I totally agree that the album ’Virtual XI’ is a masterpiece. Its true, not many Maiden fans would like a change in vocals but Blaze has done his part well. He is mellower than Bruce, maybe that explains the indifferent attitude towards him. His voice is totally in sync with the guitar work, in fact it is different from Bruce’ version.
The song Futureal starts with rhythmic guitar work that can remind you of Angus Young in AC/DC, followed by different time signatures and booming baselines which is typically Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden has clearly stood out as one of the very few bands which has great emphasis on musical harmonies. This aspect is very audible in Virtual XI and also ’The X Factor’ which are two albums often despised and written-off by fans. All the songs have some great messages to it.
For eg, The Angel and the Gambler tells about an Angel trying to persuade a gambler to keep away from gambling. ’The Clansman’ about ’William Wallace’ and his fight for freedom. ’The Educated Fool’ which tells you that education will not give you everything in life.
The album is complete with great melodic guitarwork which will keep you wondering about how capable these metalheads are. However, the art cover on the album is too modern, too graphical or unoriginal, and does not blend with the essence of Iron Maiden.