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Iron Maiden > No Prayer for the Dying > Reviews
Iron Maiden - No Prayer for the Dying

No Prayer in the 1990s - 57%

Acrobat, January 3rd, 2024
Written based on this version: 1990, 12" vinyl, EMI

“We’re recording the album my house – don’t like it? You’re fired!”

“We’re writing the album in two weeks – don’t like it? You’re fired!”

“The cover art should be Eddie laying bricks with his arse out – don’t like it?”


While it might have been hard to see from the outside, it is generally said that by the end of the 1980s Iron Maiden were somewhat struggling. The storm clouds were on the horizon and you can’t expect a band to work a band to their collective tether’s end without something eventually giving. If anything, we should perhaps be grateful that they managed to keep the quality so high for seven monstrous albums. Nonetheless, it is said that the band was perhaps frayed and worried about “keeping up with the Joneses” by the time 1990 rolled around. Releasing an album like Seventh Son... with its graceful progressive touches might not have met the with the approval of the zeitgeist and the metal press, whose power was still palpable (it seems laughable nowadays – but your big reviewers in Kerrang and Metal Hammer still carried a lot of weight in those days). So, the response was perhaps to make an album that could be – within reason – seen as Maiden responding to the raw aggression of thrash and the “back-to-basics” rock ‘n’ roll plied by a lot of bands in the early 1990s. After all, Maiden had seen from up close Guns N Roses ascend from opener to headliner in very close quarters. It seems bizarre in hindsight: why would Maiden be worried about “streetwise” thrash and how many records that band with one good album and a ropey singer could shift? And yet, these could be factors at play here. Certainly, despite the idea that Maiden have "always been the same", I think the Harris-Smallwood duo are a little more shrewd when it comes to their business decisions and – likewise – they’ve mostly put the band first (I mean, I doubt bringing Bruce back in 1999 was motivated by personal fondness but more save-the-band pragmatism). So, maybe they thought this shift was for the best... after all, fickle writers were all too keen to dismiss anything deemed old hat.

So, that brings us to the album of the day: the rough around the edges, back-to-basics, in-the-pub-when-it-should-have-been-writing, scrappy, No Prayer for the Dying. Gone are interesting, timeless songs and they’ve been replaced by light-blue jeans (especially tight around the arse) and ho-hum hard rocking metal. Whilst any Maiden album between 1980 and 2000 has its share of classic songs (from ‘The Wicker Man’ to ‘Phantom of the Opera’ from ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ to ‘The Sign of the Cross’) No Prayer... has... I mean, ‘Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter’ is fun and the title-track has its charms for me as it reminds me of Black Sabbath’s ‘Born Again’. Nonetheless, there is a serious shortage of classics here and, in all fairness, I think any other Maiden you care to name might well have more interesting songs on it.

That is not to say the album is a complete disaster and, at various points during my time as a Maiden fan, I have felt the album was somewhat hard done by. After all, the energy is there and both lead guitarists step up to the plate in terms of their string frazzling antics. I know that the production is a point of contention for some folks, but honestly, for the style, it’s pretty much perfect; guitars sizzle, basses clank and the “live in the studio” feeling suits the album well. Indeed, you’ll find Martin Birch’s name on plenty of classic live albums – so it’s no doubt that he was up-to-snuff here. While you can certainly, certainly same that the album was “underwritten”, I don’t think it was really fair to say that it is “underproduced”. Furthermore, new boy Janick Gers is a great guitarist and the right man for the job here, and as the band’s third guitarist to this present day. He doesn’t play like Adrian – that much is very clear; while Adrian has a very composed nature to his solos, Janick sounds a lot more spontaneous, off-the-cuff and wild. His leads offer well-needed bursts of excitement here, but the thing we’re missing is his songwriting input. Undoubtedly, Maiden had lost one of their most important songwriters in Adrian (having three sole writing credits on Somewhere in Time and three co-writes on Seventh Son...). Here, however, he contributes his absolute worst number of all-time: ‘Hooks in You’, which is a lazily pinched Michael Schenker riff and Bruce at his hammy worst. So, with that in mind, it’s a great shame that Gers didn’t have time to contribute here: his writing credits are usually very worthwhile (barring a few hard rock shockers on Fear of the Dark - ‘Weekend Warrior’, anyone?) and a couple of Gers credits might have really given this album the push it needed.

