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Today, we have Maiden’s second of four studio albums from the 1990s, and far and away the best one. While No
Prayer For The Dying did end up being better than I remember, it’s still a far cry from the stuff fans were getting in the ’80s. Fear of the Dark is a vast improvement. While it’s not going to touch the tippy-top of the Maiden catalogue, I really dig this one. It’s actually one of my favourite ‘comfort’ albums; one I’d just throw on while I’m working to help recenter my mind. Even if some of the songs are fairly mid, I enjoy the overall sound, so everything tends to go down easy despite being the longest album thus far.
One thing I applaud this album for is the sheer variety of the sounds in the tracks, most of which worked well. We’ll get Maiden dabbling in speed and thrash, a power ballad, and songs that simply stand alone in the discography. It’s not the most consistent album, but there’s a lot of highs here to make it an enjoyable listen.
This, of course, is the last album to feature Bruce Dickinson as lead vocalist until 2000’s Brave New World. The desire to pursue a solo career, and a lot of infighting with Steve Harris, led to Dickinson’s decision. Two live albums (A Real Live One and A Real Dead One) with Dickinson followed, and Bruce’s last concert with the band (until 1999) was filmed on August 28, 1993. It was released on video under the name Raising Hell.
It’s part concert and part horror magic show, with magician Simon Drake pretending to torture and kill fans, crew, and band members throughout. Bruce gets killed by an iron maiden! Check it out; it’s wonderful camp.
Cover Art
Eddie’s a tree now!
This was a pretty big change as longtime artist Derek Riggs didn’t contribute this piece. The band rejected a lot of suggestions from Riggs, prompting him to angrily tell band manager Rod Smallwood to find someone else. That someone else was Melvyn Grant, who designed Eddie to be a malevolent tree/vampire hybrid. Grant would go on to be the second-most prolific artist for Maiden media after Riggs.
12. “The Apparition”
I’ve seen a few people say that “Weekend Warrior” was the worst Maiden song ever, but I don’t share that opinion. It’s not even the worst song on the album. That “honour” goes to “The Apparition”. It’s one of the weaker tracks I’ve heard in this series so far as the whole thing just feels a bit uninspired and one-note. On the positive side, the solo is fine, and at least it’s not overlong, which is the big problem I have with some Maiden tracks.
11. “Weekend Warrior”
Even though I spared “Warrior” from the basement in favour of “Apparition”, it’s still not a very good track. Written about soccer hooliganism, a subject near and dear to the heart of footy aficionado Steve Harris, it’s very lightweight when compared to the themes of a lot of the band’s output. That by itself doesn’t necessarily make it terrible, but the song is just aggressively fine and a tad long for what it brings to the table.
10. “Fear is the Key”
An examination of the AIDS crisis and a scathing criticism of society’s dismissal of the epidemic until a celebrity, specifically, Freddie Mercury, fell victim (“…And nobody cares ’til somebody famous dies”), “Fear is the Key” is one of several songs on this album that deals with a more grounded, real-world subject. “Fear is the Key” may be fairly middle-of-the-road and unmemorable from a musical perspective, but its overall message is important. Despite the subject matter, I’ve seen some people stick this one on Halloween playlists. Folks, just because the word “Fear” is in the title doesn’t mean it should be played between “The Monster Mash” and “I Put a Spell On You” in October.
9. “Judas Be My Guide”
This was one of the more forgettable tracks from the album as it took multiple listens to really nail down how I felt about it. At the end of the day, it’s better than I remember it being, and we start to see the song quality pick up a bit. The instrumentation is rather good, particularly the guitars. Bruce puts in a solid shift here, especially during the chorus. “WHIIIIIISSPEEERRRSSSS IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN THE NIIIIIIGHHHHTTT“!
8. “The Fugitive”
“Fugitive” is based on the 60’s TV show (which was later turned into a pretty awesome 1993 Harrison Ford film) in which Dr. Richard Kimble is falsely accused of murdering his wife and is ceaselessly pursued by law enforcement. It was the one-armed man, guys! We get some decently evocative instrumentation, and the lyrics do a good job getting the viewpoint of the protagonist across. The chorus is pretty catchy, too. Not too shabby.
