nicko mcbrain

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Dance Of Death (2003)

Part 32 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Dance Of Death (2003)

Dance of Death (Iron Maiden’s 13th studio album and 2nd since the triumphant return of Bruce and Adrian) is yet another monster filled with dramatic metal. Yes, I do find it slightly inferior to the previous album, Brave New World, which was near-perfect for its time. However, Dance of Death should not be dismissed. There are Iron Maiden classics here to rival material from the glory days, plus deep album tracks worth listening to.

First I want to mention the album cover — for the second time, Iron Maiden have done what I consider to be a terrible cover! (I consider the original No Prayer cover to be almost as bad.) I’d never wear this on a T-shirt! This is awful, awful, awful! This is, by far, the worst album cover Maiden have ever used. If you look carefully there are mistakes all over the place, such as the baby’s foot going through the wolf! Fortunately, the inner booklet is much better. Like a ghostly version of the orgy scene in Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, the indifferent band are surround by masked, topless, phantom women.

Onto the music!

I found Bruce Dickinson’s voice on this album to be weaker than Brave New World. My personal feeling at the time (and this is just my opinion) was that the band rushed into recording too soon after touring. As such, Bruce’s voice sounds more worn out, similar to the way it did on No Prayer. The rest of the band is as strong as ever, and all six members write. Even Nicko McBrain, who gets his first-ever writing credit…”Mission From ‘Arry” notwithstanding!

The album starts with the first single, and unfortunately one of the weakest songs. It is the brief Smith/Harris rocker, “Wildest Dreams”. This ain’t a “Wicker Man” nor a “Tailgunner”. It’s lacklustre, and I have no idea why it was chosen as the first single.

The second single “Rainmaker” follows, a much better song. Bruce’s voice seems stronger here. The vocal and guitar melodies are excellent and memorable. Great chorus, great guitar lines, good choice for a single.

“No More Lies” is next, and the only weak thing about the song is that it follows the same formula as the Brave New World tunes — too much repetition in the chorus. There’s only so many times you want to hear, “No more lies, no more lies, no more lies, no more lies!” Alright! I get it already! Bizarrely, this was the third single (technically an EP) even though it’s over 7 minutes long.

Next is the first historical epic of the album, “Montségur”. One of the fastest and heaviest songs on the album, it is lyrically better than it is musically. Musically, it stumbles a bit, with the vocal melodies not fitting quite right and the lyrics sung too fast.

Finally the album really picks up steam with the centerpiece, “Dance of Death”. Beginning slow with some nice clean picked guitar and ‘Arry’s bass, Bruce sings of a strange night when he’d “had one drink, but no more.” This is a classic, a fantastic song lyrically similar to “Number of the Beast” but musically a beast of its own.  Some critics likened it a bit too much to “Stonehenge” by Spinal Tap.  Well, fair enough.  It does share some similarities, especially when the dwarves start dancing!  But admit it to me:  You liked “Stonehenge”, didn’t you?  I did!

“Gates of Tomorrow” and “New Frontier” (co-written by McBrain) are up next. Both are strong rockers, typical Maiden album fare.  Perhaps nothing that needs to be performed live when your canon is as strong as Maiden’s, but nothing skip-worthy.

“Paschendale” is arguably the best song on the entire album. Another historical war epic, this one was written by Adrian Smth and Steve Harris. It is pure, classic Iron Maiden. Clocking in at 8:28, there is not one dull moment in the entire song. Often I find myself skipping back to hear it again. Lyrically it is very powerful, bringing to mind the muddy stinking conditions of the trenches in World War I. Musically this is among the very best songs Maiden have ever composed. This was also released in an orchestral version but I’ll discuss that later on.  (How did they do that eagle screaming sound?  Is that a guitar?)

It’s hard to follow a song like that, but “Face In The Sand” is another great album track, memorable and heavy.  Again, not really worthy of the live set, but certainly not a bad song by any stretch.

I have always been partial to the rare songs that Dave Murray writes, such as “Deja Vu” or “Still Life”. “Age of Innocence” has a powerful memorable chorus and is a personal favourite. If I had been in charge at EMI, this would have been a single instead of “No More Lies”. After hearing it once, you cannot get the chorus out of your head.

So we only get one chance, can we take it?
And we only get one life, can’t exchange it
Can we hold on to what we have? Don’t replace it
The age of innocence is fading…Like an old dream

The album ends with one of most unique Iron Maiden songs ever written. “Journeyman”, which sounds to me like a Dickinson baby, is a quiet acoustic number with orchestral backing. Don’t call it a ballad! This is a quiet epic, a new kind of Maiden sound that they were able to expand upon in later albums.  The choruses are powerfully sung by Bruce.  It’s certainly one of the most adventurous tunes Maiden have done, simply because it is so different from anything in their past.

And that’s the album. It is easy to see why Dance of Death does not sit will with some fans. Some of the early songs suffer from repetition again. Bruce’s voice is not as strong as the previous album (to my ears). You have to listen to it multiple times to get into some of the tracks. I can see some fans, whose tastes are more narrow and specific, not wanting to give Dance of Death another chance. That’s a shame because this is a good Iron Maiden album. Not among their top three, or even the top five, but Iron Maiden do not have very many weak albums.

I mentioned the orchestral version of “Paschendale”. There are three singles to be collected from this album:

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1. “Wildest Dreams”: B-side was a very funny and rare jam session by Iron Maiden called (ha ha!) “Pass the Jam”.  There are also other tunes on the different editions.  The CD has an orchestral mix of “Blood Brothers” from Brave New World, while the DVD has a “rock mix” of both “The Nomad” and “Blood Brothers” from the same album.  I do not have the DVD single, and Christmas is coming if you feel generous!  The orchestral version has, unsurprisingly, more orchestration.  The rock mixes are very similar to the album versions, perhaps the rhythm guitars are louder in the mix.

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2. “Rainmaker” contained a dramatic orchestral version of “Dance of Death” and a second jam session called “More Tea Vicar”.  This is another jokey tune featuring Bruce rapping!  The Japanese single, which I recently acquired from eBay (so recently that it actually arrived TODAY) at an excellent price has two exclusive live tracks!  It even had the obi strip intact.