The passable material here is familiar and well-worn and yet oddly hollow – as if it were written by a cardboard cut-out of Steve Harris rather than the man himself. It’s quite odd that there was no gradual decline here from the Seven Son... but rather a more vertical plummet. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine many of these songs inspiring awe from headbangers around the world and it is very easy to see how they’d be dismissed. Let’s take ‘Tailgunner’ as an example: a major third bass riffs that might remind you of, say’, ‘The Number of the Beast’ or ‘The Clairvoyant’, WW2-inspired lyrics that certainly draw comparisons between ‘Aces High’ (although in 1984, Maiden were certainly a band who wouldn’t stoop to writing such sly-winking, I’ve-just-written-my-first-novel puns like ‘kill that fokker’) and the overall vibe of the song – despite some cool instrumental sections – is simply that the band wrote a fast opening track because they felt that’s how the album should open rather than any more earnest drive of inspiration. Given the pacing of the record, it’s interesting to consider when a fan in 1990 would have realised that the band had dropped the ball following the seven previous classics. For my money, it’s got to be on ‘Holy Smoke’. Again, it’s not devoid of energy but the vocals are garish and the intro riff is just way too jolly to be taken seriously. Furthermore, when you add that Bruce is writing from the point-of-view of Jesus Christ on this song... things just get even sillier. Truly, this is the sound of a band whose quality control is not where it should be.

That said, the album does have some brighter spots - the title-track displays some points of interest (certainly, the main guitar melody could deserves a place in a more graceful song) and while its structure is reminiscent of 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' it's still a nice, speedy pay-off. Elsewhere, I honestly think 'Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter' is the album's highlight and this is troubling in of itself. But the Bon Scott era sleaze and teetering-on-the-edge-of-bum-note-hell solo make the song as memorable and catchy as it sets out to be, and it's probably the only time wherein Maiden's early 90's hard rock flirtation actually came together well. Of course, you might add the caveat that it's a Bruce solo song that graced the arse-end of one of the forgettable Nightmare on Elm Street films, so perhaps not even a 'true' Maiden track, but let's ignore that for now. It's even graced with a little bit of the classic Maiden gothic touch; the ominous bells and eerie backing choirs make for a superb climax to the song. I even like the lyrics; sure, they're hammy and will stand out if you compare them lyrically to any other era of the band apart from their No Prayer for the Dying/Fear of the Dark, but they very much fit the Freddy Krueger campiness that the song aims for.

Often it appears that No Prayer... is mired in mediocrity: you're passing through a swill of decent-to-mediocre songs hoping that something better comes along. I suppose it's noteworthy that this album features two Murray compositions and, while I have a soft spot for some of his material ('The Prophecy', 'The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg' and 'Judas Be My Guide') he's hardly the most exciting of Maiden's writers, this is perhaps due to Harris and Dickinson running low on ideas. Certainly, his two tracks here - 'Fates Warning' (should Fates Warning write a passable track called 'Iron Maiden'?) and 'Public Enema No. 1' (better than its title suggests, honest!) - are decent enough but they deserve nothing more than faint praise.

After our brief Davey interlude, we're slogging through more running-out-of-steam songs. 'The Assassin' features a chorus that will make all those who dared complain about 'Invaders' come begging for mercy - furthermore its title might give a nod back to an earlier classic, but nothing about this rather drab song will remind you of the superb atmosphere/performances/vitality of Killers. 'Running Silent Running Deep' is a stodgy, seafaring number that - while not a bad song - sinks without making anything more than ripples. Simply put, you don't gain a great deal from sitting through them. Of course, we come to expect the big epic from Maiden, and 'Mother Russia' hints at that: every Maiden album prior to this (barring Killers had at least one epic), as do the rest of their 90's albums, and the 2000's albums often feature several. With this in mind, it is clear that Maiden tried and failed to make an epic on 'Mother Russia'. Despite the grandeur of its subject matter, it's weirdly concise... weirdly underdeveloped and doesn't really go anywhere emotionally. There's certainly no sense of a story well-told like all the best Maiden epics. Sure, some of the melodies are quite nice and the solo sections are fun - but asking for a nice melody and some good lead work seems like a bar set very low. More than anything it seems like a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained. Again, it seems like a case of another song on the record that needed more development. Underwritten and - for the first time in their career - underlong!

