Iron Maiden - Virtual XI review
| Band: | Iron Maiden |
| Album: | Virtual XI |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | March 1998 |
01. Futureal
02. The Angel And The Gambler
03. Lightning Strikes Twice
04. The Clansman
05. When Two Worlds Collide
06. The Educated Fool
07. Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger
08. Como Estais Amigos
Probably more than 90% of the people I talked to about this album claim it to be complete shit, with the exception of "The Clansman," and I never really bothered to check this album out. Once I saw a documentary about some Maiden fans and one of them is talking to the other on the phone in one scene saying "Have you heard the new album? It has got to be their best so far!" He's talking about "Virtual XI" and I laughed my ass off at that comment. However, when I finally did listen to this album I almost had to punish myself for listening to other people instead of getting an opinion of my own.
"Virtual XI" is simply miles above "The X Factor" and I would say the material is the strongest since "Somewhere in Time." With Bruce on vocals it surely could've competed with the classics. Except from the vocals everything here has been improved since "The X Factor." There are few bad things to talk about at all but the vocals have to be one of them. Blaze is way better here and on most of the album I really like him but he simply isn't good enough for Maiden. The other really bad thing has got to be the repetitiveness of some tracks like "The Angel and the Gambler." It actually doesn't bother me that much and it has actually been a common issue on many Maiden albums. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" has repetitive choruses in almost every song and songs like "The Assassin," "Tail Gunner" or even "Run to the Hills" have the same "problem."
Many of the song structures are similar to the two last albums with Dickinson before his departure. The melodies are way catchier, the lyrics are better and not as goofy, and the material is simply stronger overall. The solos are insanely great and the album is really very even - there are no songs in particular that I don't like which is very unusual for a Maiden album. "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger" has got to be the worst one but it does have a great up-tempo piece in the middle and great solos.
If you can stand Blaze, the utterly ugly cover art, and the stupid album title, or if you simply like Iron Maiden - get this album! Except from the vocals it is just as good as any other Maiden classic.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Spyroid | 27.08.2008
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
6.3
6.3
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Rating: 6.3 |
Virtual XI was an album made under the Blaze Bayley banner (along with X Factor). I might just as well stop here with this review-but no, I will not. The common notion about Blaze is that he has no talent whatsoever, he is rigid like a stone on stage and he is just not an Iron Maiden-type vocalist. As a matter of fact, someone had said that Steve only admitted him in the band cause of the fact that he played football well and he was a Manchester fan. I highly doubt these rumors, so I will disregard them now. Read more ›› |
Rating:
6.0
6.0
|
Rating: 6.0 |
Iron Maiden is one of the most legendary bands of all time. They practically created the genre and have influenced countless bands with their unique New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound. They have gone through three singers in their career; Paul Di'Anno (inception to 1981), Bruce Dickinson (1981-1993, 1999-now), and Blaze Bayley (1993-1999) the singer for this release. Bruce Dickinson is clearly the best singer; the success of their three most recent releases show how important he is to the band. Another example is, well, the Bayley era (1995's The X Factor and 1998's Virtual XI). Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 21
Visited by: 168 users
| pdepmcp Posts: 141  |
well,you're surely right: "Virtual XI" is simply miles above "The X Factor" and I would say the material is the strongest since "Somewhere in Time." that's not because this is a great album,but because The X Factor and No Prayer For the Dying are embarassing even for an average band...but they are by Iron Maiden! the only challanger is FOTD. anyway a thing that needs to be pointed out is the new rockish attitude that started here and went on for some year after BB departed. riffage is different and even song structure is easier, more direct, of higher impact....and less interesting. same happened with the next BNW and "When Two Worlds Collide" need a shorter ending...because when that chorus starts there is really "no place to hide"! anyway, good review for a difficult album.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
Written by pdepmcp on 30.08.2008 at 01:59 Thanks for the comment! I agree with you that No Prayer and X Factor are shite, probably the worst albums they recorded. And I'm not a huge fan of FOTD either but it contains a bunch of good songs. I made a mistake in the review though, I actually don't think this album can compete with 7th son, which was infact released after Somewhere in Time... But I sure would put it in my top 7 of favourite Maiden albums  Don't agree with you about the song structure though - even if there are a couple of long compositions here I can agree that the riffing and song structure is quite simplistic or rockish, but I definately think that changed on BNW, especially in the long songs. Dream of Mirrors, The Thine Line Between Love and Hate, Ghost of the Navigator... there all much more... epic, and with a lot of acoustic guitar passages that are more complex than on any earlier Maiden album too me.