The live tracks are 2002 live recordings of “The Wicker Man” and “Children of the Damned” at Brixton, but the vocals on “Wicker Man” aren’t mixed high enough.  “Children of the Damned” is in the only live version available featuring the six-man lineup, and my God does it smoke!  It really benefits from the three guitars, and Bruce nails that scream at the end.  The domestic single lacks these two live tracks.  Who wants my old copy of the domestic?  Speak now or forever hold your peace.

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3. No More Lies: Technically an EP, I’ll do a full review of this one next.

4.25/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Edward The Great (2002)

Part 31 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Edward The Great (2002)

“If you have purchased this then you have no doubt heard of Iron Maiden at some point during the band’s career over the last two-and-a-half decades.” – from the liner notes by Steve Harris

Clearly this CD (released simultaneous with the Eddie’s Archive box set) was not designed for the existing Iron Maiden fans.  The die hards were not the intended target market, they got the box set to satisfy them.

In fact, Maiden wisely made the cover art (a ho-hum piece by someone named Tom Adams) available for free download.  They knew some fans would just want it, and didn’t to force them to shell out for an album full of songs they already had.  Again.

Yes, this was Maiden’s third compilation CD since 1996’s Best of the Beast.  To keep things interesting, at least they shook up the format a bit.  Unlike Beast, this is not a career spanning anthology.  Unlike Ed Hunter, the fans did not vote on the tracks.  Edward the Great was a simple chronological compilation of singles from 1982 to Brave To World.  It ends with a recent track, a live version of “Fear of the Dark” from 2001’s Rock In Rio disc.  I don’t understand the lack of Di’Anno tracks while still including two Bayley songs.

(NOTE:  Maiden have also re-released the disc with an updated tracklist.  I don’t have that, so I can’t really talk about it.    Except to say it still has Blaze stuff on it!)

There’s an attractive booklet but not enough pictures.  For a CD called Edward the Great, I think a few Eddies from the past would be in order.   Oh well.

With the exception of the Blaze material, which simply breaks up the flow of the disc, every song belongs here.  You could argue about exclusions, certainly.  Most conspicuous by its absence is “Aces High”.  You could also make a case for including the original studio version of “Fear of the Dark”.  Playing Devil’s advocate, perhaps Maiden included the live version to demonstrate the power of an Iron Maiden concert to the initiated.

Whatever the case may be, as a greatest hits set I find this one lacking a bit.  Considering the format, I would have chosen to call it the “Bruce years” and remove the Blaze tracks.  Then you’d have room for two more classic singles (perhaps “Aces High”, “Tailgunner”, or “Be Quick of Be Dead”.  As it stands I don’t understand excluding Di’Anno classics in favour of more recent Blaze material (two songs that they weren’t playing live anymore anyway).

1.5/5 stars.  Better compilations were to come.

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Eddie’s Archive (2002)

Part 30 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Eddie’s Archive (2002, limited edition)

Eddie’s Archive was released simultaneously with another (!) greatest hits compilation called Edward The Great.  We’ll talk about that one next.  This is the real meat of it all!

This box set defines limited edition. I’m not sure how many copies were made, but the first printing with blue inlay was sold out nearly immediately. That’s the version I have. It was soon reissued with a red inlay to differentiate it, but even it is long out of print.

Inside you will find three individually packaged jewel cases, each containing 2 CDs for a total of 6 discs. These three “double albums” (for lack of a better term) are:

BBC Archives
Beast Over Hammersmith
Best of the B’Sides

The main reason to buy this set are the first two albums, BBC Archives and Beast Over Hammersmith.  To me, the Best of the B’Sides only scratches the surface of the treasures to be found on the numerous Iron Maiden singles and EP’s.  And as loyal LeBrain readers know, I’ve talked about ’em all.

BBC Archives contains numerous goodies. It starts off with a rare four song session by an ealy version of Maiden featuring Doug Sampson (drums) and Tony Parsons (guitar). Listening to “Sanctuary” as an example, you can tell it’s a guitar player you’re not familiar with. This is Parsons’ only recording with Maiden, but “Sanctuary” was previously released on the very rare NWOBHM compilation that Lars Ulrich put together.  I love the pure fire and raw youth of these early recordings.  “Transylvania” feels very different from its album incarnation.  You can tell it’s a different drummer.  And of course since it is the BBC, they are expertly recorded.

From there it’s a scorching ’82 set with Dickinson at Reading. Then back to 1980 for a Di’Anno Reading set, and finally to 1988 for a Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (Donington) recording. All of these are pure smoke and it’s great to hear Bruce in peak voice. Unfortunately, on this album alone, you will hear “Iron Maiden” four times!  It is what it is.  You wouldn’t want them to leave any tracks out, would you?

Next disc has the ’82 Hammersmith show. A couple tracks from these were issued as B-sides on the “Run To The Hills” single from Rock In Rio. Anyway, like the BBC discs, this is pure smoke. It is a pleasure to finally have a full concert with Clive Burr on drums and Bruce in top form. Of course you will hear “Iron Maiden” and numerous others again. With a box set of this nature it’s inevitable. If you’re a Maiden fan, you don’t care.  Do you?

Finally, the B’Sides.  Everything here has been made available before on singles.  There is nothing truly “unreleased” here as far as Maiden goes. There’s also nothing that is previously unreleased on CD unfortunately, like Maiden Japan or “I Live My Way” from the “Man On The Edge” 12″ single. For me, these discs are more just a “best of”. There are some cool tracks here such as the Montrose cover “I’ve Got The Fire”. (Maiden chose Dickinson’s version rather than Di’Anno’s, which is fine.) Other highlights include the pop metal goodness of “That Girl” and “Reach Out”, as well as originals such as “Burning Ambition” and “Invasion”. The covers that Maiden selects are mostly obscure enough (Nektar? Marshall Fury?) that they may as well be originals.