All that said, I find the record to be oddly listenable... I can quite happily sit through it and enjoy a few songs quite a bit, whilst finding others rather amusing. Even Maiden's weaker records tend to be fairly listenable - which is more than can be said for a lot of the other long-running metal bands and their "ugly duckling" records.

Underrated & Hated - 88%

enrAArne, December 30th, 2023
Written based on this version: 1990, 12" vinyl, EMI

Following up on the monumental and epic "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", Iron Maiden faced the Herculean task of charting a new course with "No Prayer For The Dying". This album marks a stark turn from its intricate predecessor, offering a more direct and less complex approach that harkens back to the band's classic era.

The songwriting on NPFTD strips down Iron Maiden's sound to its core, delivering a punchier and more straightforward metal assault. This may have come as a surprise to those expecting another progressive masterpiece, but the album's quality stands firm and unaffected by this change in direction. While the subsequent album "Fear of the Dark" contained what many consider to be superior hits with its title track and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers", NPFTD resonates as a more cohesive whole for many listeners, including myself.

Key tracks deserving of accolades include "Tailgunner" with its solid, rocking start that sets the tone for the album. The title track "No Prayer for the Dying" stands out as the album's gem, offering introspective lyrics paired with beautifully contemplative guitar work. "Public Enema Number One" hits hard with its directness and weight, coupled with a chorus that leaves a lasting impression. "The Assassin" rounds out the highlights with its intriguing melody and a sense of menace, contributing to the album's straightforward ethos.

The album is not without its shortcomings. Compared to the classic Maiden albums of the early '80s, NPFTD lacks those monumental hits that have defined the band's legacy. However, this does not detract from the album's own merits and its place in Maiden's discography.

In essence, "No Prayer For The Dying" may not have the towering singles of its siblings, but it stands as a testament to Iron Maiden's ability to evolve and adapt, offering fans a different yet equally engaging facet of their storied metal journey.

Iron Maiden in 4 paragraphs - 40%

Annable Courts, October 21st, 2023

Unfortunately here, there often isn't much more than the standard Maiden gallop, Dickinson filling in the verse with totally forgettable lines, and some standard hard rock chorus in just about every proposed track. It sounds like the instrumental aspect was neglected, and they emphasized the vocals more to try to pump some life into the verses and choruses. If anything, the lyrics are more memorable than the hooks. The chorus on 'Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter' has a bit of a retro feel, particularly on that super-vibrato high note midway in (..."slaughter"); and is one of the rare genuinely catchy moments. It's not even an original track from this album, and was originally recorded by Bruce Dickinson but later incorporated into this release. So the best song on here isn't even a native one.

There's a characteristic tastelessness on this album: 'The Assassin' has a crowd of Dickinsons warning "better watch out!", which makes this album sound like maybe it's Iron Maiden for kids. Maiden has always had a borderline caricatural aspect to their whole sound and persona, but this is when they crossed, firm-footed, into silly territory. This has every metalhead's favorite Bruce going into overdrive, using more profanity, throwing in a few "yeahs" and silly evil laughs, and the daftest random lines - I mean: "Holy Smoke... Smells good!". It honestly sounds like the band was having a blast with beers and having dips in the studio's outdoor jacuzzi making this than anything else.

This might be the first by the numbers Iron Maiden record. It's got little imagination beyond that of producing (only barely) acceptably assembled and executed material loosely based on a particular heavy metal formula that's worked previously. It feels manufactured. It generally gives out a feeling of weak melodies all-round. A track like the more serious toned 'Fates Warning', without doing anything particularly well, is decent Maiden, but only just. 'Hooks in You' retrieves a tad bit of that true Maiden momentum. To be honest, if this didn't have Eddie and the Iron Maiden font on the cover, it might've even gone unnoticed. What separates this from just about any hard rock from 1990? Not much.

Finally to end on a positive, some of the better melodies on this commercial low-effort bust:
- that post-chorus riff with the military-style snare on top on the opener 'Tail Gunner'
- the lead over the bass doublets and synth accompaniment on the title-track
- after the Phantasm main theme ripoff in the intro (all the way down to the backing synth choir), the main riff (when the beat first starts) on 'Mother Russia' with that nice perfect fifth harmony.

