IRON MAIDEN (UK) - No Prayer for the Dying (LP, EMI, 1990)

RATING: **

I'm sure it seemed to be a good idea at first: a back-to-basics approach to Iron Maiden, moving away from the increasingly progressive overtones of the three previous albums in order to rejuvenate the band and plant the seeds for new and exciting things to come. Instead of fully metamorphosing into a metallic answer to Pink Floyd (some may say it happened eventually, but let's not rush things), their collective option would be to reconnect with their denim-and-leather looks and street-level attitude from the early 1980's, not to mention less artsy, way more aggressive lyrical subjects. While the whole pop-meets-metal thing was rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and with the advent of caustic variants such as death metal and even black metal, the turn of the decade seemed to suggest a collective move towards heavier, more straight-to-the-point waters - and bands like Judas Priest (always the trendsetters), Metallica and Pantera were already testing the water for some exciting developments ahead. Iron Maiden thought they could do the same by recapturing some of the magic from their "Killers" days as a new starting line, and I honestly don't see anything fundamentally wrong about that; in fact, I stongly think that 1990's "No Prayer for the Dying" LP could have been a hell of a great record under different circumstances. But the road to hell is full of good intentions, as Bruce Dickinson himself would state in later years, and the resulting album never really threatened to take the world by storm, instead becoming the opening act for a whole decade of confusion and instabilities (not to mention a handful of painfully poor songs to match).

Well, maybe we should all have seen it coming when Adrian Smith announced his departure in January 1990, with the dreaded artistic differences playing a major role in such decision. In fact, after recording a pretty decent (but ultimately unsuccessful) solo album under the name ASAP - which explored the same progressive avenues of previous Maiden records, though going to some decidedly different directions - the guitarist felt the idea of a stripped-down Iron Maiden was a step backwards and something of a non-starter, his preference being towards an even more adventurous, prog-oriented sound. Unable to bring substantial creative contributions to the table, and feeling increasingly unattached to the whole Maiden thing, Smith decided to pack his bags and take something of a sabbathical, being very much of a family man for  number of years. The thing is, Adrian had been one of the band's main songwriters since his arrival in 1980, and his absence meant that much of what made Iron Maiden such a powerplant of metal classics simply wouldn't be there for a full decade. With new axeman Janick Gers (ex-White Spirit/Gillan, and a colleague of Bruce Dickinson in his solo effort "Tattooed Millionaire") still being too shy to contribute to songwriting just yet, the group had little usable ideas to work with for their new record - and it shows, unfortunately. I won't delve into the stylistic differences between Smith and Gers right now, as it's my intention to give it a proper analysis in later reviews, but let's just say that Adrian Smith is missed, and the group would continue to have a hard time without him in later years.

The decision to keep things raw and simple resulted in at least two other significant changes - both not coming for the best, IMHO. First, singer Bruce Dickinson decided to adapt his vocal delivery to the new decade, leaving his operatic intonations behind in order to pursue a raspier, aggressive sound. Now, I know some Maiden fans love it to death, but I'm generally less charitable about it, and I tend to think it marks a significant low point in Dickinson's career. It's not at all atrocious, and it sounds good enough on record, but it was surely the less impressive Bruce The Air Raid Siren ever sounded upon a stage, and some of his performances (available in a number of bootleg recordings from 1990-1993) are simply not good enough for such a enormous entity like Iron Maiden. Similarly, the decision to record in Barnyard Studios (basically, a Rolling Stones Mobile Studio parked in a farm owned by Steve Harris in Essex) must be seriously called into question, as it resulted in a thin, generic sound that doesn't add any fuel to the fire, if you know what I mean. I'm sure Martin Birch did his best, but a quick comparison with the stellar results from albums like "Killers" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" show in no uncertain terms how the whole let's-record-it-at-home-and-in-a-very-relaxed-manner thing was a mistake.

Though not an unmitigated disaster, fact is that "No Prayer for the Dying" is easily the least enjoyable album released by Maiden up to this point, and still ranks as one of the lesser points in the band's discography. And it doesn't take a masters degree to understand why: the songwriting simply wasn't there. Let's take opening track "Tailgunner" as an example: though a pretty decent song in its own right (in fact, it's one of the best tracks on display around here), it's honestly little more than a restrained, less intense rehashing of "Aces High" (the subject matter is very similar, and the song structure is pretty much the same), and it simply doesn't hold enough fire in itself to be a suitable opening number. The fact that it is followed by "Holy Smoke" (easily my favorite here, with tons of energy and funny, tongue-in-cheek lyrics about televangelism) sure help matters to a considerable extent, but it's still not enough to really get the party started. And it doesn't get better, believe me - in fact, we have just passed through the highlights, and it's mostly a struggle from this point onwards.

