Some of you people have really weird tastes. Half of you utterly hate the title track....and I just can't conceive that at all. Everything about it is amazing to me. The lyrics are visionary, the vocals are some of Bruce's most expressive and intricate ever and the riffing is unforgettable. Well, anyway.
Wildest Dreams (8)- Good, good, good song. Love the optimistic, energetic drive to it. Fine solos and subtle but effective lead guitar touches on the choruses.
Rainmaker (4)- Decent song, inspiring opening riffs, but the chorus is extremely weak. The fact that the entirety of the expressive vocal hook lies on the unexpressive and useless words 'that' and 'we' is a conceptual flaw that ends-up sounding stupid and unforgivable.
No More Lies (7)- Good main riffing, and an interesting idea for the chorus with the vocal/drum syncopation. Bruce's vocals are also particularly noteworthy towards the end of the track, but as said before by someone, it just doesn't sound entirely right. Could be the muddy production that saps strength from the instruments in thechorus, which should be direct and punchy to suit the structure.
Montsegur (8)- Yeah, the chorus is excessively happy, but it also works and flows well. The song is held-up by solid riffing, and the whole thing supported by compactness. The paradox between the happy sound of the track and the serious, historical and somewhat morbid lyrics is interesting, but not damaging.
Dance of Death (10)- Wow. I love this song. Structurally, it's solid and doesn't meander...it returns appropriately to the very strong and expressive main riff at effective times. Added on top of that some of Bruce's most detailed vocals in years and visually stimulating lyrics by Steve, and it's a classic Maiden epic.
Gates of Tomorrow (4)- Sometimes it interests me slightly, sometimes it plays and I don't even notice. Unspectacular chorus lets down otherwise fairly solid if unremarkable riffing.
New Frontier (5)- A little more interesting than Gates of Tomorrow, but still among the filler material of the album. Again, I think the production is burying a lot of the potential of these tracks, especially where the lead guitars are concerned.
Paschendale (10)- This took a long time to grow on me, and it's not among my favourite of Maiden long players, but I definately think it is deserved of a place amongst their greatest epics. It is dynamic and musically exactly reflective of the topical nature of the song. Everything from the riffing to the atmospherics is well composed and strung together into a great counterpart to Steve's emotive lyrics. A calm but powerful vocal chorus is thankfully sparingly used, structurally relieving that writing rut that can steer any material no matter how good into entirely predictable territory. Overall, a classic Maiden song.
Face in the Sand (6)- One of the best openings on the album....scratch that, the best opening to a song on Dance of Death. The new double bass use is an effective interplay with the slow and grandiose build-up common with modern day Maiden. Unfortunately, that double bass is overused. The unchanging pace becomes extremely tiresome as it drags on throughout the track, trampling over any dynamics the music underneath attemps. One of the poorest chorus melodies on the album doesn't help break the monotony either, but for its experimentation and awesome opening, it's overall a decent track.
Age of Innocence (7)- The other really 'happy' one....and it works too! It doesn't approach the epics of the album for memorable riffing, and because of the catchy chorus it's more fit for grouping with the rockers and filler tracks, but it is nonetheless among the stronger of either.
Journeyman (8)- An interesting experiment, and one that I think pays off. The previous two tracks don't really provide a good set-up for Journeyman to close the album with; the dropping energy from Paschendale to the drawn-out Face in the Sand, through to the neutrality of the standard rocker Age of Innoence doesn't leave much for the melancholy of Journeyman to wrap-up, but on it's own, it's successful. The acoustics are refreshing in their entirety and the track breathes real life as Bruce layers his epic vocals over the top of it. Some say it drags, and although it is chorus-based and structurally doesn't require such length to verify itself, the orchestral and sensitive nature of it is suited to the contemplative space some extra minutes can provide.
Overall then, 7/10.
A good Maiden album. I don't know if it'll be a classic, probably not, but it definately has classic material on it....and although I think I personally prefer Brave New World slightly, I think Dance of Death is the better album. Conceptually, it's a far more cohesive and depthful peice of work.
