Iron Maiden

Dance of Death

The Maiden Continues

Review Score:

(10/10)
After 4 unremarkable (to say the least) studio albums and one gigantic come-back, Iron Maiden return with their best album since 7th Son. This is their "sophomore comeback" effort, and it's certainly no slump, as it further continues the achievements of Brave New World and even surpasses them.

The opener "Wildest Dreams" is really the only letdown in the whole album, as we're used to have a rousing powerhouse of an opener for Maiden albums, however, it does become better as you let it sink in. The secon single, "Rainmaker" is a catchy number that captures the 3-guitar attack that Maiden employs at near-perfection. The first 'epic' track, "No More Lies", is a pretty good track, even though it could've been much shorter without sacrificing quality. "Montsegur" is when the band finally kicks into Fantasy-Metal Territory, as it is an awesome rocker about the Templar warriors that has excellent major-minor key dynamics. Next up is the title-track, which tells a similar tale to that of the classic Number of the Beast and bears some reassemblance to Heaven can Wait, except now we have the 'protagonist' stumbling over a ritual dance by undead fiends that separates his soul from his body. Great Stuff. The Next two tracks, Gates of Tomorrow and New Frontier, may appear like filler at first, but worry not, after some listens you'll discover these songs have extremly catchy choruses plus very interesting lyrics (esp. New Frontier, which deals with cloning to much better results one might expect). Paschandale is the album centerpiece, a mighty war Epic about a dead soldier. The guitars doubled by the strings and the pounding drumming almost give the impression of cannons being fired; its truly a track that will become a Classic. Face in the Sand and Age of Innocense are great songs which deal with very modern issues as well. The former is driven by great double-bass drumwork while the latter is one of the gems of the album, with one of the best maiden choruses yet. For the album closer, Maiden tackle the acoustic ballad to create a great closer unlike any other song by the group.

It is great to see maiden do something few groups manage to do so late in their career: begin to improve. I hope this signifies great new things from the band, and lets hope their career still has a lot to offer.

Song Ratings:
Wildest Dreams- 7/10
Rainmaker- 9/10
No More Lies- 8/10
Montsegur- 10/10
Dance of Death- 10/10
Gates of Tomorrow- 8/10
New Frontier- 8/10
Paschandale- 10/10
Face in the Sand- 9.5/10
Age of Innocense- 10/10
Journeyman- 9/10

More Reviews: