Iron Maiden as racist/conservative?

[Anima Eternae]

I don't buy the racism bit, but Dickinson was a member of a conservative youth group back in the day.

I was arguing with a few Maiden fans who seems to be distraught that Maiden displayed a conservative leaning in their new album:

Age of Innocence:

Assailants know just how much further they can go
They know the laws are soft, conviction chances low

You can't protect yourselves even in your own home
For fear of vigilante cries, the victims wipe their eyes
(supposedly pro-gun ownership)

So now the criminals they launch right in our face
Judical system lets them do it, a disgrace
(supposedly pro excessive punishment for criminals)

We cannot even warn each other of evil in our midst
They have more rights than us, you cannot call that just
(supposedly anti-Muslim)

[Starr]

I don't buy the racism bit,

that's good:

19. Run To The Hills

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard we fought him well
Out on the plains we gave him hell
But many came too much for Cree
Oh will we ever be set free?

Riding through dustclouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom the stab in the back
Women and children are cowards attack

Run to the hills, run for your lives
Run to the hills, run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing their game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Indians are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old

[WFHermans]

Iron Maiden goes with the fashion, just like about every other pop group.

[Heimdall]

I see a definite right-leaning stance, but I don't see where the racism comes in. Run to the Hills was definitely condemning whites.

[sugartits]

Learn with Bruce, Edukator Audio Books

Having already released 9 live "Best Of" albums, Iron Maiden have been forced to seek other avenues through which to exploit the rich resources of their back catalogue. A contributory factor in this decision seems to be a general feeling in the band that the puns of their previous compilation could not be bettered. (See "Live after Death", "A Real live/dead one", "Maid-en Japan", etc).

Instead they are aiming to tap into the educational market with a series of pre-GCSE study-aids entitled Learn with Bruce. The series is intended for use alongside traditional teaching methods, and attempts to portray the conflicts and conquests of our ancestors via the words and music of various Maiden classics. The double-cassette box-set is divided into historical epochs, each of which is gloriously brought to life by Bruce Dickinson's vivid and articulate lyrics.

Cassette 1, which covers prehistoric and ancient history, opens with the story of mankind's earliest discovery - as recounted in the epic 'Quest for Fire'. The opening lines of this song perfectly capture the plight of Neanderthal man: "In time when dinosaurs ruled the earth/When the land was swamp and caves were home...". Later we are treated to a grim, but highly informative account of the bloodlust of Egyptian emperors ('Powerslave'), and Mongolian Warlords ('Ghengis Khan'). The familiar themes of antiquity are then taken up in the 'Ides of March', 'Flight of Icarus', and throughout the many movements of 'Alexandra the Great'.

The second side begins with the arrival of Nordic raiders upon the shores of Briton, the historical repercussions of which are explored in the song 'Invaders'. "Axes grind and maces clash as wounded fighters fall to the ground", explains Bruce. "Severed limbs and fatal woundings bloody corpses lay all around". From Viking longboats we move into a wider examination of the history of sea-faring with 'Ghost of the Navigator' and 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. Next a moving and insightful discussion of the colonisation of America is presented in 'Run to the Hills', whilst the first-person narrative of 'The Trooper' provides a chilling glimpse of the reality of Napoleonic warfare. This cassette ends, fittingly, with 'Mother Russia', leaving us with a sorrowful lament for the Czarist legacy.

The third tape takes us into the age of modernity, which in Bruce's case means WWII. We learn about the effectiveness of submarine combat during the mid stages of the war ('Run silent, Run Deep'), the desperate scramble for air-superiority in the Battle for Britain ('Aces High'), and the adversity faced by paratroopers undergoing missions in the Bavarian Alps ('Where Eagles Dare'). We are then given a harrowing and supposedly first-hand account of a bombing run over Dresden ('Tailgunner'). Bruce follows this up with a moral warning ('The Aftermath', 'Fortunes of War'), to remind students that although it's quite normal to be obsessed with warfare in all its historical varieties - even to the point of making a career out of singing about it - we should also bear in mind its negative aspects.

http://www.suicidenotes.co.uk/Learn%20With%20Bruce%20Dickinson.htm

[sugartits]

I see a definite right-leaning stance, but I don't see where the racism comes in. Run to the Hills was definitely condemning whites.

I am not familiar with what the band had in mind, but I don't take that anymore seriously than "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" (misogyny?)

[Anima Eternae]

Iron Maiden goes with the fashion, just like about every other pop group.

Iron Maiden? Pop group?


I think you mean to say metal legends that kick an incomprehensible amount of ass.

[sugartits]

Iron Maiden? Pop group?


I think you mean to say metal legends that kick an incomprehensible amount of ass.

"Scream for me Brrraziil" :hump:

Maiden are pretty damn popular. Popular does not always equal bad music.

[infoterror]

I see a definite right-leaning stance, but I don't see where the racism comes in. Run to the Hills was definitely condemning whites.

Yes, but sort of endorsing nationalism...

It seems to me they were once skins -- at least one guitarist, the drummer and the old vocalist -- but moved on. Now, they don't give a shit. They've got the money to escape society.

[infoterror]

I think you mean to say metal legends that kick an incomprehensible amount of ass.

Yep.

Right-leaning metal of quality:
http://www.nsbm.org/
http://www.burzum.com/

[Ahknaton]

Yep.

Right-leaning metal of quality:
http://www.nsbm.org/
http://www.burzum.com/
Don't forget http://www.burzum.org

[Starr]

I think you mean to say metal legends that kick an incomprehensible amount of ass.

Kick an incomprehensible amount of ass? I thought we were talking about Iron Maiden here.:p

[sugartits]

Kick an incomprehensible amount of ass*? I thought we were talking about Iron Maiden here.:p

You don't like them? *It may be an understatement.

[Anima Eternae]

"Scream for me Brrraziil"

Maiden are pretty damn popular. Popular does not always equal bad music.

Not in the US.

[Blaphbee]

Kick an incomprehensible amount of ass? I thought we were talking about Iron Maiden here.:p
Starr, Starr, Starr. I had such a good opinion of you before. Why did you have to go and muck it up by saying such hogwash as the above?

:p

I fully endorse this thread.

[Petr]

Iron Maiden? Pop group?

I think you mean to say metal legends that kick an incomprehensible amount of ass.
I think you mean to say the silly outfit that inspired Spinal Tap.


Petr

[sugartits]

Not in the US.

Nonsense. It doesn't really matter, but face it they are popular, in many places around the world :p

I think you mean to say the silly outfit that inspired Spinal Tap.

Oh no! :rofl: :rofl: Smell the glove, Petr.

[The Retard]

Don't forget http://www.burzum.org

I blame the music. Burzum made me racist.

[Blaphbee]

Burzum is tits, man. Whole 'nother ball game entirely from Maiden though.

It didn't make me racist. I'm not a racist. I'm a lover. (snort) Vikernes didn't write racist lyrics, which is a huge plus in my book. Outstanding shit, IMHIV+O.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go edit my zine and die with my boots on.

:cool:

I miss jcs. For entirely sexual reasons.

[WFHermans]

The opening lines of this song perfectly capture the plight of Neanderthal man: "In time when dinosaurs ruled the earth/When the land was swamp and caves were home..."
They actually use that at schools? :eek:

[sugartits]

They actually use that at schools? :eek:

Bruce Dickinson is a renowned scholar. He has a degree in history.

[infoterror]

I think you mean to say the silly outfit that inspired Spinal Tap.

Historically, I believe that was the bands Saxon and Holocaust, who were also NWOBHM (same genre).

[Jofreidr_1488]

I don't buy the racism bit, but Dickinson was a member of a conservative youth group back in the day.

