The Gen Marutani Zone... Episode 360

This week on The Gen Marutani Zone:

1. Winners and Losers

2. A special Guest Host!

3. Memes! Lots of Memes!

4. The Love of Gen Marutani!

5. The Empire of the Clouds of Gen's Comments!

6. 66

7. Ways to win

8. We LOVE GEN!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Let's see here. Uh okay, next up, I'm gonna do a quick little thing here. Yeah. Hello and welcome to Uncle Steve's Gen Marietani Zone. This week joining me to listen to the Gen Marietani quick choice. I've got Ballad in Ireland. How are you, Valad?

SPEAKER_00 0:31

I'm doing very well. I've got my coffee here because this is gonna take some time.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Exactly. Alright, so this is Gen Marietani's quick quote on the episode where he gave us seven songs to choose from on each side. Yeah. He says, Thank you, Uncle Steve, Kirsty, and Matt, for doing this episode. I really enjoyed your thoughts and opinions, even though some of them were very wrong and ridiculous. So I have to say, this time, this won't be short like my usual comments. Short like his usual comments. I love this next comment. It's going to be my Empire of the Clouds post.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

So be ready. Is this episode two? Like, should we reconvene tomorrow?

SPEAKER_02 1:23

No kidding. Let me get my jug of water here.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

This is this is like the rhyme of the ancient mariner. Like, does Kane go to like weddings and like corner people with the water?

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Yeah, he stands, he stands there, and a guy walks up and goes, Let me tell you a tell. Two minutes of your time, and off you'll go, you know? That's actually a different song, but it is, yeah. But anyway, so he says, seven. Oh my gosh, this is long. To tame a land versus Benjamin reincarnation of Benjamin Brig. Then he starts off to tame a land. This is one of the most unique songs about Iron among Iron Maiden's epics. As Kirsty pointed out, it rarely has singing parts, and the song structure is very interesting. Intro, verse 1, lead guitar melody, verse 2, lead guitar melody, instrumental, bridge, long instrumental. It doesn't follow the traditional verse pre-chorus chorus format. There is no pre-chorus or chorus at all. However, as I revisited the song, I realized the lead guitar melody after each verse almost functions as the chorus. Fair. After some transitions, it leads to another vocal part, which isn't a chorus either, but rather a bridge leading into the long instrumental section.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

I feel like I should be whiteboarding this.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

I know.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Keep tracked.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

That instrumental. Here's my breakdown. He probably has one up at his house for each one of these. That instrumental section is my favorite part of the song. Then interestingly, it ends with the same beautiful guitar melody played by Dave at the very beginning. It's an amazing piece of music. I definitely agree there with him. But I always have a feeling of incompleteness every time I listen to it. I might get a lot of hate for saying this, but I feel like Steve was trying to write something truly amazing, yet never fully knew where he was heading with it. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Next up. He settled for the broken washing machine sound. Jugger joke.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Next up, the reincarnation of Benjamin Brie. I have a personal memory with this song. After seeing Maiden in 2004, I was really excited to find out that they were releasing a new album in 06. I remember visiting the special webpage for the song and watching the video. I was full of excitement. When I first heard the mellow guitar solo by Dave in the intro, I thought, okay, very different from the last two lead singles, Wicker Man and Wildest Dreams. Then Bruce started whispering the first vocal part, and I felt my anxiety growing. I was like, okay, this is not something I was expecting as a single. And he says, technically it wasn't an official single in some regions due to its length. When the whole band kick in, which is what we were just talking about, my first thought was, man, it's kind of sludgy and not exciting at all. Whoa, I would I didn't think that. No vocal, and he has a big laughing face here too. Yeah. The vocal melody was very dark and not catchy at all. I remember thinking, gosh, what happened what happened to them? Oh my gosh, I can't believe that. That's weird. I remember thinking that this was amazing. Wildest dreams, yeah. If this is the best they got, they need to hang it up. I don't even remember if I finished watching the entire video. I just did not like it at all. Because of this song, my excitement for the new album really cooled down, and I had a hard time getting into a matter of life and death for a long time. I seriously thought I cannot believe that Dave Murray, who wrote my all-time favorite track, Deja Vu, wrote this boring piece. I was even less excited when I found out they were going to play the entire album live for that tour they played at Boudicon, and it was the oh only maiden concert I skipped, even though I had a chance to go. Wow. And I know this is going to do a complete.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

He's been taking off my Christmas card list.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

I have a feeling we're about to get a complete 360 on this, though. To this day, I think it was one of the stupidest decisions I ever made. Okay, you're back on the Christmas. You're back on Balanced Christmas list now. Okay, uh my perspective completely changed years later when I watched their Donnington 07 show on YouTube. Since I joined this platform platform, I've encountered many people who loved a matter of life and death album, including the host of this podcast. I thought, okay, maybe I should give this an album another chance. I wonder how it sounded live. So I played the live version of the reincarnation of Benjamin Brig. I was blown away. The mellow intro was just like the studio version, so I was like, okay, whatever. But then everything changed when the whole band kicked in. It was extremely heavy, and Bruce was there screaming, hey!

unknown 6:28

Hey!

