DANCE OF DEATH

Released in 2003, "Dance of Death" is Iron Maiden's second studio album recorded as a six-piece and featuring the mighty, three-pronged guitar attack of Janick Gers, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. As in the case of its predecessor, 2000's "Brave New World", it shares quite a lot with the efforts of progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater and their ilk, while being at the same time rooted in the band's straighter heavy metal past.

The stylish, red-and-black cover and booklet contain some impressive pictures of the black-clad band members, shot at the historic English mansion of Luton Hoo With the sole exception of the two initial tracks, most of the songs are over the 5 minute mark, with epics "Paschendale" and "Dance of Death" clocking at almost 9 minutes. While retaining Maiden's signature rumbling, galloping bass lines and fast, furious riffing, the sound is distinctly mellower and more melodic; the influence of the historic prog bands beloved of both Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson is also clearly in evidence, especially in the longer tracks, with their complex, string- and keyboard-laden arrangements.

Opener "Wildest Dreams" and the following "Rainmaker" are both dynamic, textbook-Maiden songs with catchy choruses - good, though rather straightforward, classic metal tracks. Then the title-track comes in to prove how the band have continued to develop their trademark, metal-with-brains sound in the proggier direction already shown by the Bayley-era albums. Written by Steve Harris (who took the inspiration from one of his dreams) and guitarist Janick Gers, the song begins with a haunting acoustic melody, over which Dickinson's powerful, impassioned delivery soars; then develops into a majestic cavalcade, powered by dazzling solos by each of the three axemen. "No More Lies" starts in much the same restrained, almost wistful vein, climaxing in a full-blown, energetic romp; while "Montségur", dedicated to the 13th-century massacre of the Cathars in the south of France, is sharply reminiscent of vintage Maiden tunes such as "Run to the Hills".

For those more interested in Maiden's proggy side, the moody, atmospheric, World War I-themed "Paschendale", with its distinctive stop-start structure and a towering vocal performance by Dickinson, is without any doubt the album's pièce de resistance, together with the title-track and surprise closer "Journeyman" - a melancholy, completely acoustic, medieval-influenced ballad, in which Dickinson proves he is equally at ease as a sensitive interpreter of mood pieces as he is as the screamer idolised by millions of heavy metal fans.

Even though not always fully appreciated by Iron Maiden's loyal following, "Dance of Death" is a well-crafted, skilfully performed album by a band at the top of their game. Open-minded prog fans will find a lot to enjoy in this interesting record, which alternates high-energy moments with intricate, sprawling epics that could proudly stand beside the output of many celebrated prog-metal bands.

One of Iron Maiden's strongest albums, even if the material isn't really new in terms of style. I guess Iron Maiden recently sticks to what they are best at, releasing safe, yet solid albums. Dance of Death is better than Brave New World, due to the more memorable riffs, more sophisticated songwriting, and better melodies. While the style is similar, the sound of Iron Maiden keeps progressing into "prog" and the music is getting mellower. The 'proggiest' songs are the two epics: the title track and Paschandale.

Wildest Dreams opens the album with a bang, a totally catchy and energetic opener with good guitar riffs, catchy choruses, and a time change that works very well, giving way to a beautiful guitar lead. Rainmaker is a straightforward and radio-friendly tune. No More Lies is a very good song, but the intro riff and the similar electric riff sound recycled from the instrumental break on their epic "Nomad". They use screams and pounding guitar riffs for the choruses and the instrumental section (climax) does not disappoint. Montsegur is the heaviest song of the album and has an arsenal of great guitar riffs, the best one being the one playing on the verses and the first guitar solo. The double guitar performances recall their classic "The Trooper". The vocalist sounds desperate and almost screaming throughout the song. Gates of Tomorrow and New Frontier are a bit mediocre, as they sound ordinary and do not have any strong hooks. Face in the Sand sounds like the best material from their album X-Factor, only that it has Bruce Dickinson! It has a great dark introduction with excellent bass and atmospheric guitar playing until strings make the song more symphonic. The guitar break in minute 4 is wonderful. Age of Innocence is a powerful and energetic tune, not a highlight though. Journeyman is a different song for Iron Maiden. No electric guitars. Instead, it is acoustic, with strings to set the mood. The vocal performance in this song is some of the best since Bruce returned to the band; I can't help but enjoy his singing a lot during the choruses.

