Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives :: View topic - Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's

Virtual 11 would come in second though, it's actually a pretty damn good album if you give it a chance, every song on it really kicks ass except Angel & the Gambler which just totally sucks...or actually it would be a pretty cool tune if it didn't have all those fucking 24 CHORUSES all over the place, increasing the song length with 4 completely pointless minutes. Nobody gets away with stupidity like that, not even Iron Maiden.

Okay, I don't want to derail the thread, but how is Invaders shit? Why do I keep on hearing this. It's a killer song with an awesome bass line and all around hyper fun.

ralfikk123 wrote:

Okay, I don't want to derail the thread, but how is Invaders shit? Why do I keep on hearing this. It's a killer song with an awesome bass line and all around hyper fun.

I seriously want to know what people are smoking when they call Invaders shit. It absolutely rips.

I never understood the popularity of "Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter"... It's a terribly overrated (and also un-catchy and totally cheesy) song...

"Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter"... un-catchy song...

That some people are claiming No Prayer, X Factor, or any of these four albums are their favourite Maiden albums utterly baffles me. What about the seven(?!?!) that came before...?

What he expects is that you apologize. Apologize and repent. You apologize and you repent until you have no tongue and your legs knees have worn away.

MacMoney wrote:

What he expects is that you apologize. Apologize and repent. You apologize and you repent until you have no tongue and your legs knees have worn away.

Pretty much! To explain myself Peroy, I don't find much in The X Factor which reminds me why I love Iron Maiden. Instead of swashbuckling heavy metal played with real energy and swagger by a young band, it's morbid and mundane and plodding in many places, with overly depressing lyrics. In their context, I like all of these elements, and I don't want to give the impression of disliking the album -- it's just part of Maiden's discography that is much weaker for me than the material before No Prayer. This is kinda why I pretty much never listen to the last two albums. It isn't really Maiden. I find they're lost the spark that made them so exceptional before.

That some people are claiming No Prayer, X Factor, or any of these four albums are their favourite Maiden albums utterly baffles me. What about the seven(?!?!) that came before...?

X Factor is my pick, but it's around 30 minutes too long, and a real chore to get through. Great performance from Blaze though, whose voice I like a lot. No Prayer is largely horrible, and Fear of the Dark is schizophrenic: a handful of superb songs mingled with huge turds...Weekend Warrior and oh-my-fucking-god, The Apparition are ghastly songs. Virtual XI is fun but goofy, and the more serious ("epic", haha) songs are way too long.

The X Factor isn't bad or anything but it pretty much is just a blueprint for way better albums like AMOLAD and TFF in the following decade

The problem with the Blaze albums, well one of them, is the weak ass guitar production.

My vote out of 4 not great albums was No Prayer. The title track puts it over the top for me.

Author:	Sonofabitch Thirdgeneration [ Tue Mar 26, 2013 4:07 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Fear of the Dark is totally the best out of those, it has instant classics like Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Wasting Love and of course the title track plus it has other kickass songs in Be Quick or Be Dead, From Here to Eternity, The Fugitive and Judas Be My Guide. Virtual 11 would come in second though, it's actually a pretty damn good album if you give it a chance, every song on it really kicks ass except Angel & the Gambler which just totally sucks...or actually it would be a pretty cool tune if it didn't have all those fucking 24 CHORUSES all over the place, increasing the song length with 4 completely pointless minutes. Nobody gets away with stupidity like that, not even Iron Maiden. X factor would be 3rd with its awesome gems in Sign of the Cross and Unbeliever, as well as the other cool songs which are Lord of the Flies, Man on the Edge, Judgement of Heaven and The Edge of Darkness. And the bonus tracks too, those probably should have made it to the final album because they're a lot better than some tracks that did make the cut. And lastly would be No Prayer For The Dying, apart from the first 4 tracks and Bring You Daughter it's just an album of half-way good songs like Run Silent and Fates Warning and complete shit like the remaining 3 songs. Also the production sucks balls.