SPEAKER_02 6:29

to get the crowd going. It was an awesome live song. The track that I once thought was sludgy was suddenly bursting with energy in a live setting. Now Matt said the same thing. He said that this song came alive when he saw it live as well. It has some rhythm changes, but it's actually one of the few maiden epics where the tempo stays consistent throughout the whole song.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

He wouldn't have really called it an epic, to be honest. You know.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

He was just going by length, so.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, yeah. You know, I w I wouldn't have I wouldn't have thought it lasted that long. I mean, like, his longest day is that longer, for instance. Probably, yeah. Longest day is like nine minutes, and yeah, yeah. There's I mean, the Yalb of Closer. On Senjutsu, like you'd nearly miss it.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

It's one of the shorter songs it's on Senjutsu. Oh, he's just the instrumental section was also so refreshing. I don't think I had ever really paid attention to it until that point. The first riff after the second chorus is still one of my all-time favorites to this day. It's extremely heavy and catchy. Ever since that mind-blowing experience, this has become one of my favorite maiden tracks of all time. Therefore, for this match, the reincarnation of Benjamin Brie wins. That's his first one. Yeah. Or that's number seven, he's doing council's order. Number six. I have to collect my child before dawn, but I'll read fast. I'll try to read fast. Six, fear of the dark versus. Yeah, it'll it'll be like last week whenever whenever Matt just disappeared for a while. You'll get back and I'll be going, okay, I'm on number three now.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Where Homer like sinks back into the bush, you know that one.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Hey, tell me tell me about your life. Tell me about your dreams, tell me about the distant things. Okay, so uh fear of the dark versus greater good of God. All three of you mentioned that it's a great sing-along song for Fear of the Dark. Uh, it really is. I started my maiden journey with Rock and Rio, so I heard the song from early on. That live album officially turned this track into a live anthem for maiden fans, Greed, uh, thanks to the passionate Blood Brothers and Sisters in Brazil. As I mentioned before, I think this song became the blueprint for 90% of the maiden epics that came out from the X Factor onwards. So many of them have been written using the exact same formula. Quiet intro, verse, pre-chorus. Uh, some songs, including Fear of the Dark, skip this. Chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, long instrumental section with rhythm changes, back to the verse, or straight to the chorus, pre-chorus, chorus, back to the quiet intro. Did you get all that? The whiteboard is not beginning. I'm I'm writing frantically. Frantically. Slow down, slow down. Teacher, can you repeat all that, please? Aren't that bridge? Aren't that chorus? Exactly. Okay. I believe Steve experimented a lot with writing epics throughout the 80s, but he really found his winning pattern when he wrote the title track for their ninth album. He has since composed so many legendary tracks using this exact blueprint. I don't personally rank Fear of the Dark Super High as an album, but I believe it was one of the most crucial in their career. Without this song, their later trajectory would have been totally different. It's also one of their faster epics. The excitement explodes with every explodes every single time the drums kick in. When I saw Maiden in 2024 for the first time in eight years, I unexpectedly found myself singing along to every single word. I was honestly shocked. I usually don't care much about lyrics. Heck, I don't even remember the lyrics to Iron Maiden. The song they played more. I know. That's funny. Okay, uh and that song basically just repeats the same phrase three times. But there I was whispering, singing, and shouting every line of Fear of the Dark. It made me realize just how deeply this song has resonated with me over the years. For the greater good of God. As I mentioned, I struggled with the album A Matter of Life and Death for a long time. However, this song stood out from the very first time I listened to it. It starts with a dark moody intro. Tell me if you've heard that before. And soon begins to show a different color when Bruce starts singing, bringing a subtle brightness to the darkness. But when the whole band kicks in, it's completely overwhelms you. And Steve is 100% right. That drumming part in the verse is incredible. I agree with myself on that too. Kirsty rightfully pointed out that the pre-chorus is even more beautiful and attractive than the actual chorus. After the building intensity, the song opens up into a vast space when it hits the pre-chorus. It's basically repeating the same lines, yet I've never felt like it was repetitive because it's so stunningly beautiful. Takes a long journey to reach the chorus, and the chorus itself feels a bit low-key compared to that magnificent pre-chorus. After the first chorus, the song completely shifts its tone again, becoming extremely dark and heavy. Oh my gosh. Nico's drumming here is an absolute masterpiece. All the intensity, heaviness, and groove come almost solely from his drum work. No wonder he called this his all-time favorite Maiden album. Did you see that where he did that?

SPEAKER_00 12:00

No, I didn't I didn't see the little recent interview, no, the party where he ranked them.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Kirsty just sent me, I said I'm not gonna watch it, just sent me the albums, and I was like, wow, that's impressive, you know, that he had that at number one. So he masterfully executed every single beat on this record. I would also like to note the importance of the orchestration in this track, and I mean orchestration, not just standard synthesizers. When Nico creates all the intensity and heaviness, Steve's keyboards add flavor, mood, and deep emotion. The way they use keyboards today is very different from Somewhere in Time or Seventh Sun. It never bad was that. I know. I I was wondering why your head kept twitching to the left. It never becomes the main focus of the song, the uh talking about the uh the uh keyboards and orchestration, uh, like on those two albums. Uh, but Steve ex executed it masterfully here. In my opinion, Steve reached four distinct peaks when it comes to writing epics. I thought that he was changing his whole tune here, but now he's mentioning other epics here. Uh he reached he he said four distinct peaks. So these are the four four peaks he says. Hallowed be thy name, Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, this track, definitely one of the absolute highlights of his career. He found his winning formula uh pattern with Fear of the Dark, but he mastered it and perfected it with for the greater good of God. And number four, um the uh peaks, his number four peak is Hell on Earth. Now, his number four and number one are gonna be going up against each other here in a little bit, but if he put Hell on Earth at number four, I think we've already known what's gonna be his number, what that'll be. Uh I'm still holding my flag for Phantom by the There you go. The only regrettable thing for me is the mix. Some of the lead guitar parts aren't loud enough, and if the guitars had a bit more edge to their sound, the intensity of the song would have been off the charts anyway for this match, easily for the greater good of Godwins.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

So two votes not a huge fan of that song. It's okay. That doesn't stand out for me on that album.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Oh wow, I love it. It's the only one I've ever heard live from that album. And oh man, I it I I nearly shat myself from excitement.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Is that a beepable one?

SPEAKER_02 14:44

No, I won't I won't. That's the one, you know, when I a long time ago, I don't know if you remember this, but I told the story where I was I was like so into it, I ended up hitting some guy in the head with my fist. Because he was because he had sat down during that song. Yeah, it was an accident, but later me and Sarah were laughing and go, he deserved it. They should have sat down. Okay, uh he wasn't lying, man. He wasn't lying. This is a here's another he when he said this that everything else was short compared to this. My gosh, here we go. Number five. We're only at number five now. We've done seven and six so far. Right gosh. In the Gen Marie Tani zone. I need a late only. Yeah, it's late where you are. It's late where you I need more. Look at this, how much water I got left. I need I need a lot more water than you are.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

You need a lot more than that.

SPEAKER_02 15:31

I need a lot more than that. So okay. Alexander the Great versus Dance of Death. Alexander, this is another unique epic. After the narration in the beginning, the song builds up with Nico's snare rolls and beautifully orchestrated guitars and keyboards. Even though the synthesizers of the keyboards created a futuristic sound and atmosphere throughout the album, they do a completely different job in this song, giving it a much more militaristic vibe. I agree. Agree with that. The amazing thing about Iron Maiden songs, especially their epics, is that you can often understand what is happening in the story without even reading the lyrics. Prime example of this being Empire of the Clouds. I don't understand how Empire of the Clouds is not a top seven.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Yeah, I would agree, yeah. Yeah. And it's so different, like, you know, it's piano and just the story. Some of the some of the other ones are a bit interchangeable, you know, like they're all good, but you're covering a different area by bringing in Empire, you know.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

When I did my rankings of all the Iron Maiden songs, Empire of the Clouds was definitely in my top ten. I might have been number two or one somewhere, but it was high. It was very high. Uh okay, he says I can feel the massive military march, the long artist journey with its sudden conclusion at the end. I can sense all of that, not through the lyrics, but purely through the music. The instrumental section is another unique part of the song. It starts off with the sound of a big gong. I don't know if any other main song actually uses gongs. I certainly can't recall one right now. Is there one in Sinjutsu? The actual song? Is there one at the end of Hello? I feel like because Sinjutsu has it's the um like the war theme and things like that. Maybe I'm I think that maybe it's the explosion sound at the end of that one. Um okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

I'm just thinking of Live After Dead video. It's maybe it was at the end of Raymond the Ancient Mariner, right there.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

It goes on and on. He's got the massive big D shits it back.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Yeah, yeah, that's right. You're out there. Okay. Man, you're putting facts on Gen. That's something me and Matt have never done.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

I can retire now.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

You can retire now. You gotta retire while you're on top, you know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

I'm on way for 10 here, really.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

He says, uh I can't recall it. Uh, it was definitely the first time I'd ever seen one used live outside of a drum solo, and I'd never seen the vocalist play it during a show, which Bruce did, you know, famously. Uh when it hits the instrumental section, the rhythm hold on. Um just trying to see what song we're talking about. I've already forgot. I'm four paragraphs deep into this. Uh the instrumental section is another unique part of the song. It starts off with the sound of a big gong. Oh, sorry, I read that already. Yeah. When it hits the instrumental section, the rhythm changes drastically instead of speeding up like many other songs do. Hold on, it's got a message from ballad. Can you hurry up with this long at oh I can't read that. No, just kidding. Uh, after the beautiful, he's like gonna go. Like, I'm I'm why am I wasting my time with these guys? I I I work really hard to to make this as as detailed as possible, and they're just laughing at me. They're just joking around.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

I think he needs a fanzine or something like, you know, for everyone can read it.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Like it's like I always tell Matt, I mean, who's the one who really should be doing an Iron Maiden podcast here? I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

You know, us clowns or him, you know. So uh let's see here. After the beautiful dual guitar harmony, the song transitions into what I call the jamming section. Their songs always are their song, their songs are always meticulously crafted. When I read this much out loud, man, it's tough.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

I know, your throat gets drying over there.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Especially the epics. By the end, I'm gonna be like, but these guitar solo parts, especially Adrian's, sound almost like something blues or jazz band would do. They alternate between the guitar solo and drum breaks, snare rolls three separate times. I'm not sure why they cut his solo into three pieces, but I thought it was a really interesting choice. I'm also curious why they didn't split Dave's solo into three parts as well. When the song returns to the vocal section, the Almighty Bruce holds that final note for 20 plus seconds. It was absolutely mind-blowing to see him do that live at 66 years old, which is about how old I will be by the time we get done reading this.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

I feel like 66 at the moment.

SPEAKER_02 20:13

Oh, my back feels 66 right now. And so that Alexander the Great was up against Dance to Death. So let me see what he says about Dance to Death. This is one of their iconic epics from the reunion era and one of the few songs played live across multiple tours. The Dance to Death album was actually the first maiden record I bought as a new release. The title track starts with beautiful acoustic guitars, a trademark of Yannick's epic songs. It's a simple riff, arpeggiated power chords, but it quickly becomes rich and colorful as the other guitars, bass, and keyboards join in. Bruce sings very softly at first, bringing so much emotion to the song. He continues to do that.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

What's that? Do you feel it's kind of like a reworking of Number of the Beast? You know, you you you come across this ritual, like, you know? Is it like I'm not gonna say rinse and repeat, like, but thematically is it similar?

SPEAKER_02 21:12

There is, you know, there's definitely a story, and uh I'll be honest, if I compare the two, lyrically, I like the story better here.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

You know, I think it's it's it's more, you know, when Bruce is talking about being in the midst of them and and frantically running away and all that. I think it's uh but yeah, I do think there's uh a certain element that that could be you're definitely on to that, that's for sure. Um at first you said that I thought, what's he talking about? I go, Oh, wait a minute, this is Dance to Death. Okay. Uh let's see, did I write oh did I read this line or okay. The title track starts with a beautiful acoustic guitars with beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

I was mad now. I keep interrupting you so you'd lose your place.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

You're just, let me guess, you're just amusing yourself now.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Someone's got to do it, right? You know, like people expect a format, like somebody trying to frustrate you, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Oh, yeah. Now you see, now now you're joining the Matt side of the fan club. I can see I can hear it. I can hear it in your voice. Okay. The title track starts with beautiful acoustic guitars. And I know Matt's gonna enjoy this hearing you do it. A trademark of Yannick's epic songs. It's a simple riff, arpeggiated power chords, but quickly becomes rich and colorful as other guitars-based keyboards join in. Bruce sings very softly at first, bringing so much emotion to the song. He continues through the verses as the music begins toward a climax. You hear the main theme played on an acoustic guitar before the whole band kicks in. Steve called this the wall of sound. I'll take credit for that. I don't know if I ever heard anyone else say that, but to me that's what it's like. It's like on the album, I don't think it resonates as well on the album, but when you hear it live, it's like, oh, that really is a cool. It's not just this you know, you think of Nikko putting his hand over his head and dancing in circles and all that. Um Steve called this the wall of of sound, and that perfectly describes it. Experiencing it live, that wall felt even thicker, bigger, and more powerful. Interestingly, almost all of Yannick's epics, with the Book of Souls being the rare exception, feature these signature thematic melody lines. It's a unique hallmark of his songwriting, and I absolutely love the theme in Dance of Death behind that melody. Nikko's fast uh Nikko's fast kick drums create incredible dynamics. Oh, it can oh.

SPEAKER_00 23:50

He's visibly flagging here, folks.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Oh my god. It's like another four another four paragraphs here. He he really likes this song. Yeah, yeah. Uh another great feature of Yannick's Epics is the classic gallop rhythm. The gallop used to be one of Maiden's most famous trademarks, though it became less prominent in the reunion era, especially in the epics. However, in his epics, including this track Dance, Dream of Mirrors, The Talisman, and the Time Machine, he uses it to keep that iconic rhythm alive. I believe the reason why Yannick always brings the Gallop into his epics is that he understands and looks at the band's music more objectively than the other members, being the quote newest. He's the newest member. Yeah. UB.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

He's only like 30 years of what it's like.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Yeah, you know, hey, you've only been in the band for like 34 years. Calm down. Calm down. Um perhaps he might be the one who writes epics in the most classic maiden way. That's interesting. Really, I mean, that I will say that's a fantastic and interesting and take I've never thought of. That's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Uh for saying uh time machine without laughing, because like very few people can manage that.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Have I ever told you? I'll tell you what, Malad. You come to Texas one day and we go to karaoke. I'm gonna do the time machine, karaoke, just for you.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

I'm gonna be like, I mean, I don't want you to ruin your uh your legacy now, Steve.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

You're gonna be like, hey, where where can I go shop for t-shirts real quick? Um uh and I like but I wanted to say for real, he's this is still going on, but we're joking around and having fun with it, but man, these are his points are just really well thought out and articulated.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

We're not giving them the reverence that deserves. We're really not. We're gonna make this work for radio. Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

You really need someone like Kirsty here, you know, or Bill, someone who's really professional and pros. You need the pros here.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

You you know, you got you got uh you got me. Like they could take it on, you know. There you go. You know, we don't we don't affect your brand, Steve, by going too serious.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

Yeah, that's true. That's that's why we only have one of those Andrew episodes like twice a year, you know. Exactly. Like we don't get people too thinking this is a real serious thing here. Okay, let me get back to him. It's hard to articulate which part of the song is actually the chorus, but what I can tell you is there are so many vocal climaxes throughout this epic. Bruce delivers every line flawlessly, and the song showcases his full vocal range. Having three guitar solos has become a core element of reunion era epics, and all three in this track are fantastic. Each guitarist really showcases his own distinct style and flavor, and believe it or not, Yannick's solo isn't sloppy at all in this song. It's very fast yet surprisingly melodic. If I had just gone with my reflex or muscle memory, I would have easily chosen Alexander the Great as the winner. But I'm so glad I revisited both and listened them back to back. I ended up surprisingly, even surprising even myself by crowning Dance of Death as the winner of this match. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 27:19

It's probably one of the lesser of the matchups, though, to be fair. Is this sure?

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like uh y'all use the word bollocking, so I thought I'll use that word, but I feel like Alexander's gotten a bit of a bollocking over the years. Like it used to be this song everyone clamored for, and then it kind of got into that era like the counselor mentioned, where it's it's kind of like, oh, it's like getting on Wikipedia and reading, you know, the story of Alexander Great's live and through the lyrics. And so it's kind of but as the years go by, more introspection and more looking and digging, and you know.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

I almost kind of found it long, it felt longer than than rhyme, even, you know. Um I never kind of with Alexander nearly looking at my watch and like, geez, how long more is this thing going? Go on. Well, I I guess maybe the difference is the rhyme, the best of it comes at the end, like yeah, you know, even if you're waiting for the after one by the star dog at moon, you're thinking, ah yeah, like it's it's gonna really kick off now in a minute, like you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

For sure, for sure. Next up at number four, so we've done seven, six, and five so far. He really is getting his own episode again this week. Uh he is, for fact. I mean, maybe the whole thing will just be the Gen Marie Tani's own. Four, seventh son of a seventh son versus the clansman. Seventh Son. Early in my maiden fandom, seventh son was only my second album from the classic era, coming right after Fear of the Dark. Andrew might want to argue about that. At that point, I think I already owned a real dead one, Rock and Rio, Best of the Beast, Fear of the Dark, and I loved Evil That Mendo from Rock and Rio, so I was pretty excited to listen to the studio album. When I first played it, I was surprised by how refined and polished the sound production was. Even the Evil That Mendoo sounded completely different from the live version I was used to. It sounded so light. Then came the title track. At first I found the use of keyboards and synths very refreshing. The way they used those instruments on Somewhere in Time. Uh the way wait, so the way they used those instruments on Somewhere in Time and Seventh Sun was very different from how they utilize them today. Today the keyboards are used more as background orchestration, uh, but then there were front and center instruments right along the guitars. The intro was dramatic and almost majestic, I agree. It wasn't fast, but it wasn't sludgy, sludgily slow either. I really liked the verse and the uh the oh part before the chorus. Um trying to think of which one of those that is. That's not the oh. Uh oh. No, that's in uh that's heaven can wait.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Oh, that's where Bruce is singing by himself. Okay, yeah. Uh maybe. I can't I had it I had it a second ago. I've read so much right now that my brain can't think of anything else except what I'm looking at. It's the one that goes.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

Oh. Keep it going, keep it going. I'm trying to get it. And it's it's just before it goes. Seventh seven, seventh seven. It's just the music's second before that.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Yeah. Uh see, uh, like the verse in this section. Okay. I thought it was a great build-up. However, when the chorus hit, I remember thinking, oh man, what a boring chorus.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Keep he he likes that other one that he mentioned a moment ago. How is it?

