SoHo 3667 - Iron Maiden

ROOTS CLUMSY ROOTS
1990-1994

Eddie T.Head on the bass! Dark ages ahead. Maybe scared by some harsh criticism about their sound, Iron Maiden get back to basics and look at the first era style. Steve has not much more to say than "we couldn't just do Seventh Son part 2, or stop there, so we went back"; I wonder why in the world they had to do Killers part 2. Bruce, on his own, hates the sound of this album and has his point, since there's already something called Dream Theater around in the world. Anyway, he has his space in his solo project founded during the sabbathical rest in year 1989 (Steve obviously rested producing a live video about the band, but that's another story).
Adrian is no longer with us, and this will cripple the efforts of everyone in the next years. He tried his own solo project (nice try, really), and doesn't know what he wants to do; well, nobody could foresee what would happen, at the time. In his absence, we have a legacy with the mediocre Hooks In You and the arrival of Janick Gers, capable of great melodic efforts on Bruce's project but mysteriously mad as soon as he joins the band. I don't know the reason, but I feel that nobody asked at the time what HE wanted to play, at least because Adrian left just a few days before recording No Prayer For The Dying. Well, that's already the commentary, so let's head on and see...

NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING

No Prayer For The Dying - 1990 Cover
No Prayer For The Dying - 1998 Remaster
Bruce Dickinson
Steve Harris
Dave Murray
Janick Gers
Nicko McBrain
 Holy SmokeBring Your Daughter To The Slaughter - Original Single Cover
Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter - Brain PackBring Your Daughter To The Slaughter - Signed Edition
NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING Tailgunner - Holy Smoke - No Prayer For The Dying
Public Enema Number One - Fates Warning - The Assassin
Run Silent Run Deep - Hooks In You
Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter - Mother Russia
Holy Smoke Holy Smoke - All In Your Mind - Kill Me Ce Soir
Bring Your Daughter...
To The Slaughter		 Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
I'm A Mover - Communication Breakdown

This is trivial. I mean: try to search the album and find something that goes over that damn cliche' that burden metal since its birth. Maybe No Prayer For The Dying, nice power ballad, or, well, even great, but that's the stop. Tailgunner is nice, ok, and a good crowd pleaser, Holy Smoke the same, the same even with Run Silent Run Deep (that still teaches you to get a catchy rythm) and on the stage-hymnal Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter, written by Bruce during his solo project for a horror movie.
Now, if you thing that Daughter To The Slaughter is the only song that is still played from that album, you can understand where the problem is. Retro is nice, old and bad not! Yes, they probably had fun and recorded in a relaxed state, but that's not my matter. This is not Killers part 2, its "how to write a perfect metal b-side in 10 lessons"! Talk about wasted opportunities.
Is it enough? Well, Martin loses his touch on this one, and Derek Riggs destroys Eddie life-story bringing him back with a bad drawing (on his behalf, I can say that it's only part of a bigger picture). Talk about a bad album... Not bad to be true, but not a single point better that "not bad", and I can't accept it from Iron Maiden.

FEAR OF THE DARK

Fear Of The Dark
Bruce Dickinson
Steve Harris
Dave Murray
Janick Gers
Nicko McBrain
 Be Quick Or Be DeadFrom Here To EternityWasting Love
FEAR OF THE DARK Be Quick Or Be Dead - From Here To Eternity - Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key - Childhood's End - Wasting Love - The Fugitive
Chains Of Misery - The Apparition - Judas Be My Guide - Weekend Warrior
Fear Of The Dark
Be Quick Or Be Dead Be Quick Or Be Dead - Nodding Donkey Blues - Space Station N.5
From Here To Eternity From Here To Eternity*° - Roll Over Vic Vella* - I Can't See My Feelings° - Public Enema Number One* - No Prayer For The Dying* (*CD/°Vynil)
Wasting Love Wasting Love - Tailgunner - Holy Smoke - The Assassin

Steve has something in his head, I know this. It's like No Prayer wasn't even recorded, but still not like Seventh Son came before. There is a more subtle change that I didn't get at the start (that's what commentaries are for, they make you think about things you didn't notice).
The lines are heavy and still powerful, but there are many acoustic moments, even an acoustic (even if played on the electric, talk about bad production) sounding disaster like Weekend Warrior (what the capital M of Meaningless was made for). The songs start to be longer, and the lyrics, well, the lyrics are just a bit better if sometimes rethorical. Again there a few relevant acts on this album, too few to make me say "resurrection"; I am happy with this album, don't misunderstand me, but it just could have still been much more.
Be Quick Or Be Dead starts like Where Eagles Dare and makes you understand where it would have ended with a bad sound (or maybe no sound at all?), and From Here To Eternity is the clumsy alternative to Running Free, trying to revive the Charlotte saga in the worst of the ways; well, at least it works as a crowd pleaser and the sound has got better. Afraid To Shoot Strangers just doesn't find his point, while Fear Is The Key is about how useless can be a "devilish" tone in the vocals if you aren't there with heart and mind like you were in 1988 (did you hear me, Bruce?). Wasting Love is another "could have been", and you feel a great void on a still good song. Then other two "between the other" songs and you get to one of the point of interest in this record, The Apparition: at first you'll try to use the CD as a freesbee, but then you will be caught by the lyrics and it will make sense. It's a strange song, but has its reason to be so I like it (much better anyway than classical songs without any reason to be, that's just an exercise). Judas Be My Guide is great, a masterpiece of heavy melody I won't easily forget, and I wish they play it live again; a song in which everyone seems to believe, finally. I won't waste other words about Weekend Warrior, rethorical trash as bad as it can be. The you get to Fear Of The Dark, which features not-so-great lyrics (I expect more depth from you, 'Arry) but has one of the best musical structures of Iron Maiden history, and his a stage favourite.
Side note about the end of Derek Riggs' empire of covers, and the new Eddie is scary but unnatural, and his definitely not himself with those ill advised red eyes (red? could you at least look at some of the old covers?). A tour is at start, but there's something more, a little event you should know of.

A REAL LIVE ONE - A REAL DEAD ONE
LIVE AT DONINGTON

A Real Live OneA Real Dead OneLive At DoningtonLive At Donington - Remaster
Bruce Dickinson
Steve Harris
Dave Murray
Janick Gers
Nicko McBrain
 Hallowed Be Thy Name
A REAL LIVE ONE Be Quick Or Be Dead - From Here To Eternity - Can I Play With Madness
Wasting Love - Tailgunner - The Evil That Men Do
Afraid To Shoot Strangers - Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
Heaven Can Wait - The Clairvoyant - Fear Of The Dark
A REAL DEAD ONE The Number Of The Beast - The Trooper - Prowler - Transylvania
Remember Tomorrow - Where Eagles Dare - Sanctuary - Running Free
Run To The Hills - 2 Minutes To Midnight - Iron Maiden
Hallowed Be Thy Name
LIVE AT DONINGTON ???
Fear Of The Dark (Live) ???
Hallowed Be Thy Name (Live) ???

If I miss the Fear Of The Dark tour is more for historical reasons than other. The first album to hit the shelves is A Real Live One, and I've already got the bootleg of Live At Donington, titled Maiden Europe by the never too thanked KTS. Anyway, the songs are not bad but something doesn't make sense, and I'm not talking about Derek being back with a blue Eddie (blue? what are all of you on, people? Peyote?). I terribly miss H, since without him we get all the troubles of the spectacular Janick who just cannot hit a note right while he fumbles with the cables.
Anyway, this is a above-average live album that pales in comparison with Live After Death, but comes at the right moment, with years of new material and the real bad idea of putting the songs in casual order. Could be worse, I think (and hope). The bad side is that Martin is leaving, and we remain with Steve Harris behind the console: the poor man can't understand that just putting everything louder doesn't make good results, and destroys the band sound (I say, 'Arry, at least learn how to balance the microphones, I did better with the levels of my garage band!). But the problem is elsewhere... Where? Could you please take a deep look to that little man screaming in the midst of the stage (nice backdrops, anyway)?
Yes, Bruce screams, but he's losing his soul, and you can tell it easily. He still has fun doing the clown, but not how it should be. This is not nice, and so you end with him telling "Steve, I must get out of here" during the stop before the second leg of the tour, now called A Real Live Tour. Steve manages to dodge the heart attack (that was close, anyway) and rages, not ready to accept it, but to no avail. The Real Live Tour must have been a nightmare, and that is clear from the album.
A Real Dead One has, finally, the right cover and the right package, but it is a sad adieu and Bruce hasn't the most little bit of energy during the shows. If you wach the recordings of the show, he tries, but he seems just out of place so many times, he seems almost afraid and lost. It's a sad adieu, I told you. Anyway, Iron Maiden is still there, and Bruce with them, in whatever condition, and the band is still able to blow to pieces any other metal band. Too bad things will never again be the same...
Goodbye Bruce, with all our heart.

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