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Iron Maiden - No Prayer For The Dying



7.1 | 1475 votes |
Release date: 1 October 1990
Style: Heavy metal, New wave of British heavy metal

Owners:

1606 have it
71 want it
3 trade it


Disc I
01. Tail Gunner
02. Holy Smoke
03. No Prayer For The Dying
04. Public Enema Number One
05. Fates Warning
06. The Assassin
07. Run Silent Run Deep
08. Hooks In You
09. Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
10. Mother Russia

Disc II [1995 reissue bonus]
01. All in Your Mind [Stray cover]
02. Kill Me Ce Soir [Golden Earring cover]
03. I'm A Mover [Free cover cover]
04. Communication Breakdown [Led Zeppelin cover]

Featured in "Getting Into: Iron Maiden"

Additional info
Produced & mixing by Martin Birch.
Engineering by Martin Birch, Mick McKenna, Les Kingham & Chris "Wood" Marshall.
Mastering by George Marino.
Cover art & photography by Derek Riggs, Hugh Gilmour & Ross Halfin.

Staff review by
Pierre Tombale
Rating:
8.8
1990 a new decade and a new sound for Iron Maiden, without keyboards again, much more direct in sound, but a different atmosphere from 'Somewhere?' and 'Seventh Son?'. This is 'No Prayer for the Dying'!

'Tailgunner' the first single from 'No Prayer' is definitely not the album's highlight, in fact I thought by the first listen: ok, but it can only get better! And it really does. The very sarcastic 'Holy Smoke' is a good start, direct, rocking and mocking. One of the album's highlights is the half-ballad and title track 'No Prayer For the Dying', nice melody, good vocals and great solo, even without Adrian Smith, who left after the 'Seventh Son' tour and who was replaced by Janick Gers, who had already worked with Bruce Dickinson on 'Tattooed Millionaire'. 'Public Enema Number One' is yet another solid performance, 'Fates Warning' is one of the more atmospheric songs, dark intro and guitars quite similar to those used on 'Somewhere' a good song. 'The Assassin' even darker, with the beat of a march in some passages. 'Run Silent Run Deep' is once again a song about a movie, or at least influenced by the same titled movie with Burt Lancaster and Clarke Gable from 1958. This makes sense as I've seen Bruce Dickinson in an interview on german television making the statement he likes those films about the war at sea and especially those with submarines. When you now take a look into the booklet you will find that the song is cooperatively written by Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris.

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published 17.02.2004 | Comments (17)

Guest review by
Spyroid
Rating:
6.2
To call this album bad sure wouldn't be fair, but compared to other Iron Maiden albums 'No Prayer For The Dying' isn't really something to celebrate. I myself would call it the worst Maiden album with Dickinson on vocals. But I don't know any band who has released a great deal of albums like Maiden without failing a few times, so I'm not really blaming them. 'No Prayer For The Dying' is also the first Maiden album in more than 10 years that doesn't feature Adrian Smith, and even if Janick Gers is a great guitarist the chemistry wasn't really there yet, simply because he hadn't written any songs together with the band before.

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published 13.06.2008 | Comments (18)

Guest review by
omne metallum
Rating:
6.6
Iron Maiden came crashing into the 90s on the wave that was Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, finding themselves washed up on the shores of a new decade with Adrian Smith being taken to new lands by the sea. No Prayer For The Dying is the sound of the band wanting to move forward with a new sound that only served to take two steps back as they took one forward.

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published 20.06.2020 | Comments (7)

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Comments

Comments: 45   Visited by: 1312 users
15.08.2010 - 21:30
folk metal4ever

This album is very critical but I find that it has very beautiful songs such as Mother Russia , Holy Smoke , Hooks in you eccecc
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22.07.2011 - 11:08
Rating: 8
In Bone Factory

Written by folk metal4ever on 15.08.2010 at 21:30

This album is very critical but I find that it has very beautiful songs such as Mother Russia , Holy Smoke , Hooks in you eccecc

100% deal
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The End Is Nigh ...
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22.07.2011 - 19:39
Rating: 8
Guib
Thrash Talker
I think people underestimate this album.
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- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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23.07.2011 - 00:02
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Really an average album at best with one of their, of no the, worst song ever. bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter. They still need to be shot for it after all these years.