SPEAKER_02 30:53

Or the greater good of God. Yeah. Well, I have a feeling that we're gonna get a shift here again. Right. He says, keep in mind I was only 16 years old at the time. It felt so repetitive and I lacked them and lacked the melodic dynamics compared to the epic maiden songs I knew back then, like Sign of the Cross, Fear of the Dark, and Hallowed. Uh, as a result, this song remained lower on my list of maiden epics for years. My perspective shift years later, around 12 ah, I knew it. 12 to 14 during the Maiden England World tour. Since I knew they weren't coming to Japan, I watched a lot of footage uh on YouTube, and when I saw them play this track live at the massive festival, I finally realized how awesome it actually was. Now get ready for this next two words. First off, first off, it was extremely cord. I'll see you tomorrow. You're gonna go pick up your son and then you get back, and then I'll go. Secondly, okay, first off, it was extremely heavy. It didn't sound light like the studio album at all, and it felt even more dramatic and majestic live. Bruce's vocal performance was astonishing. Setting aside his theatrical antics, his vocal delivery delivery was pure perfection. Sure, the chorus was still repetitive and wasn't my absolute favorite, but in that epic live atmosphere, it didn't even it didn't even matter. The audience singing along to the OO section added so much energy to the track. By the time they reached the quiet middle section, I was completely immersed in the song. Bruce delivered the live narration, thank goodness it wasn't a tape, and then they launched into that long instrumental section. Kirsty made a great point about the drum work in that section, truly unique. Nico has never played anything quite like it before or since. If Gen says it, it must be true. There are so many fills, yet none of them feature his signature moves like galloping bass drums, lightning, fast tom fills, or syncopated ride cymbal patterns. In live, he changes some of the parts though. Yet the track still becomes one of their most legendary epics. I think that very uniqueness is a big reason why it stands out so much today. Both Matt and Kirsty describe Dave and Adrian's awesome guitar solos so well that I really have nothing more to add. Wow. They're gonna have big heads next week.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

I've just been going through what they are in my head. Is it like the longest outro of a maiden song without any lyrics? There must be one of them anyway.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Yeah, it could be. It could be. I mean, I know I just know Matt calls it like the best few minutes of the best three or four minutes of Maiden's musical history, so like that's high praise. So uh let's see here. Um then he says the The Klansman. I first listened to this song from Rock and Rio, so it was a bit different from how many older fans first heard it. Uh it was a bit of a letdown when I heard the studio version, not because of Blaze's vocals, but because of the poor production and lack of energy. I agree.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:09

It was very it was very bass-oriented from the beginning. The unique aspect of Iron Man's music is Steve's bass. When it comes, and I think the bass playing personally is sloppy on that song. When you hear it on the studio version.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

On the album, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

Yeah. When you hear it on Rock and Rio, it sounds very it sounds like that's what it should have sounded like. Uh it just sounds like he almost messed up parts and just was like, eh, good enough. Let's hurry up and get done with this.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

Yeah, it's a bit like, you know, Fedovicarus. Some songs just need the live energy and a bit of abandon to really take off, you know? So I think that might be the case there.

SPEAKER_02 34:47

Oh yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um Okay, okay, let me get back to uh bass-oriented. Uh when it comes to Iron Maiden, the bass guitar is a lead instrument. Just like the guitars in many other bands, as usual, Steve's bass takes the lead of the ensemble. I remember listening to Blaze's man playing this song with only one guitar, and was very surprised it sounded fine because the bass was playing the exact same arpeggio that the guitars did in the studio version. Or I should say the guitars were playing the same phrases as the bass. It's a beautiful intro led by Steve, and it's one of the most unique aspects of Maiden Epics. When Okay. Melodious, that melodious. As I said, he he's one of the lead instruments. On the other hand, Ian Hill's style is much simpler and very basic. Yeah, absolutely. He really supports the bottom of the band sound. I just thought it was interesting that two top iconic metal bands have basses that are so different. Uh anyway, let's go back, but Ian Hill doesn't write the songs really either, so Steve's the songwriter too. So anyway, let's go back to the song. Blaze's vocal delivery is wonderful. I love the chorus. It's very simple, but very easy to sing along with. I love how Bruce sings the fourth freedom part with a higher harmony instead of the main melody. I do too. It's awesome. I don't know if Celtic is the right word to describe it, but I really love the vibe and feeling this song and Death of the Celts have. The instrumental section. Did you want to say something?

SPEAKER_00 36:47

Yeah, no, just uh Death of the Celts, there's a real twee bit in the middle of it. It's like uh it's it's real um spinal tap stone hinge kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Yeah, it's a little it it it kind of ties in with Dance to Death a little there, like that.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Yeah. The other thing is like watch through your fingers.

