Cheap X Factor (Music) (Iron Maiden) Price

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Customer Reviews of X Factor

pretty darn good if ya ask me...
Ignore all of the Dickinson junkies out there. Blaze isn't that bad. After hearing about this album I expected something just completely AWFUL, like Loverboy meets Korn, or something like that. To my pleasant surprise X-Factor is some good Iron Maiden, a logical progression of a darker sound that really started with "7th Son". This is still Maiden, and you can hear the trademark maiden sound on songs like "Fortunes of War", "Edge of Darkness", and "2 AM". And come on, "Sign of the Cross" is an 11 minute magnum opus, loaded with a ton of hooks and melodies. Blaze's voice is far more limited that Bruce's, but he is a great singer and delivers some excellent vocals here. X Factor is not Number of the Beast or Powerslave, but if you're stuck into comparing everything to Maiden's glory days, you're missing out on some great music. I'm going to listen to this album again right now, and I'm going to enjoy doing so!

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Great Album drowned by Bitter Fans
Iron Maiden recorded this 10th album without the vocal/lyrical inspiration by long time screamer Dickinson. Instead, Blaze Bailey was hired to lend vocals to the band's new creation. What followed has been one of the most controversial and argued about releases by Maiden (and of any metal band in the world). Many long time Maiden supporters felt a lot of grief from the loss of a beloved Bruce, and wasted no time bashing the new singer. This would prove a blow to the band and the sales of this record.

But when one sits down and listens to the musical compositions contained within The X-Factor, it is impossible to hate this album. For one thing, even though Bailey has lower voice dynamics than his predecessor, he does a good job singing his heart out (one thing missing is Dickinson's screaming). Songs such as "Lord of the Flies", "Fortunes of War", "Judgement of Heaven", and "The Edge of Darkness" are well done Maiden pieces with very good vocals.

This album is a bit different than the 9 before it (mainly due to the absence of Dickinson's creative lyrics that tend to steer songs in various directions), but it is in no way a Maiden dissapointment. Iron Maiden signatures are still audible in the music...take Harris' heavy bass playing, for example.

I would recommend to any Maiden fan who shies away from this album due to the negative comments by others to pick up The X-Factor. You will be interested to hear Iron Maiden without Bruce's inspiration and you will be surprised at how good this album really is. "Lord of the Flies" and "Judgement of Heaven" are Maiden classics in my book.

Also, this album is different and much better than the 2nd (and final) release w/ Bailey at vocals (Virtual XI). So if you were dissapointed with that album, do not give up hope on this one...as it seems that XI was recorded half-spirited.

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Quite simply...not bad
I was, and always will be a Bruce Dickinson fan, so like many Maiden fans, I imaturely refused to even hear the X-Factor. I was living in the Golden Years. I hated everything after 7th Son. Then they hit me with this Blaze b.s. Oh well. Time however is a funny monster. I found the X-Factor at a used CD shop and figured what the heck. So X number of years later(smile folks), I am intrigued by the sounds on this album. Blood on the Worlds hands, and of course the Sign of the Cross are awesome! What an underated album. Blaze was an excellent singer on this album, and Maiden sounded very tight. This album is by far better than Fear of the Dark, No prayer for the Dying and their various live crap that was released. Up the Irons!!!