(Rated this album with 4 out of 10) Reviewed by
george noriega jr.
from West Hempstead, NY United States
I remember the day this CD came out... I ran to my local record shack and picked it up... popped it into my stereo... and felt my heart sink... the songs lacked imagination. "Tailgunner" is a VERY good opening track, reminiscent of "Aces High"(in spirit if not in songwriting). "Holy Smoke" is different, but enjoyable. "No Prayer for the Dying" is downright haunting. Then, it all goes downhill from there. "Public Enema Number One" is a song that strains to reach the old Maiden sound, but makes you WISH for the old Maiden sound (not what they were trying to accomplish). The next track "Fates Warning", just plain stinks; again, trying to sound like classic Maiden, but failing miserably. "Assassin" is OK, but the main riff is ripped off of "To Tame a Land". "Run Silent, Run Deep" stinks, and it rips a riff off of "Deja Vu" (hhhmmm... do we see a pattern forming here?)... "Hooks in You" sounds like something Bruce Bruce would have done on "Tattooed Millionaire"..."Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" should have been left on the "Nightmare on Elm Street 5" soundtrack (the soundtrack bombed miserably; recycling a song off of it doesn't exactly make great business sense). "Mother Russia" tries to get the epic feel of "Alexander the Great" & "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son but, um, doesn't. Some folks will say that this is one of Maiden's best efforts, but I have been following the band for over a decade and will say this: Why subject yourself to an album where they TRY to sound like the old Maiden when you can just as easily get the old stuff and bypass this trash? Bruce Bruce sounds hoarse (no surprise, as he went into the studio right after wrapping up his "Tattooed Millionare" tour), Dave Murray sounds lost without Adrian Smith, Janick Gers is a poor replacement for Adrian Smith, and Nicko McBrain sounds like he has not learned any new beats since "Peace of Mind". The only saving grace? Steve Harris' bass playing is as thunderous as ever, but a weak producing effort (the first of 'arry's failed attempts at producing) doom this disc when it could have been so much more...