SPEAKER_02 37:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. The instrumental section is really great as well. At the beginning of it, Yannick and Dave play the melody in unison. I always wonder how Steve decides when to make a harmony and when not to. That's a good question. I'm pretty sure there must be some sort of strict reason. If this was played by another by other bands, they would either put a harmony on it or have one guitar play the melody while the other plays the rhythm. Interestingly, Blaze added a guitar harmony to this part with his solo band, while Maiden added an octave lower played by Adrian. At the beginning, I said it was a bit of a letdown for me due to the lack of energy. When I heard the studio version, I was wondering what it was besides the poor sound production. I think it may be a lack of percussiveness. As I was listening to this song over and over, I realized that there were rarely any palm-muted rhythm guitars in the song. I know that their music is not all about edgy palm-muted guitars like thrash metal bands, but most guitar parts are played with full strumming. I didn't realize that up until a couple of days ago. The drumming is also very different. Nico's drumming is not all about fast kicks, fills, or weird syncopated ride symbols. How I think this is the longest quiet quote anyone's ever. Well, he's got no, he's got like multiple pieces below, you know. I'm on part 17 or so right now. It must have taken him like a day to write all this. He took a day off work. He's like, Well, Mr. Marietani, why are you leaving work early today? He's like, uh, I got a Twitter poster, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:07

I got I I I presume he wrote it all in Word and then pasted it in in sections or something.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

I assume that this is probably better written than uh the Paul Diano book you wrote that you read.

SPEAKER_00 39:19

Probably, probably. Uh I'm thinking of the art Andrew could give us the facts in this, but there was a thing I think it was called filibustering, you know, where someone would talk for days like just to hold up the business of the parliament like I think Gin missed his calling there, you know.

SPEAKER_02 39:36

Exactly. Oh gosh. Okay, uh see where's he at? Talking about the drumming. Yeah. However, it seems like the song has too much space in the drumming. It creates the flow but lacks sharpness, in my opinion. Yeah, if you're talking about the album version, I think that is Nico's absolute worst drumming album.

SPEAKER_00 39:55

I honestly if he drummed on it at all.

SPEAKER_02 39:57

I yeah, I was gonna say I I I've I don't know if this was just something I heard on Talking Maiden, or if I didn't hear it there, I heard it somewhere else. But what I've heard somewhere where that some people said Steve Harris played drums on the album and songs. I don't yeah, I don't quite believe that, or that Niko didn't play and somebody else did. But when I listened to it, I there's no way I could play Niko. You seventh son of a seventh son, there's no way I could touch any of that. But when I listen to Virtual Eleven, I go, I feel like I could play this.

unknown 40:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:29

It's it lacks so many Niko fills, and it feels like either that or he was just he had one foot out the door when they recorded that album or something, you know. Phoneed it in. Yeah. Yeah, that's the way it feels. Yeah. The only percussive part of the song is Steve's bass. Throughout the song, he takes the main part in the rhythm, but the only problem is that it's not very clear due to poor sound. In a live situation, whether it's sung by Blaze or Bruce, this song sounds much better because Nico adds sharp fills and ride cymbals, and Steve's bass is much clearer. Um of a seventh son wins this round, and I'm really looking forward to hearing this live. It's going to be the f be played live in Japan for the first time ever. Okay. Wow. Wow. That's interesting. Oh, by the way, I would love to hear your opinions on Blaze arranging many of his of his era's maiden songs, such as Clansman, Futuril, Sign of the Cross, and Virus, and adding some harmonies to these songs. What do you think? Do those songs sound cooler with harmonies, or do you prefer the original versions? Um myself, everything I've heard Blaze do with the with the maiden songs live, I think he he does it very well. I think he he he because he's not in Iron Maiden anymore, he has the freedom. He has the Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! He has the freedom to change the songs, though, because he's not playing as well. But yeah, I think he has the freedom to change them, and and I like what he does with him. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Yeah, no, I've seen I've seen Blaz live twice, and he's really good on the on the maiden stuff.

SPEAKER_01 42:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

I I can't say no, I noticed more harmonies or whatever, but I thought he did a really well. Yeah. And like Colmostamigo, I think is brilliant when he does it.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

Oh, nice. Okay. We're down to number three. Maybe before you have to go, we'll get to number one. I'll read them fast. Yeah, I'm looking at my time. I got my time here. Uh three. Phantom of the opera versus sign of the cross. I don't think this is gonna be a short one.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

Phantom. It would be in my words.

SPEAKER_02 42:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like, yeah, like Phantom. Okay. Phantom of the Opera. This song was the first Paul-era song where I listened to the Paul version first. Best of the Beasts, which introduced me to Blaze, also to Paul. I was really surprised, not by the poor production this time, but by the intensity, speed, and aggression it had. This might be the fastest song among all their epics. It starts with the guitars and bass playing in odd time signatures, which creates tension and an uneasy feeling. After the tension builds with the fast, harmonized guitar and bass, Clive kicks in and the tension switches to aggression. Perhaps this is the most aggressive epic Steve and the band have ever written. I could tell Paul's vocal range wasn't as wide as Bruce's, but I really thought his voice and style match the song perfectly. The only slow part is Dave's first solo, and it's really beautiful. It is. I love hearing guitarists improvise solos in live settings, but this is one of the few solos where I want them to keep it as the original. It's so beautiful, and I love how each melody creates a wonderful orchestration with the rest of the band. It's such a unique song and very different from all of the other epics. Yet, as Matt correctly pointed out, that's not something you hear in a sentence very often. Yet, as Matt correctly pointed out, this song became the blueprint for all the other epics that came after it. Bruce often said before playing the song live, if you don't like this song, you don't like Iron Maiden. And he's right. This song symbolizes what Iron Maiden is all about. I agree with that too. The funny thing is that he once said he never really liked performing this song live when he was out of the band and he was asked to review Best of the Beast for Burn magazine. Well, we all know that he often says things that are completely unnecessary. Yeah. That's for sure. I know. Like at concerts, you know. He talks for 30 minutes during a concert, and you're like, you know, we could have got three or four more songs, Bruce. Maybe it's easier to talk than sing, though.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

And Agnes and Alda's gold. Where would we be without us?

