first time listening to THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER ⚓ reaction + analysis

[@kirawasareactor]

hi all, hope you enjoy this video! FYI i'll be posting a little less frequently over the summer (here in Australia) while i take a break to recharge for 2022

[@metalheadindian9174]

Everyone deserves a little break. Btw check out Nokturnal Mortum-Ukraine. Trve Ukrainian Black Metal Gods.

[@resurrectionwaiting9294]

Enjoy your summer! I suggest you clear your musical palat with something completely different, i.e. Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre (a Synthesizer Classic).

[@Capitaomac1]

Have a nice summer. As for you loving music with different atmospheres, you really need Opeth in your life.

[@gringogreen4719]

You are awesome! Watching your videos remind me of when I listened to new stuff around your age. Yes Iron Maiden are awesome and this is a great track. My favorite is still "The Trooper" followed by "Aces High".😉

[@alexycox1347]

Please do RATM.

[@GeorgeGeo]

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and Alexander the Great are two great long Maiden songs.. i mean great.

[@gilly9666]

Face in the sand is an epic song

[@sintomas]

Also Fear Of The Dark, Phantom Of The Opera, Afraid To Shoot Strangers and Sign Of The Cross for great epic songs.

[@hectormiguelolguinugalde6951]

We could be friends right now, seventh son and alexander best long long track

[@julioalbertoherrera1339]

Look for yourself another kingdom... 🤭

[@Aziz_Ergeshov]

Empire of the clouds is greatest IM long song in my opinion

[@revjim123]

As Bruce has said during live versions “The moral of this story is not what to do when a bird shits on you”

[@potatofry1237]

Never whipe it of were it good luck

[@brettpearce3684]

Yeah but that's revelations 👍🏻

[@chrisgates8891]

@@brettpearce3684 No it is Rime of the ancient mariner. The clue to the intro is in the song and the fact that he kills a bird revered by sailors as good omens, the Albatross. Revelations is 'This song is about religion, or about washing your car. Actually its about opening a pair of curtains'

[@TheAsphyx666]

"Why is Bruce so good on this?" Because he always is. ;)

[@shagdog6669]

Always will be. 🤘

[@martinbaker1609]

"Why is this song so incredible?" That is the magic of Maiden. For the record the song To Tame the Land is based on Dune.

[@rabarebra]

It is 13 minutes long. And it doesn't have 3 minutes intro, and a 3 minutes outro. Pure 13 minutes prog with lots of changes and motifs.

[@lordoftheidiots8866]

Loved your reaction to this song. If you get into more live Maiden you will only grow to love Bruce more and more

[@metalheadindian9174]

It's the holy hand grenade of Antioch

[@juanchibrossa8569]

"Alexander the Great", "Empire of the Clouds" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" are others excellent beautiful long Iron Maiden songs! You won't be disappointed, Kira

[@astragalusson]

She've already listened to Alexander The Great in her spin the wheel 2 video. I'm not gonna spoil how she exactly felt about the song but I can say she wasn't quite as amazed as this one :)

[@billcowie2582]

Losfer Words is pretty epic

[@soadratmetc]

Empire of the Clouds is an epic, deserves a treatment like this!

[@brucedickinson12]

Their worst

[@JD.Knight]

The wedding guests are sad but wiser because the mariner is recounting his tales to guests at a wedding. It says it at the start of the song. So much to take in with one listen! Amazing reaction

[@SylviusTheMad]

It was a common narrative style at the time. 25 years later Mary Shelley did the same thing with Frankenstein, with the whole story told by the survivor of a shipwreck that's only tangentially related to the monster.

[@KolozII]

This is easily the best track from Powerslave. Hands down. As much fun as Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight are, Mariner just blows them out of the water. It's not just a song, it's an experience!

[@Walamonga1313]

Nah, The Duellists is the best song in the album. I love Mariner but it kinda drags at times. That's the one thing holding it back

[@ArmouredPhalanx]

Bruce is always very theatrical on stage. Iron Maiden, like a lot of other bands from their era, thrived in big, live venues, and the stage show was part of the appeal. I've been to several Iron Maiden concerts now and they're always a ton of fun to watch and go all out on stage design, too.

[@sabordelapintana]

I'm soo happy seeing the youth enyoing heavy metal

[@pauloviniciosappelt9789]

Being an Iron Maiden fan, it's an absolute honor being able to witness the reaction to the band in his maximum composing skills (or, in this case, Steve Harris since the song was written by him). Bruce really shines in these more operatic songs! I believe the natural followers to this one would be either Alexander the Great and Seventh of a Seventh Son (if possible the whole album, because it is a conceptual album, if it isn't at least the title track), or going forward and listening to something from their last 20 years, like Hell on Earth and The Parchment (both from their latest album), Empire of the Clouds (their biggest song, and SPOILER: piano), The Legacy and Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg (from A Matter of Life and Death), Paschendale and Out of the Silent Planet

[@me109aa]

"This list is fire"Hell on Earth and The Parchment (both from their latest album)" These songs are the 10 to 11 minute ones she is looking for. Maiden can still write and play great music. Hell on Earth is already top 10 Maiden for me.

[@rabarebra]

@@me109aa Does Rime have 2-3 minutes intro and outtros? Nope. These songs you mention is about 5 minutes long in reality. Rime is like "BAM!" compared to those mediocre new songs.

[@berenerchamion4654]

Finally! My favorite Maiden song of all time. The time changes, the key changes, the guitar, the lyrics. This song has everything a great rock song should have. Great reaction!

[@BadassRandomness]

I think you would like some of the other long songs from Maiden Dance of Death When the Wild Wind Blows Empire of Clouds

[@robertson68]

This is not just music, this is art.

[@thomasharris4942]

Maiden literally made a badass metal song out of a poem that they and probably every British kid was taught in school at that time. It's actually a cool trippy poem.

[@georgiikonomov2362]

That's why iron Maiden is a legendary band. They just can. They can create an awesome song and sing/play it on a such a high level so the listener feels him/herself mesmerized and immersed in the story.

[@serroche]

I HOPE you do 'Caught Somewhere In Time' soon. Heck, the whole 'Somewhere In Time' (1986) and 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' (1988) albums are Iron Maiden's peak.

[@danielkinn782]

C'mon....Powerslave is their masterpiece.

[@serroche]

@@danielkinn782 well that's just your opinion

[@independenceltd.]

You misspelled “Piece of Mind”.

[@finbarrsaunders]

@@serroche He's absolutely correct though. Powerslave is the best thing they ever did. The live double album, predictably, was the beginning of the end. Somewhere in Time... the *cough* "experimental" guitar synth/modern amplification record is at best a mixed bag. A couple of high points, but some of it is cringingly bad. Same goes for 7th Son & Fear of the Dark. They were well & truly phoning it in by that point. Then Bruce quit & really it was all over. Pretty much nothing new to say. They've done a couple of decent tracks since, but essentially album after album after album of boring predictable formulaic run-of-the-mill Maiden to keep their pension funds topped up. Long slow death. Shame really & quite sad to see. They should really have called time on it when Bruce went. Great band though. When they were good they were brilliant (Killers/Number of the Beast/Powerslave).

[@rabarebra]

@@finbarrsaunders Correct. I remember buying the Somewhere LP when it came out... 🤮

[@kentonboon7017]

Bruce is a perfect front man and showman. The whole Band on stage is pure Theatre ..

[@dragonmac1234]

This is one of the epic Maiden songs, like AC/DC they always have a distinctive sound. The galloping bass of Steve Harris, the guitars and Bruce Dickinson's distinctive voice all work together.

[@metalconfucius4347]

...yes, but tell me, when did these trademarks start fading to grey...Senjutsu delivers hooklines lasting 4 seconds max...three galopping parts...and not a single break followed by run...so, when I am sad from this I listen to the Powerslave album...followed by Somewhere... and Seventh...

