Not a very good album but it's OK.

I wouldn't even call it OK really. Maybe a 4/10 on a good day.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 27.03.2011 at 21:22

I wouldn't even call it OK really. Maybe a 4/10 on a good day.

I will keep it as short as possible: this album is utter crap.

I could've been worse though,4.

Umm, by the way is better the other cover, mola más =)

Despite the alternate cover art, the music still sucks.

Quite a boring album, but it has its redeeming qualities.

Very boring in some moments and enjoyable in others.rating: 7/10

Very underrated. I can't see why everybody hate this album. It's probably my fifth favourite with Maiden. I know Steve Harris loves this album too. I love this darker side of Maiden, especially I love "Judgement Of Heaven".

So underrated album.
Blaze did a good job.

Written by Ralle on 08.10.2012 at 20:58

So underrated album.
Blaze did a good job.

Without doubt

I don't understand all the hate behind this album. Sure it's a different singer with a different voice, but so what? I'll admit it took me a while to get into Bayley's voice, but once I did, this album really started to shine very nicely. Blaze has actually hit much higher (almost Rob Halford style) notes than what he hits here (check out the very end of his Alive In Poland performance of "Tough as Steel" and you'll see what I mean. ). All-in-all, this is in my opinion the strongest 1990s Maiden album.

Maybe Blaze came in wright time, even his vox are week, so low , but its good and well 2 albums whit IM and they make him star, IM make him to what he is nowdays, no IM who knows Wolfsbane .... hardly fiew of you , now he is a big name, sellinmg more thanks to IM ....this album is OK, lil sad and nostalig because no more Bruce, no more siren, we knw now he came back, but those days fans didnt .... well I dont say this si let dawn at all

I can't decide whether to rate this album a 6, because there's nothing particularly annoying or bad about it, or a 5 because it's so "meh" and boring that it sucks.

It doesn't sound like any other Maiden album. That's a good thing.

Written by CobiWan1993 on 12.11.2012 at 21:51

All-in-all, this is in my opinion the strongest 1990s Maiden album.

I agree.

The less good IM album IMHO. Anyway is a nice experiment with new elements for the band's sound. But the songwriting could be better (that is proven in Virtual XI, that was better IMHO).

Has boring parts and nice parts (from The Aftermath the album gets better).

Sign of the Cross is nice but I insist, could be better.

Great melodies, great lyrics, diffrent vocals but very good, and the darkness which other maiden albums don''t have is absolute fantatstic.

Written by deadone on 24.06.2014 at 08:05

Just listened to this one yesterday. I have never been able to fully get into it and yesterday was no exception.


Lack of energy and overall gutless sound don't help. Some songs would've worked ar better if they had been sped up.

if Bruce be on vocals?
I like this, I wish Doogie would do one album whit Maiden actually, but Blaze was right person

Just because it's different than usual maiden albums doesn't mean it's a bad album.

In my humble opinion through my twenty+ year course through metal music I'd say it's one of the most dark and vivid emotional 90's heavy metal album. Such strong and inner feelings and thoughts can overwhelm you through the lyrics and the atmospheric music even after so many years.
One of the most unique I'd dare to say albums of Iron Maiden with the most emblematic song being The Sign of the Cross. Try to listen to the album with an open mind and you'll know what I mean.

"Hold on for something better
That just drags you through the dirt
Do you just let go or carry on and try to take the hurt"

Written by Leonidas on 25.09.2015 at 00:23

Try to listen to the album with an open mind and you'll know what I mean.

Well, listening to it with an open mind is why I think it sucks. It's simply not a good album. If I listened to it with a closed-mind, I'd probably think it's the best thing since sliced bread like every other mindless Maiden fanboy.

Written by Leonidas on 25.09.2015 at 00:23


In my humble opinion through my twenty+ year course through metal music I'd say it's one of the most dark and vivid emotional 90's heavy metal.

By saying that about this album I'd say you only started listening to metal a couple of months ago.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.09.2015 at 06:36

Written by Leonidas on 25.09.2015 at 00:23


In my humble opinion through my twenty+ year course through metal music I'd say it's one of the most dark and vivid emotional 90's heavy metal.

By saying that about this album I'd say you only started listening to metal a couple of months ago.

And by your answer I'd say you are like 12 years old or 13 maybe??? Real mature response and pretty strong forensics you got there dude....

Written by Leonidas on 25.09.2015 at 23:48

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.09.2015 at 06:36

Written by Leonidas on 25.09.2015 at 00:23


In my humble opinion through my twenty+ year course through metal music I'd say it's one of the most dark and vivid emotional 90's heavy metal.

By saying that about this album I'd say you only started listening to metal a couple of months ago.

And by your answer I'd say you are like 12 years old or 13 maybe??? Real mature response and pretty strong forensics you got there dude....

You are right, 12 or 13 years old, more or less.

Written by mikeprado30 on 24.06.2014 at 07:45

The less good IM album IMHO. Anyway is a nice experiment with new elements for the band's sound. But the songwriting could be better (that is proven in Virtual XI, that was better IMHO).

