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by robert taliana (RAmst23) / louis morton (louielouie) - Nov 01, 2003
Iron Maiden - Dance of Death Review #1 - Lou Morton Iron Maiden have been wielding heavy metal albums for over two decades now and on their latest, Dance of Death, they show that they have this down to a pretty fine craft. On this, their 13th album, the six leather clad gentlemen of Maiden put together eleven solid metal tracks that are sure to get fans banging their heads in no time. From the fires of the Dance of Death also come a few fist-pumping ballads and even a couple up beat catchy sing a longs. The album kicks off with a very catchy pair of songs. ‘Wildest Dreams' and ‘Rainmaker' are fast and upbeat and contain very positive lyrics that might even make the listener want to go out and seize the day before death can take it away. The following songs slow down to a more churning metal pace and are chock full of finger tappingly good guitar solos and lyrics that touch on chasing dreams and facing death. The opus of the album would most likely be the eight minute long title track which has everything a metal song should, the slow melodic intro, crashing chorus, screeching guitar solo, and haunting lyrics. The album closes with the musically softer and lyrically positive ‘Journeyman' which tells the tale of a man who seems to be very content with his life after a long, hard travel. Everything about this album is epic and with a running time of over an hour it is a little difficult to get through the whole thing in one sitting; one can only take so much head banging before their neck gets sore. But aside from the length, there aren't many things wrong with Dance of Death. Even if Maiden have been around for 20 years they prove here that they will most likely be around for a few more before they dance with death. Review #2 - Rob Taliana Some bands are lucky if they produce one, maybe two albums and still remain in the public eye. If they still have fans buying their records 5 years later, good for them. In music, Iron Maiden is the definition of " This band started before you were born, and dammit, we can still produce CDs that sound like we still know how to rock even though we should be in a home eating jello and going to bed by 9." Dance of Death is classic Maiden, and Maiden is classic hard rock. When listening to Dance of Death, do not expect to be blown away by a new brand, new style of music. DoD is just a continuation of what Iron Maiden is and has done year after year. Don't look for "The Number of the Beast 2" either, just look for Bruce Dickinson to be hitting the high notes... albeit not as powerful or passionate as he used to be. The lead voice of Maiden is the biggest change, with Dickinson showing his age on tracks 1 through 11. He can no longer hit the operatic ranges that he used to, but still he does a respectable job throughout the CD. The guitar work, as always with Iron Maiden, is very good and some fun solos can be found throughout DoD. Don't worry you fans of 6 minute long songs plus, more than half of the tracks are just that. Most of these lengthy ballads don't seem drawn out, but at times you'll be checking the timer on your stereo hoping they will stop sometime in the near future. This is to be expected from Iron Maiden though, and long songs are what the fast forward button was made for. Iron Maiden is an aging rock band, and they deliver as such. If you are an Iron Maiden fan, pick up Dance of Death, because your a fan of Iron Maiden and if you own the other 76 CDs, you might as well own this one too. Otherwise, pick up "The Number of the Beast," and listen to Maiden in its prime when they talked about invaders and running to the hills. |