The title track is a more laid back, highly melodic tune with guitar harmonies that bear more than a passing resemblance to "Infinite Dreams" - it's not bad, really, just lacking the ingenuity and bite to make it genuinely interesting. Songs like "Fates Warning" and "Run Silent Run Deep" are plagued by the same lack of imagination, with weak choruses and melodies that one will forget as soon as the songs are over; "Public Enema Number One" is a bit better, admitedly, but suffers from the same hindrances for the most part. "Bring Your Daughter... To the Slaughter" is the hit single from the LP, and arguably the most memorable tune from the entire package, but I don't think it stood that well the test of time, as it's so cheesy that you need to appreciate its unintentional humor in order to really enjoy it. And don't get me started on "Mother Russia", a weak pastiche of former epics that is pretty much a clumsily edited version of "Alexander the Great" (c'mon, even the atmospheric part in the instrumental section is near identical!). I love you, Steve, but this one is embarassing, easily one of the worse songs ever penned by band. 

I wouldn't really list these as standouts, mind you, but I tend to consider "Hooks in You" (nice, hard-rocking riffing, and some vocal lines you can sing along with without much effort) and "The Assassin" (nice twists and turns in instrumentation, and I like the "better watch out" part in the chorus, though Bruce's rendition is perhaps too over-the-top for my liking) as decent songs for Maiden's standards, both adding some depth and color to the proceedings - just never compare it to previous records and you will be fine, I guess. Still, it's too little to save "No Prayer for the Dying" from its fate: let's face it, the whole back-to-street-level thing just didn't work out as planned, and the resulting album clearly shows Maiden in a descending curve, for the first time in their glorious career. It still wasn't enough to really tarnish the band's reputation, you know, and the tour to support the album was a great success for the most part, but the heroes were no longer invincible, and the lackluster results of the record were something of a bad sign of things to come. As for the album itself, you'll probably like it if you're a fan, but newcomers must be warned that there's not a single brilliant song on sight, and more casual listeners will have a hard time trying to listen to it without skipping.

Bruce Dickinson (V), Dave Murray (G), Janick Gers (G), Steve Harris (B), Nicko McBrain (D).

01. Tailgunner (Harris/Dickinson) 4:13
02. Holy Smoke (Harris/Dickinson) 3:47
03. No Prayer for the Dying (Harris) 4:22
04. Public Enema Number One (Murray/Dickinson) 4:03
05. Fates Warning (Murray/Harris) 4:09
06. The Assassin (Harris) 4:16
07. Run Silent Run Deep (Harris/Dickinson) 4:34
08. Hooks in You (Dickinson/Smith) 4:06
09. Bring Your Daughter... To the Slaughter (Dickinson) 4:42
10. Mother Russia (Harris) 5:30

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know! 

IRON MAIDEN (UK) - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (LP, EMI, 1988)

RATING: *****

Let's get straight to it: for me, "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is the best album ever recorded by Iron Maiden. It's not my personal favorite (as of today, that would go to "Powerslave"), and surely not their most influential and/or groundbreaking (you can either pick the eponymous debut or "The Number of the Beast" and you won't go wrong with any of these); I wouldn't even say that it's an underappreciated turning point in the group's career, or words to that effect (that would have to be "The X Factor", but let's not rush things). But I strongly tend to think it's the only Maiden album with not a single filler and/or perceivably minor song in sight (maybe only the 1980's self-titled LP would give it a fight on that regard), and the one who best encapsule all the elements associated with Maiden's sound, balancing the epic and ambitious aspect of the band's personality with the usual catchiness and dynamism we all learned to love and admire. It's a huge improvement to the somewhat lacklustre "Somewhere in Time" (though most of its many admirers will never agree with me on that), and it comes as a culmination to what is undeniably one of the very best runs ever experienced by a rock band, regardless of genres. If you somehow happen to not have a copy in your collection, the only thing I have to say is that you're quite a lucky person indeed, as you still can enjoy the extremely rewarding experience of listening to it for the first time. 