Dance of Death has one of the best introductions of an Iron Maiden song, ever. It is soft and spooky during the first few minutes. "Let me tell you a story to chill the bones". The acoustic riff is very simple but effective, and the short guitar solo in the beginning is beautiful. Then, it changes pace into a more beautiful acoustic theme, then it changes pace into an even more beautiful acoustic chord progression. Before you know it, the chorus plays with nice string arrangements and a mad instrumental break begins, showing you that Iron Maiden is not really following a standard song structure. Then it turns into a heavier section instead of repeating a verse, and plays the crazy riff of the instrumental break again as a main riff. Instead of going to a second chorus, you get a long instrumental break with soloing. After another new theme, the mad riff plays again and leads to the introductory acoustic riff+elegant guitar solo just like the beginning with a good transition.

Paschendale is my favorite Iron Maiden song and truly a progressive metal song, with shifting time signatures, time changes, and unusual song structure. The main theme is especially strange, with soft percussion playing a time signature I can't decipher and a midi-sounding guitar playing a nice and elegant riff. This shifts back and forth with a very heavy guitar-driven passage twice until the song starts. Quite heavy and string-heavy. I really believe the strings help make the music heavier. After the chorus plays, you realize that it is also not following the standard song structure. Suddently, you get a unison riff with 3 guitars and strings under the rhythm of the introduction until a new heavy riff leads the song for a few seconds and you get another new section that sounds like the first verse, but the rhythm is somewhat different. Instead of a chorus, you get the intro theme again, interrupted by another guitar-driven section which contains a virtuosic guitar solo and eventually the chorus hits again and the song ends with the theme played at the beginning. A masterpiece of metal for sure!

I recommend this album for metalheads and proggers alike, It is very intelligent metal that doesnt' sacrifice the power and energy for prog.

After a definitely brilliant album which featured the return of their legendary front man Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden waited three years to release the successor to BRAVE NEW WORLD.

DANCE OF DEATH, Maiden's 13th album, marked somewhat of a return to ancient formulas. Even though I said that about the preceding album, that actually holds much more true in the case of this record. The Beast still maintains a lot of progressive elements in their music, but, overall, there's a sensation of "going-back", there's a smell that reeks of early 80's and a lost era.

The playing is brilliant as always but the music is not as inspired. There are a few good songs in this album but most of them seem like fillers, which is something that hadn't happened since the days of FEAR OF THE DARK. Let's talk a little bit about the songs:

Wildest Dreams (7/10) Nicko McBrain opens this track counting loud (with a weird old-man voice) before the whole band attacks with power. The usual fast Maiden opener, the chorus is not as inspired and we can say that this is not the best first song an album by The Beast has ever seen. Good, enjoyable, but the singing is just a little bland.

Rainmaker (8.5/10) It's quite unusual that two fast, short tracks start a Maiden album. This one is much better than the preceding song and should've been the opener, the chorus being much more memorable and the music itself better. Not a masterpiece of any kind but almost up to par with older, legendary fast tracks by the Irons.

No More Lies (8/10) The soft, quiet opening by guitars and bass brings us back to the good territories of the three preceding albums. After the good first section (with inspired singing), the song gets faster, though the chorus is more like a declaration of principles, a protest. Good guitar melodies abound. Good song.

Montségur (7/10) Suddenly we go back almost 20 years to the time when Maiden was releasing POWERSLAVE. The typical relentless Maiden rhythm, the chorus is so retro-Maiden, even Dickinson sounds 15 years younger. Good song but not great.

Dance of Death (8/10) A slow start with good singing by Dickinson opens the title track. The texturing work by the guitars is remarkable. Halfway down we get an awkward section with synth helping the guitars set a weird mood, mix of ancient ballroom and heroic Maiden cavalry; the solos and melodies are good, but there's not a catch, a great chorus or a really fantastic tune, and that's a way to describe the album in a few words: tune-less, not completely of course (we're talking Maiden here) but nowehere near the level of the previous releases. Good, very good epic, but not excellent.

