Iron Maiden's Reviews

Dance of Death

One of Iron Maiden's finest!

The second song, "Rainmaker" is far superior to "Wildest Dreams" and I'm glad they released this is a single, although in my opinion it should've been the first single. This is mostly Dave Murray's song, and it features an excellent solo by him. Rainmaker is not your typical Iron Maiden rocker, it's a little bit lighter, but it's very fast paced. Certainly a welcome addition to the album, after getting off with a rocky start, this song gets the album on track for the next song.

"No More Lies" is the only song entirely written by Steve Harris on Dance of Death. I would say No More Lies is a fairly average song. It has your typical "Fear of the Dark" song style of starting off slow and quiet, then getting loud and fast, and then ending slow and quiet. This is definitely a crowd sing-a-long type song, as the chorus is the phrase "No More Lies" screamed over and over again. It takes some getting used to, but I wouldn't have the chorus any other way, and No More Lies is certainly a better song than Wildest Dreams.

With the next song "Montsegur" we are treated to the heaviest song on Dance of Death. This song is, quiet frankly, perfect. It's heavy, and fast, with some wonderful historical lyrics, and a great guitar solo by Janick Gers. The three-axe attack shines on this song, and it's a shame this wasn't played live on the Dance of Death tour.

"Dance of Death" is, obviously, the title track off the album. This is one of Janick Ger's best slices of writing he's done in Iron Maiden. This is one killer song. The lyrics are a little weak, and I cringe when I hear Bruce sing, "I danced and I pranced," but I'm just going to chalk that up to the boys having a sense of humor. The acoustic intro is wonderful, and the three solos (one by every guitarist!) are hair-raising. I hope this song stays in their live set for future tours.

"Gates of Tomorrow" is up next, and is the weakest song on the album. It's got a horrible guitar intro, which would be much more suitable on an AC/DC album. Bruce has several vocal lines in the chorus, and none of them are especially memorable. If anything on Dance of Death can be called filler, it is this!

McBrain gets his firsting writing credit! Yes, it's true! Nicko wrote "New Frontier" the first writing credit he's ever had on an Iron Maiden studio album. Way to go Nicko! This is an excellent song, and if No More Lies wasn't being released as an EP, I think this would've made a great single.

It's time for your epic. "Paschendale" is... marvelous. The three-axe attack is out in full force on this song. Nicko and his trusty hi-hat start us off, and then Adrian comes in with his soft little guitar intro. This song is jam packed, and the first time you listen to it, it might sound like a mish-mash of sorts, but after a few listens, the splendor begins to sink in. This is probably Bruce's best vocal performance on Dance of Death, and the guitar solos leave nothing to be desired! The lyrics make this song even better.

The next two songs, "Face in the Sand" and "Age of Innocence" sound a little similar to each other, and that's just fine, because they're very good! Face in the Sand is the only time Nicko has recorded a song with a double bass drum, and its sounds fantastic. Some people might be a little upset that Iron Maiden have recorded a politically motivated song like Age of Innocence, but I have no problem with it. I think it's only right for them to express their views.

Dance of Death ends with "Journeyman" originally an electric song, but here an acoustic song. Iron Maiden's first acoustic song to appear on an album! What a great closer! Maybe I'm wrong about Bruce's best performance being Paschendale, it could really be on here! This too needs to stay in their live set. A fantastic ending to a fantastic album.

While Brave New World was good, Dance of Death is better, and far better at that. The band seems to be working very well together, and the songs are all very, very strong. It's not hard to see that Iron Maiden are still on top of their game. I also feel that the production of this album is wrong criticized. It's not as polished sounding as Brave New World, but the rawer feel seems to fit well with the songs. I bought this album the day it came out, over six months ago, and I still listen to it regularly. This album does not leave much to be desired, except perhaps another release from Iron Maiden...

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