Imagine how us Maiden fans felt when this atrocity was released after their firast seven (of which only Somewhere In Time was mediocre)
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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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31.08.2011 - 12:20
Rating: 6
deflektor

By far their worst work but that doesn't mean that lacks great songs,no prayer for the dying,mother Russia and maybe holy smoke should be checked.
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12.11.2012 - 21:39
Rating: 5
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Meh, this is BY FAR the weakest album from Iron Maiden. There are some really awesome songs such as the title track, "Run Silent Run Deep", and "Mother Russia", but there are also much weaker songs like "Hooks In You" and "Holy Smoke". The rest of the songs are not bad, but not particularly outstanding, hence the 6.

UPDATE: This album doesn't hold up as well as I remember, even some of the better songs on here aren't as great. I think it has something to do with Bruce's vocals on this album which kinda suck. Downgrading to a 5.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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04.12.2012 - 00:12
Rating: 2
Crimson

This is the most overrated crap I have ever heard. When you break it down there is nothing really great or even average in it. Dickinson's voice has always been pretentious and annoying. In "No Prayer For The Dying" album he really tops being at his worse. Mainly because of his bad choices in the lyrics.

You can hear in the "No Prayer For The Dying" song in the intro riff how similar it is to the next album's "Fear of the Dark" song. This really tells how Iron Maiden knew they had failed with this album.

In overall the album is just boringly bland and uninteresting shit that you just don't want to listen to.
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04.12.2012 - 00:59
Fritillaria
Account deleted
I always thought this album by far is the worst one by Maiden, but some die hard fans of'em attacked this opinion of me ! I'm not sure if It's really matter of different tastes I believe this one sucks big time musically, most of them Are so boring that I can't even imagine listening to them again
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04.12.2012 - 02:37
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
I have been attacked far more for defending this album than I have had people saying they agree with me that it's a great album. And I think die hard Maiden fans are actually the most critical when it comes to bashing this album...
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04.12.2012 - 07:46
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Angelic Storm on 04.12.2012 at 02:37

I have been attacked far more for defending this album than I have had people saying they agree with me that it's a great album. And I think die hard Maiden fans are actually the most critical when it comes to bashing this album...



even casual Maiden fans bash this album an rightly so. The first truly bad abum by Iron Maiden this is.
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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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04.12.2012 - 10:36
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 04.12.2012 at 07:46
even casual Maiden fans bash this album an rightly so. The first truly bad abum by Iron Maiden this is.


I was not wishing to enter a debate about the album's quality or lack of it, (as I have already done that to death on this forum! ) I was simply correcting the assertion that die hard Maiden fans usually defend the album, when generally speaking, that is not the case. I sometimes post on an Iron Maiden forum, and the people there who like No Prayer are very much in the minority. Most Maiden fans, even the ones who don't hate it, generally regard it as the worst Maiden album, aside from maybe the Blaze albums. And some people even prefer the Blaze albums over it. Very few Maiden fans consider it to be a great album.
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04.12.2012 - 14:49
Rating: 6
R'Vannith
ghedengi
Some great tracks on this one, but some really terrible ones as well. I'd say it's their most unbalanced album, not their worst.
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05.12.2012 - 00:58
Rating: 7
JÄY
Metal slave
Just like with Fear of the Dark...you skip over the bad tracks and youre left with a pretty dece album
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05.12.2012 - 04:56
Rating: 7
Azarath
Free as a.. Fish
The second worst Maiden album but still not bad, just average. It's oddly even, few of the songs stick out and there are no real classics here. To make a comparison, the best songs here aren't as good as the best ones on Fear of the Dark, but nothing here is as bad as that album's low points. Ok, "Hooks In You" comes close.
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05.12.2012 - 07:56
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Azarath on 05.12.2012 at 04:56

The second worst Maiden album but still not bad, just average. It's oddly even, few of the songs stick out and there are no real classics here. To make a comparison, the best songs here aren't as good as the best ones on Fear of the Dark, but nothing here is as bad as that album's low points. Ok, "Hooks In You" comes close.


Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter is the worst track Maiden ever wrote
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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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05.12.2012 - 08:32
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by Azarath on 05.12.2012 at 04:56

The second worst Maiden album but still not bad, just average. It's oddly even, few of the songs stick out and there are no real classics here. To make a comparison, the best songs here aren't as good as the best ones on Fear of the Dark, but nothing here is as bad as that album's low points. Ok, "Hooks In You" comes close.


