hand, think Final Frontier just might be my favourite Maiden! I think it has Dickinson's most stirring and some of his catchiest vocals ever. I find the long songs their most successfully progressive of all the post-reunion efforts, with memorable, nostalgic riffs, solos and choruses all over the place. The atmosphere; the themes of isolation and journeying are at their most profound on Final Frontier I think, perfectly expressed in the music. And finally, I think it has the best ratio of killer to filler. The only track i'm not totally in love with is El Dorado, and then mostly for the rubbish and tired lyrics.
Yeah, big FF fan, as my own picks show;

1. The Man Who Would Be King. Surprised and a little sad that i'm the first to mention this epic!
2. Satellite/Final Frontier. Love the nostalgic main riff, and the noisy, tense, long intro that makes that riff open up all the more explosively.
3. Starblind.
4. The Alchemist.
5. Isle of Avalon. Such an engaging journey and the solos are brilliant
6. Paschendale. Clunkier, as someone noted, but soaring and thematically on point.
7. Wildest Dreams. Love how energetic, rockin' and upbeat this track is. It's good to start a day or commute with. Another I feel sad to be the first to mention.
8. Brighter than a Thousand Suns. Though super repetitive, it feels musically like a much more vital No More Lies, with a theme and lyrics that I never tire of hearing.
9. Montségur.
10. If Eternity Should Fail. A classic sounding high energy rocker with a surprisingly soulful, catchy chorus. The only track I love from the lacklustre Book.

everyone seems to be overlooking this goodness

The Alchemist is an excellent song but the title being the same as a Bruce solo song puts it into uncanny valley territory for me. Same with Man of Sorrows to a lesser extent. Weird how they both also have Bruce co-writing credits...

Rainmaker
Montsegur
Face in the Sand
Journeyman
The Longest Day
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
Mother of Mercy
The Alchemist
The Talisman
If Eternity Should Fail

Yeah, I'm pretty Dance of Death-biased too. I do still enjoy the albums after it though.

Too much formulaic writing, repetition, and flat production holding them back but some good tunes in there. Edit: took out the BNW tunes, should read better next time.

No order
Rainmaker
Montsegur
New Frontier
These Colours Don't Run
The Longest Day
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
Coming Home
The Alchemist
When the River Runs Deep
Tears of a Clown

My personal picks:

01 - For the greater good of god
02 - Lord of light
03 - Journeyman
04 - Face in the sand
05 - Rainmaker
06 - Starblind
07 - Out of the silent planet
08 - Brave new world
09 - If eternity should fail
10 - The wicker man

Personally I can't understand how anyone can stand post-'Seventh Son' Iron Maiden, let alone name individual songs by them from their most terrible era (and I do mean post-1988...). They have killed themselves with No Prayer For the Dying onward.

I took this idea more literally by choosing songs that were made after the release of Brave New World. These are my choices.

1. The Book Of Souls
2. Montsegur
3. The Longest Day
4. Empire Of The Clouds
5. Isle Of Avalon
6. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
7. Paschendale
8. The Talisman
9. The Red And The Black
10. Journeyman

So I suppose, picking a few "fav" tracks of each album... if I did them properly by how good I though they were, I probably wouldn't have any Dance of Death, to be honest.

Rainmaker
Journeyman
These Colours Don't Run
Out of the Shadows
For the Greater Good of God (probably the most generic Harris epic ever though, down to the E-C-G-D chords, the starting off clean then going heavy, too many verses, instrumental section with melodies repeated to saturation point)
Lord of Light
Coming Home
When the Wild Wind Blows
The Red and the Black (another Harris epic as above which needs a verse cut out of it, but at least it has more variation)
Empire of the Clouds

I just want to say Empire of the Clouds really. It's the experimental sorta thing Dickinson has obviously been wanting to try with the band for a long time. Comes off incredibly well.

I mean actually the fact I criticise the two Harris epics in that list seems weird. I suppose Mother of Mercy or Death or Glory succeed better at what they are trying to do. I just like them more, even if they are just too fucking long for what they are.

I mean these four albums are... ok? I can't really get that worked up about any of the songs otherwise. I think they work better as a whole than best of tracks. I like the last album a lot but I don't remember the individual songs that well.

This is like 50%+ of Maiden's output since the reunion.

Coming Home
Rainmaker
Empire Of The Clouds
For The Greater Good Of God
When The Wild Wind Blows
Journeyman
If Eternity Should Fail
No More Lies
Tears Of A Clown
The Final Frontier

Don't know why you didn't bold the chord progression too. It's used on nearly every Brave New World song. It's absurd when you realise it. He doesn't even change the key.

Star-effin-blind. I like this one more than any other post Brave New World song. The part that starts at 5 minute mark gets me everytime. Can't go wrong with these lyrics either:

"We can shed our skins and swim into the darkened void beyond
We will dance among the world that orbit stars (they're on our side)
All the oxygen that trapped us in a carbon spider's web
Solar winds are whispering, you may hear the sirens of the dead"

later followed by ...

"Take my eyes for what I've seen
I will give my sight to you
You are free to choose whatever
Life to live or life to lose"

Genius.

I really need to sit down with Starblind sometime. The lyrics are very interesting and the music itself is pretty atypical for Maiden, but it's never quite grabbed me for some reason.

Yeah, but I was just thinking of how so many songs are the same basic structure, slow intro, "heavy" main song body, slow outro with massive amounts of repetition. I think the next album will have a song that is just Bruce repeating the chorus for 12 minutes with some whoa parts for crowd participation mixed in. Maiden is probably my favorite band but the reunion is getting stale, hopefully next album they get away from so many "epics" that are just repetitive and write some punchier shorter numbers again....yeah right.

Hopefully Steve will listen to a lot of Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals and the idea that sometimes less is more will sink in.

Is it a thread with people listing Iron Maiden's worst tracks?

This thread has been really useful to me. Post Brave New World I haven't actually listened to any of their albums, and when I have heard random songs they just sounded incredibly boring and formulaic like others have explained. But due to some of these lists I've discovered what I've been missing. So far Dance of Death seems pretty solid, but A Matter... is basically what put me off new Maiden. Still got to check out all the others.

Sure, but when I look at the lists posted here, I can hardly figure out if they are ten worsts or ten bests of these albums. That says a lot.

God knows what Steve is listening to these days. I think he found a rut with X Factor (which is a very good album) and he really relies on contributions from the other members to pull him out of it. I'd rather Bruce be working with Roy Z on solo albums because he always wrote punchy rock tracks, and never endlessly meandering "epics".

But he never seems to progress anymore. And British Lion, Christ, that sucks. I bet he voted leave. (I mean Dance of Death loses points for me via the fucking horrible lyrics in Age of Innocence)

Bruce's solo work buries anything Maiden has done since SSoaSS for the most part. Would love one last solo record, though he would have to get H on it to really kick ass. Though he did write that 17 minute number so maybe Harris got to him.