Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark review
| Band: | Iron Maiden |
| Album: | Fear Of The Dark |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | May 1992 |
Disc I
01. Be Quick Or Be Dead
02. From Here To Eternity
03. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
04. Fear Is The Key
05. Childhood's End
06. Wasting Love
07. The Fugitive
08. Chains Of Misery
09. The Apparition
10. Judas Be My Guide
11. Weekend Warrior
12. Fear Of The Dark
Disc II [1995 reissue bonus]
01. Nodding Donkey Blues
02. Space Station No. 5 [Montrose cover]
03. I Can't See My Feelings [Budgie cover]
04. Roll Over Vic Vella
05. No Prayer For The Dying [live]
06. Public Enema Number One [live]
07. Hooks In You [live]
Damn! How do you rate an album like this? 'Fear Of The Dark' must be one of the most uneven albums released, and for sure the most uneven Iron Maiden album. There are really two sides of this album, and before I can even talk about the rating I have to evaluate them.
First of all we have the good side. And it's a really good side. There are some tracks on 'Fear Of The Dark' which are just brilliant and deserve very high ratings. They are not only good, but also show that the band has developed, they have very well written lyrics and incredible solos - 'From Here To Eternity' contains my favourite Maiden solo ever. Other tracks that belong to this side are of course the title track, 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers' and 'Wasting Love', plus some other unknown tracks like 'Chains of Misery' and 'Judas Be My Guide' which I like a lot.
If there are two sides and one is good, then the other one has to be bad, which it unfortunately is. 'Fear Of The Dark' doesn't only contain some of the best later Maiden songs, it also contains some crap that is amongst the worst they've ever released. I find fillers on almost every Maiden album which is okay since they have written so much material, but the bad stuff is to bad here. 'Fear Is The Key', 'The Fugitive' and 'Weekend Warrior' are the only really bad tracks but I really despise them.
So, how do we rate then? If the good songs are worth 9-10 and the bad songs 4, the average should be somewhere around 7. I can't stop myself from thinking 'Hey, 'Somewhere In Time' only had 8 tracks - why didn't you excluded four fillers and made an album worth a 9'? Since there is more good stuff on the album and that stuff is really, really good, it stretches over 7. And I'd say it's worth buying for the good songs.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Spyroid | 28.07.2008
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
7.8
7.8
|
Rating: 7.8 |
An album with a maligned reputation that has tarred some of the best songs the band ever produced with the same brush, Fear Of The Dark is more than just the title track; those who have written the album off as such are missing out in a big way. The album does have its flaws, but they are more than made up for in what it does right. If you are still sceptical then pause here and go listen to "Judas Be My Guide" right now?? Do you see what I mean having given just one song a go? Read more ›› |
Comments
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Comments: 36
Visited by: 270 users
| Stuart MiseryKing Posts: 413  |
I couldn't disagree more, I think its one of their most consistent releases, I absolutely adore Weekend Warrior, my favourite on the album after the opener and the title track, it is like the anthem to so many peoples lives. Great album.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
Written by Stuart on 29.07.2008 at 01:05 I consider Weekend Warrior to be their worst song ever together with 'Drifters' from Killers. I find the lyrics incredibly cheesy... I find it quite interesting that you like it, I've always been sure there's a fan of every Maiden song although I never found somebody who liked 'Weekend Warrior' 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Spyroid on 29.07.2008 at 02:37  worst Maiden song ever is without a doubt Bring Your Daughter To Slaughter
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| totaliteraliter Posts: 656  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.07.2008 at 02:40 No way, "Quest For Fire" is. It contains the lines "In a time when dinosaurs walked the earth" and "As they fought a vicious angry battle." I'm almost convinced that song was intended as a joke. "Weekend Warrior" is a great song, it goes great thematically with the album and coincides with the unique (for Maiden) riffing approach used throughout the album (as in acoustic/electric combos). Fear Of The Dark is one of their better albums, the only track that I think qualifies as filler or sub-par is "The Fugitive", a very generic Maiden fill-in-the-theme song that serves no purpose on an album where every other track shows a little ambition and has something to say.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 29.07.2008 at 02:40 I recon we've had this debate before, but I also claim that it has to be Quest for fire
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| Stuart MiseryKing Posts: 413 |
Written by Spyroid on 29.07.2008 at 02:37 I don't really see what's cheesy about them, I quite like the lyrics for Weekend Warrior, I think they're great, alot of truth in those lyrics. On the other hand it could just be a British society thing... in fact its the lyrics which make it such a great song. worst iron maiden song Holy Smoke, or it could just be the music video which totaly put me off.
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Stuart on 30.07.2008 at 02:16 I love Holy Smoke, mostly for the video which I find funny as hell. So I guess there's no need to continue this debate.
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| IronBlackZepp Posts: 180  |
This is a pretty great album actually. Most of the songs are good or even great. For me Weekend Warrior is probably the bands worst song. But songs like the title track and Afraid to shoot straingers make up for it. This album is deffinantly better then No Prayer for the Dying. It may not match the stuff from the 80's as far as consistancy, but its damn good.
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| Nicko's Nose Posts: 486  |
Another very underrated album. Yeah, The Apparition and Weekend Warrior fucking sucks, but Be Quick Or Be Dead, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Judas Be My Guide and Fear Of The Dark are awesome! Fear Is The Key, Childhood's End and Chains Of Misery are great! The rest is good or average. I don't get why they had to put 12 songs on it... It would have been MUCH better without 3 or 4 songs (like The Apparition, Weekend Warrior and The Fugitive).
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| Elio Red Nightmare Posts: 4920  |
Afraid To Shoot Strangers is simply one of their best songs ever. And yup, I agree totally with the review.
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| Powerslavex Alexskywalker Posts: 777  |
I love this album can't beleive someone would rate it as a 7 withsongs like fear of the dark, afraid to shoot strangers, Judas Be My Guide
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| Nyoink Posts: 44  |
And of course don't forget the mighty ''Fear is the key''!!! very good album!
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| BORT Posts: 98 |
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
"'Fear Of The Dark' must be one of the most uneven albums released." Totally agreed. When I said on other threads that I dislike everything Maiden ever did after SSOASS, there is a nuance to bring. I think some songs are not bad in themselves (though, imo, they are ruined by the production - there's something in this album's sound that I always disliked): Be Quick Or Be Dead Afraid To shoot strangers Childhood's End The Fugitive Judas Be My Guide Fear Of The Dark However, I hate all the other songs and find them extremely cringeworthy. Lyrics on this album often suck, too. Still, it's the only Maiden album after SSOASS I don't dislike from start to end.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Vikcen Metálico Posts: 970  |
Written by RavenKing on 19.08.2010 at 04:20 Man!! From Here To Eternity and Wasting Love!  I love this record, i love their style... And here the Dickinson's voice is the best for me, hehe here sometimes he sounds as if he's Eddie really! =) By the way, for me the worst is "Fear Is The Key", i don´t like.
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| Kuroboshi Posts: 1168  |
Strange one this one. Be Quick or Be Dead and Fear of the Dark are really epic tracks, but what's in between just blows, with the possible exception of From Here to Eternity.
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675  |
I do sort of agree with the reviewer's opinion, that it is a very eneven album, even if I disagree with other aspects of the review... "Be Quick Or Be Dead" is a raging opener, and a really amazing song, and one of my fave Maiden tracks. There are some hideously underrated Maiden gems on the album, like "Childhood's End", and "Judas Be My Guide" which is just a magical song. The weakest track on the album for me, is definitely "Weekend Warrior". It sounds more like it should have been on Bruce's first solo album (and would have been one of the weaker tracks on it, had it been!), than on a Maiden release, and it's a very weak hard rock song that sounds very out of place on the album. It's definitely not as bad as later fillers like "Fortunes Of War", but it surely is one of the weakest tracks Maiden have ever put out. "The Apparition" is a bit silly, and a bit like "Quest For Fire" a few years earlier, it's comic relief is it's main saving grace.  Although the solos in the song are great. Of course, "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" and "Fear Of The Dark" became regarded as classics, and rightly so. But this album was definitely the first sign, for me at least, of Maiden's songwriting quality declining. Id probably score the album an 8, which is a lower grade than Id give any of the previous albums.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by Angelic Storm on 04.04.2011 at 12:43 For me, it was the confirmation that Maiden had taken the downward spiral, after the awful NPFTD. More than half the album is pure shit.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by RavenKing on 04.04.2011 at 14:28 My opinion of the album definitely isn't that harsh (and I'm one of the very few that loved the previous album), but it certainly was to me, a substantial dip in quality (at least in terms of consistency) from the classic 80's albums. I've often wondered though, why you have such a high opinion of "Somewhere In Time", when it's probably their most commercial sounding album. When you generally dislike softer, and more commercial sounding stuff. The introduction of synths, and more mainstream, radio friendly songs like "Wasted Years" and "Stranger In A Strange Land" makes it seem like an odd personal choice for you, with your aversion to that more commercial type sound. What is about that album that you like so much?
