Iron Maiden - Fear of The Dark
Fear of the Dark is probably the strangest album Iron Maiden ever made. Hard rock and speed metal co-exist between traditional heavy metal in this long, dark, strangely raw album. Bruce's raspy vocals are sure to annoy some and infuriate others, but personally i like them, and think they match the rawness of the entire hour-long album.
This is the last album with Bruce until the 21st century and admittedly wasn't a great way to go out. As Bruce himself admitted, Maiden was going insane throughout the 1980's and by 1992 they were exhausted of ideas and ingenuity.
The album starts with an absolute bang, "Be Quick or Be Dead" is an underrated speed metal masterpiece about political and business scandals occurring in Britain in the early 1990's and features some of Iron Maiden's most delightfully twisted lyrics: "I bet you won't fall on your face, your belly will hold you in place!" This song is a fantastic opener with great guitar riffs and vengeful vocals and starts very suddenly. When Bruce a minute through the song repeats "Be quick" like a frog incessantly is a little annoying, but the rest of the song is excellent. "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" starts slow, arguably with filler, but ends fantastically, and has one of Iron Maiden's most recognizable guitar riffs when it kicks in two and a half minutes in. The intro probably shouldn't have been that long, but the song, clearly about a soldier, is powerful and emotional. The song is a lot like the Maiden epics of old and also sounds like it could have been off "A Matter of Life and Death."
At times the album fades into the unrecognizable. "Fear is the Key" doesn't sound at all like Maiden and is possibly the worst song on the album, at least if "Weekend Warrior" wasn't on it. Both songs contain Maiden's least inspired and most boring lyrics ever, and some of their least catchy guitar riffs to boot. I'll have more on "Weekend Warrior" later. "Fear is the Key" appears about the key free 80's, before AIDS hit the heterosexual mainstream. Freddy Mercury, though homosexual, had died the year before of the disease and by 1992, the concern over unsafe sex and the traditional rock n' roll lifestyle had apparently reached Iron Maiden. The song is too long and as I already said, one of the band's worst ever, but from almost any other band would be a masterpiece because Maiden was at that high a level during the 1980's, and even down to parts of this album. I included the back story for this song because it really doesn't make much sense otherwise. It's a shame because the song starts off with quite a solid melody and features a fantastic and emotional, if brief guitar solo.
Moving on the great but not quite 80's era Maiden works "Childhood's End" is respectable "hard-rocking" heavy metal, but this song is bland and clearly of the wrong genre. The song actually starts with a really catchy guitar riff and is quite catchy and Bruce is at his best of the album right here, really giving it his all. "From Here to Eternity" isn't very heavy at all but is extremely good in its own way. That said, if you don't like AC/DC's brand of hard rock, you won't like this song, which sounds like like one of the band's least bluesy and frankly best songs sped up 150%. Just like the rest of the album, it doesn't try to be something it's not, like one of Maiden's 80's epics, but introduces interesting melodies and pacing changes to the "No Prayer for the Dying" formula.
"Wasting Love" is a strange song, with alternating very slow and mid-paced sections and really catchy guitar riffs. The lyrics aren't bad on paper, but something in the way they're delivered hurts the song. Iron Maiden just isn't about love ballads, but give it a chance, it's not bad at all.
"The Fugitive" is actually about an American television series that aired during the 1960's, and in that sense and in format is similar to "The Prisoner" from The Number of the Beast, but nowhere near as good. The song is cheesy, with the title being repeated constantly, which would be fine if it was catchy or a good song, but not in this case.
"Chains of Misery" is actually pretty good heavy metal, and it sounds pretty good and also like it took a long time to orchestrate. The constantly changing tempos and riffs are reminiscent of "Phantom of the Opera" from the self-titled debut. Bruce's raspy vocals, which began with the previous album "No Prayer for the Dying" match perfectly with this song to boot. "Chains of Misery" is a true diamond in the rough, a hidden masterpiece that never gets the recognition it deserves. "The Apparition" isn't bad, but is really generic sounding and is completely lacking the galloping rhythms we've come to know from Maiden.
"Weekend Warrior" is horrible and is arguably Maiden's worst song ever. The song drags on and on and would be terrible for any band, but is downright shocking for Maiden. It's certainly not a metal song, and is thinly-disguised pop rock. It's actually a song about soccer/football hooligans, with Maiden's worst chorus ever:
"A weekend warrior lately, A weekend warrior sometimes
,A weekend warrior maybe you ain't ,That way anymore"
Not only are the lyrics bad, but so is everything about the song including the fact that unfortunately the song is 5 and a half minutes.
Now for the true masterpieces off the album, starting with "Judas Be My Guide." This is an absolute hidden gem and heavy metal masterpiece and probably one of Maiden's only political songs, as it is a visceral attack on consumerism. The song rocks with an intense Judas Priest vibe, which it doesn't even pretend to hide, and although it doesn't play like an Iron Maiden song, it's still one of their best. Then, I was in for quite a surprise when my all-time favourite song came up next, "Fear of the Dark" is quite simply the best Iron Maiden song of the 1990's, and perhaps their best ever. Everything works, and the three guitar solos are some of the greatest and most recognizable in the traditional heavy metal catalogue. The lyrics speak from the heart and and there is nothing cheesy about them at all. This song always gives goosebumps, especially when the first [and loudest] guitar solo kicks in. For this masterpiece alone I can't give this album less than 81 percent. Every metal-head should know this song, which is the perfect album closer.
Recommended-
"Be Quick or Be Dead"
"Afraid to Shoot Strangers"
"Judas Be My Guide"
"Fear of the Dark"
Okay-
"From Here to Eternity"
"The Apparition"
"Childhoods End"
"Wasting Love"
"Chains of Misery"
Better skipped-
"Weekend Warrior"
"Fear is the Key"
"The Fugitive"
copas dari http://www.metal-archives.com
Tracklist
1. "Be Quick or Be Dead"
2. "From Here to Eternity"
3. "Afraid to Shoot Strangers"
4. "Fear Is the Key"
5. "Childhood's End"
6. "Wasting Love"
7. "The Fugitive"
8. "Chains of Misery"
9. "The Apparition"
10. "Judas Be My Guide"
11. "Weekend Warrior"
12. "Fear of the Dark"
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