Dance Of Death may have the appearance of an off-the-wall album that takes crazy risks with the style and sound but all in all, it's quite a straightforward record. This is apparent after listening to album opener, "Wildest Dreams". It's quite similar to previous album opener, "The Wicker Man", in structure and sound, suggesting the band's desire to keep things the way they are for now. After all, it's not compulsory for each album to be completely different to the last.
Many songs deal with the topic of war in one form or another, whether it's wars from many generations ago ("Paschendale") or more modern conflicts ("Face In The Sand") so naturally, the songs dealing with heavier topics have a more magnificent sound. The album is also the first to have an acoustic track ("Journeyman"), ending the record on a softer note instead of an epic one like previous albums. My main gripe with the album is that there's nothing particularly special about it if you're not into the longer tracks.
It definitely sounds like they focused more on writing impressive songs over the seven minute mark with lots of layers to the music than on creating shorter tracks with the same impact as "The Number Of The Beast" or "Aces High". This isn't a problem with Dance Of Death exactly, more a problem for people who prefer the band when they're playing short and sharp tracks...like me. However, this album & its critical reaction is possibly the one most responsible for Iron Maiden's recent obsession with epic tracks.
1. Wildest Dreams
2. Rainmaker
3. No More Lies
4. Montsegur
5. Dance Of Death
6. Gates Of Tomorrow
7. New Frontier
8. Paschendale
9. Face In The Sand
10. Age Of Innocence
11. Journeyman
ALBUM RATING - 4/10
If you thought the band would take a break from the darker songs about war for now, boy were you in for a disappointment. In 2006, another three years after the last album, Iron Maiden released A Matter Of Life And Death. Once again, it may not be a concept album but...well, I think the cover speaks for itself.
Having successfully found their groove and settled comfortably into their new sound, the band return for another confident display of roaring guitars and screeching vocals. "Different World" starts the album off with a bang and if Dance Of Death had more tracks like this, I probably would've given it a slightly higher rating. Considering this is the band's 14th studio album and each band member has been recording for nearly 30 years, there's no sign of battle fatigue in the guitar solos or any of the individual performances. Sure, Bruce's vocals have changed since 1982 but they haven't substantially dipped in quality and he can still scream out a good chorus!
This album is another one for fans of Somewhere In Time or Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, one for people to listen to at home where they can appreciate each note, as the album wasn't mastered so it contains no studio alteration; what you hear is what the band played. Aside from a few tracks which change tempo and speed up throughout, many of the songs on the album take it steady and sound more solemn than the last two records. I suppose you could label this as more Prog Metal than Heavy Metal, although there are a few of those tracks on the album ("The Pilgrim") and even a few that blend the two ("Lord Of Light").
A Matter Of Life And Death isn't a strong candidate for anyone's favourite album. Even Top 5 would be pushing it, unless you prefer Prog Metal, but it's still good. It's well written and better performed than some material by bands still in their youth. It'd be ignorant of me to say this is their strongest material since Piece Of Mind or an earlier album but it's definitely a testament to the band's lasting appeal and talent.
1. Different World
2. These Colours Don't Run
3. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
4. The Pilgrim
5. The Longest Day
6. Out Of The Shadows
7. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
8. For The Greater Good Of God
9. Lord Of Light
10. The Legacy
ALBUM RATING - 6/10
Between 2006 and 2010 (when the next album was released), Iron Maiden released Flight 666, a documentary about their Somewhere Back In Time tour. In this film, the band talked about how the audience for their gigs tends to stay the same age as kids now are starting to get into the band. It was that reason they decided to revisit older songs, so the fans could see these tracks played live for the first time. With this in mind, you'd have thought they'd be more inclined to write new shorter tracks with the same energy to give new fans what they wanted. Instead we got this.
When this album first came out about five years ago, I actually reviewed it and basically said that it's one of my least favourite albums. There were a few songs on it that I enjoyed but the majority weren't to my taste, although I acknowledged the appeal other fans might have for it. For starters, the album opener probably should've been split into two different songs. "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier" starts off with about four minutes of apocalyptic drums and bass before kicking off what would've been a really solid album opener without the intro.
Whilst the critics couldn't praise this album enough (arguably in an attempt to validate themselves as intellectuals), I remember feeling an immense disappointment with this album. It felt like there were several ideas that I could've enjoyed if they were tweaked slightly such as the drumbeat for "Starblind" or just trimming the length of a couple of tracks. I could talk about each track individually like I did before but honestly, I still believe this album suffers from how long it is.
A lot of the power and energy some of these songs deserved is lost once they enter the ninth minute (or sooner, depending on how tolerant you are towards Prog Metal). I could endure the longer tracks on previous albums but it's a lot harder to do so on this album. I'm not entirely sure why, as there's nothing especially wrong or flawed with the material. It's just a bit tiring now, like listening to a child telling their fifth story that just goes on and on and on and on. Even the shorter songs feel uninspired, as if they were designed just to be to be filler between the epics.
Whilst the critics couldn't praise this album enough (arguably in an attempt to validate themselves as intellectuals), I remember feeling an immense disappointment with this album. It felt like there were several ideas that I could've enjoyed if they were tweaked slightly such as the drumbeat for "Starblind" or just trimming the length of a couple of tracks. I could talk about each track individually like I did before but honestly, I still believe this album suffers from how long it is.
A lot of the power and energy some of these songs deserved is lost once they enter the ninth minute (or sooner, depending on how tolerant you are towards Prog Metal). I could endure the longer tracks on previous albums but it's a lot harder to do so on this album. I'm not entirely sure why, as there's nothing especially wrong or flawed with the material. It's just a bit tiring now, like listening to a child telling their fifth story that just goes on and on and on and on. Even the shorter songs feel uninspired, as if they were designed just to be to be filler between the epics.
1. Satellite 15...The Final Frontier
2. El Dorado
3. Mother Of Mercy
4. Coming Home
5. The Alchemist
6. Isle Of Avalon
7. Starblind
8. The Talisman
9. The Man Who Would Be King
10. When The Wild Wind Blows
ALBUM RATING - 5/10
I could (and probably will) change my mind about this as I get older/wiser but for now, here is my personal ranking order for all 16 Iron Maiden albums from highest to lowest:
1. Powerslave
2. Piece Of Mind
3. The Number Of The Beast
4. Somewhere In Time
5. Iron Maiden
6. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
7. The Book Of Souls
8. Killers
9. Fear Of The Dark
10. Brave New World
11. No Prayer For The Dying
12. A Matter Of Life And Death
13. The Final Frontier
14. Virtual XI
15. Dance Of Death
16. The X Factor
I'm aware some of the ratings I've given the albums on this blog don't match up with the order I've listed them above. Chances are I'll change some of the ratings at a later date but for now, this is how I would rate the albums. Thanks for reading all/some of these posts! I'm not entirely certain about what to post next week but I do know it'll be Iron Maiden related, as we're not out of September yet!
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