Then you get some of Maiden’s little-known jokey material: “Sheriff of Huddersfield” for example. I’m not sure how well it works as an overall listen. I prefer the singles in their original context, personally. As I mentioned, this is far from a complete set, and you can argue all you like for what you would have included. Certainly you can make solid arguments in favour of the Thin Lizzy cover “Massacre” or the rare “I Live My Way”.

Each CD jewel case features its own extensive booklet with photos, Derek Riggs cover art, and liner notes, with the exception of Beast Over Hammersmith. That one contains a booklet which is a reproduction of the original tour programme! Works for me! Otherwise, there is no book for the box set itself.

What you do get includes a neat scroll with the Iron Maiden family tree on it, wrapped inside a metal ring. (I’m sure this family tree is loaded with errors like the previous one included inside A Real Dead One, I’ve never bothered to check.) You also get this cool shot glass with Eddie’s face in the bottom. A cool treat. The box itself is a shiny tin masterpiece. It snaps shut securely and it is very detailed and cool looking.

What are you willing to pay for this set? That’s entirely up to you, but if you don’t have it, expect to pay through the teeth. Personally, to me it’s all about the music. Decide how much you’re willing to pay for approximately four discs of previously unreleased Maiden and purchase accordingly.

For me? 4/5 stars!

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Rock In Rio (2002)

Part 29 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Rock In Rio (CD/DVD 2002)

With Bruce coming back and all, you just knew Maiden had to do a live album.  It would have been a great disservice not to do one.

Almost everyone and their pet Schnauzers will agree that Live After Death is the greatest live Maiden album of all time.  Some might even argue it’s the greatest live metal album of all time.  I would gladly invite any of those people over for perogies and conversation.

Where we start to differ is, what is the second best live Maiden album?

This is just LeBrain’s opinion, but I say it’s Rock In Rio.

I do remember carrying this in store when it was released in March 2002.  I also remember some customers saying, “Yeah, I’m not buying this one.  I don’t know any of these songs!”

Maybe they’d been living under a rock and missed the awesome Brave New World CD?  Whatever the case may be, I’m not the type that likes to buy the same live album over and over again.  Give me tracks that have never been released in live versions before.  Let me hear the new stuff, when it’s good enough to be on a live album.  And having enough good new stuff was not a problem for Maiden after Brave New World.

Maiden bravely started with an opening salvo of fresh music:  the first three songs from Brave New World:  “The Wicker Man”, “Ghost of the Navigator”, and the title track itself.  And the Brazilians went nuts.  Singing along at the top of their lungs, they clearly didn’t have the problem of not knowing the songs like my customers did!

Then, wisely, Maiden dug way back and pulled “Wrathchild” and Adrian’s classic “2 Minutes To Midnight” out of the hat.  And it sure is great finally hearing the old stuff played by the Three Amigos.  The three guitar lineup works so well, that I definitely never want Maiden to go back to two.

Another newbie is up next, “Blood Brothers”.  Once again, the crowd goes crazy singing along.  It must have been an incredibly loud night.

“Sign of the Cross” is the one I had been waiting for.  Anybody who felt that all the Blaze Bayley material would have been about 150 times better with Bruce singing will be happy campers.  “Sign of the Cross” is a brilliant song that finally reached it full potential with Bruce at the mic.   There is simply no comparison.

“The Mercenary” from Brave New World, and “The Trooper” provide a much needed fast-paced adrenaline boost after spending 10 minutes on the epic “Sign of the Cross”.   Bruce begins “The Trooper” with a stanza from Tennyson’s poem, but once he starts singing the crowd follows every word!  It’s hard to imagine how you could have even heard the band if you were in that crowd that night.

A couple more songs of recent vintage kick off disc 2.  “Dream of Mirrors” is one I personally could have done without, as its 10 minute length could have been taken up by two shorter songs.  But the crowd doesn’t seem to mind, clapping and screaming along with Bruce’s nightmare.  And then, “The Clansman”.  Once again, if anybody felt that the song never came to life with Blaze singing, then listen up.  This is a song that was built for performing live.

“Freedom!”  And once again, Rio goes wild.

And that’s it for the new stuff.  It’s nothing but back to back hits on the home stretch:  “The Evil That Men Do”, “Fear of the Dark”, “Iron Maiden”, “Number”, “Hallowed”, “Sanctuary”, and of course “Run to the Hills”.

Production by Kevin Shirley is crisp, clear, with great separation of the three guitars in the stereo field.  Absolutely no complaints.  And if that’s not good enough for ya, you can get the whole thing on a nice (5.1 surround) DVD package too.  The DVD in fact has some cool behind the scenes footage of all six Maiden members killing time.  Adrian likes to fish, for example.  It’s a chance to get to know all six members as people.

The single was “Run to the Hills” (again — third time this song was chosen as a single!) but I’m not going to bother discussing the B-sides too much.  While they are great, great vintage live recordings from 1982 with Clive Burr on drums, all of them were issued later on the massive Eddie’s Archive box set, as part of a live disc (and that happens to be our next stop anyway).  Check out the photos below for the tracklists.  “Total Eclipse”!  I like the painting of Bruce as Eddie.

“Scream for me Brazil!”  And scream they did.  And unless you’re stuck in the 1980’s like many of my old customers, you will too.

4.75/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Brave New World (2000)

Part 29 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Brave New World (2000)

Ed Hunter tour complete, the returned Bruce Dickinson and the boys hit the studio.  Steve had already begun writing several new songs while Blaze was still in the band.  Several of these made it onto the new album, with Bruce singing them instead.

Brave New World features the brand new three guitar lineup of Gers, Murray and Smith (aka “The Three Amigos”) for the first time in the studio. Steve Harris had flirted with a three guitar lineup very early in Maiden’s career. The original Iron Maiden lineup consisted of two guitar players named Terry Rance and Dave Sullivan. Neither were standout solists, but Dave Murray was. Harris’ concept was to bring in Murray as a third guitarist to solo over the other two. The other two didn’t like that idea and they split. Since then, fans have wondered what Maiden would sound like with three guitars. Wonder no more.

