Virtual XI [ENHANCED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Iron Maiden

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: March 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000063DGM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,145 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One of Maiden's lows, May 15, 2003

By	Axel Law "The Happy Seizure Kid" (Derby, KS, USA) - See all my reviews

After the introduction of vocalist Blaze Bayley, they recorded X Factor in 1995 and got mixed results from fans. The band continued with Virtual XI in 1998, which is now considered one of the worst albums in Maiden's career. Here's the lowdown:

Futureal - This opening track is not bad at all. A good, solid rocker. I think it opens the album well.

The Angel and the Gambler - The hit off of this album, but unfortunately, it isn't that great at all. Not really Blaze's fault, but the chorus is weak.

Lightning Strikes Twice - The best track on the album. This one's a midtempo rocker/"gloom and doom" ballad hybrid. It's pretty good and Murray's blistering solo is brilliant.

The Clansman - The big epic of the album. I have absolutely no complaints with this song and Blaze's vocals are excellent.

When Two Worlds Collide - This song is just bizarre to me. After hearing the previous two tracks, Blaze just doesn't sound good here at all. I wonder if perhaps this was last minute?

Educated Fool - Ugh, the weakest song on the album. Kind of has a galloping structure, but doesn't quite come off well.

Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger - Not bad, but Blaze's vocals kind of derail this one. He's certainly not a bad vocalist, but he sings this one rather lowkey. You have to wonder if Steve Harris wrote this one with Bruce in mind.

Como Estais Amigo - The ballad of the album. The instrumentation is quite good and Blaze's vocals are good, but this one has some poor lyrics in my opinion.

The problem with this is not Blaze's fault. Virtual XI maintains the sound of Maiden (which X Factor didn't), but X Factor seemed tailor made to fit Blaze's singing style. Had Bruce sung this one and some of the songs been tweaked a little, this COULD HAVE been one of the best Maiden albums ever. Sadly, most of the songs seem to have been writing for Bruce's singing talents (because of his high vocal range) which Blaze can't achieve. I don't believe Blaze is bad at all, though... check out his own band, Blaze. I just get the feeling that this album seems rushed and perhaps there was a lot of creative headbutting over this (Blaze left the band shortly after this album's release). Overall, I don't recommend this one. Only get it if you are a DIE-HARD Maiden fan, especially since this CD hasn't been enhanced (to my knowledge).

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Last shred of dignity, April 19, 2005

By	feh - See all my reviews

The X Factor was bad enough, but Virtual XI cannot be viewed as anything other than a slightly heavier version of the Caddyshack soundtrack.

Luckily, there aren't too many songs here...

Futureal: "Sometimes it feels like a game of deadly hide and seek." Try not to laugh. It's a song about cyberspace and people preferring the virtual world over reality; pure silliness, despite good intentions.

The Angel and the Gambler: Sounds like something off of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China soundtrack, only not as cool. Steve should have changed the lyrics to something more suitable for Blaze's tenure in Maiden
"Don't you think I'm a singer?
Don't you think I'm a singer?
Don't you think I can sing a song?"
Repeat another 67 times.

Lightning Strikes Twice: starts off okay, with a lone atmospheric guitar, then degenerates into a bizarre power metalish song about the mystery of weather.

The Clansman: Maiden's tribute to Mel Gibson is nothing more than a parody of their past epics. Couldn't they have done a song about the Road Warrior...with Paul Dianno on vocals instead? Or at least Bruce.

When Two Worlds Collide: Inspired by the movie Deep Impact. If that isn't enough to make you skip the track, it has one of the worst choruses and most inane lyrics ever committed to a song about the apocalypse.

The Educated Fool: If you can remember this song, you're too much of a Maiden fan.

Don't Look into the Eyes of a Stranger: Evidently this is a song about Steve's inability to make eye contact. The intro is especially ridiculous.

Como Estas Pendejos: Maiden tries to write a socially significant war song on an album chock full of nonsense. It's an admirable effort but in the end it's a crippled tune.

Aside from the goofball lyrics and Blaze's awful belching, the album also graces us with Steve's horrid production. One of the band members said that they tried to make the guitars sound futuristic, in keeping with the theme of first track...well if 'futuristic' means 'out of tune,' 'retro 70s,' or 'completely lacking in authority,' then they achieved that sound. To put it simply, the songs just sound silly and childish; there's no other way to put it. Nicko sounds bored as well. Blaze...well, he's moved on to other things.

Unless you're a completist or demented, avoid this album.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quit bashing bayley, February 27, 2006

By	Corry R. Heppler "Jared Gifford" (Ivins, Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Alright in this review I'll not only(dare I say it)praise blaze for his efforts in maiden I.E. x factor and virtual XI I'll also leave a note for all you "so called" Maiden fans out there.
First off I'd like to say that I think bayley's vocals are solid and he was just what they needed at the time, blaze brings a darker element to maiden and I think it's a great thing, yes I will admit here that Bruce is the best one but don't overlook bayley, he brought some very solid material to the band.
Secondly quit dissing Janick gers, apparently I must be hearing a whole different set of albums then some of you are cause in my opinion Janick is an awesome guitarist who's helped to write some very good material, hell I was happy to hear that he would be working with adrian in the later albums.
Lastly if you don't like all the albums after seventh son of a seventh son then quit listening to them and save us "true fans" the headache of all your bitching, you say if your a true fan then you'll only like the 80's stuff, well I contest that, I say if your a "true fan" then you stick by the band now matter what, being a fan means you love the band for what the band is not for what you think it should be.

in my opinion maiden will always rule the heavy metal airwaves, viva la maiden.