Trollheart

Track title: “The Prophecy”
Album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Year: 1988
Written by: Dave Murray/Steve Harris
Subject: Foretellings of doom
Type: Mid-paced rocker
Length: 5:04
Familiar? Not really
Rating: 5/10
Random play keeps pulling tracks off Seventh Son that I'm not that familiar with, like this one, which obviously continues the story of the album as the hero tries to explain that his predictions are about to come true. There's a real kind of romping, marching feel to the melody, slightly Powerslave-y again (for a while they really wouldn't lose that feel) and a breakout solo about halfway through that kicks up the speed of the song before it dips back again into the kind of slow canter it's been maintaining. Good use of double vocals here (think they're both Bruce's), one slightly darker than the other then in the last minute the electric guitar fades down to an acoustic one (I think; sounds like one anyway) lending a kind of medieval feel to the instrumental fade-out.

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Trollheart

Track title: “When the River Runs Deep”
Album: The Book of Souls
Year: 2015
Written by: Adrian Smith/Steve Harris
Subject: Not a clue; one of those esoteric, metaphorical lyrics maybe?
Type: Mostly fast rocker
Length: 5:52
Familiar? No
Rating: 6/10
Though I did an extensive review of it, Maiden's last album (to date) is not one I'm at all familiar with, but this is one of the shorter tracks on it. Good powerful intro, very short before Bruce comes in with the vocal. Kind of a groove taking the tune then as it rocks along, then it slows down before picking up again. Bit of an odd little track really. The solo really pulls it together though and it certainly does rock when the writers aren't trying to pull it back into a slower groove, as they seemed to be doing more towards the earlier part of the song. Good powerful finish.

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The Batlord

Like one of the best songs Maiden ever did, and one of the new age, non pure pop metal tracks that was still a galloping track of godliness, so it's a perfect gateway from early to later Maiden. But whatever the case it ****ing rules like an evil king. A perfect metal track basically.

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Trollheart

Track title: “Futureal”
Album: Virtual XI
Year: 1998
Written by: Steve Harris/Blaze Bayley
Subject: Not sure: something about the future?
Type: Fast rocker/headbanger
Length: 3:00
Familiar? No
Rating: 5/10
And another album I'm not familiar with, and probably never will be, as it really did not click with me despite repeated listenings. I find it odd though that this song was apparently voted as one of the best Iron Maiden songs of all time by fans in a poll, though of course you can make a poll say anything you want: 85% of people will tell you that. Time to give it another chance? Let's be fair and say it rocks like ****, which is something I could say of nothing on the previous album (shut up, I won't kill myself, Blue Hawk) and it has an immediacy about it that, perhaps, when I heard the album first, might have convinced me this was the one to turn it around. It wasn't. But I feel the vocal is not quite weak, but hasn't got the personality and charisma Bruce tends to put into the songs. Yeah, I'm a Bruce fanboy, will be till I die. Sue me.

Never a problem with the solos of course, and the boys put in a fine show here, though as usual on these two albums I do miss Adrian. At least they learned their lesson (maybe) from The X Factor and started this album off with a short song instead of a goddamn epic. Good abrupt ending too. I still don't love it, but if more of the album had been like this I think I might have a slightly higher opinion of it than I do.

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Trollheart

Track title: “Prodigal Son”
Album: Killers
Year: 1981
Written by: Steve Harris
Subject: Soulsearching?
Type: Ballad (!)
Length: 6:05
Familiar? Very
Rating: 9/10
I suspect this is a song most of you don't like. I mean, Maiden? Doing a ****ing ballad? Give me a break! But hell, it works. And though I'm a sucker for the ballads on any album, I love this because it shows, despite what I would have thought, that Paul Di'Anno can really tone it back when he has to. All through Killers he's been raving, growling, rasping and snarling, but here, as the album heads towards its end, he's able to deliver a wonderful sensitive ballad. We got a foretaste of this on “Remember Tomorrow” on the debut, just a little teaser before he went off yelling again (and that's a great song, don't get me wrong) but here he's in total laidback mode, and he does a great job.

Kudos also to Adrian and Dave, who manage to create a guitar backdrop that is both soft and also has teeth, so that it doesn't sound like a soppy ballad. Of course, we've had “Strange World” on the debut, but really, that's about it for years and years, even decades, as far as Maiden are concerned, so if you're here looking for lovesongs, well, try some other band. Not that this is a love song, either, far from it: this seems to be a man examining his actions, his past, looking into his very soul and asking for help to be a better person. Or something. But it's a superb song, and definitely on my list of top ten, and quite near the top too. Credit too must be given to new boy Martin Birch, who makes the production full and lush, a far cry from the job done on the first album.

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MicShazam

Prodigal Son is my favorite track off Killers. That one and the two instrumentals.

Trollheart

Mine would be, in order, "Killers", "Prodigal Son", "Drifter" and then everything else.

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Blue Hawk

Futureal not Futurereal (you poser). One of the best Maiden's songs.

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Trollheart

One of the best Maiden songs, you poser.
Or, if you prefer, one of the best of Maiden's songs.
Get it right.

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Trollheart

Track title: “Sanctuary”
Album: Iron Maiden
Year: 1980
Written by: Rob Angelo (though credited to “Iron Maiden”)
Subject: Man on the run
Type: Fast rocker
Length: 3:19
Familiar? Yes
Rating: 6/10
Although originally not on the UK pressings of the debut album, “Sanctuary” was Maiden's second released single, and was included on the US versions, and all other versions since. As noted above, the song is credited to the band, but one of the Metal Hammer guys seems to claim that Rob Angelo, who was briefly with the band in 1977, before they even released their first album, wrote it, and was paid the princely sum of three hundred pounds for it. Be that as it may, and like all or most of the songs on the first album, this is a perfect vehicle for the rawer, more guttural voice of Paul Di'Anno as he sings like a man possessed, trying to evade the law. The guitars are also raw and sharp, with Adrian yet to join the band and the production pretty harsh and basic. The riff certainly slays though.

If a Maiden song can be said to be rooted in punk, I guess this one is. Speed it up a little and it could even be a punk song. Shut up: what do you know about punk? Yeah whatever. It's a very simple song and maybe an odd one to choose as a single, but it certainly drew attention to their soon to be released debut album. And the rest, as they say, is history. Sidenote: when the single was originally released it featured a cover showing a picture of Eddie after having killed Maggie Thatcher: apparently the Maiden mascot was annoyed that the PM had been dubbed “The Iron Maiden” and wanted revenge. Go Eddie!

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