Dance Of Death

What a wonderful cover ! I hope the album is as good as the cover. Well it wasn't ... for my taste of course. Don't worry my friend, I am talking of Brave New World, the previous record, the "prog" album. What an ugly cover !!! I hope the album is not as bad as the cover. Don't worry my dear readers, the album is as good as the cover is awful :) Lesson number one : never judge from the outside !!! Bruce said recently that Dance Of Death sounds like the first three albums he worked for. Reminder ? The Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind and Powerslave. I could stop the review here as Bruce resumes perfectly Dance Of Death with this sentence. So, some of you might imagine that Iron Maiden has chosen the easy path and that a lot of melodies are "copy-pasted" from these records. Guess what ? That's exactly the case. But tell me, isn't AC/DC, Judas Priest, Kiss, Aerosmith, Saxon, Hammerfall, Running Wild, Helloween ... sounding like themselves. If Iron Maiden wasn't sounding like Iron Maiden, tell me who will ? Yeah it's true that a lot of songs will remind you old classics and that's the good news here. Let's have a look : 1) Wildest Dream : I let you read Marty's review, but that's the wrong opener ! I don't like the chorus and it is the weakest song ... even though I am getting used to it now. 2) Rainmaker : Shouldn't they call it Heaven Can Wait, part 2. At least the song structure reminds me very much Heaven Can Wait. I like the typical guitar melody ... like the old days. Bruce is very efficient and is more aggressive compare to Brave New World. 3) No More Lies : Funny, isn't it Fear of The Dark ... or Afraid To Shoot Strangers ... or The Clansman ? I let you choose. Of course, we know the melody by heart, but I am happy to see Maiden back with its typical epic atmosphere. The chorus is a bit "repetitive" but it enters finally in your brain. It is definitely not the most original song ... but it "falls" amongst the classic songs. 4) Montségur : Typical Maiden melodies bring us back to Hallowed Be Thy Name or The Number Of The Beast. But once again the alchemy works perfectly. This is what Iron Maiden is all about : a wonderful voice, hunting guitars melody supported by the bass and a basic drum. My favorite track. 5) Dance Of Death : Nothing new. Iron Maiden restores the epic Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. But again it works as Bruce's voice is warmer after all these years. The "basic" Maiden melodies enhance the epic atmosphere. An up to date version of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner should I say. 6) Gates Of Tomorrow : Whoaaw, an AC/DC riffs opener, an Angus Young guitar sound. In fact, this is the hard rock oriented track, "à la" Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter. The chorus defers very much from Bring Your Daughter ... The "guitar war" in the middle of the track rings a bell to Metallica : gosh it's good to have some solos here and there :) 7) New Frontier : Fast, melodic, epic ... Aces High, 2 Minutes To Midnight ? I let you choose again. 8) Paschendale : The first surprise here. The progressive elements come directly from the previous album, with each guitar (three) being at the right place. For the first time since the beginning of the album, Iron Maiden innovates. Bruce sing admirably and I can't find another song to compare to :) Heavier, slow, epic, very epic ... a great song. I am sure Brave New World's fan will love this track and regret Maiden didn't follow more that path for Dance Of Death ... but that's another story. 9) Face In The Sand : Blood Brother melody ? That's the first impression I had, but the progressive elements coming later on improve the whole structure. A six and half minute film soundtrack. Great job :) 10) Age Of Innocence : A mi-tempo track, almost rock. This time Bruce holds the song alone on his shoulders. It would be a "filler" for any other band but Dickinson sounds like no other one. Pretty cool. 11) Journeyman : Keyboard and acoustic guitar. I like the "orchestral" feeling of Journeyman. The second surprise of Dance Of Death. Once again, without Bruce, this track would fall apart. Well done Mr. Dickinson. Iron Maiden took no risk for Dance Of Death .. except for the cover. Why ? Brave New World wasn't the expected album for the true fan base ? Brave New World didn't "hit" live like did The Number Of The Beast or Powerslave ? Who really knows. Iron Maiden recorded Dance Of Death in London, where The Number Of The Beast was recorded a long time ago. May be it explains the similarity - production too - between this new album and the old masterpiece. Anyway, this album is their best work since Fear Of The Dark ... as far as I am concerned of course :)