Which band do you like better and why?
Judas Priest for me. I like Iron Maidenās instrumentation but I just canāt stand Bruce Dickinsonās vocals. I donāt really like the Blaze era of Maiden and Iām not a fan of their early stuff.
Judas Priest were a lot more exciting musically and more consistent across their albums. Halford era JP is my favourite, although he can have the odd off night live, especially now heās getting older.
2 Likes
I like different things about each band.
For studio records and overall musical output, Priest edges out Maiden slightly. They had a bit more variety and their streak from the 70s through the 80s is unreal. Also, Unleashed In The East is an unparalleled classic. Maiden of course had incredible albums in the 80ās and did some really ambitious stuff but I tend to get tired of them a little sooner.
Iron Maiden is the better live band I think. Theyāre all in great shape and theyāve always had fantastic stage sets. Judas Priest have some deadly live (US Fest 1983!!!) stuff but I feel Maiden has upheld a high standard of quality much longer.
In terms of attitude and vibe I really dig Maiden. I like their punk rock āfuck you weāre gonna do things our way and make a mockery of what you think we should beā ethos. And Bruce is an interesting character.
Maiden. Hands down. Dickinson is a monster.
ā¦though, potential unpopular opinion, I think āThe Chemical Weddingā is my favorite work of his.
2 Likes
This is a tough one.
Iāve only seen Maiden live. I was a casual fan before that show. Now I worship every album from the debut to Seventh Son. Adrian Smithās guitar work in particular on Somewhere in Time is iconic. Maiden definitely has the more consistent output. They wouldnāt release a subpar album until Dickinson left in the 90s.
As for Priest. The main thing I like is how much their sound changed over time. On paper it wouldnāt seem possible for the same band to release Stained Class and Painkiller. Painkiller also brings one of metalās greatest what ifs. If Halford hadnāt left it would have been interesting to see if the band could top their greatest album. Priest also has the more enjoyable recent output in my opinion. Maidenās more recent work can drag from āchorusitisā as I call it with songs being too long due to overly repetitive choruses. However I think British Steel is the most overrated āclassicā metal album of all time. I vastly prefer albums like Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Class and Painkiller. Tipton and Downingās growth as guitarists is astounding. Painkiller is a hands down top 3 contender for greatest metal guitar solo. I donāt think I can pick one.
Maiden!!! Definitely. But I am one of the few that prefers Dianoās vocalsā¦ but Bruce is still amazing though.
1 Like
I liked both bands a lot and have seen both several times. I just found Halfordās vocal ability so superior that Priest was my favorite. There was one guy in heavy metal whose vocals Iād say were on or close to the level of Halfordās vocals and that was Ronnie James Dio. Geoff Tate was excellent as well but he didnāt have the longevity of the other two.
Sad Wings Of Destiny is my favorite album by Judas Priest. I liked their musical style in the 70s much better than the music they made afterwards.
1 Like
Yeah, Geoff Tateās vocal range went from super-human to mediocre. I assume, like many other metal singerās, that he damaged his throat early-on.
Yeah, Dio (RIP) never lost his voice. Thereās a few others that never lost their voice. The guy from Steel-heart can still sing quite well in his 50s. And B. Dickinson was still quite capable for many yearsā¦ I know he had throat cancer though. Brian Johnson never lost his voice, but he recently had to stop after he caused just too much throat damageā¦ but Axel Rose has done a good job as a replacement. Speaking of Axle, he was able to develop his scream again, but he still occasionally goes back to āmickey-mouseā mode.
1 Like
Yeah, itās disappointing what has happened to Geoff Tateās voice. I was also disappointed in his change in the style of music heās chosen to create since the Empire album.
I liked Paul Dāiannoās voice too. Remember Tomorrow and Strange World are two of my favorite Maiden songs. Do you know if Bruce has ever performed either of those songs live?
1 Like
Oh yes, quite a few times. You can search it on youtube.
in fact Bruce sang Remember Tomorrow as his audition song for the replacement. By the way, itās an absolutely brilliant song.
By the way, Paul still can sing wellā¦ .but he had so many mental and substance abuse issues. He refused to sing the maiden songs properlyā¦ and tried to convert them all to āpunkā songsā¦ which really did them a disservice.
Howeverā¦ Iāve seen him on youtube singing in Brazilā¦ and he was sober, and wasnāt trying to be a punk singerā¦ and he still sounded great.
2 Likes
Priest all the way, they had probably 15 songs that spoke to me where as maiden had 4ish.
They spoke to me in all the right ways back when I was a rebellious yooot.
Great songs, great riffs, vocal melody and feel.
The solos had a beginning, middle and end.
Blistering but still complimentary to the song.
The song within the song type deal that I love
They were technically clean but had the ability to tap into my inner savage.
The few songs maiden had that I loved had all the same but for me priest just had it more often.
I also dig pop music so take that into consideration
I never really liked Iron Maiden. Judas Priest is a pretty good band and their music has aged comparatively well.
both great bands. I listen to Priest way more than Maiden
2 of fave songs
1 Like
My legions faithful unto death Iāll summon to my courtā¦ and as you perish each of you shall scream as you are sought!
Have to say, never got into Judas Priest that much. Iron Maiden have much more interestibg and creative songs. Bruceās vocals are also on a different level!
I like some early maiden stuff, pretty cool, but I always felt their material was redundant as far as rhythmic, temposā¦ guitars are good but nothing that memorable to me.
JP had dynamics and intensity. I donāt care much for th man but Halford has exceptional vocals.
Tipton is very underrated.
1 Like
By any chance are you referring to Heartās āBarracudaā rhythm that Maiden used in almost every song? I was in a music store one day and I heard a couple guys talking about Iron Maiden and one said to the to the other āIf you can play Barracudaā you can lay any Iron maiden song." Iām a big fan of Maiden but a much bigger fan of Judas Priest.
I recently got the Bruce Dickinson autobiography I hope he writes about helping composing āRime Of The Ancient Marinerā - what an epic song that is! I read that song and To Tame A Land were two of Steve Harrisā favorites of the songs he has written.
1 Like
yeah, Glen Tipton was way underrated and was one of the rare pros who continued to improve and keep up with the times etc
gotta give IM the edge in the rhythm sectionā¦Steve Harris and Niko McBrain were pretty strong.
Comparing the vocals is a matter of taste. Bruce had the sort of opera thing going on and it fit their music but to me Rob was more of a universal rock voice.
Yiouāre right. He even learned sweep picking. He and KK were two of very. very few 70s guitarists that kept up with the times to that degree.
Interesting that you bring up opera. There was a drummer who had a music degree from The University Of Maryland who had tried out for our band. He was a Neil Peart style drummer and could play along to the Rush albums. He really was very good. We were talking about Judas priest one day and he said about Rob Halford āHe could have gotten into The London School Of Opera easily.ā Iām not university trained about vocals like this drummer was, but I believed him. Iāve seen Judas Priest live twice and I got the feeling there was absolutely nothing the guy couldnāt do with his voice
This drummer was quite a characterā¦ Heād say stuff like āIām one of the top 200 drummers on the planet.ā Weād go to a restaurant and heād say to the waiter āCan I see your pizzaā? He had to actually look at it so he could decide if it was up to his standards! I took it with a grain of salt and just laughed. My bass player couldnāt stand hm though. He really irritated her so we didnāt hire him.
1 Like