Brave New World is also the first full Maiden album produced by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley (he did the “Wraithchild” promo single prior to this), and features cover art partially done by original Maiden artist Derek “Dr. Death” Riggs. Anticipation ran high!

I was not disappointed.

Starting off with “The Wicker Man”, the first single, you can instantly hear all of Adrian’s  style and substance.  It’s such a welcome sound.  “The Wicker Man” has a slightly-“Two Minutes To Midnight”-styled riff, which leads into this short catchy blast of awesome.  “Your time will come!”

From there, it’s the slow and heavier “Ghost of the Navigator”, an equally strong song. Then, the title track “Brave New World” has chiming guitars, and soft verses with heavy choruses. It suffers from Repetive Chorus Syndrome, something that has really dogged Maiden since The X Factor.  Lyrically it seems to be an environmental theme, continuing with the real-world based style of writing from the previous albums.

Steve Harris’ “Blood Brothers” is next, which once again suffers from the repetitive chorus. Otherwise, a strong song. “Side 1” of the vinyl version ended with the lethal “The Mercenary”, fast and deadly.

“Side 2” kicked off with an epic track, “Dream of Mirrors”. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, it’s one of Maiden’s greater epics.  I would place this one pretty low on the list, especially with the repetitive chorus of  “I only dream in black and white, I only dream when I’m alive, I only dream in black & white to save me from myself.” OK then.

“The Fallen Angel” is next, and even though Bruce didn’t write it, I find it somewhat similar to some of the stuff on his Accident of Birth album. Then, another 9 minute epic! “The Nomad” is slightly middle eastern in sound, something they previously explored on “To Tame A Land” and “Powerslave”.  It is not, however, a standout track.

Second single “Out of the Silent Planet” is a cool sci-fi track about alien invasion. This is a fast one with one of those Dickinson choruses that you never forget. It was written by Bruce with Janick and Steve.  I’m quite fond of this song

The album closes with “The Thin Line Between Love and Hate”, almost 9 minutes in length and an underrated classic. I love the sparse ending to this song. You can really hear the guitars.  And Nicko’s outro!  “I fucking missed it!”

I love the three guitars.  It was a brilliant idea to have Adrian come back, but nobody else have to leave. Adrian Smith is the melodic one who writes his solos out in advance. Janick Gers is the manic, spontaneous one whose solos frequently sound out of control. Dave Murray is somewhere between the two, with melodic, but barely-in-control trademark Maiden guitars. With this mix, the solos are deliciously diverse and you can identify each player.

Shirley did a fine job on production, lending Maiden a powerful modern sound with big, big drums and clear, sparkling guitars.

There were of course singles to collect.  And collect them I did.  The fine cover art (some of the Maiden’s best in my opinion) was done by Mark Wilkinson, of Marillion/Fish fame.

 

1. “The Wicker Man” singles, parts 1 & 2 which featured the cool “Wicker Man” video, as well as several live tracks from the reunion “Ed Hunter” tour.  Of note were several Blaze era songs with Bruce singing.  This is the only place you can hear Bruce belting out “Futureal” and “Man on the Edge”.  They are also home to two smokin’ versions of the classics “Powerslave” and the awesome “Killers”.

2. “Out Of The Silent Planet” single, which had that video, and two more tracks from the “Ed Hunter” tour:  “Wasted Years” and “Aces High”.  With Adrian back in the band, this version of “Wasted Years” is superior to the one on the “Hallowed By Thy Name” single.

4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Ed Hunter / “Wrathchild 1999”

Here we go again!  Let’s continue.  Part 28 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Ed Hunter / “Wrathchild 1999” (1999 video game/compilation)

Blaze Bayley was done. Maybe it was the performances. Maybe it was time for a change. Whatever had happened, Steve Harris decided it was time for Iron Maiden to get a new singer.  Manager Rod Smallwood told him to meet with Bruce Dickinson, who wanted to make a return to Maiden and finish his career properly.  Harris was skeptical.  If Bruce quit once before, why would he want to come back?

After meeting with Bruce, Steve decided it was the right move.  But it wasn’t as simple as that.  Adrian Smith was in Bruce’s solo band, and Steve wanted him, too.

“Does that mean Janick goes?” asked Adrian, who was very much against the idea of forcing Janick Gers out of the band that he had spent the last decade in.

“No,” said Steve.  “I want a three-guitar lineup.”

And thus was formed the guitar trio known to metal fans worldwide as The Three Amigos.

Iron Maiden, with Bayley, had already been working on the Ed Hunter video game.  It was Maiden’s second attempt since the aborted Melt game was announced.  In fact, in the game, it is Blaze’s head that you must find, not Bruce Dickinson’s.  This hardly mattered in light of the massive news of a highly anticipated reunion tour featuring Bruce, Adrian, Steve, Dave Murray, Janick Gers, and Nicko McBrain.  This was not a one-off, Steve Harris made it clear that if you’re back in Maiden, you’re back for good.  This was timed to coincide with the release of the game which also doubled as a Maiden compilation album — their second, since Best of the Beast.

This time it was a little different.  To make it special, fans were permitted to vote for which songs were to appear on the disc, 20 tracks total over two discs.   Since the 20 Maiden classics here were voted for online by the hard core fans, there is a fantastic balance of Maiden tunes from every era. There are no other Maiden compilations that feature such a heady brew of Paul Di’Anno, Bruce Dickinson, and Blaze Bayley era material.

It’s nice to hear such underrated classics as “Phantom Of The Opera” alongside semi-forgotten later material like “Tailgunner”. So many personal favourites are on here, including “Stranger In A Strange Land”, that I almost feel as if I put this disc together myself!  They kick it off with the immortal Live After Death version of “Iron Maiden”; appropriate given that this compilation supported a greatest hits tour.

But that’s not all folks.  Now that Bruce was back, it would be nice to promote that with a single.  So, Maiden remixed “Wrathchild” with a brand new Bruce Dickinson lead vocal on it.  The remix was done by Kevin Shirley, Maiden’s new producer and the man behind the boards of Journey’s Trial By Fire album.   Since the original version of “Wrathchild” is already on the disc, this is a true bonus track, a little extra for the fans dying to get a preview of the reunited Maiden.

