Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
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Free Music Notes for Dance of Death
Free Music Review: Iron Maiden has proved again- 'Great Musicians'.
Hit: 5 Stars
I would rightly rate this album at four and a half stars, but had to give it a five, as four and a half is not an option. This will probably be the average customer rating eventually, like I saw at Amazon UK website.Dance of Death, is another great album by Iron Maiden, even bettering the previous album- Brave New World, which I would rate at four stars. Iron Maiden do not give the punchy spectacular heavy metal performances they gave on their 80s albums, but the quality of music is still intact though more subtle and somber with emotional and touchy tunes in the last two albums.
The album kicks of with a good track that has a punchy chorus, which would not have been that good if not for Bruce Dickinson (.I'm on my way...). The second song is really a great composition- Rainmaker. Listening to Bruce Dickinson sing is always a pleasure.
Dave Murray, full applause to him, composed Rainmaker. The third song written by the revered bandleader Steve Harris is also a good song with Dickinson reaching a high pitch while singing out the title of the song- `No More Lies'. `Montsegur', the next number in the album is really fresh and different coming from Iron Maiden, the last 2 parts of the lead guitars being very emotional and appealing. The title song `Dance of Death' did not impress me much; neither did the next track- `Gates of Tomorrow'. `New Frontier' has come out well in my view. `Panchandale' is another sorrowful song well written and composed. `Face in the Sand' has a terrific drumming performance, a good song with Dickinson singing at a high octave through out the song. I did not like the last two songs of the album very much.
I have been romancing Iron Maiden for 13 years now and have always been my favorite since I heard the album `7th son of a 7th son' which was the second album of Maiden I listened to. I think they are Musicians of the finest quality not even second to `The Beatles' or Jimi Hendrix. I know how great they are all. Iron Maiden has also outlived their time frame in my view. The band is 25 yrs old now, a sextet with its members over 45. This is one band, which is great for what they used to be, and what they are even today, cannot think of any other band that has been good for so long. Thirteen studio albums by Iron Maiden so far. The only album that let me down was `Virtual IX', it was also the only album by Maiden that did not enter the top 10 positions on the UK charts and stood at 16th. I wrote the band off after listening to the album `Virtual IX', but was forced to consider them again when I heard `Brave New World'.
Free Music Review: Wha's all this then?
Hit: 5 Stars
I should start by saying that apparently, I am an unusual Iron Maiden fan. Let me offer some examples: I really like the album Fear of the Dark. I think the band's first two albums were not very good, at least compared to their work for the next several years (but those early albums showed a lot of promise in hindsight). I don't think the "Progressive" or "Rejuvenation" era of Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son was all that good. And I think "Blaze" Bayley Cook (his real name, just to prove to you I'm no wanker, and I know what I'm talking about) was pretty good (granted, not as good as Bruce, but those are gigantic shoes to fill).
There seem to be mixed feelings on Dance of Death. I like it. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't have it's low points, but truthfully, can you name any albums that are completely excellent all the way through?
The low points to me are Wildest Dreams, Dance of Death, and Gates of Tomorrow. The rest of the album is pretty good by my standards.
I really like Rainmaker. It's really good instrumentally (Thanks Dave). I like No More Lies because of its buildup, and I also like the three guitarists' back-to-back solos--you can hear the differences in their styles if you pay attention. Montsegur is delightfully heavy, and it has an interesting topic. A lot of Maiden's best work is in songs with unusual subjects. New Frontier gets credit for being Nicko's first real song. No matter who wrote it, I think the bass and chorus are pretty catchy. Paschendale is a good war song. It also has the buildup style that I'm so partial to, and back and forth dynamics with the loud-quiet deal going on there. Face in the Sand is one of my favorites on the album. It's got real good lyrics and some nice synths in the intro. Age of Innocence is about crime in the East End of London, or so I hear. Either way, I like the chorus. And finally Journeyman, while possibly a bit longer than it needed to be, is an interesting part of the album. No electric guitars, but good music is good music, regardless of what instrument makes it.
Overall, I think this album is really good. If you're a pretentious, "I only like their old stuff before they got popular, because God forbid I like something someone else also likes" don't bother buying this. Just go waste your money on some crappy underground emo band before they get too popular. Otherwise, if you're a fan of Iron Maiden ranging anywhere from lukewarm to diehard, I'd say shell out the cash and get Dance of Death.
Free Music Review: "I Heard a Choir of Angels Calling Out to Me"
Hit: 5 Stars
Iron Maiden have always had a penchant for romantic, epic and, lets' face it, often preposturous lyrics accompianed by often repetitive and lengthy music featuring assailing guitars, crashing drums, same old same old bass patterns and operatic vocals. But almost no one has ever done metal music better or with more feeling than the aging rockers. They play with life and vigor, especially after the reaqusition of classic vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith on 2000s' "Brave New World." "Dance of Death" Maidens 13th studio offering, finds the boys of Maiden still in top form, picking up where "World" left off. Producer Keven Shirley is back, streamlining the band's sound but allowing the triple guitar attack more room for volume an presence while showcasing all three guitarists' exceptional talents. Guitarist Dave Murray has been with the band from the very start (and is my favorite of the three), and offers his talents on the cuts "Age of Innocence" and "The Rainmaker," which features the line in this title. If "Rainmaker" was given equal airplay in the U.S. as say, Linkin Park is now, it would easily ecplipse other singles. Like most of Maidens' music and "Death' in general, its' heavy, hard and fast but with more musical sensibility and melodicism than almost any other metal act playing now.
