I don't understand why metal is not bigger in the US. Look at this Maiden clip from 08 in Costa Rica

[Skip Intro]

Truly spiritual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkBZZcUQquQ

[MilesColtrane]

1. I don't get it.

I get energy as a focal point, and I get theatrics to pull an audience in that huge of a setting.

I just don't get the musical payoff.

[Skip Intro]

2. Wow. Really?

I love, LOVE, the music, number one. But seeing those thousands of people getting off to it live, and seeing the band in awesome form, after all these years, wow.

I guess metal is an acquired taste, maybe it's not for everyone, but I'll tell ya, I'd rather buy a ticket to England to see Iron Maiden live than waste a dime on seeing Eminem or Kesha.

[eyepaddle]

4. I'm with you.

I don't know if it's a aquired tasts, or a genetic one--for lack of a better term. I pretty much dug it from the first time I heard it, and many people just never hear it as anything beides noise.

For my money Powerslave is pretty near the top of Dave Murray's list of great solos. His tone and sens of pacing are pretty much perfect here. Ususlly I lean a bit more towards Adrian's playing (which is a really nice transistion from the 1st solo, and sets up Dave's 2nd solo wonderfully) but Dave Murray's 2nd solo on this tune is phenomenal.

I haven't bought any of the stuff since Janick joined, but I've been getting more and more intouch with my inner metalhead and think I am going to pick up some of their recent stuff.

[HughBeaumont]

3. Because America is under the spell of the Pretty Rich Princess Channel.

American music moguls epically failed many times in the past 5 decades; but among the two biggest, culturally and sonically I feel, was

a) making music about studio-oriented dance and pop instead of live rock in the early to mid 80s (i.e., favoring the Madonnas over the Husker Dus)
b) doing pretty much the same thing, only 100 times worse, after Cobain offed himself in the mid-1990s.

An Iron Maiden or Metallica (metal acts that go on to worldwide fame without radio or MTV) would never exist in today's music business model. We're lucky a Mastodon or a Lamb of God does.