Iron Maiden

Dance of Death

Overdone. Way overdone.

Review Score:

(4/10)
Brave New World has to be one of the greatest comebacks for a metal band ever. It featured a combination of classic, fast Maiden with a newer, melodic, and ultimately progressive Maiden. The album did a great job of balancing these two different approaches to the music. Dance of Death, however, is complete melodramatic overkill.

Wildest Dreams is Maiden's worst album opener since Futureal, and Rainmaker, despite a catchy chorus, sounds more like a Christian rock anthem than Iron Maiden. No More Lies is a good song, but it takes nearly three minutes to get going, which is just ridiculous. With Montsegur we get our first taste of old-fashioned Maiden on the album. It's a great, heavy rocker where every single instrument is audible (unlike much of the album), and therefore sounds fantastic. My only complaint is the chorus, where Bruce goes way over the top with the falsetto thing.

Dance of Death is Maiden's silliest song since The Angel and the Gambler - just look at those lyrics. The solos are good, though. If the title track is one of Maiden's silliest, then Gates of Tomorrow is simply one of their worst. New Frontier is a step up, but not enough to save the midsection of the album. At least it isn't laughable, unlike the previous song.

Paschendale is an epic war song which has such incredible composition and guitarwork that it's a shame its wasted on the terrible production on this album. Again, Bruce's vocals aren't up to par, either. Face in the Sand features some synth overkill and really over the top vocals. Age of Innocence is the album's most underrated song, and also one of the best. Thundering guitars, adequate vocals, and an old-fashioned chorus make this one really stand out and overcome the simplistic lyrics. Journeyman is an acoustic song that's relatively uninteresting.

This album bears little resemblance to classics like Number of the Beast and Powerslave. It's a more pretentious Maiden than we've seen before, except maybe with the disastrous X Factor. The orchestral effects are cheesy and overbearing and Bruce's voice is simply too high and even a little scratchy. The production muddles the guitars, bass, and drums together and creates a confused, murky sound. The annoying Celtic influence that the band has inexplicably maintained since The X Factor doesn't help, either. Only get this one if you're a diehard fan.

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