(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
A music fan
from East London
This review will somewhat lack the conviction of a die-hard maiden fan due to the fact that this is my first Maiden album but thankfully it will not draw to endless comparisons to albums I have yet to hear. The opener be 'quick or be dead' sets the tone and is both musically and lyrically solid, following well to this 'from here to eternity'. Now we come to my favourite 'Afraid to shoot strangers', this is an absolute classic, a fantastically poetic masterpiece, one of the best guitar solo's I've heard. A solid opening 3 is followed by a less convincing trio, 'fear is the key' is distantly forgettable and 'childhoods end' though lyrically thought provoking lacks the necessary bite, the same goes for 'wasting love'. Next is 'the fugitive' which picks up the pace and is a solid and catchy number however I was less convinced by 'chains of misery' which I thought was slightly cheesy and lacked the required rough edge. The poor and forgettable 'Apparition' was only saved by it's meaningful lyrics but 'Judas be my guide' got the blood flowing again . 'Weekend Warrior's is lyrically interesting but fails to keep the attention. The grand finale 'fear of the dark' is outstanding, it had an epic feel in it's dramatic riffs which kicks into an explosive chorus, it's not hard to see why it's been covered by many others. In my opinion it's a great album and I will be continuing my new found love affair with Maiden despite buying the so-called 'weaker album', impressive stuff indeed.
--This text refers to the Audio CD edition