Songwriting and "Virtual XI" don't belong to the same sentence, unless you believe that repeating the same stupid chorus 20 times in half the songs is something that can be called 'songwriting'.

Blaze's awful vocals ruin much of it, but it has some really great compositions.

Written by Leonidas on 25.09.2015 at 00:23

Just because it's different than usual maiden albums doesn't mean it's a bad album.

Agreed. It's not a bad album because it's different.
It's a bad album because the music sucks.

Definitely not my favourite album by the band, but I loved it when it first came out and listened to it loads back then. Though I don't play it that much these days I do still enjoy it when I have it on. First three tracks in particular are very good and stand up compared with what the band has released in recent years.

I really like the Aftermath, remember learning it on guitar when I was first starting out. While I enjoy all the other tracks with the exception of Edge of Darkness & The Unbeliever, the former sounds like it is trying to steal from Hallowed Be Thy Name, while I just find the intro from the later irritating. Have the singles, so own the b-sides, but you can tell when listening to them why they didn't make the album, as not as good, but in saying that they are worth having in my music collection.

Went to see them on that tour and was great to witness the band in a venue that holds less than 2,000 people. Blaze was great in the moment though if you went back and scrutinized the vocals they didn't hold up that well on some of the material he was asked to sing. Always was a mystery to me why they didn't introduce more Di'anno material into the set that he could have sung more comfortably.

I has ever since I got this album had strong feelings for it. I never understood the hate for it, I think all the songs here are extremely well written both musically and lyrically. Sure there are some weaker parts, for example the chorus in "Fortunes of War" is pretty dull and "Man on The Edge" isn't really on par with the rest of the tracks. But then we look at the highlights. "The Edge of Darkness" truly feel as a soundtrack to Apocalypse Now, dark and thrilling (When you've faced the heart of darkness, Even your soul begins to bend). When they pick up the speed in "Judgment of Heaven" and we get one of Steve Harris best lyrics (If you could live your life again, Would you change a thing or leave it all the same?) then we have one of the most underrated Maiden songs ever. "Sign of the Cross" with it's really exciting instrumental section (4:40-10:00) is so close to perfection as music gets, it's without any doubt their best song exceeding the 10 minute mark. And then of course the solo section in "The Unbeliever" (from 3:35) does in every way challenge the Powerslave solo part. Overwhelming stuff.
Just as Somewhere In Time, Seventh Son and AMOLAD they managed to capture a tight atmosphere that connects all the songs and they all feel a part of a entirety. Even the three songs that got left out of the ordinary release is fucking fantastic. This one deserves nothing less than full rating.

Best 90s Maiden album imho.

Nothing really bad on this album (like for example The Angel And The Gambler on Virtual XI, Weekend Warrior on Fear Of The Dark or Hooks In You on No Prayer For The Dying). Some tracks are forgettable (I'm personally thinking of Man On The Edge, Look For The Truth and 2 A.M.). Some ok songs like The Aftermath and Fortunes Of War.

But all the other songs I really like. Judgement Of heaven (some really good riffs and lyrics in that song), Blood On the World's Hand (that base intro!), The Edge Of Darkness and Lord Of The Flies have excellent lyrics as well. And Sign Of The Cross... well that song is just amazing in every way.

As for Blazes voice. I like it on this album. Would it have worked with Bruce on it? Definitely, I even think a lot of people wouldn't dislike this album as much if that were the case. But I honestly think that with the darker tone of the album, Blazes voice works perfectly well.

Overall does this album compete with the 80s output and most of the 2000s output? No not imo, but damn this album has some amazing tracks and for me personally it easily blows Fear Of the Dark (yeah I just said that), No Prayer For The Dying and Virtual XI out of the water.

7.5/10

Written by majormalfunction on 17.07.2016 at 18:45

I has ever since I got this album had strong feelings for it. I never understood the hate for it, I think all the songs here are extremely well written both musically and lyrically. Sure there are some weaker parts, for example the chorus in "Fortunes of War" is pretty dull and "Man on The Edge" isn't really on par with the rest of the tracks. But then we look at the highlights. "The Edge of Darkness" truly feel as a soundtrack to Apocalypse Now, dark and thrilling (When you've faced the heart of darkness, Even your soul begins to bend). When they pick up the speed in "Judgment of Heaven" and we get one of Steve Harris best lyrics (If you could live your life again, Would you change a thing or leave it all the same?) then we have one of the most underrated Maiden songs ever. "Sign of the Cross" with it's really exciting instrumental section (4:40-10:00) is so close to perfection as music gets, it's without any doubt their best song exceeding the 10 minute mark. And then of course the solo section in "The Unbeliever" (from 3:35) does in every way challenge the Powerslave solo part. Overwhelming stuff.
Just as Somewhere In Time, Seventh Son and AMOLAD they managed to capture a tight atmosphere that connects all the songs and they all feel a part of a entirety. Even the three songs that got left out of the ordinary release is fucking fantastic. This one deserves nothing less than full rating.

I have same things to say about self titteled and Prayer one .... but I agree whit this one, of corse its not 80's but hate no never, hate only can be in The wild frontear