Gates of Tomorrow (9/10) The opening riff reminds us of "Lord of The Flies" in the masterpiece THE X FACTOR; the verse is quite good, with Dickinson -doubled- singing over a similar guitar melody. The chorus, in classical heroic Maiden rhythm, is one of the first very good ones in the album. The song is great, the best so far, even though at times it also sounds retro.

New Frontier (8.5/10) Lack of balance as this track opens just as the last one ended. The verse sounds like straight from THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST era. The pre-chorus and the chorus sound much more contemporary, though, more in power-metal vein (with touches of Queensryche). Another good fast song, the last two have been the best since we started this journey.

Paschendale (7.5/10) Now this track starts nothing like Maiden. While McBrain marks the rhythm with soft touches of hi-hat, Dickinson sings over a high guitar and descending bass. Then the song travels varied territories, with descent melodies, sounding very retro at times, but not one great hook, nothing spectacular. The short-epics in DANCE OF DEATH have disappointed so far; they're good tracks, but nothing like other great anthems by The Beast.

Face in the Sand (7.5/10) A triple rhythm that almost sounds like a metallic waltz opens this song. It starts to get better with great bass and help from synths, which make this feel like the more progressive moment up to this point. Some double bass by McBrain leads to way towards the unusual verse by Maiden. The song as a whole is unusual as the double-bass drum dominates the music. After a great start, the song kind of gets lost in mediocre melodies and uninspired singing by Dickinson. Enjoyable, could've been fantastic.

Age of Innocence (7/10) Queensryche strikes back (as we've said already, that band was so influenced by Maiden that we can only talk of a full-circle here). A good enjoyable song but nothing that stands out from other Maiden tracks. Lacks a good melody. Near the end of the chorus it almost gets cheesy (?!?).

Journeyman (6.5/10) Acoustic guitar opens this last song in good fashion. Many songs in this album have started so well, only to get lost in nonsense. A very slow track, at times feels "poppy" (?!?), it's just not good. A weak closer.

All in all, a step backwards (and a HUGE step at that) from BRAVE NEW WORLD. This albums seems like the "great starts" album, where many songs had excellent beginnings but the band didn't know how to actually make something good out of them. As it contains mostly good songs anyway, it gets 3 stars, as it's superior to Maiden's weakest albums (NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING and PEACE OF MIND), but the right rating would be 2.75. The lack of melody is astounding, specially for a band that had managed the difficult task of writing very tuneful music while still being a metal group first and foremost.

Recommended for: Iron Maiden fans and collectors, fans of good metal who don't mind lack of great melodies or originality.

. yes, it's like Iron Maiden were finally copying themselves. After three great releases, it was time for calming down The Beast.

Another solid release from the 'new' Maiden, one which might actually be there heaviest yet. "Dance of Death" rumbles with a very raw and deep sound courtesy the rhythm section which lays down a dark backdrop to the three guitar's excellent riffing, all of which are recorded with a somewhat coarse quality. As a whole the songs are quite good, featuring songs mostly relating to Bruce's interest in history/war and giving the band plenty of chances to shine-- experimenting with composition and new ways to utilize their instrumentation. The listener can expect to hear plenty of smart solos and get their fists pumping to the melodies... and maybe even feel a few tingles from the really dramatic moments. All in all mandatory buy for Iron Maiden fans, but not quite as much as the previous and more interesting "Brave New World".

Songwriting 4 Instrumental Performances 4 Lyrics/Vocals 4 Style/Emotion/Replay 4

Maiden adopted a new rhythm to release their albums in those new millenium times.

Every three years, they have apparently (?) sufficient material or inspiration to release a new studio album and keep their fans awaken. Still, this album doesn't start as brilliantly as their best ones.

"No More Lies" is interesting in the sense that it mixes slow parts with wild ones (as the band often does with longer pieces). But it is very much predictable. Guitars sound really great and an extreme power is developed. The first song worth of interest is "Montsegur" although it is on the heavy end.

One has to say that there is some kind of routine now in their offering. Of course the impact of the three guitar players is impressive and should please any metal lover. Compositions are still well polished, appealing but if you except some of them like "Dance Of The Dead", the all mighty "Paschendale" there are no so many highlights as one could expect.