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by Angelic Storm on 04.04.2011 at 14:59 Why do I like "Somewhere In Time", while I hate soft and commercial Metal? Simple. I see this album more as progressive than soft or commercial. For me, the album has a special atmosphere, kinda futuristic and otherwordly. Also, guitar riffs are not raw but they're quite present. Drums are complex for the genre. I don't see the songs as generic, mediocre and dull, like so many songs on "Fear Of The Dark". Imo, the music is too complex and 'worked' to appeal to the typical mainstream music listener. And it doesn't sound at all like hard rock. I always hated hard rock with a passion and even prefer pop music to it. For me, hard rock is a case of staying in the middle, (between pop and Metal), unable to decide if you want to be Metal or pop. FOTD is guilty of sounding like hard rock. "Wasted Years" and "Stranger In A Strange Land" are my least favorite songs.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by RavenKing on 05.04.2011 at 00:26 I do agree that the album has a special atmosphere, and the sound does have a futuristic vibe to it, which fits perfectly with the visuals they were employing at that time. I'd also agree about there being some songs on the album that couldn't be labelled "mainstream", because of their length, and complexity. But the guitars sound very slick, and like you said "not raw", which I know is the type of sound you like best in metal. Although I'm not surprised that the 2 songs on the album which stood out as more mainstream tracks, are the ones you like least. lol Thanks for explaining that, cos Ive often wondered why that album in particular, you seem to like so much, when it is their least raw sounding. It is a favourite of mine too as you know, but Ive always been a bit surprised that you don't class it as one of their weaker albums, at least from the 80's stuff. Everything you said about the album is true though. Although I do like the 2 singles. Hehe I don't think FOTD as a whole, could be described as hard rock, but certainly, that album proabably has more of a hard rock vibe than any of their albums. Which could be due to the fact that Janick came from a more hard rock background, before he joined Maiden, and FOTD was the first Maiden album he wrote material for. Although it's funny that the most aggressive song on the album "Be Quick Or Be Dead", was also written by him. lol The hard rock influence is definitely there, even from Steve, on "The Apparition" and espcially "From Here To Eternity". And the hard rock songs written by Janick, "Weekend Warrior" and "Fear Is The Key". It is quite easy to understand now why you dislike so much of the album's material, and how much someone will enjoy the album will boil down to whether you appreciate hard rock as well as metal.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
@Angelic Storm: I've never been able to stand Janick Gers. Maiden should have fired him when Adrian Smith came back. Adrian is better than him on every aspect. Gers never brought anything good to Maiden. Also, he looks like an idiot on stage.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Vikcen Metálico Posts: 970 |
Speaking about raw, harsh... possibly this album is where the voice of Dickinson is the most raw, harsh (which i really love from this album).
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by Vikcen on 06.04.2011 at 05:47 He just retained the rawer, harsh style vocals he first used on NPFTD with FOTD. lol I think his vocals on NPFTD are his harshest, but that's just me. hehe  @Ravenking: I like Janick, though I don't like how he was still allowed to play some of Adrian's solos once Adrian returned to the band. Adrian also came from a hard rock background, and turned down Maiden's inital attempt to get him to join, because he wanted to stay with Urchin, his rock band. He only joined Maiden once he saw how popular they were becoming, while Urchin were still going nowhere. He also left Maiden, because he wanted to further persue his love of rock music, and at the time, was losing interest in metal. He has a more measured, thought out style, compared to Janick's more manic style of soloing. I definitely prefer Adrian's style to Janick's, at least in general.
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| Vikcen Metálico Posts: 970 |
Written by Angelic Storm on 06.04.2011 at 06:09 Yes, that is true, but the voice in FOTD is still more broken than NPFTD .
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by Vikcen on 06.04.2011 at 06:17 I'm not sure I agree with that hun... Although both albums are definitely the harshest Maiden albums from a vocal standpoint... there's not much difference between the 2, I don't think. His vocal style is similar on both albums. *shrugs*
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| Vikcen Metálico Posts: 970 |
Written by Angelic Storm on 06.04.2011 at 06:22 Yeah, they are very similar .
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