SPEAKER_02 45:06

He also acknowledged that it was one of the most important songs in the maiden catalog, though. Okay, next up is Sign of the Cross. Uh I know many people say that the S E part at the beginning is unnecessarily. I was gonna say it again. Unnecessary. I totally disagree. That part is essential for the song. The one minute plus dark moody intro prepares me mentally to receive the rest of this 10-minute dramatic epic. It definitely it's definitely one of the masterpieces Steve has written. The only mistake he made was putting it as the album opener and not recording it fast enough. This song is full of galloping rhythms. Nico's drumming has great dynamics and good fills, but the slowness kills them all. At least if it had been recorded at the speed of the Rock and Rio version, I strongly believe it would have been better received. It would have been received much better than it was. It's one of the few made.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

Was that I'd agree with that? And I thought it was a bad album orbit.

SPEAKER_02 46:12

Yeah, it's definitely Yeah, I can understand that.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:16

It's one of the few maiden epics that has quiet moments in both the beginning and the middle. It also has quite a few build-ups, and many of them are quite repetitive and long, but none of them bore me or feel repetitive. All of them lead to a more dramatic explosion. As I was re-listening to it, I was surprised by how heavy this song was. The reincarnation of Benjamin Brie is perhaps the heaviest song they've ever written, but this song's extremely heavy as well. Interestingly, this song has a lot of palm-muted, uh heavy riffing, while The Klansman rarely has edgy rhythm guitars. Phantom of the Opera might be the most important song in their career, but musically, the sign of the cross takes the top spot for me. Laborgaster. Ballad is having to bleep himself right now, I bet.

SPEAKER_00 47:11

I had to go on mute there for a moment and scream, you know.

SPEAKER_02 47:15

Alright, so now that brings us to uh number two.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

Is anyone still listening? I wonder.

SPEAKER_02 47:23

Yeah. Well, I don't see number one, though. I was looking to see if number one was after where number one is. Maybe I'll have to go back for that.

SPEAKER_00 47:31

Uh coming in a book the size of the Bible, you know?

SPEAKER_02 47:35

Yeah. Wait, you gotta wait for the you gotta wait for the book edition, yeah. Yeah. Uh number two, rhyme of the ancient mariner versus Passion Dale. Um rhyme. This song has been growing on me a lot the last couple of months after Steve and Matt talked about the difference between Clive and Nico's styles in one of the question episodes. I've observed their drum styles. This is one of the songs that only Nico could handle, in my opinion. Starts with In Your Face Galloping Riffs. The song does not start with a quiet intro like many epics do today. Maybe that might be the reason why I never really dived into this one uh as deeply before. Nico's kicks alongside the galloping guitars and bass became such an iconic essence in Iron Main's music, and this song truly utilizes it. The song structure is also very interesting. They have quite long verses and a short chorus, and then the song shifts completely. I don't know if I should call that the There calls the Mariner Part Bridge or the new verse of the song. Anyway, the song changes its color drastically. I also need to note that throughout this long song, Steve takes the lead in almost every part of the song. You can easily tell that the song was written by a bassist. Then Steve's 70s progressive rock fandom shows up in the quiet part in the middle, just very it was very experimental. Easy for me to say. But it worked very well to tell a story. Speaking of telling a story, I'm pretty impressed with Bruce's memory to perform this long epic. Where the lyrics don't have any repeats in a live setting every night without teleprompter. I also am impressed by the mix of the song and the Power Slave album in general. You hear every part very clearly. I love the mix of Steve's bass, especially. It's so clear, but very solid at the same time, thanks to Martin Birch. As I was listening to it over and over, I was really surprised by the fact that I didn't feel the length of the song. That really showcases how awesome it is. Passion Dale. I remember not being impressed by this when it first came out as a 17-year-old. This song was much less accessible as a 17-year-old than the other two epics from the same album, No More Lies and Dance to Death. This song sounded very dark and strange. I mean, who would write a riff with a tapping technique for your first epic song? Good point. I agree with Steve 100% that this song would have perfectly fit on a matter of life and death. Yeah, I agree with that too. On the other hand, maybe that's the reason why I initially thought this song was not the best fit for Dance to Death. Good point. My perspective completely changed when I saw this live at my first ever maiden show. I was literally in awe after they finished playing it. I felt like I could visualize war, not because of the stage set, but solely through the sound. I felt the fear of the soldiers, the silence before the war breaks out, heard the cannons firing and cannonballs digging into the ground, um, and saw the dark battlefield. It was so vivid that I felt like I was watching a war movie. I was truly overwhelmed. Adrian's tapping solo alongside odd signature, odd time signature bass and vocal lines create such an uneasy feeling and tension. And when the whole base whole band joys in, as Steve nicely puts it, all hell breaks loose. This song is full of contrast between silence and explosion, creating such intense dynamics. When people talk about dynamics, they often mean that there's slower parts and faster parts. However, Iron Maiden show that you don't need to go fast to create dynamics. True. They prove that they could create intense dynamics without speed. Nico's drumming is truly astonishing in this. The song is full of odd time signatures, yet he slams every single one of them perfectly. No fast fills, but he hits every beat perfectly and does exactly what the song needs. This song was probably my least favorite from that album until seeing the show. Now it's definitely one of my all-time favorite songs. Interestingly, Adrian started writing more songs with unusual time signatures or unique rhythm patterns, such as Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, Starblind, Tears of a Clown, and Senjutsu. I think this song opened a new door for him as a musician and songwriter. Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner is an absolute masterpiece, but Passionale is the winner for this one. I really hope seeing Rhyme will give me a new perspective on that song. Okay. Now, where is his number one in here? There are lots of good songs that he didn't like the first time I was putting. They grew on him, yeah. So I'm trying to find I d I don't see his number one. Uh wait, maybe I need to do it like this. Let me let me scroll. Uh I'm sorry. Again, Gen's stuff here is so long that I I get lost. Where where's his number one here? Okay. Uh to be continued, I guess, for that one, because uh I don't see his number one here. If I find it and ballot is gone, then uh either that or you're having a senior moment.

