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
3.5/5 ·
Pekka
Maiden had hit their bottom with No Prayer for the Dying, which saw them abandoning the big and bold proggish metal tunes in favour of harsher rocking songs about real life subjects. Not a bad idea, but their pencil just wasn't sharp enough. Fear of the Dark continues very much in the same direction, the only difference being that this time they had the material in place. Not all the way but considerably more so than on the previous try.

And harsher it gets. Be Quick Or Be Dead opens the album with the all time most aggressive Maiden blast, over a couple of almost thrashy riffs Bruce spits venom on all the corporate leeches of the world. His newfound vocal style split opinions right in the middle, but for the new kind of material the new rougher voice is approppriate, I think. After the very fine opener things take a turn for the worse with From Here to Eternity, an almost Gn'R like rocker which is, like Hooks in You from the previous album, notable only for being a sort of a sequel to the Charlotte the Harlot saga. But this, like most of the "filler" material on the album is somewhat salvaged by a brilliant instrumental section with both soloists in excellent form. From the later songs especially The Apparition displays the same contrast of an excellent soloing section, I especially enjoy the guitar and bass unison run, and an utterly forgettable set of verses and choruses.

But the good tracks on this album are really really good, wonderful. The title track has been an ever present live staple since the release of the album, and totally deservedly. After hearing tons of great live renditions the original studio recording seems a bit short on energy, but the song is a classic in any shape. As is Afraid to Shoot Strangers, which sadly hasn't made any live appearances since the Blaze days. After a subdued, moody intro the band brings out a superbly radiant melody, which they keep varying until the end of the song, with an uptempo section spicing things up.

So the masterpiece department that was lacking on No Prayer for the Dying has been taken care of, and as the mid album "filler" material is of higher quality than that of its predecessor, with such fine tracks as Fear Is the Key, Childhood's End, Wasting Love, The Fugitive and Judas Be My Guide, the end result is a considerable step up.

A recommended album, but get the classics first. And the ones by the six man line-up. And perhaps some Blaze stuff...
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