Back to my singles collection. I’m winding down on it, though there are still a handful to go over. I’d expect to be done sometime mid- to late-November, then I’ll pause for a moment to re-calibrate before launching the Iron Maiden singles series.
Today I’m looking over a 2012 single from long-running doom merchants Saint Vitus. The band have been an on again, off again proposition since 1979 but were one of the significant figures in the rise of doom in the ’80’s.
This single comes from 2012, when the band were operating again with singer Scott “Wino” Weinrich. They had been active again since 2009 and were ready to release their new full-length Lillie: F-65. This single’s A-side hails from that album, while the B-side is a live track of a cut from their classic album Born Too Late.
The record is on black vinyl, it is limited to 1,500 copies and hand-numbered. While it often doesn’t matter, I always enjoy the hand-numbered stuff. I never do get any of the cool numbers like, well, 69 or 420, or the metalhead’s dream of 666. But it’s still nice to have that tiny bit of serialization to it.
This is one I picked up at a 2013 show where I saw the band. That concert will certainly get its own post one day.
Blessed Night
The single hits with all the same dark riffs and atmosphere that Saint Vitus conjured in their 1980’s run. This is simply a continuation of their catalog, no small feat considering that this was the band’s first recording since 1995. It’s been a few years since I’ve played anything from this album so it’s nice to hear again.
Look Behind You
I could not locate a video of the exact performance used on the record but here is a live cut from earlier the same year. Look Behind You came about as a bonus track on a reissue to the band’s 1986 Born Too Late, widely considered their best effort.
This is a cool song that showcases how doom doesn’t have to always be a slow-paced dirge. It often goes that way, but there are plenty of more rocking cuts to be found among Saint Vitus and their peers like Candlemass.
That’s all for today. Next week’s single will be out of the few CD singles I have and it’s an absolute whopper that I forgot I had and will offer no shortage of stuff, most of it not good, to talk about.
Update 5/30/2023 – These posts are being updated to reflect new songs played live as part of The Future Past tour
Yesterday I ran through the first handful of albums of Iron Maiden’s career, and specifically discussed the songs they haven’t played live. The basis of this info comes from this recent Loudwire article. Today I’ll finish the exercise, picking up with the reunion era records.
Brave New World
2 songs unplayed – The Nomad and The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
Maiden did not mess around when Brave New World came out – they toured this album all over the place and made sure everyone heard most of it live. They played a bit over half of it when I saw them on the tour, and all told we’re left with only two unplayed tracks.
Way back when I first started this blog I did a post where I talked a bunch about a lot of my “firsts” with Iron Maiden, that post is here.
I like both of these songs, but I’m not betting on them getting played live in the future. I don’t think there’s any big push for them to get in a set list. Now I do think, of any album the band might choose to play live in its entirety, that Brave New World would be very high in consideration. It was a massive rush when Iron Maiden returned to glory and conquered a new decade, and the album still stands as a reunion era favorite. I don’t really think it will happen, but the possibility is there.
We have another list full of songs and, for the most part, a fairly non-shocking collection. I think Montsegur is a cool song but I can understand it not being aired out live. Gates, Frontier and Innocence are all kind of second-tier songs, if not perhaps even lower. I know they have their fans and none of the songs bother me by any means, but man, they ain’t playing any of that.
But then we have the case of Face In The Sand. I will die on this hill – this is Iron Maiden’s most underrated song. It outshines even the excellent Judas Be My Guide, which I discussed yesterday. The quiet intro lifts into this slamming epic that condemns humanity of its own sins. I was shocked that it wasn’t included in the Dance Of Death tour cycle and sadly, it sits unplayed to this day. And it will never be played, I fear, unless I win a huge jackpot and hire Maiden to play my birthday party or something.
We can skip the 2006 A Matter Of Life And Death, as Maiden played the entire album live in its tour cycle. Sadly, no official live album came of it, and I guess the band learned that fan interest only goes so far – plenty of paying customers at shows weren’t all that into it. I think it’s cool they did it, and they still put a major emphasis on a new album when they tour it, but this one kind of bit them in the ass. But that’s not relevant here, so it’s on to 2010.
The Final Frontier
Five songs unplayed
Mother Of Mercy
The Alchemist
Isle Of Avalon
Starblind
The Man Who Would Be King
We have half of an album here, an album that sits very under the radar in terms of Maiden records but gets some quiet accolades for a handful of tracks. And actually, a few of them are here. Isle Of Avalon is a bit of a Maiden departure where they seem to fully embrace some Rush influences and is a very excellent tune, but sadly it didn’t hit the stage. Starblind is another one that’s maybe just behind the album’s two big epics The Talisman and Where The Wild Wind Blows, but is very good in its own right. The others aren’t quite as good, though I’ll cop to personally being one of the apparent very few fans of Mother Of Mercy. I’m very, very alone in that regard. Very low odds of any of these seeing play in the future.
