Iron Maiden
Dance Of Death

Yet another album for Iron Maiden, who now make music as if they were obliged to. The repetitiveness of the songs is increasingly overwhelming and it has become automatic for us to wonder why they continue to churn out such similar songs even after more than 20 years of career. There are certainly significant tracks, but everything ends up being banal, especially after hearing the class of many other previous Iron works. Their new albums are now just a little treat for the fans, or perhaps a need for some cash, but some pieces are not bad at all.

Let's see in detail: The album opens with Wildest Dreams, the first disappointment; the song, very commercial, suitable as a single, is a copy of the very recent The Wickerman, and shows nothing new except for an MTV chorus; the second, Rainmaker, is another piece that will immediately seem already heard, boring to death, but with an interesting melody also taken up by the vocals; very interesting is No More Lies, almost a copy of Fear Of The Dark but manages to lift itself from the rest of the album with a rather captivating melodic section and more than decent lyrics; Montsegur ends up being the classic "parody" of their old songs, a task that the now expired Maiden seems unable to pull off anymore; Dance Of Death, the song that gives the album its title, is also the longest song; certainly not very appreciable for its extreme length, as it is very repetitive and not very incisive; even here, it is saved by the always original use of notes that have characterized 25 years of Iron Maiden; Gates Of Tomorrow, another piece that reminds us of countless others, starts with a rather strange style only to become the classic Iron ballad; nothing interesting; moving on to New Frontier, a strangely known piece, and having the only characteristic of being identical to many others, starting from The Wickerman (and we are at two songs copied from the same one); Paschendale, with a very atmospheric and intense beginning, ends up ruining itself in its excessive length despite an almost epic grandeur; I'll just waste two words for Face In The Sand, practically identical in every way to Brave New World; the penultimate song, The Age Of Innocence, a rather calm piece, once again emphasizes the alignment with the commercial even by the historic English heavy metal band, which churns out another piece devoid of appeal (probably the worst of the album); the concluding track, Journeyman, the first acoustic track in the entire Maiden discography, turns out to be a really interesting serenade where Dickinson succeeds in the difficult task of adapting his voice in an almost serenade-like context.

My words have certainly not been good for Iron Maiden, but this does not mean that I do not respect this band that has given a lot to metal, particularly to the heavy metal sector. However, the group feels the weight of the years and to survive, they begin to produce songs that are less and less powerful and complex to align with the commercial currents that are now trending. The album can please anyone, from the most ardent fan to those who appreciate them less, but it can very well meet its worst enemy; in short, a mediocre album that I do not recommend purchasing except to attempt to trace a nonexistent evolution of a band that has withered over the years.