[@toamcdohl]

@@metalconfucius4347 They've slowed down considerably, so their fastest gallops nowadays would probably rank as some of the slowest during their golden era. But the hooks are certainly still there -- some might say the hooklines go on for too long, post-X Factor -- and there's a ton of quality mid-tempo tunes in their reunion era. Very unreasonable to expect a band with an average age of like 66.6 to be playing like young men. Appreciate that they're still around making the music they love (and which is still shockingly solid), or maybe just pretend that they went out on a high note with Seventh Son.

[@212mochaman]

@@toamcdohl personally I think they went out on a high note with Where The Wild Wind Blows

[@ktv90125]

You made a strong comeback with this video. Maiden is good with long epics but this is probably their best. Great reaction/analysis as well.

[@kirawasareactor]

thank you!!!! lots of fun analysing this one

[@serroche]

Thanks for the uncut reaction! priceless!

[@unklebacon44]

Absolutely LOVE your reactions, you're so animated, understand music, and all around fun to watch. Now to Maiden. How can you not appreciate what amounts to a history lesson, and a literature lesson in poetry, done with Bruce's unique voice and delivery with unmistakable Maidenesque riffs?

[@unklebacon44]

Bruce Dickinson was just here in Buffalo, he's doing a spoken word tour, not crazy expensive just wrong time of year for expenses or would have gone

[@martinsv9183]

Check out "Sign of the Cross" also. Preferably live. Rock in Rio 2006 for example..

[@Haggath]

2001!

[@stevensparfven]

Kira, this is, without doubt, the best reaction video by anyone to any song. Your grasp of all that the band set out to convey to the listener is spot on. I love your deep appreciation for the hard work that was clearly put into this song. Fantastic video, you are the best!

[@guilhermebaroni3032]

One song I recommend is "The Nomad", from 2000's "Brave New World" album, I'm sure you're gonna like it !

[@cobrasys]

I was about to recommend the same one! Actually, I think Kira would enjoy basically any of the epic song from the Reunion era... Dream of Mirrors, Paschendale, Dance of Death, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, The Legacy, Starblind, Isle of Avalon, When the Wild Wind Blows, The Book of Souls, The Red and The Black, Empire of the Clouds, Death of the Celts, The Parchment, Hell on Earth... any of those (and probably most others of the era) would do nicely. :)

[@cedened]

I think you would love Bruce's older age vocals. I hope your patrons request a post reunion iron maiden song like Hell on Earth, The Talisman, Paschendale etc.

[@mikeyb.theman9585]

It's the bass. Sounds like a galloping horse. Hard and fast, the speed of youth. Brings me back.

[@Jeminai77]

id suggest "Infinite Dreams" for you, the whole band pops off on that one. and a little gem (often overlooked) named "The Prophecy" has some very unique changes and less repetition.

[@Walamonga1313]

Their most underrated song ever is The Duellists imo. Almost no one talks about it but it's easily top 3

[@Ig0rN4tusch]

Kira, if you liked Mariner, you're going to enjoy a lot the most recent recordings of Iron Maiden! LOTS of long songs, and many with very captivating stories that really capture the imagination. And Bruce is singing in a different manner these days, maybe the more recent songs will be your cup of tea. I would suggest The Legacy, Where the Wild Wind Blows and Dance of Death for a start. And If you like piano, Empire of the Clouds may be a good place to go next ;D Nice video as always, you rock \m/

[@red.5475]

Your reactions are so organic, I love it.

[@santivasco7890]

I´m 49, bought the album Powerslave back in 1984 when I was 12 and I still react like you everytime I listen to this master piece.

[@nigeldepledge3790]

This song inspired me to go and read (and, later, learn by heart) the original poem. It takes about half an hour to recite, give or take a bit. The section in which the sailors' bodies rise up is much more dramatic in the poem, because Coleridge takes more time to set the scene. . . . But, soon, I heard a roaring wind. It did not come anear, But with its sound, it shook the sails that were so thin and sere. [sere = shrivelled or withered] The upper air burst into life, and a hundred fire-flags sheen : To and fro they were hurried about; And to and fro, and in and out The wan stars danced between. The coming wind did roar more loud, and the sails did sigh like sedge. The rain poured down from one black cloud; the moon was at its edge. The thick, black cloud was cleft, and still the moon was at its side; Like waters shot from some high crag, The lightning fell with never a jag : A river steep and wide. The loud wind never reached the ship, yet now the ship moved on. Beneath the lightning and the moon, the dead men gave a groan! They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose; nor spake, nor moved their eyes. It had been strange, even in a dream, to have seen those dead men rise!