I was arguing with a few Maiden fans who seems to be distraught that Maiden displayed a conservative leaning in their new album:

This is rather ironic as I just watched the video to "The Wicker Man" yesterday! (had a cool Pagan theme I liked as well, however I have never been a big Iron Maiden fan)

When it comes to Iron Maiden being 'conservative' this can actually be explained by an understanding of the entire Heavy Metal Genre, lets take a look at the quote below (in bold)

. The themes of darkness, evil, power and apocalypse are fantastic language components for addressing the reality of life's problems. In reaction to the "peace and love" hippie culture of the 1960s, heavy metal developed as a counterculture, where light is supplanted by darkness and the happy ending of pop is replaced by the naked reality that things do not always work out in this world. Whilst fans claim that the medium of darkness is not the message, critics have accused the genre of glorifying the negative aspects of reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music

The entire Heavy Metal Genre itself (not just IM) is a reactionary music against the left-wing hippie music of the 1960s and so by definition almost all Heavy Metal can potentially be classed as conservative/ right-wing/ or reactionary.

[Jofreidr_1488]

Vikernes didn't write racist lyrics, which is a huge plus in my book. Outstanding shit, IMHIV+O.

Ever read the lyrics to 'My Journey to the Stars'???

(however some interpret these lyrics to be about a race war in Tolkeins fictional middle earth setting, even if that is the meaning Cultural Marxists would still attack it as racist just as they attack Tolkeins works as having a "racist tapestry" (http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2003/12/277175.shtml) today)

My Journey To The Stars

I Immaterialize
And Slowly Drift
Into the Unknown
With the Cold Winds with Soul
The Wintery Plains Lie Untouched
I Ride on My Elements
Towards the Stars Unseen
A Quest
For Knowledge
In the
Astral
Luminous
Stench Intensifies
As I
Near a Spectral Sphere
After a Hundred
Men's Lifetime
In Analyzing
I learn
To Consume
The Sphere
Of Immense Power
And To
Become Immortal
Darkness Hate and Winter
Rules the Earth when I Return
War
Between Races
A Goal Is Reached
Chaos, Hate

Darklyric.com link (http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/burzum/burzum.html#8)

[infoterror]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music

The entire Heavy Metal Genre itself (not just IM) is a reactionary music against the left-wing hippie music of the 1960s and so by definition almost all Heavy Metal can potentially be classed as conservative/ right-wing/ or reactionary.

And for the original:
http://www.anus.com/metal/about/philosophy/

Heavy metal is a Romanticist genre; those are usually nationalistic, like the Ancients better than the Moderns and are staunchly opposed to utilitarianism.

Just like the Nazis, Greeks, Romans, Hindus, etc. -- all the smart people.

[Jimbo Gomez]

The Phora needs more Maiden threads. Best band ever.

[Anima Eternae]

Dance of Death has really grown on me.

There's now only one song I don't like, which is "Wildest Dreams". It is an acquired taste, though.

[Blaphbee]

Dance of Death has really grown on me.

There's now only one song I don't like, which is "Wildest Dreams". It is an acquired taste, though.
Who needs "wildest dreams" when you have "Infinite Dreams"?

EDIT: The last three posts are conclusive evidence that the three coolest members all enjoy the same ass-kicking band. Others have also thrown in their support. Why is there still non-acceptance of Maiden being the offical endorsing musical entity of The Phora? (if not the one band we should be beaming out into space to show extraterrestrials that Earthlings really do have good taste.)

If The Ides Of March isn't the first thing forumers hear upon logging in, there's something drastically wrong with the forum software. no wonder you get hacked so bad.

:P

[Anima Eternae]

Who needs "wildest dreams" when you have "Infinite Dreams"?


Wildest dreams is a terrible, terrible song. New Frontier is mediocre. The rest of Dance of Death has really grown on me. "Dance of Death", "Face in the Sand", and "Journeyman" are absolutely amazinng. The emotion Bruce puts into his voice is the strongest since Piece of Mind, IMO.

ALL of Seventh Son is pwnage, my favorite tracks being "Seventh Son", "Infinite Dreams", and "Only the Good Die Young". The album is probably my favorite by IM, followed by Piece of Mind and Powerslave.