After pretty much keeping the show on the road and not much else with the competent (but mostly unimpressive) "Somewhere in Time", Iron Maiden found themselves in something of a crossroads: they could either rest on their laurels and re-record the same album every two years in order to make a (very respectable and wealthy) living, or else they could, well, take some risks and try something different this time around. Fortunately, they picked the second option. After reading Orson Scott Card's "Seventh Son" novel, Steve Harris felt that exploring the paranormal gifts of a child destined to be the chosen one would be quite a fitting storyline for a concept album - and the prospect of writing and recording such a project seems to have invigorated the whole band, most of all Bruce Dickinson. He is undoubtedly one of the highest points on "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son": his soul and energy were pretty much absent on "Somewhere in Time", but he's surely back with a vengeance here, co-writing over half the songs and delivering some of the most inspired performances from his career. Take "The Evil that Men Do" as an example: it's a way more difficult song to sing than it seems to be at first, and the man moves from a truly expressive low register to gloriously soaring belts and high notes that many singers out there would sell their mothers to reach - all in a seemingly effortless manner that is genuinely impressive, to say the least.

Some may argue (like Dickinson himself did in later years) that "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is not a full-blown conceptual album, being more a collection of songs loosely connected by a central subject. But I feel such criticism kind of misses the point, you know: Iron Maiden is not trying to draw conclusions or defending a thesis about good and evil, but rather taking the artistic quest started on "Piece of Mind" (and, to some extent, hinted on classic songs like "Phantom of the Opera") to its logical conclusion, stretching their storytelling abilities and instrumental dexterity to the limits of a full LP. It's more of a challenge they set for themselves, let's put it that way, and the resulting album sounds truly cohesive and engaging, perhaps the most well-rounded record Iron Maiden ever did - maybe not like you're moving from chapter to chapter while reading a book or something, but with a consistent flow that never stumbles and keeps the listener's attention from start to end. The storyline may demand an extra bit of imagination from the listener in places, but still it makes perfect sense: the first 4 songs (the A side, that is) tells us the story of the seventh son, who is tormented by dreams and visions he can hardly understand, while songs 5 to 7 are about the seventh son of the seventh son (surprising, heh?), who can predict his village's doom but cannot foresee his own demise. Track 8 is there to round things off, more like a meditation about good and evil rather than bringing any moral to the tale.

The keyboards, although with quite simple arrangements most of the time, are a markedly improvement on the rather tepid synths from the previous record, as they're now a very significant element on many songs (most of all during the opening tune "Moonchild" and the title track). To some, it gives the record a slightly dated vibe, as a strong reminiscent of the sugar-coated production jobs many metal artists received during the mid-to-late 1980's, but once again I beg to differ: it has a lot more to do with the atmospheric use of the instrument by prog rock bands from the 1970's and early next decade, something done to create open, slightly otherworldly landscapes rather than make songs more palatable. And it connects emotionally with the lyrical subjects quite well: though Maiden were never a philosophical band per se, songs like "Infinite Dreams", "The Clairvoyant" and "Only the Good Die Young" easily rank among the most thought-provoking ever written by the group up to this point, or ever since. 

All songs herein are great, and it's remarkable how the group managed to write such dissimilar tunes while still keeping a feeling of connection and coherence between them. Nothing is interchangeable around here: the furious (and brilliant) "Moonchild" doesn't sound at all like the catchy (and brilliant) "Can I Play with Madness", which is also totally different from the surprisingly convoluted (and also brilliant) "The Prophecy" and so on. Everything is right into place, nothing sounds excessive, no tune could be substituted by anything else - and everything kicks serious ass, believe me. As personal favorites, I would pick the bombastic "The Evil that Men Do" (one of the most memorable songs the band ever written, no less), the immensely epic "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", and the radio-friendly "Can I Play with Madness" (aah, if all rock-oriented radio would play only awesome songs like that) - but it's entirely subjective of my part really, as all songs are great and full of positive features. Maybe "Only the Good Die Young" is a slightly less impressive track in comparison with the rest, but still is a hell of a good song in its own right, and it works perfectly well as an album closer, with a powerful, triumphant vibe that definitely round things off with a bang. All individual performances are impeckable as well, and the resulting record is truly a joy to listen to.