Every Band Has a Worst Album - 51%

Nerozed, October 16th, 2022

Iron Maiden is legendary. Arguably the greatest band of all time. Even the most supreme legends have a worst album. This is Iron Maiden’s. Worse than “Senjutsu”, worse, than “Virtual XI”, “No Prayer for the Dying” sees Iron Maiden depart from the mystical wonder of “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” and the sci-fi barrage of “Somewhere in Time” in favor of a stripped down rock n roll approach. In essence, Iron Maiden tossed aside all of their progress as songwriters, eschewing all of the fun experimentation that we loved about “Somewhere in Time”, the Epic proportions of “Powerslave” and the progressive tinges of “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” in favor of a lousy attempt at recreating “Killers”. This was a shitty idea and they did a shitty job of executing it.

The era of bluesy rock n’ roll metal was dead and gone in 1990. This was the year of “Rust in Peace” and Metallica’s Justice was just a couple of years old. Thrash had taken the world by storm and extreme metal was on the rise. Bands in these scenes were going all in on the longer songs and intricate compositions. Maybe Maiden was bitten by the same bug that led to the catastrophe that was 90s Metallica? I don’t know but what inspired this blunder is beyond me.

Stylistic choices aside, this album is not suffering from the same woes that the Blaze Bayley portion of Maiden’s 1990s catalog had. There are no production gaffes like on “the X Factor” and there isn’t a single particularly horrendous song like on “Virtual XI”. Like “Fear of the Dark”, this album is riddled with lackluster and forgettable tracks and it doesn’t have an outstanding standalone single to rest its laurels on. The album is loaded with such forgettable cuts like “Fates Warning”, “Mother Russia'', “The Assassin”, and so on that the album fails to hold your attention. Generally, these tracks meander and feel a little bit like Iron Maiden by the numbers. It is as if they tried to rework and rehash the mood of "Killers" and "Powerslave" deep cuts but omitted the energy that those tracks possessed. "Mother Russia" for example is a slow trudge of a song. It is supposed to be the epic of the album, featuring synths like their previous, more adventurous effort, but the riffs kind of just string along in progression without the usual thought that Iron Maiden usually takes when assembling a song. It doesn't go anywhere and it takes way too long to get there by Iron Maiden standards. The other highlighted tracks feature similar compositional missteps.

It isn't that these tracks are bad in the context of music itself. Certainly not. Iron Maiden has a baseline of quality just by the presence of their being. Their sound is consistent in its baseline quality that they really can't make a “horrible” song except for the glaring exception that was “The Angel and the Gambler” from “Virtual XI”. The issue here is that there is no truly stellar single to compel you to give the album a spin in the first place. There is no “Fear of the Dark” or “The Clansman” to draw you in and make you want to listen to this record as Maiden's other efforts from their 90s slump era had.

The album is not without its merits however. The album has standard fair Iron Maiden production. It is mixed well in that all of the instruments fit nicely in the mix and the tone and timbre of each of those instruments are pleasing to the ear. Its that Martin Birch sound we have grown accustom to on the bulk of Maiden's early discography. You know it and it is par for the course in the world of Iron Maiden.

In addition to maintaining consistency in production style and quality, this album does have some cuts that can stand on their own and would be worthwhile to include in a playlist or mixtape. “Hooks in You”, the third installment in the saga of Maiden’s favorite lady of the night Charlotte the Harlot presents a catchy and entertaining ‘80s romp that will appeal to Maiden fans who are nostalgic for the Paul Di’Anno era or have a taste for VanHalen. The song leans heavily into Maiden's catchy side and not its epic side. It is almost like a second swing at the magic that was "Can I Play with Madness". This track is a little poppy and would likely feel more at home on a Ghost record than a Maiden record but it is a fun little rock song for what it is. If pop tropes in the metal context do not bother you, this track ought to get its "Hooks in You".

“Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter” is one of the strongest takes on the Di’Anno era sound on the record which is kind of ironic being that it is the only track on the record penned exclusively by Bruce Dickinson, originally for his solo effort. It kind of emulates the vibe of the live version of “Running Free” in that the guitars drop out to and come in again which is a pretty neat and underutilized tool in Maiden's arsenal. The song is not without its issues though as it is quite repetitive for its length. It is not annoying in its length or anything but perhaps it could have used some more variation in the chorus be it with guitar flourishes or variations upon the vocal line. Also noteworthy is the title track and “Public Enema Number One” which both also capture a little bit of the “Killers” album in their own way. Neither are as strong as Hooks and Bring your Daughter but they both possess interesting riffage, passable compositional structure and diverse vocal melodies to warrant a full listen.

To be clear, the songs that have been highlighted above for their quality cannot stand on their own against the likes of “Wasted Years”, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” or even later cuts like “The Wicker Man”. If an objective ranking of Maiden’s songs were to be made, these songs would lay somewhere in the lower middle because they have fun riffs and decent hooks but nothing that is any less than derivative of their earlier, and later, better work. That is why this album is Iron Maiden’s worst. There is not a real reason to listen to it top to bottom. Unlike all of Iron Maiden’s other albums, there is no reason to sit down and listen to this one aside from completionism. This is the only Maiden album to receive a failing grade from me. This is not a miserable failure but a failure nonetheless by the standard in quality that Iron Maiden has given us in the past and future.

This one gets an F.

Unprofessional, unserious and insulting - 25%

MaidenMartin, April 16th, 2022

Iron Maiden is by far my favorite band of all time. I worship the ground that they walk on, and I will fight for their name for the rest of my life. That being said, I think it’s my duty as a fan to weather my dissatisfaction when I’m unsatisfied with what the band does. These expressions don’t become clearer than my opinion on their 8th studio album, No Prayer For The Dying, from 1990.

No Prayer For The Dying was in many aspects an album of change for Iron Maiden. Created in the aftermath of their 1988 album Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, which can be considered as the zenith of the band’s creativity in the 1980s, No Prayer For The Dying can be described as the antithesis to that album. While Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son was an album built on progressive bombast and conceptualized themes, No Prayer For The Dying is more primitive and easy to comprehend. Gone are the long songs and complex song structures, appearent is shorter songs written in a more straight-forward, traditionalistic pattern. In many ways, No Prayer For The Dying can be considered as the album where Iron Maiden tried to get back to the musical style of their younger years, a style that culminated with albums like Iron Maiden and Killers. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach on paper, the result was anything but successful.

Truth be told, this album is awful. It lacks everything that I love about Iron Maiden, everything that made them my favorite band of all time. The biggest problem with No Prayer For The Dying is without any doubt the songwriting. Like I said, on paper there’s nothing wrong with stripping down your sound and going back to your roots, but when you do it with ideas like this, you might as well stop before it’s too late. Nothing on this album is memorable, nothing on this album is interesting and nothing on this album indicates that this is the same band that broke the boundaries of heavy metal the decade before. To think that this is the same band that made Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son always fills me with a large amount of rage. As a Maiden fanatic, I have always considered this album to be an insult to everything that has to do with Iron Maiden. Both the fans and the band itself knew that they could do better than this, yet they decide to waste their time, energy and talent on creating and releasing this subpar garbage. It's not only embarrassing but also unprofessional. I know many people gave up on Iron Maiden when this album was released, and even though I'm not one of them, I can fully understand why.

Another major highlight of awfulness is the vocals of Bruce Dickinson. Gone is the high-pitched, operatic air-raid siren, appearent is… I don’t even know. His vocals is more mid-ranged than on previous albums, which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but since he sings with a more raspy, dirty voice than before, he adds a large amount of cringe to the album. But on the other hand, it’s not like a more traditional sounding Bruce Dickinson would have made these songs justice. The songs are crap regardless of how he sings them.

Speaking of the songs, there are only two of them that deserves to be talked about in a positive way. Those are the two book-end songs, ”Tailgunner” and ”Mother Russia”. ”Tailgunner” opens the album and is a fast-paced number with a fun chorus. It’s not a great song, but it’s a song that I can listen to and be satisfied with. Same goes for ”Mother Russia”, the album’s closer and the closest the album comes to a ”Maiden epic”. As an epic, it doesn’t hold a candle compared to the ones that Iron Maiden had written in the past and would write in the future, but in the context of this album, it definitely deserves to be held in high regard. Sadly, the good songs end here. The rest of the songs varies from being mediocre to straight up embarrassing, culminating with abominations like ”Holy Smoke”, ”The Assassin” and ”Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter”, the last one being a new low for the band up to that point. I know it’s one of the band’s most famous songs but I don’t care. I hate it, and it’s a relief to know that the band has trashed it in terms of live performances.