The Book Of Souls
Four songs unplayed – Where The River Runs Deep, Shadows Of The Valley, The Man Of Sorrows and Empire Of The Clouds
These are all pretty logical omissions. I do like Where The River Runs Deep but it’s outshined by other songs. Shadows and Sorrows are very much secondary tracks from the album that a fair few consider to be bloated anyway. And Empire Of The Clouds is 18 freaking minutes long. So, of anything, it’ll probably be the one to get played sometime.
Senjutsu
Seven songs unplayed – songs 4 through 10
Updated list as of 5/30/3023
Lost In A Lost World, Darkest Hour, The Parchment
To date, Iron Maiden have just now been touring after releasing Senjutsu and in fairness the band is completing a long-delayed tour so they put the first 3 songs on the set list and called it good.
The odds that more songs get live time later on are very good. Fan reception was especially solid for the last few tracks and while the album has a fair share of detractors, it seems to have favorable traction among the fanbase at large.
And the odds get even better when Bruce has outlined the group’s desire to play the album in its entirety. Perhaps having learned their lessons from the AMOLAD tour, Bruce said any Senjutsu full airing would be in small venues and for the true die-hards. If that happens, than the album’s entry in this list will be entirely obsolete.
Update May 2023 – The Future Past tour leaves this section nearly useless, I have put up a list of the now three songs unplayed from Senjutsu. Of the three remaining, I hope The Parchment gets stage time someday.
Senjutsu was one of the only times I’ve done a new release album as an Album of the Week and it was in the first month of my blog. In fact, the imminent arrival of the album was one of the reasons I got off my ass and started this blog in the first place. The original post is here.
That does it for the unplayed Iron Maiden live songs. My wishlist would include Alexander The Great, Judas Be My Guide, Face In The Sand and Hell On Earth.
Notes as of 5/30/2023 – These posts are being updated to reflect newly played songs on the band’s Future Past tour.
Today and tomorrow I’m going to run through an interesting list. A few weeks back, Loudwire published a list of all the songs Iron Maiden have not played live. It’s an interesting look at what songs didn’t quite make the cut for a band who is a prolific touring act and I wanted to run through the list and offer some thoughts.
By my very quick and unofficial count (which may not be entirely accurate), Iron Maiden have a total of 175 studio tracks – 174 on albums and one non-album single that is included here. The various B-sides of singles are not included on this and don’t include a ton of legitimate original songs anyway. The total of unplayed songs live on the list is 51 (46 as of May 2023), so just a hair under a third of their output.
Maiden have aired every track from 2 of their 17 albums – the 1980 debut, which makes sense as they didn’t have a ton of songs then, and the 2006 record A Matter Of Life And Death, which was played in its entirety on tour. All other albums have at least one track that didn’t get time under the stage lights.
I’ll go through the list as it’s presented, album by album. I’ll leave off after the two Blaze albums today and pick up with the reunion era stuff tomorrow. It’ll likely make this post longer than the second one but it seems like a good place to split the proceedings.
The self-titled debut is not in consideration for this effort, so it’s off to 1981 to start the list.
Killers
One song unplayed – Prodigal Son
The only track from the second album not to see the light of day is Prodigal Son. It’s a logical exclusion from live sets, the song is very, very different from anything else the band have done. I do like the song but yeah, they’re never playing that one, no one would know what the hell was going on.
No real surprises here, neither song is considered terribly strong and I doubt too many people pine for a live airing of either. I don’t mind Invaders but it’s nothing to write home about, while Gangland is honestly kind of weak and a song the band even wishes they hadn’t put on the record. I don’t expect either tune to get the time of day on stage.
Piece Of Mind
Two songs unplayed – Quest For Fire and Sun And Steel
Nothing really shocking here, either. I do like Sun And Steel quite a bit but at this point I don’t ever expect it to be played live. Quest For Fire isn’t really anyone’s favorite track, I don’t personally mind it much but I’m sure it will remain on this list for all time.
Powerslave
Three songs unplayed – The Duellists, Flash Of The Blade and Back In The Village
Maiden truly made hay on the Powerslave album cycle and massive tour, but three of the album’s cuts haven’t been played out. The two sword-fighting songs and the the quasi-sequel to The Prisoner have been omitted from set lists. I wouldn’t mind hearing any of them live, especially Back In The Village, but I’m not really banking on it.
Powerslave was Album of the Week not all that long ago, here’s the post.
Somewhere In Time
Two songs unplayed – Deja Vu and Alexander The Great
Only two songs haven’t made the live cut from this well-regarded album. Deja Vu is a fine song but one I kinda doubt will ever see live play.