Although I don't agree with the general consensus regarding No Prayer, I do agree with it regarding Fear Of The Dark. FOTD is a very patchy album, and I definitely prefer No Prayer over it. I would agree that nothing on No Prayer reaches the low points reached on FOTD. There are some great songs on FOTD, but the fillers definitely bring it down quite a bit.
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05.12.2012 - 13:21
JohnDoe
Account deleted
Quote:
Quote:


Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter is the worst track Maiden ever wrote


Holy Smoke is just as bad.
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05.12.2012 - 13:24
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Weekend Warrior is far worse than the songs mentioned in the above two posts.
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05.12.2012 - 13:27
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Nope Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter is truly the deepest point Maiden have ever sunk to.
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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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05.12.2012 - 16:41
Rating: 6
R'Vannith
ghedengi
...but I like "Holy Smoke" (for some reason it was the second Maiden track I ever heard, after Transylvania).. and "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter." For me "The Assassin" is in the running for their very worst track and on the other hand "Mother Russia" is in the running for the best.
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05.12.2012 - 20:07
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Yep, "Holy Smoke", and BYDTTS are great songs, as is "Mother Russia".
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06.12.2012 - 20:46
Rating: 7
Azarath
Free as a.. Fish
I wouldn't say that either one is one of Maiden's best, but I enjoy Dickinson's leering vocals in "Bring Your Daughter..." and "Holy Smoke" is just a fun(ny) song/video. They're both better than "Weekend Warrior" or "The Apparition".

"Mother Russia", "Run Silent Run Deep" and the title track are the best songs here.
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27.02.2013 - 01:53
Rating: 10
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Many will hate me, but this is my fav IM album, maybe because I had it 1th , I hate cassete , so in 1994 -1996 when it was ''you have what you have'' you had no net and YT and whatever bandcamp site where all muisc is, what you won , you own
I hate bring your daughter, worts song ever from IM, much lame than newest album.... rets are OK Tailgunner, Holy Smoke are overated songs but good, etleast 1th one is about Dreden and bombing of it .... Mother Russia is best song and underated song, IMO it shood have prom video.

IM understood if they would go in such way what they did in previusly album, they have no future, they changed sound...well this is 1th album when after ''classic maiden died''
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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27.02.2013 - 12:20
Rating: 7
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
Ok, you officially dont have any taste now...rating 80ties albums with 8 and this with 10

i dont think this is really bad album, but weaker compared to previous
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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27.02.2013 - 14:25
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Hates one song totally thinks a couple of songs are okay but notihing more and totally overrated, yet rates album with a 10 which means perfect, total K7 logic going on there.
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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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27.02.2013 - 19:37
Rating: 9
Aristarchos

The title track saves this album. Many decent songs, but only one fantastic.
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27.02.2013 - 21:27
Rating: 7
JÄY
Metal slave
Written by Aristarchos on 27.02.2013 at 19:37

The title track saves this album. Many decent songs, but only one fantastic.

You should prolly listen to mother Russia again
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01.04.2013 - 13:00
Jaeryd
Nihil's Maw
Wow. This album is a disc of almost nothing but really annoying songs, the most annoying being Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter, if you haven't guessed that already. It sounded like it had potential... it was almost decent, but so many things ruined that for this album and made it shit. There is one good thing about this album... "Run Silent Run Deep" was a pretty decent track. The rest were "meh" to horrible.
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26.01.2014 - 01:48
ManiacBlasphemer
Black Knight
I remember when I first listened this album years ago and got mixed impressions. Got the chance to listen to it again a couple of days ago and it sounds all fresh. I might be in the minority here, but I like Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter. It's a pretty catchy, fun song to listen to. I raised my rating from 5 to 7. Not that bad album, Maiden has done worse than this IMO.
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04.06.2014 - 07:13
Rating: 8
mikeprado30

Well, at first listening I was disappointed with the album, but nowadays revisiting this CD I found a very nice compound of songs underrated. ATM, my favorite is Run Silent Run Deep, specially cause DAT CHORUS!

And the title track would sound amazing if Bruce would sing it at this time.

And yes, I like also Bring Your Daughter!
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BARDS WE ARE, BARDS WE WILL BE!
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