But it was a bonus only included on the US version of Ed Hunter, a version that was priced well over $40 in Canada.  I found a “Wrathchild 1999” promo CD on eBay as well.

But how’s the game? Well, keep in mind it’s well over a decade old now.  I don’t even know if it will run on a modern computer.  It’s a first person shooter, with Maiden music in the background. You get to do combat in the environments of Maiden’s formative years in London, within their album covers, and if you’re lucky you might even run into Eddie. Personally, I never got that far. It’s a pretty challenging game and I’ve never made it very far. I enjoy it though, something about plowing through a bunch of monsters while “Phantom Of The Opera” is playing in the background is real fun.

Ed Hunter is not a “Doom” style first person shooter. I do not know the term for this type of game, but you do not have freedom of movement in the environments. It’s like a shooting gallery game.

I personally enjoyed Ed Hunter quite a bit. I used to take the game out to have a go every once in a while, and I still dust off the CDs for a rocking good time in the car.  These discs make an excellent road compilation.  I remember driving a bunch of people to a Record Store party (I was always the D.D.) with this on, and it went over very well!  Overall I think it’s definitely a worthwhile purchase, if you can track one down at a reasonable price.

In the meantime, Maiden had to prove their mettle by making a new studio album…

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Virtual XI (plus singles, 1998)

Part 26 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Virtual XI (1998)

For the first time in a long time, there was this vibe of, “new Maiden?  Meh.”

I recall seeing this listed in our distributor’s catalogue and ordering one for myself.  We didn’t even order it in for the store.  Think about that!  The catalog had the title listed as Vartual Xi, which made me wonder what the hell I was buying.

Virtual XI is the 11’th studio album by Iron Maiden.  It is the second with Blaze Bayley on lead vocals and second to be co-produced by Nigel Green.  It is also the second to feature cover art by Melvyn Grant, this time an improvement on his Fear of the Dark work (but only barely).

You’ll notice the Iron Maiden logo was changed — the jagged bits lopped off!  It is this logo that Maiden used almost exclusively going forward.  I prefer the original.

I was living with T-Rev when the album came out, early ’98, and both of us were heavily into the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye.  One Saturday night when he was out working his second job at the Waterloo Inn, I stayed home with Virtual XI, Goldeneye, and enough junk food to last the weekend.  I was set.  And my feelings on Virtual XI largely go back to that night and the great fun it was to play the Statue Park level whilst rocking out to “When Two Worlds Collide”.

As highly as I rate the two Blaze albums, I will be the first to admit that he was the wrong singer for this band. His voice lacks the range.   As I argued in my review for The X Factor, I think Blaze’s voice suited the mid-90’s and the darker tones that Maiden were taking.  I remember cranking Best of the Beast in my store, Dickinson wailing away, and two kids laughing.  Context is important!  In the 90’s, tastes had drifted and so had Maiden.  And don’t lie to me — you owned one of these five albums:  Ten, Nevermind, Superunknown, Purple or Dirt.  I know you did!

I personally enjoy the dreadfully-titled Virtual XI. I bet Steve Harris wishes he could take that title back. It is not as strong as the powerfully dark X Factor album. This is Iron Maiden trying to relax a little more, be more comfortable in their new sound, and trying to lighten up a bit after an entire album of dark thoughts and suicidal tendencies. Witness “The Angel And The Gambler” which is as close to a good-time rocker as Iron Maiden get.  Its problem (and the problem with a few songs on the album) is length:  At 10 minutes, it’s not an epic, it’s too repetitive.  I could also do without Steve’s boppy keyboard line.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  The album kicks off with “Futureal”, a short fast rocker akin to “Man On The Edge” or “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, but with plenty of melody to spare.  Harris wrote this one with Blaze.

Up next is “The Angel And the Gambler” which I guess Steve was hoping would sound like 70’s UFO or something like that.  A classic Davey guitar solo keeps it in Maiden territory.  It had a good video, very Star Wars cantina, funny with dated CG!  The video however doesn’t do much to make Blaze Bayley’s case as a frontman.

Then, back to the darkness that marked the last album. “Lightning Strikes Twice” is a decent song with quiet verses and a powerful chorus.  It takes a while to build unfortunately, since it’s only 5 minutes long.

Side one ended with “The Clansman”, continuing the Maiden tradition of basing songs on movies and historical events!  This was the epic of the album, and one that they performed into the Dance of Death tour.  You’ll be chanting, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” by the end. This one sounds very traditional Iron Maiden, especially the fast parts.

Side two kicked off with a personal favourite, “When Two Worlds Collide”. Here’s Maiden’s take on the whole Deep Impact/Armageddon thing:

Now I can’t believe its true
and I don’t know what to do
For the hundredth time
I check the declination
Now the fear starts to grow
even my computer shows
There are no errors in the calculations

Kinda cheesy, kinda nerdy-cool at the same time.  Have you ever seen the word “declination” in a heavy metal lyric before?   This is the first and only collaboration between Steve, Blaze and Dave Murray.

Another dark and moody one is up next, “The Educated Fool”, another one I like quite a bit due to its delicate guitars.  At this point Maiden were no longer trying to simply assault you aurally, now they were introduced in a smoother sounding guitar sound.  But the song does kick in soon.  There’s a line reflecting some of Steve’s personal inner pain, “I want to see my father beyond.”

This is followed by “Don’t Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger”. These songs are good tunes, but by this time we’ve already had several dark and moody ones with repeated choruses. The repetition was getting a bit much.  Even the previous song, “The Educated Fool” suffers from repetitive chorus syndrome.

Last up is the closer “Como Estais Amigos”, translated as “How are you my friends”.  It was written by Blaze and Janick.  This one has an epic vibe to it as well, with its anthemic chorus of  “No more tears, no more tears. If we live for a hundred years, amigo no more tears.” It is as if Maiden are saying, “We have been through some rough patches but better times are up ahead.” And yes, Maiden really did go through rough times, Steve Harris in particular.