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| Daggon Underpaid M.D. Posts: 1689  |
Yeah, it has good songs but you stated the main problem in this album "Except from the vocals it is just as good as any other Maiden classic." That is the real problem in this album, Blaze, oh man, he is not that bad but, oh man...
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Daggon on 25.05.2009 at 05:44 I think he's pretty good but he totally doesn't fit with Iron Maiden. To like this album I almost have to think of it as a record by another band.
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| angel_heart Posts: 34 |
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| Daniell _爱情_ elite Posts: 6061  |
It's not the vocals that are bad here, it's the music. Endless repetition of motives in almost all songs is annoying to say the least. Take "The Angel and the Gambler". Why the fuck to they repeat some things 100 times? What was their purpose? The album has 3 decent songs though, "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger", "Futureal" and "The Clansman". They save the whole album from being an utter disaster.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by Daniell on 15.09.2010 at 11:38 Vocals are quite bad but I'm convinced this album would still be a piece of shit with Bruce on vocals. Music is piss poor. If "Virtual XI" is not the worst metal album of all time, then it's surely very close. Why do they repeat choruses so much (to the brink of insanity)? Lack of inspiration and laziness in songwriting are the only reasons I can fathom. They stretched the songs to a ridiculous degree (something they never stopped doing to this day, in fact - the songs drag and drag quite often). Anyway, I will always hate "Virtual XI". The artwork alone is enough to make me puke.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by angel_heart on 15.09.2010 at 10:14 Why all the hate? Because the album sucks ass.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Vikcen Metálico Posts: 970  |
Written by angel_heart on 15.09.2010 at 10:14 No woman, you're not the only, you are not alone  , to me also like. If you love Blaze try with:http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/band.php?band_id=322
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| Bovinus Posts: 11  |
How did they dare ? This album just plain sucks. It has a shitty soft sound (actually, it doesn't sound rock at all). It's packed with poorly performed poor compositions. Blaze Baylay should learn how to sing (how did they manage to recruit such a lame ass ?). I mean, it's not his voice, his face or whatever, it's his ability. Maiden has a style that requires some real skill, and Baylay clearly cannot compete. Even the musicians play somewhat sloppy from time to time, except perhaps the drummer and the bassist. This is especially perceptible on "The Clansman", which, by the way, is the only good thing on this album. A true, epic, genuine masterpiece. Just listen to this song on "Rock on Rio". This alone, and some classy guitar solos (I did especially appreciate the one on "The lightning strikes twice") save the album from being a total piece of crap.
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| JypsyRock Posts: 2 |
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| R'Vannith ghedengi elite Posts: 3099  |
There's some real gems on this album, most of it though is pure garbage regardless of the vocalist. Never have understood why some are so opposed to the album artwork, I've seen far far worse 
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| Daniell _爱情_ elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by JypsyRock on 28.07.2011 at 08:42 You sir are the strangest Maiden fan I've seen.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
People just don't get it when it comes to this album. Virtual XI was an experiment conducted by the music industry to see how unbelievably shitty you can be, while still selling only by name. lol
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| JypsyRock Posts: 2 |
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| Daniell _爱情_ elite Posts: 6061 |
Written by JypsyRock on 29.07.2011 at 00:06 Utter hogwash. Back in the 90's, when Iron Maiden released a new album, I listened to it for WEEKS. So Virtual XI, just like The X Factor, got at least 100 listens. It was shit then, it's shit now. Don't fucking take me for granted.
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| Bork Posts: 6 |
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| Warman Erotic Stains Posts: 7695  |
Written by Bork on 31.07.2012 at 18:11 I'm a huge fan of this album. Love the Blaze stuff.
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| Bork Posts: 6 |
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 61004  |
In music I never listen what others says, I try it, I listen and I judge, I like it, those die hard fans or fan boys or girls are posers in some way. when its music there are no trOO. Its a bit way better as 90's Bruce, even Prayer means much to me in emotional way.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''  apos;'[image] I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Delorean Posts: 1 |
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