The Dance Of Death discussion thread.

to me there's a lot of repetition in here - riffs and overall sound of songs especially. But it's expected of maiden.
I think they need to review their songwriting. The choruses suck. This time round I am actually getting sick of some of the choruses already. eg "NO MORE LIES... NO MORE LIES"....................... Bruce sings it about 15 times in one go.....

the song dance of death is quite cool though, i like that one muchly. Age of innocence is a nice change too.

Is it just me or is bruce's voice going? Sometimes when he tries to go high it just sounds strained....
 
There is some repitition there, but I think it all fits well. 'No More Lies' and 'Montsegur' are both rather repetitive, but it fits with the song. There isn't any stupid repitition like in 'The Angel And The Gambler', or 'The Mercenary' to be found here.

Bruce does not have the voice he used to, but having said that I think he actually sings in some ways better. He sounds brilliant on the softer stuff he has done in the last few years.
 
Got it this arvo from JB, after the first listen :headbang:
More Adrian and better use of the three guitarists :headbang:
Nicko's thanks to Jaguar Cars LTD :headbang: :D
Definately amongst the best material they've released in my lifetime :D
 
My copy should have arrived by the time I get home tomorrow. For some reason my expectations aren't as high as they were with BNW, but it should give me something to listen to while doing my crossword puzzles :).

All these X-Factor comparisons are very encouraging though...

W
 
Some more thoughts, cut & pasted from my journal:

There are three things I would like to say about about it:

1. Bruce hasn't bothered showing up to the studio, instead phoning in his performances. Just listen to him on "Montsegur" - he's dreadful. Probably his worst collective vocal performance since "No Prayer for the Dying".

2. They've obviously used outtakes from the "X Factor" sessions here and there. Check the first solo in "No More Lies" which sounds a lot like a solo from the previously-mentioned album. And there are other bits which sound like they're taken from the "X Factor" too. In fact, the intro to "No More Lies" sounds exactly like another "X Factor" song which I can't remember the name of. And the intro to "Montsegur" sounds like a heavier version of "Fallen Angel" from "Open Up and--"... no, wait, I mean "Brave New World".

3. "Wildest Dreams" is the best song on the album, closely followed by the excellent "Rainmaker". The rest is just meh. And I'm disappointed that "Age of Innocence" isn't based on the Edith Wharton novel of the same name - I was looking forward to a metal song about stuffy turn-of-the-century Americans embroiled in unconsumated love affairs.

Jury's still out on this one, I'm afraid. Maybe I should listen to the entire album before deciding whether it's good or not.
 
I really don't know what to think anymore. You people are scaring me somewhat.. :(
 
My opinions seem completely opposite to Spiffo's, except for the TXF thing, because certain parts do sound very TXF, but that is cool as both albums rock.

Bruce sounds great, not at his best, but good all the same, and MUCH better than NPFTD and FOTD era stuff. Also, 'Wildest Dreams' and 'Rainmaker' are my least favourite tracks.
 
Bruce isnt 25 anymore. I mean the singing in montsegur is somwhat fast, esp in the chorus so give the guy a break :) I think its great.

I have always been a little disappointed with Brave New World and still think its not worth all the hype it got, but DoD is great imo. Maiden :headbang:
 
hehe the debate rages on
i find wildest dreams pretty weak actually.
And i agree that bruce sounds awful on several of the tracks, but he does sound alright on some of the others.
edit: IMO Bruce sounds awful on some of the tracks basically because there is so much repetition with the vocal lines.. You hear it over and over and over again, and it seems to compound any imperfections (well it does for me)

Oh, does some of this song sound very much Blind Guardian like, or is it just me? Especially, 4 min -->. But it's more repetitive than BG :p

Ah, i guess all you can do is listen to the album and form your own opinion! ours sure as hell don't matter!!
 
I think this is gunna have to grow on me, I honestly don't know if I like it that much. I mean it's good, but I'm listening to Powerslave instead.
 
You know what I think is funny? In the 12 Wasted Years video he recounted when he was offered the job as singer, and he said that he said to Rod:

"I'm not going to wear all that black leather gear, and cut all my hair off and wear a... a frilly collar cos I'm not the same as the previous singer."

Look in the booklet. No frilly collar yet.
 
Spiff said:
"I'm not going to wear all that black leather gear, and cut all my hair off and wear a... a frilly collar cos I'm not the same as the previous singer."

Look in the booklet. No frilly collar yet.
:lol:

Seventh Son is one of my fave albums, so this will have to stand the test of time before I say it's better than that - and it might, but it is better than SIT.

Bruce's voice sounds fine to me, his voice has changed over the years and he sounds just as I expected him to.

I don't get any complaints about the sound, it's great.

At this stage, I am really enjoying the middle section of the album from Montsegur through to Paschendale (one of the top 5 epic's they've done). I LOVE New Frontier (go Nicko)! Gates of Tomorrow - the intro does sound reminiscent of Lord Of The Flies intro, but overall the song is heaps better.

Wildest Dreams is great. Not so sure about Rainmaker - it's not bad but I don't understand what the fuss is about. No More Lies is okay - definitely has a blaze era feel to it. The last three tracks - Face In The Sand, Age Of Innocence and Journeyman are all growing on me.

!:headbang:
 
:headbang: album!!

Picked it up from Utopia at midnight on Saturday.

I still think that the cover should have been devoid of the CG characters - just Eddie on the dance floor would have been awesome.

As for the music... Better than the BNW by a long way - more Adrian, more Bruce can only mean better songs. I have no preblems with Bruce's vocals - he is not a teenager anymore remember...

The mix... Shirley has done a better job this time (better than his last effort with DT) but it still needs to be sharper.

Great album none the less :headbang: :headbang: