Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Maiden uniteD
Label: Self-released
Release date: 2015
Running time: 38:10
Rating: 4/5
In mid-August 2013, the author of the review of the Maiden uniteD album »Across the Seventh Seas« (2012) jotted down a rather prophetic prediction:
»An unimportant closing paragraph, but here goes. On the next release, if there ever is one, we can expect even more variety in the arrangements, thanks to more guest spots and a wider range of instruments. There’s a real danger that Maiden uniteD will fall into the trap of repeating the same arrangement template. They’ve used it twice so far. On the first and second album.«
And so, in mid-June 2015, the third album from the intriguing project Maiden uniteD came out. It’s made up mostly of Dutch musicians, including two members of Within Temptation, and fronted by the superb British vocalist Damian Wilson (Threshold, Headspace, solo, ex-Landmarq). What makes this outfit special is that it plays the music of metal forefathers Iron Maiden in its own distinctive way. Cabaret chanson style. Within a completely organic-sounding arrangement structure, where Wilson’s vocals take on a totally different effect and the essence of the songs (in a sensitive, emotional sense) shines in a completely different light. You could even call »Remembrance« a big party of an album, though once again Maiden uniteD have squeezed an outstanding surplus of melancholy out of these reworked songs, the kind Iron Maiden can only dream of.
This time, Maiden uniteD decided to reach for Iron Maiden songs that mostly come from the band’s earliest days. That means mainly the first two studio albums. Maiden uniteD know that the supply of Iron Maiden material is limited, so they have to know how to buy themselves some time, so they don’t fire off all their bullets too fast.
But there’s more than one way to buy time. This time Maiden uniteD broadened the arrangements by inviting a whole bunch of extra guests, who colored the songs one way or another (with the intended effect of contrast). The first four tracks unfold just as you’d expect, in the way we know from Maiden uniteD’s first two releases. In other words, cabaret chanson, with a relaxed interweaving of classical piano and classical guitar, over which Wilson’s soulful vocals soar. So the album starts out under the strict direction of Maiden uniteD alone, meaning no guests, and Killers and Remember Tomorrow come out so transformed that you can barely recognize them. Maiden uniteD also saved some effort by re-arranging Still Life, which they first recorded for their 2010 debut (on that album they played the entire Iron Maiden album »Piece of Mind« in their own style), and even more fun is the new version of the classic Prowler, where the first Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno takes over lead vocal duties (perfectly fine, and the contrast between his punky roughness and the mellow structure of the new arrangement really sticks in your ear). Which brings us to the guests. A special surprise is the take on a highlight of Iron Maiden’s otherwise mediocre album »Virtual XI« (1998), titled Futureal, where another man who sang for Iron Maiden, Blaze Bayley, shows up as lead vocalist. In his own style, of course, and the song hasn’t been adapted much compared to the original, apart from the unplugged treatment, naturally.
Still, the more interesting moments on this album are the adaptation of Burning Ambition, the long-forgotten B-side of Iron Maiden’s first single Running Free, and, a little later on the album, Aces High (the notorious opener of »Powerslave«). On neither of these does Damian Wilson handle lead vocals. Instead there’s a less interesting vocal performance, though in Aces High a duet with singer Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) gratefully breathes life into it, and in its acoustic cabaret chanson treatment the song gets a completely different mood.
It was mentioned earlier that some songs are barely recognizable next to the originals. On top of everything covered in the paragraphs above, Maiden uniteD pull this off in yet another way: in places they replace a chord in the main motifs with a different one, or slip an extra one in. Elsewhere they go for a modulation and swap minor for major or vice versa, and you can even catch a semitone leap in the melody. In short. A battle-hardened crew of seasoned musicians knows exactly what it’s doing and how to approach the whole thing, so these transformed versions of the originals stay highly engaging to listen to the whole way through, with theatricality as well as the special charm and charge that only working with natural sound textures, meaning acoustics, can deliver. The new studio mission has succeeded for Maiden uniteD a third time in a row.
Maiden uniteD – Aces High:
Lineup
Damian Wilson (Threshold, Headspace) – vocals
Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation) – guitar, mandolin
Joey Bruers (Up The Irons) – bass guitar
Stef Broks (Textures) – drums
Huub van Loon (Dearworld) – piano, vocals on track no. 5
Thijs Schrijnemakers (Orgel Vreten) – Hammond organ
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Mike Coolen (Within Temptation) – drums on track no. 9
Marco Kuypers (Cloudmachine) – piano on track no. 9
Thunderstick (Samson) – drums on track no. 5
Wudstik (Ayreon) – vocals on track no. 7
Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) – vocals on track no. 7, violin on track no. 9
Paul Di’Anno (Iron Maiden) – vocals on track no. 9
Blaze Bayley (Iron Maiden) – vocals on track no. 8
Production
Maiden uniteD
Track list
1. Strange World
2. Charlotte The Harlot
3. Killers
4. Remember Tomorrow
5. Burning Ambition
6. Futureal
7. Aces High
8. Prowler
9. Still Life ’15
