NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING

With "No Prayer For The Dying" and the departure of Adrian Smith, the magic seems to be gone... Songs are heavier, shorter, more straightforward, and much less original - even the artwork is less original here. Clearly a disappointing release.

"Tailgunner" is simply "Aces High" revisited. "Holy Smoke" has become a hit single with lots of air play on radios and TVs - a basic commercial hard rock song. "No Prayer For The Dying" is an exception here - it manages to capture a little of Maiden's past glory with the mellow intro and heavy riffs. "Public Enema Number One" is simply unmelodic and boring. At least the classical Murray/Harris compositions are still there and "Fates Warning" is no exception: great melodic intro and interesting darker sound, almost a song that would have fit on "Somewhere In Time". "The Assassin" is kinda interesting too, with the menacing lyrics and threatening melody. Next two songs are again uninteresting: "Run Silent Run Deep" is a weak song and "Hooks In You" is even weaker. "Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter" is the other hit single, and the catchy melody makes it an all time live favorite. "Mother Russia" is the only song on the album that breaks the 5 minute mark and gets the epic feeling of the long compositions on past albums like "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son".

Rating: 68/100 (2 1/2 stars)