As far as the musical performances go, Bruce Dickinson notwithstanding, they’re as good as they’re going to get. Steve Harris plays his bass, Nicko McBrain plays his drums… nothing new under the sun. Janick Gers, who with this album makes his studio debut with Iron Maiden, delivers some fast and entertaining solos, but doesn’t have much to work with as a whole. Unlike many, I consider Janick Gers to be a vital part of the Iron Maiden organism and considering how far it has gone, it would be hard for me to accept Iron Maiden without Janick Gers. That has little to do with this album though. On No Prayer For The Dying, he’s basically just there and does what he’s been told. It’s not an easy task to fill the void of Adrian Smith, and considering the circumstances, his performance is acceptable.

Speaking of Adrian Smith, he is sorely missed on this album. Perhaps not in terms of guitar playing, but definitely in terms of songwriting. He left the band during the pre-stages of this album and I don’t blame him. If my band had gone in the same direction as Maiden did on No Prayer For The Dying, I probably would have called it quits too. Still, this album definitely would have benefited from having Adrian Smith’s songwriting capacity. It is possible that the album would have been awful anyway, but the chances of a better album definitely would have increased. On the other hand, Adrian Smith’s departure paved the way for the arrival of Janick Gers, so even in these dark, terrible times for Iron Maiden, there was something positive to talk about.

One may wonder if my opinion on No Prayer For The Dying would be as harsh if the album wasn’t preceeded by Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, arguably the band’s most creative and ambitious album of all time? Yes. It would. Even on it’s own terms, this album is garbage. It doesn’t matter if I compare it to the band’s other albums or not. It wouldn’t have mattered if this was their first album, their 8th album or their last album. This album is trash regardless of how many factors I take into, or don’t take into, account.

Iron Maiden VIII: Overhated To A New Level - 94%

DanielG06, April 4th, 2022
Written based on this version: 1990, 12" vinyl, EMI

By far the most actively hated album in Maiden's discography (even the Blaze albums are ignored more than hated, whereas No Prayer For The Dying constantly gets flak), you probably had a tinted view of this record during the first listening. Firstly, I'm not going to state my love for this album just to be a contrarian and to piss people off, but I have a genuine appreciation for No Prayer For The Dying, while I understand why most seem to despise it, which is understandable, especially coming off the heels of Seventh Son, which may be the most praised release of the band's career. However, something about the music connects with me, and I would say that this album is a gem.

While openers Tailgunner and Holy Smoke definitely do sound odd and a bit too jovial considering the dark tone of the rest of the record, I find the seemingly innocent and unorthodox riffs to be fun and memorable, especially in the context of the latter's silly music video. The album kicks off on a not-so-serious tone that is a great listen, but this is completely tipped on its head when the title track starts. I don't want to describe every track separately, so I'm going to sum it up by saying that the song No Prayer For The Dying changes the atmosphere completely, and the band retains this more sombre atmosphere for the rest of the runtime.

This record is still dripping in the epic and massive sound found on the 3 previous albums, but this is conveyed slightly differently. No Prayer For The Dying has more of an attitude, and some of the songs even sound punk-oriented. The band is still very cohesive though, and the powerful riffs mixed with the frail but passionate vocals on tracks like Fate's Warning and Public Enema Number One make for a very enjoyable experience. Again, there are some less serious songs on the second side of the album that sound out of place, but don't ruin the flow of the songs.

A lot of the melodies on No Prayer For The Dying are simple and somewhat played out, but I still love them, and they definitely contribute to the more sorrowful sound that the band was trying to pull off. One complaint I have is that the lyrics on most of the songs are dumb, especially relative to the rest of the band's material prior. It's especially egregious when Bruce tries to perform the vocals as grandly as he normally does. There is a noticeable change in how the songs are written, which may be related to Adrian Smith's departure from the band. Although I think Janick Gers is a great guitar player (he's a true member of Iron Maiden, I don't care what the purists say), it can't be denied that Smith was a key songwriter for the band. The record consequently does suffer, but most of this is saved, since the lineup is still strong.