Not that Iron Maiden was in need of a definitive record or anything (they already had a handful of those under their belts), but it's fair (and perhaps necessary) to say that "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" was something of a career-defining achievement for the band: they wanted to prove they could conceive an album as an artistic statement, and oh man did they succeed or what. In light of that, it's somewhat surprising to verify that it was something of a last hurrah, rather than the beginning of a new, glorious chapter. The back-to-basics approach they would adopt on next album "No Prayer for the Dying", though not an unmitigated disaster, would turn out to be a failure - and it didn't cost only the presence of Adrian Smith, but also headed the band's vessel towards some very troubled waters, with a diminishing profile within the metal world coming as a result. I would call it 'the difficult '90s', and God knows how difficult the whole ride indeed was for Iron Maiden, but let's save such polemics for a new entry, where the subject can be developed in greater detail.

Bruce Dickinson (V), Dave Murray (G), Adrian Smith (G), Steve Harris (B), Nicko Mc'Brain (D).

01. Moonchild (Smith/Dickinson) 5:38
02. Infinite Dreams (Harris) 6:08
03. Can I Play with Madness (Smith/Dickinson/Harris) 3:30
04. The Evil that Men Do (Smith/Dickinson/Harris) 4:33
05. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Harris) 9:52
06. The Prophecy (Murray/Harris) 5:04
07. The Clairvoyant (Harris) 4:26
08. Only the Good Die Young (Harris/Dickinson) 4:40

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know! 

IRON MAIDEN (UK) - Somewhere in Time (LP, EMI, 1986)

RATING: ****

To say that the World Slavery Tour was exhausting would be a glaring understatement. In fact, the Iron Maiden camp were totally drained when the seemingly never-ending jaunt finally folded in July 1985, to such an extent that an extended break was granted so everyone (including the almost-unsung heroes from the road crew) could get themselves together before working on a new album. Releasing the (remarkably enjoyable) 2-LP live set "Live After Death" proved to be a wise move actually, not only to immortalise an immensely sucessful tour, but also to have something to sell while the band enjoyed a much-needed vacation. 

From the musicians involved, Bruce Dickinson seems to have been the most burned-out of all; he famously commented that, towards the end of the tour, he felt like he was "a piece of machinery, a part of the lightning rig", and it transpires that the vocalist seriously contemplated quitting the music scene altogether, questioning himself if the gruelling touring schedule would be a life worth living after all. Fortunately, his decision was to keep playing the game - which is not to say he was immediately back with all guns blazing, mind you, as no contributions from his part made it into "Somewhere in Time", Maiden's sixth studio LP released in September 1986. It seems that Bruce wrote a handful of semi-acoustic tunes, trying to take the whole venture towards a different direction - something that would hardly have been a wise move for a band that had just conquered the world by playing uncompromising, highly focused heavy metal, so I guess the fact that this particular batch of songs never saw the light of day in its original form was all for the best, really.

Now please allow me to make myself clear: "Somewhere in Time" is undoubtedly a very good record. I'm aware that many people actually pick it as a personal favorite, a decision that is perfectly understandable in a sense: it's a more progressive-leaning, instrumentally-driven album, and those who love Iron Maiden's ambitious instrumental sections (and who doesn't?) will get quite a kick out of listening to this LP (I know I do, for instance). Still, after long deliberation, I have to be honest with myself: this is perhaps the weakest Maiden album from the 80s (as I consider "No Prayer for the Dying" to be a 90s album in both sound and spirit, even if we could argue about the year 1990 being technically part of the 80s and so on), and the band sounds tired - in fact, very tired - and a bit unfocused throughout. Bruce Dickinson may have been the one who suffered the most, being the frontman and all, but there's no doubt in my mind that the entire band were still trying to catch their breath by this juncture. And it shows.

Let's start by taking a closer look to the choruses, for instance. Only "Wasted Years" and "Sea of Madness" present something more thoughtful and ellaborate: the rest are rather unimaginatively centered around the song titles, or else simply repeating a phrase or motif to no end (c'mon, "feel like I've been here before" four times in a row may be one of the less inventive choruses ever penned in major-league metal). The lyrics mostly suffer from a dip in quality as well, being less interesting in both craft and topics when compared to previous efforts: I mean, they used to write thought-provoking lyrics about the doomsday clock or the final moments of a man about to be hanged, and now they're resorting to commentary about feeling a deja-vu or running a marathon. "Alexander the Great" is a good example when it comes to this particular shortcoming: where previous epics like "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" cruised with amazing storytelling, "Alexander the Great" stumbles while giving something real close to a history lecture, with a list of dates, battles and occurences that fail to create any emotional connection with the figure the song sings about. It's clear to me that Steve Harris did his research before writing about Alexander III of Macedon, so let's give him credit where is due - but he's a songwriter, not a teacher, and the lyrics he came up with are seriously lacking in artistry, being rather bland as a result.

