Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
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Free Music Notes for Dance of Death
Free Music Review: Give Me Ed, Till I'm Dead!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been an Iron Maiden fan for as long as I can remember, and I have to say that this is quite possibly the best work they've ever done! I saw them live for the first time in San Diego on the Give Me Ed...Till I'm Dead Tour, and was completely blown away. I mean I've heard them live on their live CD's, but to actually experience them live in the flesh was unbelievable!! And not even six months later, my wife and I saw them agian in LA for the tour in support of this album.
It's obvious on this CD that any animosity that may have been in the band after Bruce Dickinson's departure and triumphant return to the band is water under the bridge. Everyone in the band is on the same page, and are dedicated to give their fans of almost 30 years exactly what they paid for.
From the infamous Niko McBrain's count off to start Wildest Dreams to the final cords on Journeyman, it's a good solid real metal album.
Although all of the songs great, the songs that really stick with me are No More Lies, Dance of Death, New Frontier, Pachendale, Rainmaker, and Face in the Sand. Bruce's vocals are off the charts, the three guitar assult of Dave Murry, Adrian Smith, and Janick Geres will beat you into submission, no one is wilder behind the drums than Niko McBrain, and the Matermind and bassist of the outfit, Steve Harris, proves that a band like this only gets better with age. This album can be compared to other classic Maiden albums like Number of the Beast, Powerslave, Killers, and Fear of the Dark.
Everyone talks about how great the music scene is now, but I just don't get it. All these so-called great acts to me are only interested in generating hits for airplay on either the radio or MTV. I want to see if they are still around in 30, 20, or even 10 years from now, because I think there's a shelf life to these bands. When you have bands like Iron Maiden, KISS, Slayer, and Judas Priest, they're not still around because they're generating hits on MTV. They're still around because they care about their fans, and they know that without the fans, they wouldn't be here today. Not like Metallica who sold-out to get their precious little grammy.
OK, enough of my rambling. I've gone off the subject here. To sum up the CD: Great Band, Great Songs, Great Musicianship, and most importantly of all, Great Fans!!! Up the Irons!!!!
Free Music Review: Superb -- one of Maiden's best!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been listening to Iron Maiden since the release of POWERSLAVE a couple of decades ago (geez, has it been that long?!). As most longtime fans of Maiden are aware, Maiden underwent a period of decline in the 90s that saw them put out a number of somewhat uninspired (though still competent) albums. But that's all water under the bridge now, as Maiden have made a triumphant comeback with BRAVE NEW WORLD and, now, with the even better DANCE OF DEATH.DANCE OF DEATH is easily one of Maiden's best albums. Yes, it's even comparable in quality to their classic works from the 80s (the first seven studio albums plus a couple of live recordings, including the godly LIVE AFTER DEATH). That's not to say DOD sounds exactly like old Iron Maiden; the style is still there, but the sound is more powerful and the music is considerably more complex. They really took advantage of the three-guitarist line-up on this album, with lots of multilayered riffs and harmonies that pull you right in. The lead playing on this album is exceptionally good -- the best I've ever heard from Maiden -- and the bass and drums are outstanding as well. Perfect production that lets you hear every instrument distinctly is another feature of DOD, and the lyrics are interesting as well.
My only criticism of DOD is that the "softer" parts of a couple songs seem to drag on a little bit longer than I'd like, but this is really a minor flaw that merely lengthens a couple of songs; it doesn't cut into the amount of "heavy stuff" at all.
DOD is packed with really catchy and memorable riffs and melodies, some of which can even give you goosebumps. After listening to this CD a few times, my favorite songs are probably "Wildest Dreams", "Montsegur", "New Frontier", and "Age Of Innocence"; the weakest song is probably "No More Lies," but really the whole album is fantastic. I noticed that the entire band contributed to the songwriting effort on DOD, and that might account for its fresh and innovative character.
I strongly urge everyone out there who thought Maiden was no longer relevant to pick up DANCE OF DEATH. This band deserves a tremendous amount of credit for putting out such a devastatingly powerful and intensely moving album.
Free Music Review: Comments...
Hit: 5 Stars
Having read the reviews, I've seen "true Iron Maiden fans" picking out their favorites, or even mention their favorite past Maiden tunes and CD's, and I see a tremendous diversity there: not everybody thinks 'Beast' is the best record; not everybody thinks Powerslave, or Hallowed is the best tune (great diversity on that argument, I'm sure).Anyway... but it does seem that everybody can find a tune or two that speaks to them on this release. For me, Montsegur is just the sort of "rip your head off" tune that really captivated me back in the 80's. But that's just me... I've seen many reviews that just call it a boring rip-off of their tear-your-head-off 80's stuff... whatever.
Likewise, I see some reviews praising the first tune and ripping the 2nd; others ripping the first and praising the second. Hey, if you like Maiden and don't have this yet: you're gonna like at least one or the other.
For me, this disc is superior to everything they've done since even before 7th Son... for me, it gives Somewhere in Time a run for it's money. And I am by no means somebody who is automatically happy with Maiden... I hated their 4 albums after 7th Son, and even Brave New World, while better than the previous four, didn't have me leaving reviews on Amazon.com. But again... that's just me.
