90's Maiden with Dickinson

[sixxswine]

Years ago I had copies of No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, between people borrowing them or kids scratching the hell out of them they were never replaced. I was at a used record...errrr cd shop and picked up both the albums in their '95 Castle Records exanded editions in pristine condition...after listening to them both extensively I still feel the same about them they have a few number of choice cuts followed by filler... between the two records they would have made a good album. I saw Maiden on The No Prayer for the Dying tour where the band had gone from playing in arenas (in this area) to playing in an armoury....That's also been the last time Maiden has played in Oregon...

 

[poundingmetal74]

No Prayer for the Dying is one of the only Maiden albums I can listen to front-to-back. Other than Bring Your Daughter, it really didn't have many stand out tracks, but the album flows nicely and all the songs are pretty good.

Fear of the Dark has my favorite Maiden track (Be Quick) but beyond about 4-5 songs, I thought there was a ton of filler on it. Some really good tracks on it too, however.

 

[desert_demon]

No Prayer for the Dying is Maiden's "forgotten" album, one that came and went with hardly anyone even noticing. And there's a reason for that, the album as whole is by the numbers and really sounds like the band had run out of steam. The only track I can remember as a stand out is Tailgunner which was kind of Aces High part 2.
Fear of the Dark is slightly better if only for its title track which is a great song that is rightfully included in Maiden's live set to this day. The rest of the album has it's moments, like Be Quick or be Dead so I put it above No Prayer for the Dying as an album.

 

[bt9x]

i think for the most part they're both decent albums-but i lean more towards "Fear of the Dark"

 

[sixxswine]

No Prayer for the Dying is Maiden's "forgotten" album....really sounds like the band had run out of steam.

Fear of the Dark is slightly better if only for its title track which is a great song that is rightfully included in Maiden's live set to this day. The rest of the album has it's moments, like Be Quick or be Dead so I put it above No Prayer for the Dying as an album.

I feel about the same as you. Fear of the Dark does 4-5 great tracks on there too much filler though...

 

[Platinum Maze]

Though there's one song on each that I absolutely cannot stand - Holy Smoke and From Here to Eternity - I like both albums better than all that have followed (BNW is the closest).

I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a huge fan of the song Fear of the Dark. There are at least 6 or 7 songs on that album I'd rather hear.

 

[poundingmetal74]

I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a huge fan of the song Fear of the Dark. There are at least 6 or 7 songs on that album I'd rather hear.

Seconded. It's not a bad song but it's not that great either.

 

[SoundMaster]

I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a huge fan of the song Fear of the Dark. There are at least 6 or 7 songs on that album I'd rather hear.

Same here. Good song, indeed, but far better tracks can be found on either of these 90s records.

I've actually grown to prefer "Prayer" by a slim margin. There are indeed some great tunes there: Tailgunner, Public Enema, Running Silent, Mother Russia, the title track. I also really like Holy Smoke.

FOTD has its moments, too (if you can get past Bruce's dreadful "performace"). Strangers, Childhood's End, Judas, etc. Be Quick is more or less ruined by Bruce's screeching....but the music is great.

 

[Wyvern]

Basically IMO '90s Maiden was the beginning of the decline of the band (so no use to blame Blaze entirely for it). NPFTD was my last Maiden on vinyl (still have it transparent red) and despise the madness that 'Be Quick Or Be Dead' set on me to run and bought FOTD in the middle of my workday (ah those days...) the album as a whole miss it. Like some have said too many fillers. Actually I can save from both albums (being strict fan):

'Public Enema Number One'
'Run Silent Run Deep' (pure Maiden)
'Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter'
'Be Quick Or Be Dead'
Childhood's End
'Judas Be My Guide'
'Fear Of The Dark'

and of course all Bruce solo albums since he departed and returned are better than Maiden material since 1988 (I know this will cost me being stabbed at night by Paula in Atlanta )

 

[Platinum Maze]

I've actually grown to prefer "Prayer" by a slim margin. There are indeed some great tunes there: Tailgunner, Public Enema, Running Silent, Mother Russia, the title track. I also really like Holy Smoke.

I also like the song Fates Warning.

From FOTD, I like Judas, Wasting Love, & BQOBD...but Fear is the Key is my favorite song on that album.