In fact, maybe the overall lack of imagination is "Somewhere in Time" undoing. The instrumentation is great, and some particular moments are close to brilliant, though the piece of experimentation with synth guitars/bass doesn't really add much to the band's sound. But it's hard to pick a song that is flawless from start to end: maybe only "Wasted Years" could have been part of "Powerslave" without being perceivably weaker than the rest, and I seriously doubt that "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" or "Deja-Vu" would have been more than B-sides on any of their previous records, you know. "Caught Somewhere in Time" is perhaps a perfect opening number for this particular LP: it's pretty nice in places, and quite engaging as a whole if you're in the right frame of mind, but there's no real inspiration going on (apart from Adrian Smith's truly impressive solo), just a hugely talented bunch of musicians getting their job done on autopilot. Iron Maiden by the numbers are leagues ahead of 99% of their competition, but it's still by the numbers, if you know what I mean.

Not all is lost, though - and, in the case of "Somewhere in Time", not all is lost at all. It's the record that finally consolidated Adrian Smith as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to songwriting; with the band seemingly in a shortage of usable ideas, he came up with what is easily the best song around here, "Wasted Years" - a heartfelt commentary about life on the road that still ranks as one of the most memorable songs from Maiden's entire repertoire. He also contributed with "Stranger in a Strange Land", a song that would have benefit from a little more variation in places, but that tells a moving story about an explorer lost in the Antarctic and is also one of my personal favorites from the album. OK, "Sea of Madness" sounds a bit too half-baked for its own good, but at least it's miles better than the self-parody of "Deja-Vu" (I really don't like this one, in case you didn't notice), so kudos for trying something different, Adrian. From the four songs penned by Steve Harris, I'd say that "Heaven Can Wait" is the best of the lot: despite a repetitive chorus that really annoys me after a while, it's a very cohesive, entertaining (and not overly ambitious) tune about a near-death experience that successfully delivers all of its promises. On a more conceptual level, it's commendable that the five-piece kept things going without compromising the drive and heavy edge of their sound, in a time when many metal champions were seduced by pop-rockish flirtations and the keyboard-coated aesthetics of the era. And oh well, it's 80s Maiden, and Iron Maiden were nearly invincible throughout the 80s, so you can all rest assured that great music will come out of your speakers when you press 'play'. It's a 4-star rating, because it's still a bloody good record, and you should definitely give it a few listens if (God knows how) you haven't done so until now.

Still - and it pains me to say so, because I really enjoy listening to it - the fact is clear for any inquisitive ears to hear: "Somewhere in Time" is not as good an album as you may think it is, and it did not stood that well the test of time. For the first time in Maiden's glorious history, they sound predictable and slightly contrived, like they were trying to please rather than being natural leaders of the heavy metal pack. The band were tired, and "Somewhere in Time" is undoubtedly a tired (though very decent) record from a tired band. Maybe it's a natural development after a band gets so huge: some sort of stagnation starts to settle in, and you may need one or two unimpressive releases (or perhaps dozens) before you're really able to shake it off. They would really top all expectations next time around though, releasing what is arguably their only 100/100 album, so I'd say that "Somewhere in Time" didn't cause their fortunes any perceivable harm, being more of a hiccup rather than an ominous sign of things to come. Still totally worth buying, though.

Bruce Dickinson (V), Dave Murray (G), Adrian Smith (G), Steve Harris (B), Nicko McBrain (D).

01. Caught Somewhere in Time (Harris) 7:22
02. Wasted Years (Smith) 5:06
03. Sea of Madness (Smith) 5:42
04. Heaven Can Wait (Harris) 7:24
05. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Harris) 6:31
06. Stranger in a Strange Land (Smith) 5:43
07. Deja-Vu (Murray, Harris) 4:55
08. Alexander the Great (Harris) 8:35

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know!