Author:	~Guest 285196 [ Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
The X Factor..... easily! It's is dark, it's epic, and yet still somewhat hopeful in its tone. Is Blaze Bayley the best singer ever? No, but it's admittedly hard to envision Bruce doing these songs (although, his rendition of Sign of the Cross is fantastic). Still, what drives me towards this album is its honesty. It's not commercial metal, flashy and in-your-face. It's more "introverted", reflective and quiet. Just look at these lyrics... "In the house of my soul In rooms of ugliness and cold Memories locked away All the doubts and fears I never faced" Seventh Son... is still my personal favourite, but The X Factor is right behind it.

Author:	grauer_mausling [ Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:24 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
my vote def. goes to "No Prayer...". Not because it was the first CD I ever bought (at it's release date) but just because I don't like Blaze's voice at all and "Fear..." is so damn boring apart from one or two the songs and it's title track is one of the most overrated and overplayed songs ever. Seriously - listening to that song makes my ears bleed... The sad thing is that it actually was a good song - until it got as omnipresent as "Hallowed..." or "The Number...".

Author:	iAmDisturbed [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:08 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Voted for The X Factor simply because it needs more exposure than anyone ever gave it. It is not a classic but neither does it pretend to be one like Fear of The Dark does. That album has so many pretensions, it makes my blood suffer! The Pink Floyd-isms on Afraid To Shoot Strangers' clean verse would have been divine if those lyrics weren't so terrible. But it is a good song musically and probably one of the few really memorable tracks on an otherwise drab piece. I can take No Prayer For The Dying sometimes but not always and Virtual XI is a bit of fun too.

Author:	Acrobat [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:19 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
No Prayer... for me. It's better than any of their reunion material, too! It's got an appropriate production job (much better than the sound on Fear of the Dark, which has a crappy 1980s sounding snare and overly slick guitars). Obviously, No Prayer's got its flaws (the incomplete epic, the song about anal sex and the trite, horrible finale to the Charlotte the Harlot saga) but I appreciate the energy, even if the material itself often falls short. I listen to it a couple times a year and I usually find myself enjoying it. Oh yeah, and 'Bring Your Daughter...' is fucking cool. It's like Maiden doing a Powerage-era AC/DC impression, with cool horror movie/period based imagery. Oh yeah, and the title track kinda sounds like Born Again Sabbath, which I appreciate. The X Factor's alright, too, although it's massively overlong. Still, the first three tracks are cool. Fear of the Dark has some great highlights and, yes, 'Judas Be My Guide' is an overlooked gem (although most serious Maiden fans seem to like it). For whatever reason, though, they SUCKED at hard rock on this album. They got away with it on No Prayer... but 'Here to Eternity' and 'Weekend Warrior' rank amongst their worst songs ever.

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Author:	Poisonfume [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:58 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Sonofabitch Thirdgeneration wrote: Virtual 11 would come in second though, it's actually a pretty damn good album if you give it a chance, every song on it really kicks ass except Angel & the Gambler which just totally sucks...or actually it would be a pretty cool tune if it didn't have all those fucking 24 CHORUSES all over the place, increasing the song length with 4 completely pointless minutes. Nobody gets away with stupidity like that, not even Iron Maiden. What are you talking about? Those choruses were pure genius! DON'T YOU THINK I COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE?!

Author:	Acrobat [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:02 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
I'm glad that at least one person likes 'The Angel and the Gambler'.

Author:	Sonofabitch Thirdgeneration [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
I do like the edited version though

Author:	AblackanatioN [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Fear of the Dark. It's actually the album that got me into the band when I was younger. I was intrigued by the cover art and had to know what this band was about. There may be a little nostalgic bias here, but I do still enjoy the album.

Author:	Subrick [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 2:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Also, Fear of the Dark has Afraid to Shoot Strangers. It wins by default.

Author:	Empyreal [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Fear of the Dark is awful. 3-4 good songs don't make up for the rest of the album.

Author:	Metantoine [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
This. I really like Wasted Love or Be Quick or Be Dead but damn, 3/4th of the album is awful.

Author:	OzzyApu [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
I would have said Fear of the Dark, too, for the five songs I stated in my review (“From Here To Eternity,” “Afraid To Shoot Strangers,” “Childhood’s End,” “Wasting Love," and title track). However, as Emp said, it can't uplift the rest of the horseshit that plagues that album. Man, the '90s were a bad time for Maiden.