Comment: I agree with the poster who hates the "pranced" line in Dance of Death. I already replace it in my head with "in a trance"... try it: much more Maidenesque too. Anyway... aside from that one line, that whole tune is very demented, and all the goofy parts reminiscent of a medeival dance make it so totally Iron Maiden, even though it's so completely new you're complaining about it.
Maiden fans: you know you're buying it. And you'll like it... if not all of it, enough of it to make it worthwhile. If you don't like Jannick, you still won't, but you'll be more than happy with the rest of the guys. I'm not a big Jannick fan, but I will say he's not as bad as before. Maybe Adrian is giving him lessons? LOL... anyway: if you're a Maiden fan, it's an obvious must-have.
Non-Maiden fans... who knows: there's a wide variety here, and if you want a good taste of Maiden, there's plenty to listen to.
Free Music Review: Took me too long to come back...
Hit: 5 Stars
Ok, I've been a huge fan of Maiden over the last 20 years. Iron Maiden to me has to have Dickinson and Smith. It' not Iron Maiden without them. So obviously I got pretty excited for Brave New World. It was great to hear them back together for that album, and overall it's a pretty good effort.
Back when Dance of Death was released, I heard Wildest Dreams. I didn't like it much when I heard it, and I sort of dismissed the album before hearing anything else. All I can say is that I made a BIG MISTAKE!
So, Wildest Dreams is still pretty weak overall. But most of the rest of this album is incredibly. Songs 2 through 5 quickly make you forget about song #1. Rainmaker is short by Maiden standards, but sets things up really nicely for the rest of the album. They should have led off with that tune. No More Lies is just insanely good. Montsigur is classic Maiden that truly rocks. Dance of Death is unbelievable. Throw in Paschendale, and you already have an album that tops just about everything out there.
So, I thought I had it all figured out, those were the best tracks on the album. Then, listening to the entire album in the background a week ago while working around the house, Face in the Sand is playing. As I start listening a bit closer, it pulls me in. This song is fantastic as well, so now that one is in the rotation.
Two days ago, same situation, except Age of Innocence is on and I start to listen a bit closer. Unreal, another amazing song that I just kind of overlooked. This one isn't typical Maiden, but is fantastic none the less. The January 2, 2006 review nailed it, check out the Dave Murray guitar solo. Really great stuff.
As for comparisons with all previous Maiden efforts...I dunno. It's all very subjective obviously. I think this may be one of their best overall. I know I am enjoying more than BNW.
I can't believe I almost let this one slip away, but better late than never. If you are in the same boat as I was, do yourself a favor and pick this up. If I was stuck on an island and could only listen to one band for the rest of my life, hands down I'm taking Iron Maiden with me...
Free Music Review: A Welcome Journey From The Masters! Metallica - Take notes!
Hit: 5 Stars
After hearing such trash and dribble this summer from METALLICA'S ST. GARBAGE album, it's still great to know that there is at least one classic metal band that doesnt keep trying to re-invent themselves and does what they want to do. Iron Maiden are simply the finest musicians in the business today and DANCE OF DEATH proves that once again.Three years ago I was excited to learn the boys were back and BRAVE NEW WORLD just blew me out of the water. To this day I have not stopped listening to that album. There is something that is so haunting about it and I thought for sure that IRON MAIDEN would never be able to top it.
I was wrong.
DANCE OF DEATH takes BRAVE NEW WORLD to the next level and the some. When the final track JOURNEYMAN is done turning at 7 minutes and 6 seconds, you will feel the same. Any MAIDEN fan knows that IRON MAIDEN doesnt write meaningless songs. Each piece in itself is is layered with so many levels and strikes a rich chord within. With each album we expect at least one or two great epic songs, (RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER, GHOST OF THE NAVIGATOR, ALEXANDER THE GREAT) and DOD gives us FOUR (MONTSEGUR, DANCE OF DEATH, PASCHENDALE, and JOURNEYMAN)!!! The first track, WILDEST DREAMS, is fast and catchy. I saw them this summer on GIVE ME ED 'TIL I'm DEAD and this is the song they opened with. I absolutely loved it! The album has its share of fast Maiden-esk songs and towering scores that make this album worth every penny. There is not one throw away song worth skipping through to get to the next track. DANCE OF DEATH is layered with 11 tracks that run two seconds shy of 68 minutes.
WILDEST DREAMS - 3:52
RAINMAKER - 3:48
NO MORE LIES - 7:21
MONTSEGUR - 5:50
DANCE OF DEATH - 8:36
GATES OF TOMORROW - 5:12
NEW FRONTIER - 5:04 Written by Nicko McBrain, AWESOME TRACK!
PASCHENDALE - 8:27
FACE IN THE SAND - 6:31
AGE OF INNOCENCE - 6:10
JOURNEYMAN - 7:06
If you are a new or old MAIDEN fan, get this album, learn it, live it, and get ready for the tour next year. DANCE OF DEATH is simply amazing!!!!!!! UP THE IRONS!!!!!!!!