Dynamics and power are of course on the list ("Gates Of Tomorrow" or the wild "New Frontier") but this album features too little great songs and it closes as it opened : rather weakly. Maiden produced so many better songs than "Age Of Innocence" and "Journeyman". Just fillers IMO. But for different reasons. While the first one is a dull metal song, the later is a dull rock ballad.

I guess that very few people discovered Maiden thanks to this album. There are probably more than ten better ones before getting interested in "Dance Of Death". I would rate it on the low three stars edge. Don't try to find any progressiveness either here. You would just waste your time. But if you're looking for pure heavy metal, you are well on the good track.

This album also suffers from its length. Of course, the standards are to longer albums now, but almost seventy minutes is a bit too much when creativity is lacking.

I find joy in having a combined listening of heavy side of music and the light side as what I experience today having enjoyed Gandalf and Steve Hackett, I continued playing The SIGIT (excellent Indonesian classic rock band) and now I am playing Iron Maiden "Dance of Death". What a perfect combination! Having enjoyed peaceful stream of music delivered by Gandalf & Hackett, I switched right away to The SIGIT which has upbeat classic rock style and then the energetic music of Iron Maiden! It's cool man .!

As I have mentioned somewhere in my reviews at this site, I love Iron Maiden "Brave new World" album. By the time I made that statement I did not (yet) take into consideration of this "Dance of Death" because I rarely played the CD due to its "Copy Controlled" technology that made sound quality is terrible. It's useless, actually, that this album has Kevin Shirley as producer because the "Copy Controlled" thing has definitely destroyed the listening pleasure. I personally hate CD with "Copy Controlled" technology because the sound quality is terrible. So is the case with this album which has that technology. I think, music lovers all over the world MUST FIGHT against the use of "Copy Controlled" technology which kills music. I mean it.

Let' put aside the sound quality and focus on the music. I find this album is an excellent one even though in general I prefer "Brave New World" album. With triple guitar, this band ends up with six-piece band. Actually I do not know why the band decided to use triple guitars as the band line up because basically I (and probably other listeners) can not differentiate who play which part and hard to find all three guitars play together at the same time. If it's just two guitars, at least I can differentiate the sounds of rhythm section and the guitar melody. So, making the band with three players: Janick Gers, Dave Murray, and Adrian Smith is kind like waste. Two guitars are enough, actually.

The first two opening tracks "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker" are straight hard rock music in terms of style. These opening tracks are suitable being positioned as opening the album. With "No More lies" the band brings the "Brave New World" style into the music. I like the intro part which showcases Steve Harris bass lines in ambient mode. "Monstegur" makes the album more powerful especially through the combination of string section, groove and guitar solo. My favorite track is the album title track "Dance of Death" which has similar nuance with "Brave New World" album. I like the way the music flows in melodic way starting with an ambient style where string section as well as bass guitar work make major contribution to the music and the music flows beautifully in rock style with powerful Bruce Dickinson vocal. This song is also solid in terms of lyrics. "Paschendale" is also an excellent track. This song has varied styles and nice musical break followed with string section which sounds like a symphonic music. The guitar solo is also stunning.

Overall, I consider this album is an excellent rock music with good melody, tight composition. Fans of Iron Maiden must have this album. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Far beyond the new Frontier

Yes, Iron Maiden is back as a different beast! Well, not entirely, as you may recognize this particular formation of the band form their previous album Brave New World, but as masterful as that album was it seems that they've equaled (or perhaps topped?) themselves with this next output. While some have criticized the band for staying to a formula on their more recent releases it seems to be for one reason: it works!

Short and long songs mixed to give the audience a lot of material to like make this album worth many repeated listens. Heavy and short rockers like the opener Wildest Dreams and the stellar single Rainmaker with its absolutely wonderful triple guitar attack let the heads band and roll while more meditated (and almost progressive) story telling tracks like No More Lies, Dance of Death and Paschendale allow the band to showcase a more complex side of their music, also proving once more that the addition of a third guitar (or rather, not firing Gers when Smith returned from his absence) was something that really helped the band find a sound.

