IRON MAIDEN — Fear Of The Dark (review)

IRON MAIDEN — Fear Of The Dark album cover Album · 1992 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Stephen
Talking about Iron Maiden's ninth album, "Fear of The Dark", will bring back a lot of memories since there are so many historical events with this album. First of all, this is the last album with Bruce Dickinson before he was replaced by Blaze Bayley of Wolfsbane. Second of all, this is the first album of Iron Maiden that I was introduced to by an older friend when he lent me his cassette and spooked me off at first with its scary cover, I was only 12, but instantly hooked with the huge opener, "Be Quick or Be Dead". Third of all, this is probably a very diverse record compared to their earlier effort; Janick Gers who rarely contributes even puts some of his writing on the album, including their sole power ballad, "Wasting Love".

"Be Quick or Be Dead", which surprisingly wasn't written by Steve Harris, came out strong as a huge flaming opener. "Afraid To Shoot Stranger" followed the pattern of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and also one of their best songs that's frequently played at the concert, along with the title track (which is clearly the greatest track of the album). "Judas Be My Guide" is an underrated classy heavy metal with an intense melody. "Childhood's End" is also lovable. Couple of decent and acceptable tracks including "From Here To Eternity", the Dokken-ized riffage of "Chains of Misery", and the ballad, "Wasting Love" are okay, but I just can't stand "Fear Is The Key" and "Weekend Warrior" which I believe are their worst songs here.

"Fear of The Dark" might not be a favorite album of many, but this is definitely one of mine. It still offers a lot of solid tracks and an essential buy if you're a Maiden hardcore or a casual heavy metal fan. This album served as the last great Maiden release of the 90s before they went downhill with Bayley until they're back to their original form with Dickinson in the 2000. This is a fine album that still received a frequent spin on my player and deserved a solid four-star rating.
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