And that is it, a mere 8 songs.  Brevity this time unlike the previous two albums.  No B-sides were recorded, either.  The only B-sides were live.  Let’s have a look at ’em!

 

“The Angel And the Gambler” was released in two parts, one with cover art by Derek Riggs, one from the forthcoming new Maiden video game, Ed Hunter.  They wisely included a single edit on the second one.   The B-sides were live takes of “Blood On the World’s Hands” and “The Aftermath”, which if you recall are two of the songs I ranked poorly on The X Factor.

“Futureal” was the second single, with more Ed Hunter cover art.  Inside, a poster featuring Derek Riggs’ far superior artwork.  The live tracks were were “Man On the Edge” (another one I’m not fond of) and “The Evil That Men Do”, from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!  This is one of the few official versions available of Blaze doing a Bruce song.  My take?  His “Come on!  Come on!  Come on!” intro fails to inspire me, but the band is playing it fast and great.  Vocally this one is well suited to Blaze’s voice.  He does an excellent job.  (He does screw up the lyrics in the same place that Bruce used to, too!)  It was recorded in 1995, which makes sense.  Everything I’ve heard from that tour sounds great.  Everything I’ve heard from the Virtual XI tour, however…

Well, see for yourself.

I think after this album the vibe was generally one of “Who cares what Maiden do next?”  I still would have loyally bought it.  I had just given up on the idea of Maiden being a huge band that mattered again.  I didn’t expect albums that would impact me the way that Piece of Mind or Powerslave or even The X Factor did.  Maiden seemed to be coasting, at a time that Bruce Dickinson was forging forward with superior solo albums.  In general though, it seemed metal was done, Maiden pretty much with it, and all that was left were unremarkable studio albums and tours.

Oh, how wrong I was.

3.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – “Virus” (1996 single) / Metal For Muthas (1979)

Part 23 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!  Continuing where we left off with Best of the Beast, we’re also taking a glance back to the past…

IRON MAIDEN – “Virus” (1996 two-part CD singles)

Last time, I was talking about Maiden’s first-ever greatest hits set, Best of the Beast.  But there was also the single to be had, “Virus”.

Much like other UK singles, “Virus” was released in two parts each with its own B-sides and cover art.  If you bought the first, you also got a box with 5 postcards and space to store the second disc.

The first disc contained the (unadvertized) single edit version of “Virus”.  I can happily live without the slow, boring, goes-nowhere first three minutes of that song.  At least the single edit only has the up-tempo part of the song.  I recall when the single came out, a few of us had grumbled that Maiden seemed to be losing it…

The B-sides on this first single were the previously released covers, “My Generation” and “Doctor Doctor”.  You could get these tracks on the previous single, “Lord of the Flies” from The X Factor.  Having said that, these are great versions, among the best covers Maiden have ever recorded in this writer’s opinion.  “My Generation” is of course the Who classic.  Maiden breathe their original punky sensibilities into this one, and it rocks like nothing that actually made it onto The X Factor!  “Doctor Doctor” is a beefed up version of the classic UFO song, and my preferred version.

The second disc was the really, really special one.  It had the album version of “Virus” (all bloody 6:15 of it, ugh) but it also has the ultra rare “Sanctuary” and “Wrathchild” from the 1979 compilation album, Metal For Muthas! When I had first picked up the single for “Virus”, I didn’t even know these recordings existed.  Collectors rejoice!  These tracks were previously unavailable anywhere else but Metal For Muthas, and this is the first CD release.

“Sanctuary” and “Wrathchild” both feature Paul Di’Anno on vocals, and are from the short-lived Maiden lineup of Di’Anno, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Tony Parsons, and Doug Sampson.  This represents one of Maiden’s earliest recordings.  There are more from this lineup, but we’re not going to talk about those for a while yet…

Do I need to mention that these two tracks are just pure smoke of the early-Maiden variety?

A quick glance at Wikipedia reveals that there is a 12″ single release of “Virus” as well, this one with the two missing Soundhouse Tapes tracks that weren’t on the Best of the Beast CD.  Adding to “want” list!

I found the cover art of the “Virus” single to be a little lacklustre, particularly the one in the petri dish.  Like, really?  It didn’t scream to be made into a cool poster for my wall.  There were some cooler things on the postcards including one by Derek Riggs.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Best of the Beast (1996 2 CD edition)

Part 22 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Best of the Beast (1996)

I’m not sure what prompted Iron Maiden to put out their first greatest hits disc in 1996, but at least they did it in style.  Originally available as a limited edition 2 CD book set, it was pretty extravagant packaging for the time.   My only beef is by the nature of such packaging, the paper sleeves will always scratch your discs, 100% of the time.

This album was also available in a standard edition single disc, with the songs in a different running order.  I don’t have that one so I’m not going to talk aboot it.

The 2 disc version, perhaps to emphasize that Blaze Bayley is the current Maiden vocalist, starts at the present and then rewinds all the way back to the beginning, closing with The Soundhouse Tapes!  An interesting approach indeed.  As a listening experience I’m not sure that it works that well.

Since we’re starting at the present, the album kicks off with a new song.  “Virus” is 6:30 of same-old same-old X Factor Maiden, but not as good as anything on that album.   It drags and drags for three minutes before finally kicking into gear, but it is otherwise repetitive and boring until then.  Lyrically, it is another attack on the sicknesses in society, much like “Be Quick Or Be Dead” and “Justice of the Peace” were.

Then back in time one year, to “Sign of the Cross”, the dramatic 11 minute epic from The X Factor, as well as “Man on the Edge”.  (I would have preferred “Lord of the Flies” to “Man on the Edge”, but perhaps “Man” was the bigger single of the two.)

To bridge into the Fear of the Dark album, a new live version of “Afraid To Shoot Strangers” is featured, with Blaze Bayley singing.  It’s a good live version, but it’s immediately obvious that Blaze is no Bruce.

