Continuing the play through the Maiden catalog with studio album #8. The first misstep when the band heads in a direction it shouldn’t have. With the new popularity of the thrash genre Steve moves the band into a more stripped down and heavier style trying to restore the more raw style of the early albums and move away from the melodic keyboard enhanced sound of the last two albums. The songs were shorter and more to the point than the progressive influenced elements that the band had become known for. With the first album with new guitarist Janick Gers and without Adrian Smith the sound was much different and some of that was down to the direction they chose but also on how they chose to record. Going after the raw sound they used the Rolling Stone Mobile at Steve Harris’ home studio “The Barn” with a back to basics approach but the problem with that was the sound is very dated and is a huge step backwards compared to the previous 5 albums that seemed to sound better and better. The other problem is the songs themselves. Going back to a more aggressive and raw style sounds great in theory but if you don’t have the songs it really doesn’t matter. Opening with the fast paced “Tailgunner” the Maiden elements are there but it doesn’t work as well as most of their openers like “Aces High” did. Musically it’s very good and lyrically follows the war history they’ve wrote about before but the chorus isn’t quite as exciting as you’d expect with how the verses start out but with that said I do like the song and it’s probably one of the better tracks on the album. “Holy Smoke” follows and was the first single. The song gets some crap from some fans but I’ve always liked it. The lyrics are about the fake TV preachers at the time and I always thought it was a fun song that’s just a rock song nothing more or less. “No Prayer For The Dying” starts slower and picks up a little bit but for the most part is mid paced song but I’ve always liked this one and find it a little overlooked. “Public Enema Number One” is solid hard rocker that I always thought was solid. A good song but not great but a solid album track. “Fates Warning” is another one that is just solid and very good but not great. An aggressive rocker that musically has a good pace to it like many songs on the album isn’t overly memorable. “The Assassin” is kind of cool lyrically but the chorus is super annoying and with how many times Bruce says it over and over I’d guess the target would have known the Assassin was coming. “Run Silent Run Deep” is another okay song. Solid musically and lyrically about a submarine crew in a war, again it’s just okay song. Not terrible but not great either.
“Hooks in You” is not only the worst song on the album it’s one of the worst songs the band released up to this point. Another installment in the story of Charlotte the Harlot, this was a big step backwards from 22 Acacia Avenue. Next up was the song that started the direction for the album that Bruce wrote for a Nightmare on Elm Street movie that Harris heard and wanted for Maiden. “Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter” is straight ahead AC/DC hard rock with a fun cheesy lyric and chorus. Hated by some loved by others it’s just a fun song and not meant to be taken seriously. The album closes with “Mother Russia” which is the token Maiden epic closer but at 5 minutes it’s not near as long as what fans usually get from the “epic” song and honestly it’s not very good either. Overall a let down. A few very good songs and a few good songs and several fillers. Bad sound and a bad decision in hindsight to change direction and the combination of Gers and Murray was a little to similar and they missed the contrast that Smith brought to the band with not only how he played but also how he wrote in comparison to Harris. When I think of the songs I like on this album the problem is none of them are classics and anywhere near the greatness that came before.
Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
