Cursed with Oblivion

IRON MAIDEN - Dance of Death

First there was "Wildest Dreams." A new Iron Maiden song presented during the band's live shows last summer. A simple rocker that didn't really come up to the expectations of many fans. And then there was the cover… A weird, ugly and not quite professional-looking picture that was meant to represent the album.

Fortunately, with the release of "Dance Of Death" we could make sure that neither the single nor the cover is really represetative of the album's character. Before the record came out, we could read some interviews where Steve Harris claimed that "Dance Of Death" would contain more straight-forward muisc and more influences from the 70's rock. And indeed, I would call the album less progressive-sounding than its predecessor "Brave New World." But at the same time we can find here also many long, epic songs (6 tracks last longer than 6 minutes). There are also quite many orchestral elements on the album, plus Iron Maiden recorded a fully acoustic song ("Journeyman") - something we don't often hear on the band's releases (the last time they did something similar was "Prodigal Son"on their second album "Killers"). I would describe the atmosphere and the sound of "Dance Of Death" as a combination of "Piece Of Mind" and "The X-Factor." The production and the mix are more guitar-oriented than on many other albums. Drums and bass guitar are a bit more in the background. Even the voice of Bruce is sometimes a bit inferior. All guitarplayers are doing a great job on all the songs. The guitar sound is clear, and I really like it that we can hear all 3 guitars very well. I would call most of the songs on "Dance Of Death" pretty catchy, yet quite atmospheric and very much guitar-oriented.. Even after the first listening you might already remember some choruses or bridges or some guitar motives.

Let's face it - the first song, the single "Wildet Dreams" - is the weakest and least interesting composition here. It stays in your head for a long time. Still I wouldn't call it a great, memorable song. It is not because of its simplicity; it's more about the lack of a really good melody and interesting musical content. Personally, I'm not that fond of "No More Lies," either - the first long song on the album. Usually I love epic songs, but this one might be one of the least impressive epic tracks in the Maiden career. It has definitely a beautiful intro with really nice guitarwork, though it reminds me a bit too much of "Clansman." I would even call this song a bit boring at some places. Too predictabe maybe… "Journeyman," the acoustic track that I have mentioned earlier, is no highlight for me, either. Again a very nice song, with a nice melody, but somehow it sounds too sweet. Too "Christmas-like." I also get the impression that the voice of Bruce (especially in the chours) does not really fit to the calm music. Interesting, but not impressive.

Luckily, there are still 8 more songs on "Dance Of Death." 4 of which are good, the other 4 VERY good.

"Montsegur" is a solid rocker that at some places reminds me of "Fallen Angel." It has only a way better chorus and a very nice interaction between the vocals and the guitars. That's what I like most about this track. "Gates Of Tomorrow" is again a pretty fast song, with a good chorus and a nice bridge. "New Frontier," the first Maiden song with credits of Nicko McBrain that made it to an album, also contains a catchy melody. "Age Of Innocence" might not be the best composition on the album, but it contains a good faster piece in the middle and some quite interesting guitar parts.

Now let's talk about crème de la crème on "Dance Of Death :"

- "Rainmaker" - an extremely catchy up-tempo song, with a great guitar motive and addictive bridge/chorus.

- "Dance Of Death" - an impressive epic song, with a great acoustic build-up, orchestral elements, very good vocals of Bruce and a cool guitar melody (a bit in the vein of "To Tame A Land"). A memorable composition with many great parts and motives.

- "Paschendale" - the highlight of the album. For me the best song on "Dance Of Death." A great intro, a bit reminiscent of "Virus" where calm parts exchange nicely with more heavy passages. I love the guitars in this song: heavy riffing, good solos, great melodies. I cannot wait to hear this song live.

- "Face In The Sand"- again a good intro, with a bit of suspense. An interesting keyboards-sound, which adds a lot to the mood of this track. It is also a special song in the Maiden repertoire, since it's the only one containing a double-bass drum.

Some comments about the vocals: Bruce Dickinson's singing on "Dance Of Death" might be not his greatest vocal performance ever. He is my favourite male singer. However, I think he sounds generally much better live than on studio recordings. He sounds here a bit more rough than e.g. on "Rock In Rio" live album. He delivers really great vocals on the title track and "Paschendale," but on the other songs he sounds like singing has become more of a routine for him. Anyway, I'm sure he will do a wonderful job during the next Maiden tour.

"Dance Of Death" might not be an innovative masterpiece, but we can definitely say that Iron Maiden produced a very solid Cd. I would describe it as an album of great intros, catchy choruses and fantastic guitarwork.