Bruce takes over on the next track, “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, and we’re back in the saddle.  Singles (including the popular live version of “Fear of the Dark”) and album tracks are counted down from 1993 to 1986’s Somewhere In Time album, ending disc 1 with “Wasted Years”, a great closer.  My beef here:  I would have preferred the single “Stranger In A Strange Land” to the album track “Heaven Can Wait” (but I know the Heavy Metal OverloRd doesn’t agree with me!)

Disc 2 is the glory years, if you will, everything from Live After Death to the beginning.  It begins with the epic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, a ballsy move for a greatest hits album, and the live version at that.  Chasing it is the live single version of “Running Free”.  Then we count them down, all the singles from Powerslave to “Run To The Hills”, plus “Where Eagles Dare” and  “Hallowed Be Thy Name” thrown in for good measure.

Then it’s the Di’Anno years, which are given an unfortunately brief expose.  “Wrathchild”, from Killers  is one of the best songs from that era, but the only included track from that album.  Maiden’s first epic, “Phantom of the Opera” and the single “Sanctuary” represent the debut Iron Maiden.  Finally, an unreleased track from The Soundhouse Tapes sessions (“Strange World”), and the rare Soundhouse version of “Iron Maiden” close the set.  To read my review of The Soundhouse Tapes and these tracks, click here.

There was also a 4 LP vinyl edition available, with 7 extra tracks:  “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”,  “The Prisoner”, “Killers”, “Remember Tomorrow”, an exclusive live version of “Revelations” from the Piece of Mind tour, plus the final two songs from The Soundhouse Tapes, “Prowler” and “Invasion”. You can read a story about the 4 LP edition by clicking here.

And there you have it, Maiden’s first greatest hits set, with lots of the hits and plenty of rarities thrown in for the collectors.  I confess that I don’t listen to it often, and this time for this review was the first time in roughly two years.

The cover art was once again by Derek Riggs, doing a sort of mash-up of his (and nobody else’s) Eddie’s.  It’s a suitably glorious piece of art for such a monument of metal.  The inside of the book is loaded with concert dates, lyrics, liner notes, and chart positions, as well as more Eddie’s and photos!

I still want to talk about the single, “Virus”, but I think that it should get an article of its own.  Check back soon for that!

Curiosity: the cover features an ad for the never-to-be Iron Maiden video game, Melt!  Maiden did eventually release a video game, but we’re not going there yet….

For the 2 CD edition of Best of the Beast:

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – The X Factor (plus singles,1995)

Part 21 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – The X Factor (1995 EMI)

A lot of fans confidently proclaimed that you can’t replace Bruce Dicksinson.  To some degree, they were right, but Iron Maiden refused to pack it in.  Steve Harris was going through dark times, particularly a painful divorce.  It was Dave Murray who fired up the demoralized band:  “Why should we pack it in just because he quit?”

They began the audition process, eventually calling Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley.  Wolfsbane were once the new proteges of none other than Rick Rubin, who signed the band to Def American and produced their first album.  Regardless of Rubin’s involvement, Wolfsbane made little impact.

Bayley turned up at the audition and they played roughly seven numbers including “Hallowed” and “The Trooper”.  The personalities meshed and after listening back to the tapes, it was Nicko who declared, “There, now that sounds like Iron Maiden, dunnit?”

With the resulting album, The X Factor, as the only evidence before us, one might wonder just what Nicko was hearing.  I remember being quite surprised when I listened for the first time:  “This guy doesn’t have any range!”  His voice fit in better with the darker tone of the 1990’s than Bruce’s did, but would it work?

As an album – disregarding the live shows, stage presence, or what happens later – I think The X Factor is damn fine.   Perhaps it’s not a fine Iron Maiden album, although Steve ranks it among his top three.  It’s decidedly darker, softer & slower and sparse, but it is also deeply personal.  Characters on all songs are tortured souls, reflecting Steve’s inner torment.

Also important to note:  This is the first Iron Maiden album since the first one, not to be produced by Martin Birch.  Now, Steve Harris and Nigel Green were producing at Steve’s home studio.

The band made no bones about the new direction, starting off with the 11 minute epic “Sign of the Cross”.  A new sound, Gregorian chanting, begins this tale based on The Name of the Rose, specifically the torture part!  Blaze ominously warns that “Eleven saintly shrouded men have come to wash my sins away.”  The song was written solely by Steve Harris and it follows in the mold set by Fear of the Dark:  long, soft, bass-driven sections backed by soft keyboard beds.

It suddenly lurches into a slow march around the 2:45 mark, sounding much like Iron Maiden, but slowed down, more precise, and with a lower, rougher voice spitting out the words.  It is similar to past epics in that it goes through different sections and dynamics.  Although a soft epic, it is one of the best songs of the Blaze era.  Indeed, the band continued to perform it even on the Brave New World tour.

As if to allay your fears that Maiden has gone soft, “Lord of the Flies” is next, retelling the old story of the boys stranded on the jungle island .  It stutters forward at first before breaking into a solid groove.  This Harris/Gers winner was chosen as the second single.  Once again, Maiden continued to perform it even into the Dance of Death tour.  Blaze growls his way through the words, his solid baritone carrying the catchy verses and choruses.  Davey’s familiar guitar stylings in the solo are vintage Iron Maiden.

The third song on the album to be based on a book or movie is next, the manic “Man on the Edge”.   Blaze’s first writing credit with Steve, it’s based on the excellent (and my personal favourite) Michael Douglas film, Falling Down.  Lyrically though…this one is pretty poor:

The freeway is jammed and it’s backed up for miles
The car is an oven and baking is wild
Nothing is ever the way it should be
What we deserve we just don’t get you see

A briefcase, a lunch and a man on the edge
Each step gets closer to losing his head
Is someone in heaven are they looking down
‘Cause nothing is fair just you look around

Really guys?  “The car is an oven and baking is wild”?  What does that even mean?

Even though the band continued to play this one into the Ed Hunter tour, it’s not really a standout Maiden track to me.  While it serves as a fast manic number to bang your head to while singing along, it’s simply not that great a song.

Maiden wisely sequenced these three songs first, three songs that wouldn’t alienate fans or critics even with the change at the microphone.  It is only now that The X Factor begins to show its true dark face.