But we have a whole other story with Alexander The Great. The album’s closer is an awesome, epic track and this is probably the song that most fans would say they want to hear live. I can only speak from the anecdotal stuff I see in the wild but I think this is the holy grail of unplayed live cuts. I can’t speak as to whether or not it’ll ever make the cut but it’s the first one on the list that I hope does.
Update 5/30/23 – Alexander The Great has now been played live, it is a part of the Future Past setlist, as fully expected
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Two songs unplayed – The Prophecy and Only The Good Die Young
I guess no real surprises here, The Prophecy is widely considered the weakest track from this beloved album. I do enjoy Only The Good Die Young but at this point there is little hope of it getting stage time.
No Prayer For The Dying
Three songs unplayed – Fates Warning, Run Silent Run Deep, Mother Russia
Now we’re into the 90’s era, often considered the band’s weakest. This album, which just had its 32nd anniversary on October 1, doesn’t contain the same epic quality of classic Maiden but is still pretty welcoming in its consistency.
And honestly, the three unplayed tracks are some of the better tunes on the record. I always enjoyed Fates Warning, and it’s possible the Run Silent Run Deep would be my number one selection of the album. Mother Russia is a bit different and I can see why they wouldn’t play it live, but it’s a tune I still enjoy. There is no prayer for any of these songs being on a future set list.
Fear Of The Dark
Seven (!) songs unplayed:
Fear Is The Key
Childhood’s End
The Fugitive
Chains Of Misery
The Apparition
Judas Be My Guide
Weekend Warrior
Now that is quite the list. Less than half of this album has gone unplayed in a live setting. A lot of that probably has to do with the turmoil in the band, which would see Bruce Dickinson leave the band just over a year after the album’s release. And only two songs from the album, the title track and Afraid To Shoot Strangers, have been played since the album’s tour cycle.
Looking at the list, I wouldn’t play most of these live either. Honestly there are some of the worst songs the band have recorded on the list. Weekend Warrior is almost celebrated for how bad it is, and The Apparition is never invited to any of my parties. I don’t necessarily mind The Fugitive but it’s not strong enough for a live set. The other songs are goofy thought perhaps inoffensive, I don’t know.
Well, there is one song on this list that is not at all like the others. Judas Be My Guide is an amazing tune, arguably the album’s best and considered by many to be the band’s most underrated song. (My personal pick for that will come up tomorrow, though Judas is an easy number 2). It is a damn shame that the song hasn’t been presented live and, while I don’t expect it, it is a short tune and could be easily accommodated.
The X Factor
Four songs unplayed – Judgment Of Heaven, Look For The Truth, 2 AM, The Unbeliever
We’re now to the Blaze Bayley era of Maiden, while loved by some it was widely considered a disaster for the group, who saw their fortunes sink in the late 1990’s. I have mixed feelings about it which I’ll save for later blog content.
I can’t say I really care if any of these songs were played out or not. Judgment Of Heaven is one I liked, the others kind of sounded a bit samey to me, one of my gripes about this album overall. Bruce has had no problem doing Blaze-era tunes but none of these will likely pass muster.
Virus – single
We now have the curious case of the only non-album, non B-side track Iron Maiden ever did. The song was a new offering for the band’s first greatest hits compilation and then got released as its own single.
And it was never played live, despite being one of the strongest cuts from the Blaze era. The song is different and does throw some people, but I absolutely love it. It, along with a few of the B-sides from The X Factor are honestly the best songs the group did in this time frame.
That said, I doubt Virus ever gets played live by Maiden. It is very much a Blaze Bayley song and I can’t picture Bruce tackling this one. This is one that absolutely should have been played when Blaze was still with the group.
Virtual XI
One song unplayed – Como Estais Amigos
I’ll finish up part one with the second and final Blaze album. Easy enough – only one song wasn’t played and it’s never getting played. Hell, I don’t even mind the song, but yeah, it won’t see stage time.
That wraps up part one of the songs Iron Maiden haven’t played live. I’ll be back tomorrow with part two and the tunes unplayed from the reunion era.
I’m back to my normal posting schedule and I’m back to the album of the week with a no-doubter and an all-timer. It is the album that truly sucked me into heavy metal. It is one of my favorite albums of all-time, it is often considered the band’s magnum opus and it is hailed as one of the best offerings of the thrash genre. It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest pieces of recorded music in history.
Megadeth – Rust In Peace
Released September 24, 1990 via Capitol Records
My Favorite Tracks – Tornado Of Souls, Rust In Peace … Polaris, Hangar 18
Megadeth made waves on the up and coming thrash scene through the 1980’s. Dave Mustaine formed the band after being dismissed from Metallica and, well, all that’s had volumes written about it so on to the album.
Rust In Peace marked the dawn of Megadeth’s most stable line-up – Dave Mustaine on guitars and vocals, Marty Friedman made his Megadeth debut on lead guitar, then-trusty sidekick Dave Ellefson remained on bass and Nick Menza made his recording debut after joining the band a year prior.