Guitarist Jannick Gers, while my least favorite of the three guitarists, still has formidable songwriting chops, and his best song is easily the thunderous and brash "Montsegur," not to mention the dark aged stylings of the title track. Also, Guitarist Adrian Smith shows what he can do with the kickoff track "Wildest Dreams" and the stirring epic "Paschendale." Also as a treat on death, drummer Nicko McBraine cowrites a song for the first time, the crunching and stampeding "New Frontier."
Also peppering "Death," are seven to nine minute epics that have always been on Maidens' studio efforts. And really the only one that fails to really engage is "No More Lies." "Paschendale," a WWI battlefield recount, rings with a sense of urgency while the eight-and-a-half-minute title track (detailing an encouter with a group of the dead) never loses steam or our interest. Volcalist Bruce Dickinsons' high flying vocals soar and give extra punch and earnestness to the lyrics, espescially on the tracks "Face in the Sand" and the quiet closer "Journeyman," which features acoustic guitars and melancholy strings, adding another dimension to the already dynamic "Dance of Death."
Free Music Review: A True Maiden Classic
Hit: 5 Stars
Iron Maiden has really out done themselves with Dance of Death (DoD). I have every Maiden CD out there, including their live CD's. DoD will end up ranking high with all their loyal fans. Their musical talent continues to expand and is capable of taking you to a whole other realm. The music is not only soothing, with a hint of classical undertones, but rocks with the best of them. People will say, they hit their marker with Seventh Son of the Seventh Son, but I will argue DoD has reached further musically. For a song by song list... here you go...
1. Wildest Dreams 6/10 - the weakest song on the album, its still good, but not a true Maiden classic.
2. Rainmaker 8/10 - at first I was not real sure, but it has continued to grow on me and is becoming one of my favorites.
3. No More Lies 10/10 - true classic, the lyrics combinded with the over all musical qualitity is definitve Maiden at their best.
4. Montsigur 8/10 - maybe its because its between No More Lies and DoD, this song gets over looked, but you will definately enjoy.
5. Dance of Death 10/10 - another classic and my favorite by far, song as a story you actually can follow along in your head and see the whole picture. A truly amazing work of art.
6. Gates of Tomorrow 7/10 - A good song, but will be one of those that you will not hear about in the future from fans. Kinda like To Tame A Land off the Powerslave CD. Good song, not rememberable.
7. New Frontier 8/10 - powerful song that just sucks you in
8. Paschendale 9/10 - the only reason it is not a 10 is because I think it actually could be a little better, don't get me wrong, I love this song, but there are a couple of points where I think a slight change would have made it a classic
9. Face in the Sand 10/10 - One fans may not speak much about as Dod or No More Lies will hog all the talk, but this song simply rocks and is a definate classic with the Iron Maiden sound
10. Age of Innocence 9/10 - another great song which gets you prepared for the Journeyman.
11. Journeyman 10/10 - the lyrics are amazing in this song as is the musical notes. A very heart touching melody that grips at you and forces you to sing a long. About at close to a ballad you will ever get with Maiden, but still gets to the core of traditional Heavy Metal.
Like I said, if your a Maiden fan, you must get this CD, it is one of their best and they have had so many. I can't wait for the next CD. MAIDEN IS BACK!!!
Free Music Review: WTF is with all the bad reviews?!?!?!
Hit: 5 Stars
The people giving this album such low ratings are probably old-timer Maiden fans who have been listening to the band since the Killers/NOTB era. These are the kinds of people who keep complaining that the band will never reach their glory days. Due to these fans' closed-mindedness, they miss the point completely. Yes, the production sucks, and yes the band isn't that original anymore. Now riddle me this: what band *is* original nowadays? Pretty much all modern albums have sucky production in one way or another, thanks to abuse of technology. 'Dance of Death' is a thumpin' good Maiden album, a marked improvement over the rock-solid but not mind-blowing 'Brave New World'. I, against popular opinion, happen to think "Wildest Dreams" is a great song, maybe not one of the best in the Maiden canon, but a driving, upbeat tune that gets me amped. The only track I think could use improvement is "No More Lies", but that song, to me, sounds like a holdover from the 'Virtual Xi' era. People also have to note that Maiden's lyrics have never been spot-on, and this album is no exception. What they need to realize is that Maiden's breadth of lyrical **themes** has few equals. On this particular disc, they tackle topics such as divorce ("Wildest Dreams"), the Last Supper ("No More Lies"), the Albigensian Crusade ("Montsegur"), bio-engineering ("New Frontier"--bravo, Nicko!), a famous WW I battle ("Paschendale"), and 9/11 ("Face in the Sand"). Oh, and did I mention that Bruce Dickinson is still in top form, even after an illustrious 20+ year career in hard rock and heavy metal? Compare him with Rob Halford, who, while still a great singer and performer, does the banshee-scream a little more than I would like. I also thoroughly enjoyed the performance given by the three axe-men. Janick, on this album as well as BNW, proves he deserves a home in Maiden.
Let me just reiterate my disgust for the people who gave this album only 1 or 2 stars. These fans have their heads stuck in the 80s and need a good dose of reality. Yes, Maiden will never top 'Powerslave' (IMNSHO, their finest output), and yes Maiden have been overshadowed by some of the very bands they influenced (Opeth or Dream Theater, anyone?), but Iron Maiden is one of the proud few bands, metal or otherwise, who are artistically relevant today and can school any mainstream band in their path, and that's no joke.