Author:	Empyreal [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:42 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
The only ones I remember liking are "Be Quick or Be Dead," "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" and the title track. "Wasting Love" and "From Here to Eternity" ain't bad either, but a lot of the album is either boring or just flat out annoying.

Author:	LegendMaker [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Yeah, the problem is that it's not so much a handful of good songs as it is the few BEST songs of their whole 90s run, including "Be Quick or be Dead" which is better than every last one of the other songs they made in the 90s (or, in my honest opinion, post-'Seventh Son', period). So you see the pickle here? It's all a matter of phrasing and personal listening habits. The album with the best material is 'Fear of the Dark'. To me, it translates to "the best album". Now, if I had to listen to one of those four albums in its entirety or not at all, my choice might be different (it'd very likely end up being 'Virtual XI', then). I might even settle for No Prayer for the Boring, which is certainly more uniformly mediocre and, as such, works better as uninterrupted background music. But one to save from a fire? 'Fear of the Dark', no questions asked.

Author:	Wedge_Antilles [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:31 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
ralfikk123 wrote: Okay, I don't want to derail the thread, but how is Invaders shit? Why do I keep on hearing this. It's a killer song with an awesome bass line and all around hyper fun. I seriously want to know what people are smoking when they call Invaders shit. It absolutely rips.

Author:	Peroy [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:35 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Wedge_Antilles wrote: ralfikk123 wrote: Okay, I don't want to derail the thread, but how is Invaders shit? Why do I keep on hearing this. It's a killer song with an awesome bass line and all around hyper fun. I seriously want to know what people are smoking when they call Invaders shit. It absolutely rips. Nah, never liked that one, too... kiddie metal and much too happy sounding for its lyrical matter. Still one of the better songs on that album...

Author:	HamburgerBoy [ Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:36 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Chains of Misery is one of the most underrated Iron Maiden songs. It's more rock-oriented but doesn't have any of the AC/DC-isms yet a lot of swing, and I'm not being hyperbolic when I say it may contain my favorite Murray solos. Something about the leads on it are so triumphant, and the only solos in metal I've even heard in comparison with it are those closing Atheist's Mineral. Overall I've always been more of a Smith guy, but Murray really brings it with that song and he has a lot of other great moments on the album as well.

Author:	ralfikk123 [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:43 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Chains of Misery...mmm one of my favorites from the album. The main riff is fricking awesome. The chorus is golden. Really really great song.

Author:	the_raytownian [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
I never understood the popularity of "Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter"... It's a terribly overrated (and also un-catchy and totally cheesy) song... That said, I also think "Holy Smoke" rules (it'd probably be in my top 10 favorite Maiden songs, supposing I ever felt inclined to make a list), so maybe I'm crazy. And while NPFTD is hardly my favorite album, I still like it better than FOTD. I just felt like getting that off my chest. I suppose The X Factor would have to be my choice. No one but Blaze Bayley can sing "Man On The Edge" as far as I am concerned. Bruce's voice might be good, but for that song, it's just not right.

Author:	Peroy [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:42 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
the_raytownian wrote: I never understood the popularity of "Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter"... It's a terribly overrated (and also un-catchy and totally cheesy) song... I think that's the worst song on NPFTD, too...

Author:	SleightOfVickonomy [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:56 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
X FACTOR!!!!

Author:	Sonofabitch Thirdgeneration [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
the_raytownian wrote: "Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter"... un-catchy song...

Author:	DeathBySuicide [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
The X Factor because the rest are forgettable!

Author:	Ancient_Mariner [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
The problem with the Blaze albums, well one of them, is the weak ass guitar production. My vote out of 4 not great albums was No Prayer. The title track puts it over the top for me.

Author:	Poisonfume [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
To clarify (because I think I'm the one who ripped on Invaders in this thread), Invaders is a terrific song with a comparatively weak chorus, hence my comparison to Tailgunner.

Author:	Pippin_Took [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
That some people are claiming No Prayer, X Factor, or any of these four albums are their favourite Maiden albums utterly baffles me. What about the seven(?!?!) that came before...? X Factor is my pick, but it's around 30 minutes too long, and a real chore to get through. Great performance from Blaze though, whose voice I like a lot. No Prayer is largely horrible, and Fear of the Dark is schizophrenic: a handful of superb songs mingled with huge turds...Weekend Warrior and oh-my-fucking-god, The Apparition are ghastly songs. Virtual XI is fun but goofy, and the more serious ("epic", haha) songs are way too long.

Author:	Peroy [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Pippin_Took wrote: That some people are claiming No Prayer, X Factor, or any of these four albums are their favourite Maiden albums utterly baffles me. What about the seven(?!?!) that came before...? What about them ? Six of those seven I'd rank from good to excellent, but fot me, none of them comes close to "The X Factor". That's just the way it is for me, don't know what to say...

Author:	MacMoney [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
What he expects is that you apologize. Apologize and repent. You apologize and you repent until you have no tongue and your legs knees have worn away.

Author:	Pippin_Took [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
MacMoney wrote: What he expects is that you apologize. Apologize and repent. You apologize and you repent until you have no tongue and your legs knees have worn away. Pretty much! To explain myself Peroy, I don't find much in The X Factor which reminds me why I love Iron Maiden. Instead of swashbuckling heavy metal played with real energy and swagger by a young band, it's morbid and mundane and plodding in many places, with overly depressing lyrics. In their context, I like all of these elements, and I don't want to give the impression of disliking the album -- it's just part of Maiden's discography that is much weaker for me than the material before No Prayer. This is kinda why I pretty much never listen to the last two albums. It isn't really Maiden. I find they're lost the spark that made them so exceptional before.

Author:	Peroy [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Pippin_Took wrote: MacMoney wrote: What he expects is that you apologize. Apologize and repent. You apologize and you repent until you have no tongue and your legs knees have worn away. Pretty much! To explain myself Peroy, I don't find much in The X Factor which reminds me why I love Iron Maiden. Instead of swashbuckling heavy metal played with real energy and swagger by a young band, it's morbid and mundane and plodding in many places, with overly depressing lyrics. In their context, I like all of these elements, and I don't want to give the impression of disliking the album -- it's just part of Maiden's discography that is much weaker for me than the material before No Prayer. This is kinda why I pretty much never listen to the last two albums. It isn't really Maiden. I find they're lost the spark that made them so exceptional before. I've come to the conclusion that what I love about Maiden are not the same things that most other people seem to love about them (thus explaining the long lasting popularity of an album like "The Number of the Beast") and so I can only add that I also think "The X Factor" is their best because it is nothing like the records that came before it.

Author:	Empyreal [ Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
The X Factor isn't bad or anything but it pretty much is just a blueprint for way better albums like AMOLAD and TFF in the following decade - which just had better performances, better pacing, more epic atmosphere, etc. I like about half the songs on X Factor though, and there are a sizeable number of people who really love it, so eh, I wouldn't really be shocked at your statements either.

Author:	Victor_Of_The_Void [ Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:15 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Voted for The X Factor. Not my favorite Maiden record but I've always liked it as compared to the rest here.

Author:	Deaderthebetter [ Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:31 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Best Iron Maiden Studio Album of the 1990's
Pippin_Took wrote: That some people are claiming No Prayer, X Factor, or any of these four albums are their favourite Maiden albums utterly baffles me. What about the seven(?!?!) that came before...? X Factor is my pick, but it's around 30 minutes too long, and a real chore to get through. Great performance from Blaze though, whose voice I like a lot. No Prayer is largely horrible, and Fear of the Dark is schizophrenic: a handful of superb songs mingled with huge turds...Weekend Warrior and oh-my-fucking-god, The Apparition are ghastly songs. Virtual XI is fun but goofy, and the more serious ("epic", haha) songs are way too long. Weekend Warrior is my guilty pleasure. Bruce's singing and the unusually...rocky guitar solo helps. I love the cheese here. The Apparation starts okay but I get tired of it it in a hurry. X Factor and Virtual XI is brutal in my opinion, I can sing better than Blaze, good songwriter though. Not impressed by the guitar work on X Factor especially though, just seems bland except for "Man On The Edge" and "Sign Of The Cross."