All in all the album has a very fantasy-esque feel, and this is what Maiden has always excelled at. While Brave New World toyed (heavily) with this idea, Dance of Death takes the concept by the horns and rides it to no end. Creepy story telling so familiar to the band's classic era has returned as evident in the album's title track which opens slowly with some smooth guitar playing before giving away to some heavy and very well done parts later. The stories aren't too overblown as well so they're not difficult to keep up with which really helps the album.

If one was forced to pick the standouts of the album, they would have to be the war-torn story Paschendale which shows Maiden at their story-telling zenith (and they'll pick up on this theme again with their next album) as they revisit a topic they've done so often in songs like The Trooper and Die With Your Boots On except with a better side of harsh reality that keeps the audience grounded to Earth if only for the duration of the song. The extremely emotional performance on Journeyman is also very well worth noting as Bruce showcases the magnitude of his voice in a song that was clearly built for it. Face in the Sand with its creepy, foreboding lyrics is another giant standout in the Maiden cannon - another song that shows incredible maturity from the band.

Of the other shorter songs on the album most (if not all) are geared towards the metal head. Prog fans may not find much to like in songs like Montsegur (although its controversial lyrics may well provide a thought-provoking experience) or Gates Of Tomorrow which are very good symph-metal compositions but not great prog. However, if there's a metal head anywhere in you then you will be blown away by their bombastic delivery on these tracks.

Finally, a note about the sleeve art. It's bad. Really bad. However, don't let it fool you (actually there's some really cool photography on the inside of the booklet which makes one wonder why they didn't use a style more like that), because this album is fantastic and arguably one of Maiden's best.

This is a fine addition to any prog library with many progressive moments to keep any one who likes their prog heavy interested. I award 4 stars to this fine disc.

Not as good as the masterful "Brave New World" in my opinion, but there's little to complain about here. The cover art though is probably the worst i've seen for a MAIDEN album. The music here is far from bad though, in fact the rhythm section especially shines here with some thundering groundwork.

"Wildest Dreams" is my least favourite track even though it's a good little rocker. Some ripping guitar before 2 1/2 minutes. I like when it settles right after the solo. "Rainmaker" and the rest of the songs are pretty incredible.This is classic MAIDEN with that uptempo rhythm and Bruce singing his heart out. Nice guitar solo after 2 minutes. "No More Lies" opens with that familiar sounding guitar which is done so tastefully here. Reserved vocals after a minute. It kicks in on the chorus before 2 1/2 minutes, then the tempo picks up. Bruce stops singing before 4 minutes as we get an instrumental assault for 2 minutes. It ends as it began. "Montsegur" features killer bass lines from Harris as Nicko pounds away. Love the vocals a minute in which are so passionate and powerful. This one cooks !

"Dance Of Death" is my favourite as we hear this story which begins in a laid back manner. Before 3 minutes the vocals rise up and the music kicks in and starts to gallop 3 1/2 minutes in.The guitars are ripping it up before 5 minutes. Great sound 8 minutes in when it calms down. "Gates Of Tomorrow" opens with some wild sounding guitar as heavy bass and drums join in. A full sound a minute in and vocals follow. Scorching guitar before 3 1/2 minutes. "New Frontier" is a hard hitting tune and I love the guitar after 3 minutes as he lights it up. Great song ! "Paschendale" is another classic MAIDEN track with the reserved vocals and mellow sound that are interupted by explosions of sound until it stays kicked in before 1 1/2 minutes. Check out the guitar before 5 minutes ! It's very powerful 6 1/2 minutes in. It ends as it began.

"Face In The Sand" builds until we get some ground shaking bass. Vocals 2 minutes in. Blistering guitar after 4 1/2 minutes. "Age Of Innocence" features this gorgeous intro as vocals come in.It kicks in around a minute. Nice heavy rhythm here with some monster bass from Harris. "Journeyman" is perhaps the most interesting track because it doesn't sound like them, it's pretty light with orchestral sounds. It sounds better 2 minutes on the chorus.

Probably would have been close to 5 stars if the first and last song were omitted. Again it's hard to really complain about this album, it's incredible !