SPEAKER_00 53:03

I don't know. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 53:04

I I just don't see it. I mean I'm literally it's all the way down to number two, and I don't see anything else.

SPEAKER_00 53:08

I don't unless he can you search under his name or something. Uh there's no way to. There's no way to for me.

SPEAKER_02 53:16

Um, uh oh god, this is funny. You're I'm glad you'll be able to see all this because I'm gonna show you what what Gen um Gen wrote, when I found out what this episode was about. That's first. It's Napoleon Dynamite doing his dance on stage. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh wait a minute. I thought I thought he okay, wait, I thought he did more than this. Um I thought he had more than just that one. Okay. Am I right or wrong here? Let me double check. I'm just oh yeah, here it is. Here he goes. Uh Uncle Steve explaining about the lyrics of reincarnation of Benjamin Brieg. Let me tell you about my life. Yeah, okay. Tell me about it as long as you don't live in Dune and you're telling me about the Gom Jabbar, to which I posted this. Not a joke, it's Joe Biden. Yeah. So uh I guess that's all he posted. I thought um maybe there's another one by him.

SPEAKER_00 54:33

So uh that that first Dune movie I watched as well. And God, I thought it was the worst movie ever.

SPEAKER_02 54:40

Uh thank you for saying that. Now I don't need to watch it. So okay, this next one.

unknown 55:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 55:03

I've searched Gins, by the way, and I can't find this.

SPEAKER_02 55:05

Yeah, I don't find it either, so but for this uh for the waffle zone, this next one is from Gen. We're back in the Gin Mario Tani zone again here.

SPEAKER_00 55:15

How many pages is this one though?

SPEAKER_02 55:16

This one's this is way, this is like this is like a cliff cliff cliff notes version of everything he just said. It's very short.

SPEAKER_00 55:23

He says I'd say we're on route, by the way, for a record waffle. Oh man, I know two and a half hours.

SPEAKER_02 55:30

Gosh, I know. He says full value. Yeah, I know. Gen says, it was interesting how Matt compared Pink Floyd's Welcome to the Machine with the verse of Bruce Dickinson's Eternal. Funny enough, I totally get the similarity that he was talking about. Uh both songs share a very similar vibe. The melody is eerie, yet somewhat melancholy at the same time. That comparison made me want to revisit Shadow of the Gods from his latest project or latest album, Mandric Project. I've always felt it had a cool, melancholic vibe while simultaneously missing something. But now it all makes sense to me. I think the rhythm section is a bit too heavy for the track. I know they aren't Pink Floyd, but I feel it could be even better if the drums were mixed a bit lighter, giving the early section a more floating, spacious feel before the heavy, distorted guitars kick in. I feel the same way about the closing track, Sonata, too. It would have created a much stronger contrast between the quiet moments and the dynamic explosion. Speaking of Welcome to the Machine, I've probably listened to it more than 10 times in the past week. That's the strangest thing about listening to Pink Floyd. I don't think it's a catchy song at all. It's very dark, somewhat weird, it's so different from most popular music, yet there's something about it that grabs my ears and brain and never lets go. This is for this is the this is the unique attraction Pink Floyd has for me.

SPEAKER_00 57:03

So and Ballad, you'll be I I feel like I should echo you on one of um Lord Lord Andrew's um somewhere back in time and go, uh-huh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:15

Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:18

Not nodding a lot.

SPEAKER_02 57:19

Yeah. It's like it's like one of those people that just never stops talking. You put the phone down and you walk away. Yeah? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. They just keep on talking. You show up an hour later and they pick up the phone. Oh, hey, you know what, man? I'm sorry to cut you off. I got I gotta get out of here. Uh so you'll be happy to know that the the again Marietani zone is gonna end with one more quiet quote. Now, this is the one I thought I was gonna show you earlier. This is all with um if I can get it to open. Come on, come on, open. Okay, yeah. This is all with memes. So everyone's a meme. He says, the waffle zone with, and I'm gonna show them to you, the waffle zone with Kirsty Prince. He's got a car like a car jumping a hill, landing perfectly.

SPEAKER_00 58:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:19

Then he says, the waffle zone, let me turn the brightness up for you here. The waffle zone with only Uncle Steve and Matt.

SPEAKER_00 58:33

It's a car careering uh somersaulting down the road.

SPEAKER_02 58:36

Somersaulting down the high, yeah, down the road. Then he says, uh, when I heard Matt listen to Pink Floyd and enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_00 58:50

What's his name?

SPEAKER_02 58:51

Will Farrell. Will Farrell, yeah. Like he's in the grocery store punching cereal boxes or something.

SPEAKER_00 58:56

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 58:57

Yeah. Then he says, uh, when I heard Uncle Steve say he listened to Deep Purple.

SPEAKER_00 59:04

It's the uh from the uh US office, I'm pretty sure. Oh yeah, he's just the astonished look. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:13

Then he says, uh, when I heard Uncle Steve say he didn't like Ian Gillen's voice.

SPEAKER_00 59:21

Is that King of the Hill, is this?

SPEAKER_02 59:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:25

Yeah. He shakes his head and he just gets on his bike and rides away.

SPEAKER_02 59:29

And then I think I could swear he said some more stuff on there, but no, that's it. That's it. So that's where it ends. So so with that, ballad, no, we're gonna end the Gen Marie Tani zone and say, bye again. We love you. Sayonara again, sans. Oh, there you go, there you go, there you go. And and get okay, and and uh um oh, let me I'll have to add this into the end of the Gen zone. Okay, again, I forgot to say this, but um send in your number one, and then next week on the waffle we'll read it. So dedicate the entire episode, it'll probably say exactly. Yeah, it'll probably be another one of them, so yeah.