“Fortunes of War” is a slow, mournful ballad, a beautiful song, perhaps the sequel to “Afraid to Shoot Strangers” lyrically and musically.  There’s Steve’s bass, backing the soft sections with faint keyboards.  As if you couldn’t tell by the bass being one of the lead melodic instruments, this one was solely written by Steve.  I like this song.  Reading between the lines you can hear Steve’s pain, and you can definitely hear it musically, before the song kicks into a triumphant upbeat section with guitar harmonies at 4:35.

“Look For the Truth” is next, beginning ballad-like before going into a mid-tempo stomp.  This song featured the new writing triumvirate of Steve, Blaze and Janick.  Lyrically, it would be seem to be inspired by Steve’s personal struggles.  Musically, I think this is another strong number, and it has a great Davey solo.  If there is one thing that always grounds Iron Maiden to its roots on The X Factor, it is Davey’s solos.

This concluded the first side.  Side two begins  with another slow one, “The Aftermath”, written by the same triumvirate.  It is at this point that I began to tire of the slow pace.  Lyrically I don’t think this one stands up to anything on side one.  Another war song, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.  It was dropped from the live set after this tour.

Although it’s still the bass carrying the melody, “Judgement of Heaven” quickens the pace.   “I’ve been depressed so long, it’s hard to remember when I was happy,” sings Blaze on this obviously Steve-written piece.  Yet it’s a positive message, Steve trying to stay strong and look to the future.  Once it gets going, it’s a pretty good song, with the chorus being particularly catchy.  Blaze’s “yeah yeah’s!” are as close as we get to hearing Blaze trying to do anything in an upper range!

The worst song is up next, “Blood on the World’s Hands”.  A really dull Steve bass melody (guess who wrote this song!) takes a full 1:12 to introduce the damn song!  There’s nothing here that really makes the song memorable.

Although it starts very slow (again) with bass melodies carrying it (again), “The Edge of Darkness” is a much better song.  It follows the plot and quotes dialogue from Apocalypse Now:  “What I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one.”  Musically, Nicko pounds this one into submission.  It stomps forward like a powerful beast, unstoppable, albeit slow and plodding.  But fear not, it picks up again at 2:55, going into a faster guitar-harmony based section.  Although the album certainly does not need more slower songs at this point, “The Edge of Darkness” is a win.

Less successful is the introspective “2 a.m.”.  It’s not dreadful, but it’s pretty pedestrian for Maiden, although I’m sure it was deeply personal to Steve.  It’s yet another slow song that goes into a powerful stomp, but that’s too many now.

The quirky “The Unbeliever” ends the album on a better note.  It has a neat slippery little riff, and it’s rhythmically very different. Written by Harris/Gers, it’s marked with a standout Janick solo.  Even though it’s fast paced, there’s no denying that “The Unbeliever” lacks the crunch and volume of Maiden songs of yore.

And that perhaps is one of the most surprising things about The X Factor.  Regardless of the change in direction, singer and artwork, it is the production that shocked me.  Clean, free of dirt and distortion, Iron Maiden had never sounded this clear on record.  But is that a good thing?  I desperately wanted a little more grit and grime in the guitars, not to mention volume.  The production is otherwise excellent.  The drums are like Bonham on steroids and the bass (of course) chimes perfectly on every cut.  I just wish there was more guitar.  It’s Iron Maiden, and I felt like I didn’t get enough guitar.

This being a new era for Iron Maiden, the band chose Hugh Syme (he of many Rush and Megadeth covers not to mention dozens more) for the new Eddie.  Going for a realistic look, the Eddie lobotomy cover was deemed too scary for some markets, and we received the less graphic electric chair cover facing front.

Now, onto the singles.

The first single, “Man on the Edge” had numerous B-sides.

“Justice of the Peace”:  A fast paced rocker about injustice in today’s “sick society”, again reflecting Maiden’s new darker, serious lyrical bent. This is Dave Murray’s only writing credit (with Steve). (Available on US CD single or UK CD single part 1.)

“Judgement Day”:  Manic and fast like “Man on the Edge”, relentless although not tremendously catchy.  (Available on US CD single, or UK CD single part 2.)

“I Live Way Way”:  Starts slow and chime-y like many of the album songs. Yet it launches up to speed after this intro.  Another fast B-side, I’m now wondering why Maiden chose to stack the album so heavy with slow songs and pseudo-ballads when they had all this stuff waiting in the wings?  Perhaps replacing two album songs with two of these could have changed the balance so much.   (Available only on 12″ single or Japanese 2 CD version of The X Factor.  The 12″ single comes with a massive poster.)

Parts 1 and 2 of the UK CD single also had a two part Blaze Bayley interview.   Essential only to the fan.

It also came with a box designed to house the album and future singles.  But even when I include my redundant US “Man On The Edge” CD in the box, there’s still room to spare.  This indicates to me that there were more singles planned but cancelled.

The second single, “Lord of the Flies” had two awesome B-sides!  Covers.  Covers of “My Generation” (The Who) and “Doctor Doctor” (UFO)!  And let me tell you, Maiden is one of a few bands that can do “My Generation” properly.  Steve ably handles the backing vocals while Blaze spits his way through the lead.  This sounds very live off the floor and perhaps it was.  “Doctor Doctor” is one that I actually prefer to the UFO original.  Blaze nails the vocal, the band are solidly in the groove, and Nicko nails it home.  Surely, this must be considered one of the best Maiden covers of all time!

Conclusion and final thoughts:

As always, context is very important.  When The X Factor came out, I was working at the store, and I had been waiting three long years to hear it.   It was the mid-90’s, and most bands chose to get “darker” or “more serious” or “modernize” in order to stay relevant.  It was true from Bon Jovi to Metallica with varying degrees of success.

For me, The X Factor was one of the few things that had come out worth listening to that fall, and I listened to it non-stop.  It was largely the novelty, and partly the lack of other new options, but I grew to really like most of The X Factor.  It took three listens, I do remember that much.  But in the 1990’s, all things considered, it really wasn’t that bad.

3.75/5 stars