Something old, something new
Dan Horvat | Zagreb, Croatia | 07/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album proves why Iron Maiden is the Beast - because of best songs. But, after hearing around 200 of their songs a thousand times, it starts to get boring to hear the same style over and over again. Now we have some huge hits in a new, more modern and powerful interpretations. It's good for Iron Maiden to keep the spirit alive, and good for the small bands to get their names heard.In my opinion, Cradle Of Filth did an awesome cover of Hallowed Be Thy Name - adding more power and horror to the song. The second riff is so powerful now that it's beyond comprehension. Dani Filth's best performance, I guess his vocal chords surgery had a meaning afterall.Children Of Bodom added clarity, power, and speed to Aces High, a good cover.Sonata Arctica did the same with Die With Your Boots On, but they made a song that was almost a B-side an excellent, fast and powerful song. That heavy metal song just needed to be covered by a power metal band.Therion did a huge job with Children Of The Damned, made a completely new song, dark and scary. Much better than the sad attempt by Skid Row, which basically only played the song, never covered it to make it something different.Burden Of Grief's Prowler is great for my ear, powerful grunts with melodical riff in the background. Who would say that such an old song can sound so new? And different than similar attempts from new bands.Disbelief did a great job with Stranger In A Strange Land, Maiden's riffs are powered up, and vocals show despair that the original song was meant to show. However, it gets boring before the end of the song.Grave Digger's cover of Running Free is very interesting. They captured the spirit of the song.Tierra Santa's Flight Of Icarus shows good potential in the beginning, but later gets boring and shows the limited abilities of the singer.Other songs are just bad (Steel Prophet, Sinergy) or bring nothing new (Rage, Iced Earth, Six Feet Under)."
The best Tribute album for the "Beast"
8Ball Chaos | Las Vegas, Nevada USA | 10/21/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"How many so called tribute albums are there for Iron Maiden? 10, 22, 666...it doesn't matter. This one, along with Vol. 2 are all you need if you are a fan of Maiden. As to all those of you who are downplaying the female vocals, I would like to point out that there exists and ALL female band known as the Iron Maidens that can destroy any cover of any Iron Maiden song with perfection. Check them out if you don't believe me www.theironmaidens.com. Unfortunately, unless you are on the left coast, you may never see them because they are based out of so-cal. That being said, this album does an excellent job of recreating many of the classic Maiden tunes that we all know and love. Some of the highlights I think include Darkane's version of "Powerslave", Opeth doing "Remember Tomorrow", fairly close copies of "Number of the Beast" by Sinergy and "Die w/Your Boots On" by Sonata Arctica, a fantastic cover of "Hallowed By Thy Name" by Cradle of Filth which also appears on their Cruelty and the Beast Bonus CD, and an awesome cover of Transylvania (done instrumentally) by Iced Earth. Their are many other covers that will knock you out of your mullet too including "Children of the Damned", "The Trooper", "The Flight of Icarus", and "22 Acacia Avenue" just to name a few. Many casual metal fans may be reading this and not recognize some of these bands. This is because most are Death Metal/Black Metal outfits that play music that is influenced by many British and Scandinavian Metal bands of the past. What better way to pay homage to them than to honor the kings. These bands do an excellent job. In my opinion, and you are entitled to disagree, this and its' partner CD (VOL. 2) are the best tribute albums that exist for Iron Maiden."
Eddie is rolling in his grave...
alitaki | NYC | 08/12/2002
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Ugh...where to start. Maiden is by far my favorite metal band ever so when I saw this album on the shelf, I had to get it. Unfortunately I would have been better served grabbing the MP3's off the net first. Cradle of Filth doing Hallowed Be Thy Name? Travesty. Utterly horrible. Painfully repulsive. Why people buy their albums is beyond me. Yes, I have listened to them. No they are not good. Children of Bodom's Aces High? These boys need to grow up. Iron Maiden was more than just high speed mayhem. They were probably the most melodic metal band around. Dickenson gave them a unique sound that helped them rise above the crop. It seems that having a talented vocalist is no longer a requirement in metal and that is a shame. Most of these inbred fools just grunt their vocals and its ruined metal far more than those whining grunge acts ever did. Anyway, the album is not entirely bad. Sonata Artica's Die With Your Boots On is the best song on the album and breathes new life into the song. Speaking of breathing new life into a song, Tierra Santa's Flight of Icarus does just that and in a good way to boot. Iced Earth's Transylvania is a welcome treat as is Rage's The Trooper. Sinergy's The Number of the The Beast is okay, nothing special really but decent compared to the other [stuff]."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1