Iron Maiden by the numbers

After the very impressive Brave New World came the disappointing Dance Of Death. It is still a good album that holds up reasonably well compared to some earlier albums, but it pales in comparison with most of the band's classic 80's albums and the excellent Brave New World. While listening to this album I often get the feeling that I've heard it all before. It sounds a bit formulaic and archetypal. The first song has a raw, almost garage type sound to it. This is emphasised by the spoken 1-2-3-introduction.

Dance Of Death is pretty much Iron Maiden by the numbers. Rainmaker is a much better song with a stronger melody and a much better sound. It is almost as if the different tracks were given different production. No More Lies sounds like something we have heard before. The title-track sounds lyrically and musically naive and somehow lacks substance.

The songs on Dance Of Death are generally shorter than those on the previous album, but they often run out of steam before they are through. It is also the case that this album often sounds rushed, underdeveloped and the production is sometimes muddled. It is certainly not of the sonic quality of Brave New World or Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.

Dance Of Death is also significantly less progressive and more straightforward compared to the very progressive Brave New World. Paschendale is the only truly progressive song here. But it certainly would not have been good enough to fit in on Brave New World.

Face In The Sand is significantly heavier than the other tracks which adds a nice diversity, but the melody is basically the same as on Blood Brothers from Brave New World (not the chorus).

Journeyman is an acoustic song with strings, which is very unusual and surprising for this band. This might also be the best song from Dance Of Death. But, again, the melody sounds familiar somehow and while it is clearly something new within the context of this group it is certainly nothing adventurous in a general sense.

Good, but not more than just that.

Dance of Death is the fourteenth full-length studio album and the second by British heavy metal act Iron Maiden after lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith returned to the fold. Their previous album Brave New World (2000) saw Iron Maiden regaining some of the ground they had lost in the years with lead vocalist Blaze Bayley and the two below average releases The X-Factor (1995) and Virtual X (1998). Best examplified by the fact that when they played ( my country) Denmark on the Fear Of The Dark tour in 1992, which was the last tour with Bruce Dickinson before he left the group, they played to a sold out venue called Valby Hallen, Copenhagen where the capacity is 5000 people. On the tour for Virtual X in 1998 they played to a capacity crowd of 1500 people at a venue called Vega in Copenhagen. Now that´s a significant decrease in popularity.

A re-vitalized band now with three guitarists conquered the world once again on the tour for Brave New World. It all seemed like a new beginning for the band.

Dance of Death follows down much the same path as it´s predecessor. A few fast heavy metal tracks and most of the rest are epic slow to mid-paced heavy metal songs. This is what we expect from Iron Maiden and I´m sure no one would like it any different. So when the style is basically the same as always it´s of course the quality of the compositions, the production and the musicianship that´s of interest.

The compositions are generally some of the better Iron Maiden have done since Seventh Son of A Seventh Son (1988) and there´s actually a kind of retro-feel in some of the songs that I greatly enjoy. All songs are above average but a few stand out IMO. Montségur is simply one of the heaviest Iron Maiden songs I have ever heard. Just listen to the beginning of that song. Pure heavy metal joy. The title track is also worth a mention for the frantic and quite folky riff in the middle. I enjoy that very much. But Paschendale is without a doubt my favorite here. It´s such a dark and epic song yet never losing it´s heavy edge.

The musicianship is outstanding as ever. Lots of great and melodic guitar soloes, the most heavy sounding rythm section in a while and Bruce Dickinson in fine form. What more can you ask for?

The production is excellent. Maybe the heaviest production ever on an Iron Maiden album. It´s perfect in my world.

Dance of Death is a brilliant album by Iron Maiden and one all fans need in their collection. The epic atmosphere in some of the songs might attract a few progressive metal fans too but remember that Iron Maiden is first and foremost heavy metal. Up the Irons! And a fully deserved 4 star rating.

Iron Maiden - Dance of Death (2003)

I liked the gathering of Maiden's best musicians during the Brave New World period and expectations were high at the time of the release of this album. Dance of Death is a good album, but some new problems appeared when Maiden tried to enter the world of 'modern' metal recordings and digital artwork. The latter is by far the worst released since the existence of the band. The recording is very bad, with annoying drum-sounds and an unfinished sound as if it was recorded in a rush. Producing their own album is one of the few talents Iron Maiden clearly does not have. Furthermore the length of the album, also a modern feature, makes the second phase of it uninteresting at times.