 

[mdmatt4ever]

x factor is the best 90's maiden album. hell it may be the best maiden album since anything in the 80's. the 3 new bruce albums follow the same formula as x factor but none of them are as dark and the formula never worked after that album. maiden use to have about 5-7 songs less than 5 minutes and then 2-3 6+ minute tunes. since x factor they have 3 tunes on each album less than 5 minutes and then 7-9 6+ minute tunes where the chorus just seems to be the name of the tune repeated 30 times

 

[HamburgerBoy]

No Prayer for the Dying is one of my favorites, but I overplayed the crap out of it and haven't listened to it in two years now. That it's one of their most straight-forward albums probably doesn't help it with respect to longevity. Fear of the Dark is just a fillerfest.

 

[Caveman Ninja]

The first metal tape I ever got had No Prayer on one side and Powerslave on the other... at the time I liked them both equally, but as I got older I found No Prayer to be worse and worse... I'm still fond of it though. Fate's Warning is a really underrated song. Dave writes some of the best songs. The production on the 90s albums in general kind of sucks. No power to the drums, and Bruce croaks too much.

When Fear of the Dark came out I loved it, but again, it has aged badly. It's one of my least favourite now. But still has some gems like Childhood's End and Judas Be My Guide. And Be Quick will always be a storming good tune...

X-Factor is my favourite 90s Maiden album I think, their most coherent since 7th Son... AMOLAD has the same dark vibe... I love it!!

 

[No-Mercy]

i love FOTD! no prayer is decent.

NP i dont care for the first 2 tracks (tailgunner/holy smoke) too much, and same goes for "bring your daughter"...other than around 3:15-3:40.

other than that...i think the album is decent. public enema, fates warning, the assassin, no prayer...i think are all good tracks.

FOTD i like much more as a whole though.
the only song i dont really like is wasting love. i think the rest are great.
be quick, afraid to shoot strangers, childhoods end (which reminds me of clairvoyant alot...just the feel to it), FUGITIVE!, chains of misey, weekend warrior, of course FOTD.

idk, think no prayer is a very mediocre album, for them especially, but FOTD i think is great.

 

[ElectricWiz]

Maiden's legend is secure now, but these are all relevant comments. People remember grunge as having killed metal, so to speak, but if your honest you have to admit that metal wasn't doing itself any favors in the 90s. It's easier now to look back on those albums with some facet of fondness, including the Blaze stuff, but at the time things were pretty bleak. If Bruce hadn't come back Maiden would either have been done for or relegated to the bargain bin, mid-sized halls, once-were-great category.

Same thing for Priest. While there are a good few tracks on each, after Turbo and Ram it Down I remember thinking, "Well, that's that...." Same things for Saxon, and there can be no question why Metallica and the thrash stuff took hold. A few of metals legends were coasting right around that time.
Mind you, quality was still to be found here and there...but for a few years there near everyone forgot who they were and what their strong suits were.
All's well that ends well though!

 

[Platinum Maze]

where the chorus just seems to be the name of the tune repeated 30 times

so true.....this is also my problem with the song Fear of the Dark.

 

[sixxswine]

6+ minute tunes where the chorus just seems to be the name of the tune repeated 30 times

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slauuuuuuuuuuughter!
Let her go, let her go, let her go!

I was friends with this guy that make fun of Motley Crue's Girls, Girls, Girls
he used to say "that song is just the fucking chorus over and over again there's nothing to it. You'd never hear Iron Maiden put out shit like that!" Needless to say I took a lot of pleasure when I brought to his attention:

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slauuuuuuuuuuughter!
Let her go, let her go, let her go!



Like you said it's repeated a bit too much....

 

[Wyvern]

Like many have pointed playing a chorus ad nauseum is a big deterrent for me to like a song. I think the magic sometimes is to push the envelope of repetition just before one jumps, if you can make it so then the song will work (unless you're very sensitive).

I think FOTD as repetitive as can be is a great song to play live (no wonder they used it on this tour) with the audience, as for BYDTTS I never cared because the song is so damn silly that works for me.

And just for the record the thread as conceived is about 90's Dickinson albums, so no point in quoting those with Blaze (but you can do it after all this is UMOS! )

 

[poundingmetal74]

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slauuuuuuuuuuughter!
Let her go, let her go, let her go!
Like you said it's repeated a bit too much....

I love that line, and song. The song would be boring if they said the line once. The whole point of that song is to repeat that silly line.

And since when is music supposed to be taken seriously? "Oh no! Maiden's having fun with their music! Sell outs!" Anyone who takes music seriously is a pretentious asshole. It's entertainment, not brain surgery.

 

[No-Mercy]

then again, is anyone really upset with "bring your daughter" or the likes because of the chorus? i mean...that's their style alot of the time