[@chrismeadows4216]

For future reference, the middle-eastern guitar sound, midway through the song and in parts of the soloing, is created through playing the phrygian scale, as opposed to ionian, aeolian, or mixolydian which are popular in other parts of the world. Most Mediterranean-styled music is played in the phrygian mode.

[@carlitos4903]

Even after 2 years of seeing your reaction, I'm still in love with how you enjoyed this song... I love you ❤

[@joebarajas4206]

First of all, welcome to the world of metal! I absolutely enjoy your reactions to Iron Maiden, I've watched them all! You make it so fun to watch them! I absolutely love the way you really get into them and appreciate their musicianship. Makes me want to be there with you enjoying them together. Thanks for sharing your videos with us fellow metalheads! I guess you're part of us now that I see how much you enjoy watching them! Stay true and forever enjoy our music! 🤘

[@petewylde6592]

Great reaction to my favorite Maiden song. I saw them perform this song during their "caught somewhere in time tour" in Stockholm 1986. It was an amazing show where they used huge back drops during the show and Bruce fought Eddie on stage, it was a very theatrical show.

[@cayulins0n]

I was looking at your reactions and it happened the same when i listened that song, years ago. One of my best friends gave me a copy of Powerslave, and i got shocked with the band, plus, the time they played that song on concert in my country.....i was amazing!! Cheers

[@richpeltier9519]

Been a Maiden fan since the third album dropped. I love Bruce, his voice, his commitment to his art, his part in bringing literature to Metal and his overall attitude. But the first 2 albums HD a special place for me, really a different band. Paul is a deeply troubled and flawed person, but from tragedy is often born the most moving art. Bruce, not being a tragic fuck up, drew his inspiration from more classical if non-traditional sources. Old poems about ships full of people dropping dead at the will of some supernatural agents and such. I'd strongly recommend Hallowed Be Thy Name off Number of the Beast. It's an epic and omen of things to come..in the form of longer and deeper cuts. Epic anthems like Hallowed and Mariner would become the center piece of the best Maiden albums, accompanied by more traditional shorter songs to round out the album. Rich the Ancient Metal Beast.

[@becketthanson3154]

Love this band and all of their songs

[@grunthostheflatulent9649]

Richard Burton reads the full poem here on KZbin. It's a great listen.

[@kengaroo67]

This is one of my favorite Maiden songs. Top 5 easily. Others that are awesome are Alexander the Great, which is basically a History lesson, Sign of the Cross, When the Wild Win Blows (which makes me cry), and the Clansman, which is basically Braveheart.

[@psilocyble3053]

Love your reactions, such infectious joy :)

[@Faerie_Kim]

This is why Maiden are gods

[@randycomerford2038]

This is the first concert I ever went to, and this is the album and tour in "85. What I really remember about this song, is that it lasted over 20 minutes cause they middle break down was like 10 minutes itself...so fucking epic!!!

[@iain860]

You are such a Joy 🥰 Astonishing song, astonishing reaction...Thank you 💕

[@carlos.buenrock.acercandoa4531]

Best reaction I've seen ever!!!! UP THE IRONS!!! Congratulations!!!!

[@Chonas96Dh]

"Seventh son of a seventh son" from 1988 and "Hell on earth" from 2021 are some other amazing songs that i absolutely love

[@mirageowl]

dance of the death is 8 minutes, fear of the dark is about 7, they do have some "long" songs but not too many 20 minute pieces like the prog legends

[@thannaske5371]

"Empire Of The Clouds" from "The Book Of Souls" is 18+ minutes...

[@christianoyarceaviles8296]

The best maiden song reaction and analysis on the net bay far. Thank you!