Having that said, there are also some very good features on this new Iron Maiden album. First of all, there are some very innovative and progressive songs here! Montségur shows Iron Maiden doing something totally different with a sometimes folky approach and cynical lyrics about slaughter for faith. Dance of Death, the title-track uses some world-music influences and has an elegant style. The epical structure, the beautiful acoustic guitars in the beginning and the amazing metal- parts in the middle section make this a fresh Maiden epic. Paschendale is an epic with a modern punchy riff, a sensitive intro and some nice symphonic elements. The bombastic moments of the song are great an the lyrics about this historical battle are intensive. The song is a bit fragmentarily in the beginning, but progresses quite a lot and has a lot to offer. Journeyman is an entirely acoustic song with an adventurous sound and good vocals by Dickinson. This is the sensitive side of Iron Maiden and their second entirely rock-less track of their career, with Strange world from their debut being the first. Some slightly symphonic sounds make the song work very well, though it's a bit too long. Great track and a very original approach.

The other tracks all have good elements but aren't as good as those I've just mentioned. Wildest dream is a happy opener and Rainmaker an emotional song that could have been recorded way better. No More Lies is my least favorite part of the album because it's to simple and recycles way to much of their earlier tracks. Gates of Tomorrow, New Frontier, Face in the Sand and Age of Innocence are acceptable metal-track with often some catchy parts, but a bit un-asked for IMHO. Not everything to original here.

Conclusion. This is an Iron Maiden album with some very interesting progressions and some great ideas. To bad the recording isn't good enough (for the first time in their career..). The album is to long and three songs should have been excluded. This album has at least 45 minutes of great material! This album is recommended to fans of the band and metal- fans in general. Proggers who aren't audiophiles will also find some very nice progress here and a fine album of one of the best bands of the world. Three stars, good but not essential.

'Dance Of Death' - Iron Maiden (7/10)

'Dance Of Death' marks the second chapter in Iron Maiden's six-piece lineup. Although changes within the ranks and the addition of a third guitarist would normally be something only fans would be interested in, it did mark a musical shift for the band. Starting with 'Brave New World'- an album that's been since considered one of the greatest metal albums of the new millennium- Iron Maiden brought their distinctive style back to the forefront, and haven't looked back since. Most notably, singer Bruce Dickinson was back with them, but there is also a progressive edge to the songwriting that makes this period in Iron Maiden's history arguably their most exciting. 'Dance Of Death' balances out between their classic style and more intricate composition, and despite the relatively weak album art, Maiden makes it clear that they are far from exhausting their artistic spirit.

There will certainly be those who argue that Iron Maiden have 'barely' changed their sound over the decades, but comparing their early, punk-infused energy to the symphonic grandeur of the title track on 'Death Of Death', it's undeniable that Iron Maiden have picked up some new tricks. Perhaps moreso than 'Brave New World', Iron Maiden balances two distinct approaches on this album. The first is their classic brand of songwriting, one that often uses the signature 'guitar gallop', biting solos and choruses that could get a stadium's worth of metalheads singing along. 'Rainmaker' stands out particularly in this regard, with a futuristic main riff and pleasant vocal leads from Dickinson. 'Montsegur' is arguably the most traditional Maiden track here, a song somewhat reminiscent of 'The Trooper' that could have snuck onto an earlier Maiden album without arousing much suspicion.

As many of Maiden's fans might agree however, the highlight of Iron Maiden's recent work lies in the 'epic' songs they have been focusing on. Although they flirted with longer song structures as far back as their debut album, 'Dance Of Death' truly indicates their recent preference for involving, progressive composition. Without the slightest doubt, the two highlights on 'Dance Of Death' are the occult-themed title track, and the cinematic 'Paschendale'. The first of these sees Iron Maiden going down a familiar route of storytelling, about a man abducted and taken to an undead ritual. 'Paschendale' is a tribute to the eponymous battle in WWI, attempting to give the same sense of grim reality that 'The Trooper' gave the Crimean War. Musically, both tracks represent some of the most powerful songwriting I've ever heard Iron Maiden do, opening gracefully, and dramatically building to something powerful and even symphonic. As has become the standard for Maiden, the lyrics are handled with sophistication, generally falling upon history or philosophy for inspiration.

