FEAR OF THE DARK

Last album featuring Bruce Dickinson on vocals in the 90s, this is clearly a follow-up to "No Prayer For The Dying" and shares the same weaknesses. Too many short straightforward heavy metal songs and too few bright moments. Unoriginality and fillers prevail on this album. The guys were so uninspired it seemed to have become contagious and even their master illustrator Derek Riggs lost inspiration for the cover so they had to choose someone else.

The album starts with the heavy "Be Quick Or Be Dead", a song that sounds like all their past album openers - nothing original in the music and lyrics here. "From Here To Eternity" is a song the band likes to play live, but again it has not the quality of past efforts. Next two songs however are highlights on this album: "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" is one of the two lenghty epic songs with the mix of mellow/heavy parts, and "Fear Is The Key" is a great mid paced song with an oriental feeling. "Childhood's End" is another decent song, and of course "Wasting Love" is a beautiful power ballad. But the second half of the album is a series of forgettable fillers, with the exception of the catchy "Judas Be My Guide" and of course the all time live favorite title track "Fear Of The Dark".

Rating: 62/100 (2 stars)