[@XxPrestigeWorldWideXx]

Love your vids, enjoy your summer, its the middle of winter where i am 😢😂.

[@kirawasareactor]

yep i will!!! and i hope you enjoy the cold haha

[@marcosescobar3987]

That's how you make a reaction about music. Enjoying every fucking note, chord. This little girl takes us back to when we first heard Iron Maiden and other great musicians.

[@Admiral_Golbez]

I'd still absolutely love to see you check out Paschendale by Maiden, such a good song.

[@CharlesDunkley]

This planted itself as my favorite Iron Maiden song when it came out and it remains there still to this day. I was a huge fan of the poem that inspired this so when I heard this for the first time I was blown away by how fantastic a job they did capturing its mood and story.

[@ricardogoncalves8098]

So now you know! The best metal band ever is starting to hit ya!!

[@androtaz1]

One of my favorite Maiden songs. Its a journey in itself.

[@richpeltier9519]

Favorite aspect of this song is the ending. Maiden is master of big time endings, especially live. This song ends with the lyric about the story going on and on, then the song abruptly ends. Epic. Rich tAMB

[@noureddin83]

One of the most awesome reactions ever! Please do as much videos on IM as possible! God bless and up the irons!

[@davea5794]

One of the greatest songs ever written, IMO.

[@johnlermaqct]

You had me bouncing around with this reaction!! Great reaction video!!

[@mechfly8960]

Best interpretation with no interruption, love this young lady performing.

[@cheenu711]

5:52 i remember hearing this for the first time. This right here is Maiden at their peak. It's so brutal and it encompasses the mood of the song so well. Adrain and Dave don't get the credit they deserve.

[@ronnielopez3267]

I absolutely loved your reaction! "UP THE IRONS!"

[@gringogreen4719]

Great video! I loved Iron Maiden when I discovered them. I like how they still hold up even today. The album is pretty good too!

[@tojorozombie]

Bruce and the guys have always remembered their audience, by and large, is the common working man, hence, the importance of delivering the goods, when Maiden show up in your town!👍😎🔥 Thanks for the mega-vid, your appreciation for fine Metal and your time & effort!!🔥🤘🤘

[@NeilOosthuizen]

You got to see this done live... takes perfection to another level...

[@exploreyourworld111]

Thanks for the killer breakdown and all the work you put into your videos, I enjoy them!

[@larrykinnard]

Powerslave is a must when listening to Maiden!

[@HALberdier17]

I really like this song but I think my favorite Maiden song would be 'To Tame A Land'

[@MARSHOMEWORLD]

I have decided that this is my absolute favorite reaction video on all of youtube. Your enthusiasm and seeing the culmination of all the various metal influences you were building just blowing up here is exhilarating. You are so into it the whole time it's just remarkable to see it all flowering as it were. Really wish you would come back to KZbin

[@carlos.buenrock.acercandoa4531]

Feel happy each time I see this react!!! Thanks for this fresh, young, emocional reaction. YOUNG PEOPLE!! YOU GOT THE POWER!! Best regards from Spain, just on a line through center of the Earth. The antipodes.

[@ephraimsholomo6941]

I am 54, been listening to Iron Maiden since I was an teenager. I love to see you enjoying my favorite band. Your expression is Awesome!!!!

[@sunsteels]

One of my Maiden's favourite, love your reaction too

[@alienlifeform7490]

Always so enjoyable Kira. Thank you. Love your enthusiastic reactions. 🙏🏻🌹

[@manuelrobledo8072]

Her hating Bruce's voice to loving it is the best character development.

[@vinny142]

The song is now 38 years old. I have lived 2,5 times longer *with* this song than without it, and I still can't stop it when it's playing.

[@justindevoe9556]

This has been my favorite Iron Maiden song since I was like 12, and this reaction perfectly encapsulates how I still feel listening to it. I highly recommend checking out Revelations by them as well

[@trmn8r677]

In high school, my english class reviewed "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," and our books had "Cliffs Notes" in the margin. Those notes read ALMOST one-to-one with the lyrics of this song! Btw, the song was new at that time, so I don't think there was any copying...