'Dance Of Death's weakness comes in the form of songs that come close to being called 'filler'. 'No More Lies', 'Gates Of Tomorrow' and 'New Frontier' are all pleasant enough Maiden tracks, but even after giving 'Dance Of Death' many enjoyed listens, I found nothing stirring about them. Thankfully, the is more excellence than disappoint on 'Dance Of Death', and while I could have asked for a greater consistency and flow, Iron Maiden's progressive material here is some of the best work I've heard them play.

Despite bearing what might be Iron Maiden's worst cover for a studio album, Dance of Death continues the high standard set by Brave New World. Bringing classical and acoustic influences to the fore on the title track and continuing to offer up epic song structures influenced by progressive rock, the band prove that Brave New World was no temporary return to form, but the beginning of a new flourishing of the band's creative talent. No More Lies, in particular is one of the most defiantly anthemic numbers the band have composed for years.

Just don't look closely at that horrible cover and you should be fine.

"Dance of Death" was Iron Maiden's 2003 follow-up to their successful "Brave New World" album, which saw the band's reunion with vocalist Bruce Dickenson and guitarist Andrian Smith. With much praise heaped upon that triumphant return to Maiden-hood, the band had much to live up to. It only makes sense that the classic 80's line up plus one Janick Gers sharing lead guitar duties with the Smith and Dave Murray would attempt to move ahead. The album sees a few firsts, including the first song-writing credit for drummer Nicko McBrain ("New Frontier"), the first album where all band members receive song-writing credits, and the first fully-acoustic Iron Maiden song ("Journeyman"). It could also be considered to be the first Iron Maiden album to have such hideous artwork that the artist himself allegedly asked not to have his name associated with it. According to the Wiki article on the album, artist David Patchett was not pleased when the band opted to use the unfinished version of his computer- generated artwork. Indeed, when I saw it up close I thought it looked like amateur video game artwork. A further note to mention is that the album was recorded on analogue tape.

Stylistically, the music maintains the traditional sound of Iron Maiden, the one that I feel was established with "Piece of Mind" and altered only with subtle variations over the next three albums, most notably the addition of synthesizers on "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". The synthesizers remain but are used in complement with the heavy guitar sound, creating a symphonic sound at times. Aside from the "fully all-acoustic" track "Journeyman", there are some other tracks that include acoustic guitar in parts, typically in the intro. There are the usual wonderful Maiden chugging riffs, more progressive instrumental sections, and outstanding guitar solos. Someone once mentioned Maiden's propensity to go almost "Celtic" and that certainly shows itself, most notably here on the title track, more than usual.

Song topics remain largely with the historical, socio-political, religious and science fiction, and the title track's lyrics seem to revisit "The Number of the Beast" as Dickenson sings about being out one night and encountering a strange scene. "Montsegur" is of particular interest to me as I read and have on my bookshelf a book about Montsegur and the Cathars. Dickenson still belts out the notes and holds some decent operatic hollers.

For perhaps most people, this album doesn't receive the same degree of praise as "Brave New World"; however, I think it makes for an excellent. Together the two albums make a great pair, the blue and the red as it were, considering the dominant colours of each album cover.

For me, one of the attractions to this album is the progressive side. The first two songs are short rockers, but several others take time to stretch out over six minutes, and you know that's when Iron Maiden really stretch out their composition-writing wings. "Paschedale" is my favourite and has a symphonic quality about it at times. The title track is also interesting for its "dance of death" riff. "Montsegur" has a terrific heavy riff and as a Maiden historical piece, you know there's going to be some great developments in the music. "Face in the Sand" blends synthesizer and another almost folk-inspired guitar riff at the intro. The chorus melody to "Age of Innocence" is one of those catchy Maiden choruses that crop up from time to time like on "Can I Play with Madness" from "Seventh Son".

When I tried to make a selection of "best songs" from the five most recent albums (2000 to 2015), "Dance of Death" shared the highest number of selected songs with "Brave New World". Highly recommended as a companion to "Brave New World" or simply on its own.