7. “Chains of Misery”
This track is definitely one I gravitated towards when I first heard this album many years ago. This look at
self-sabotage is grimy and grungy, which really makes it stick out. The bridge and chorus are rather catchy and well-sung by Dickinson, and the riffs are meaty. It carries a rock-solid groove throughout that gets the head bobbing.
6. “Childhood’s End”
“Childhood’s End” is bleak in its subject matter, which deals with the unjust suffering and pain endured by children all over the world. It’s well-sung, and the instrumentation is rather good. The guitars are REALLY strong, but the big standout to me here is Nicko McBrain’s drumming. It really does drive the action here.
5. “Wasting Love”
Now HERE’s an outlier in the Maiden discography. We have Maiden’s first (and, as of September 2024, only) power ballad, and it’s actually pretty good! It doesn’t go full-on saccharine like Poison or Guns N’ Roses, but it does explore the loneliness of loveless sex with a tempo that’s slower and more melodic than usual. Dickinson’s vocals are strong here, especially in the chorus, and the guitars and drums do a great job conveying the mood.
4. “Afraid to Shoot Strangers”
An anti-war track that examines the Gulf War from the perspective of a soldier, Steve Harris penned another song that sounds much different than what we’re used to. It starts off very soft, melodic, and subdued, and it stays that way until the guitars pick up in urgency. The instrumentation tells the story well.
It’s actually been performed live quite a bit beyond this album’s promotion. There’s a live version where Dickinson’s replacement, Blaze Bayley, performs the vocals, and it’s really well done. It’s a good song for his more limited vocal range.
3. “From Here to Eternity”
It’s the final part of the “Charlotte the Harlot” trilogy (or quadrilogy if you count 1990’s “Hooks In You”), and it’s far and away the best. In this track, Charlotte falls for The Devil, and she ends up meeting her end after a motorcycle ride gone cattywampus. The chorus is catchy as hell, Bruce’s raspy, straight-ahead vocals really add to the feeling of the story, and the guitars, bass, and drums work extremely well here.
The single cover is actually the first studio single to not feature Eddie on it, instead choosing a still from the music video. I get that they wanted to update their marketing a bit for the 1990s but cover art without Derek Riggs doesn’t hit the same.
2. “Be Quick or Be Dead”
The album opener is Maiden dipping their toe in the faster-paced thrash metal pool and honestly kicks ALL of the asses. This examination of various political scandals from the era starts with a fast, hard-driving guitar riff, and the song rarely lets up. This is the best “snarling Bruce” track from the last couple of albums, as the rawer vocals are amplified with enough power to carry the track to its destination. The drums, bass, and guitars all work to create a hard-hitting piece. If you want an Iron Maiden track for your workout playlist, this is the one.
1. “Fear of the Dark”
This really could not be anything else. “Fear of the Dark” is not only the best song on the album and the best Maiden song of the 1990s (granted, it’s not entirely a high bar to clear), but it’s my favourite Maiden song. I love the hell out of this thing. Lyrically, it’s a bit on the simplistic side, but the words are super-catchy, and the overall composition is incredible. The opening is appropriately haunting, with the melodic guitars and Bruce’s soft, foreboding vocals. There’s nothing like hearing that first bit of the song when driving around on a dark October night. Then the song ratchets up several gears when the fast-paced guitars and drums kick in, and it crosses the threshold to exquisite. The instrumentation is peerless, with blistering solos and frenetic percussion. The song is over 7 minutes, but it doesn’t feel nearly that.
“Fear of the Dark” has since been a live staple, having reserved a spot on nearly every Maiden setlist since 1992. Hearing this one live and in person was an unforgettable experience.
More of Ryan Ranks coming soon to CGCM Rock Radio/Website: Ryan Ranks