[@TalussAthner]

This makes me think you’d probably really enjoy the album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as it feels the most like this, along with Rime my favorite stuff of theirs. Also every time you say you link intense and soft stuff all I can think to myself is “ah a future Opeth fan” haha.

[@nerdymetaldude]

Thank you for reacting to a true metal masterpiece.!!!!

[@user-ph2sz2oy1k]

Randomly found this, thank you for single handedly reigniting my love for iron maiden

[@hamesparde9888]

You should listen to Dread And The Fugitive Mind by Megadeth! Also Separation by Camel. Or this very specific live version of Rhayader Goes to Town by Camel. The videos called "Camel - Rhayader / Rhayader Goes to Town (Live)". There's a sick saxophone solo in it that I don't think is in the normal version :). PS your Patreon supporters told me they wanted you to listen to these songs! PPS you should use SubscribeStar instead! LOL.

[@1danwynn]

So glad you like ROTAM, Kira! Just wanted to add my voice to all the recommendations others have already made for other longer songs by Maiden, but particularly Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 😀

[@carlitos4903]

Beautiful reaction girl... Up the Irons! 🤘

[@mannybravo237]

"So wait, now they're turning into Zombies?!?" 🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️🧟?!? Very entertaining reaction, headbanging girl! Maiden always gives cool history lessons. Man, I wonder what I looked like first hearing this lp? I seen this tour way back then, at the Cow Palace, San Francisco. They brought their mascot Eddie out from the tunnel behind stage on the back of a golf cart, then he gingerly walked up the rear stairs to the stage, then went absolutely WILD!!!!! Great times, thru the fog and ice!!! 🤘🏼Iron Maiden Rules🤘🏼

[@DrBoneright]

Great review!! The poem starts with the tale being told to a wedding guest. Rock on!

[@ivailovelev4468]

My favourite Iron Maiden song!

[@ZombieJesus1987]

i got to see this song performed live! I saw Maiden in 2008 on the Somewhere Back in Time tour, they played it! Iron Maiden just released a new album like a month or so ago. It's really good! i definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you like long epics like this song.

[@bghammock]

This song helped me get through the poem way back in my senior year in high school.

[@vivir_en_ruedas]

What a way to start the day!!! Great reaction to a great song!

[@Bodneyblue]

My fav Maiden tracks are "Stranger In A Strange Land"..,it's how I feel....and "Caught Somewhere In Time"..for the guitar solo.

[@andrewgarin2486]

Loved your reaction to this...it really is incredible what they made with this. Just a request of mine would be a simple song from the album earlier from "Piece of Mind", 'Sun and Steel' is so fun to listen to....it's fast and very melodic and fits Bruce's vocals perfectly....it's an overlooked song in my opinion. The guitar bar chords are so clean and strong.....the recording studio down in the Bahamas maybe had something extra to make the guitars just POP out on this recording.

[@swedeman5785]

Just WONDERFUL to see you dance of happiness to this song ,wish Maiden could see how fun you have,,:)

[@MrLumaan]

Iron Maiden is the greatest storytelling with some Heavy Metal ;)

[@UncleRiotous]

I'd definitely check out the version of this from Live After Death. After more than a year gigging the tune on the road they'd really nailed the dynamics and given the song even more energy.

[@1-minslomo129]

I can tell iron maiden is my favourite band before even I was bad at English My fav songs are fear of the dark, hallowed be thy name ,dance of the death, no more lies , blood brothers , phantom of the opera , the trooper , run to the hills , mother Russia , rime of the ancient mariner ,powerslave ,wasteland

[@renzo4296]

Power slave is an epic historical album, my favorites are piece of mind, power slave, somewhere in time and seventh son of a seventh son, I love all their music but those albums are my favorite and of course number of the beast, first album with Bruce Dickinson. This song is so complicated in several different ways and this story is absolutely phenomenal.

[@stefankristoffersen9349]

Haha, this is like seeing my own reaction when I first heard Iron Maiden 24 years ago! Love it!

[@sergejmiladinovic1181]

YES! Favourite song by my favourite band!