All credit to Ellefson and Menza for holding down the backline with precision, but this album is known for one thing and it’s guitars. What Friedman and Mustaine got up to here is a master class in guitar performance. Even in the guitar-centric realm of thrash, this is unparalleled stuff.
There is one note to make before anyone goes running to Spotify to listen to this masterpiece – the album was remastered in 2004 and Mustaine made the curious choice to re-record some vocal tracks. The result was pretty awful and the 2004 remaster lives in infamy among Megadeth fans. The original version of this album is the one to seek out.
There are nine tracks with a time of 40 minutes to get to and there’s a fair bit to discuss, so off to it.
Holy Wars/The Punishment Due
Two singles were released and they are conveniently located as the first two tracks of the album. This dual-titled beast begins with some all-out thrash and sets the tone for the record to come. The topic here is conflict, the song was inspired by Mustaine seeing bootleg Megadeth merch that supported the IRA.
The song slows down for The Punishment Due, an interlude that was apparently inspired by The Punisher of Marvel comics. The song winds back up into a frenzy, featuring a great many guitars, before concluding.
Hangar 18
Here the band offer a massive thrash tune about the alien crash landing theories surrounding Hangar 18 in Ohio and Area 51 in Nevada. A few brief verses roll off, followed by the very brief chorus and then – guitars. A whole hell of a lot of guitars as Mustaine and Friedman go off with something like 11 solos in the space of a few minutes. Even on an album full of guitar heroics, Hangar 18 stands out for them.
The song became iconic for the band and was a central focus of the imagery surrounding the record. Megadeth would go skydiving near Area 51 for an episode of Headbanger’s Ball on MTV and a sequel to the song would surface in 2001.
Take No Prisoners
This cut discusses the horrors of war by way of accounting its brutality. It is yet another fantastic slab of thrash. It was also the central focus of re-recording on the 2004 remaster and in my opinion it was totally botched.
Five Magics
Here Megadeth play Dungeons and Dragons on a tale of a wizard’s adventure to obtain the necessary magic to defeat a monster. While the song’s protagonist practices magic, Megadeth’s weapon of choice is – you probably guessed it – the guitar. Friedman uses the song’s first several minutes to just play solo after solo. Whatever monster that wizard is facing has no idea what’s coming for him.
Poison Was The Cure
A song about Mustaine’s long struggles with heroin. Ellefson’s bass opens the brief tune and then the band slams through the proceedings in a bit of groovy fashion. While still certainly thrash, there’s a good bit of rock and roll feel here.
Lucretia
Here we have a song composed about a ghost that Mustaine thought was in his attic. It’s a fittingly creepy tune that still keeps the thrash and guitar attack going full steam ahead.
Tornado Of Souls
Exiting the realms of war and fantasy for a moment, this song is simply about ending a relationship and getting back into the world with a winning attitude. It’s also, in my estimation, the ultimate expression of everything that works about this album. It’s a fantastic composition, with the guitars, lyrics and everything coming together to kick the ass of anyone listening.
Tornado Of Souls has become one of Megadeth’s most popular cuts, having been played live extensively and often hailed as one of their best overall tracks.
Dawn Patrol
This very creepy, short song has Mustaine snarl through an Ellefson bass line to illustrate people living underground after an environmental disaster, such as the nuclear holocaust about to come in the next song. In a way it’s more of an interlude or intro piece, but it took on its own life as a curiosity from the album.
Rust In Peace … Polaris
The album closes with the title track and the song is inevitably about the subject the title confers – nuclear war. The lyrics are sung from what seems to be the perspective of a mad tyrant unleashing nuclear hell but the perspective is apparently that of the missile itself.
This track doesn’t feature any guitar solos in an effort to let the song communicate its own excellence. Still plenty of nice and nasty riffs to be had and the lyrics basking in the world-ending nuclear conflict make their points well.
Rust In Peace was hailed upon release as one of the finest moments in thrash metal. Megadeth would see their profile raise considerably during the album’s cycle. The album went platinum in the US and its legacy as a masterpiece has been cemented over the ensuing decades. People love making lists of “best of” thrash and metal, and people love putting Rust In Peace on those lists.
For me this was the album that truly hooked me on the heavier side of metal. I was already into Iron Maiden and I’d heard other thrash albums before, but this one just grabbed me and took my soul. From then on it was a race to find the heaviest stuff out there, and in many respects that race is still going 32 years later.
While Megadeth would go on with a lot of ups and downs over the years since 1990, there is no denying the place Rust In Peace holds in the band’s legacy. A whole new generation of musicians influenced by the album would revive thrash in the 2000’s and bring new life to the genre thought dead. It is a legacy secure in the riffs and plentiful solos.
The Crooked Wanderer 