No Prayer For The Dying is an album that I feel is disliked for multiple reasons, but I enjoy these flaws, and there definitely is a lot of enjoyable material on here if you try to get past some of the more grating parts.

Killers 2.0 - 86%

DioBloodyMartin, October 23rd, 2021

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son reaches a high stratospheric bar whose own creators couldn't reconquer anymore. 1990 was a year when Harris and co. presented a more elemental, less epic disc than the mythical Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. This time they use a rough, rocky formula that mixes up a bare intention to back to the roots partially. Adrian Smith's departure was the most palpable reason for such minimalism, a guitarist who contributed so much, enjoying those elegant moments from his warm rock roots and not forgetting those so inspired moments of versatility and sophistication he signed in the songwriting. Fortunately it wasn't Adrian's exclusive work, but even so, the void he left was noticeable as he was a fundamental piece in the mythical quintet.

It's true that something's missing: here the mythical use of riff/melody that used to enrich the songs results in more minimalist songwriting, covered by simple riffs that captures almost the whole music, and this formula would be repeated in Fear Of The Dark. It's pleasant to say that in such riffs they continued to carry on the melodies, solos and lines that show the early Maiden face, with a capacity to convey feelings. These feelings are divided into ten pieces worthy of being defended before popular opinion. On this album Bruce maintains the powerful choruses that lift you to heaven, a power that many didn't grasp away. His voice's still a very evocative prelude to the solos that recall the hardened lifestyle of the mythical "Wrathchild", in a time when Eddie used to roam in dark alleys. Mild substitutes like "Tailgunner" or "Holy Smoke" know how to bring raw stuff back in moderate doses.

As always, the sound is especially good. The downside of this work is the recent breathing-down-the-neck two complex albums with technically worked tracks like Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Now, they're betting on thinning songs with fewer arrangements and virtuosity in order to bring back the strength of their first albums. The title track is perhaps the zenith as it degrades and electrifies in the same way Revelations get rage in order to open the solos, then it steps on the gas until emerging from a devastating riff where Janick intervenes to bring it the climax. This album’s main flaw is the absence of bombastic songs that have been perpetuated in the band's catalog, like the ones Fear of the Dark has.

It was one of the few albums I bought on tape first and on CD later. I especially relate it to one of my first summer jobs when I was filling out Excel sheets for hours on end, with my Walkman and my select cassettes. I listened to it most often and, consequently, it earned a place in my teenage heart and made each and every song as internalized as their other classics to this day (many of them, probably more). So it isn't too difficult to defend this against those wicked ones who insist on ranting about as if they were giving birth painfully. Whether without Smith, without the sumptuous epic of Seventh Son, or the sublime echo, elegance of Somewhere In Time, this album (as the ones they released in the 90s) is still redeemable as they actually shook me. It's simple in its forms, but deep in its own essence.

Creativity 6 feet under - 70%

Xyrth, March 28th, 2021
Written based on this version: 1998, CD, EMI (Remastered, Enhanced)

Well, here in Mexico we say dos metros bajo tierra (two meters underground) to refer to someone's final resting place, or more accurately, the actual depth of said resting place, as six feet under would equal 1.83 meters. The differences between the International Metric System and the British or American ones can be head-scratching at times… but most definitely, not as maddening or logic-defying as Iron Maiden's decision to TOTALLY SUCK during the 90s, starting with this utterly unjustifiable “back to basics” attempt of an album, No Prayer for the Dying, released two year and change after their last monumental masterpiece, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, in what proved to be one of the most contrasting and unexpected downfalls in the history of metal music. Sure, this record isn't THAT bad, but compared to the unparalleled hot streak of Maiden's gems during the 80s, the juxtaposing of it feels like going from Sabotage to Never Say Die or from …and Justice for All to Load with no stops in between.

For a band that was at the top of its game in such a monstrous and epic form, this feels (and surely felt) disastrous, though in 1990 mainstream metal was still in pretty good shape, so Maiden fans probably could cope with this trauma by picking, say… Painkiller (released a month before this) or Rust in Peace (released less than two weeks before) or any of the Irons previous offerings. The loss of Adrian Smith spelled calamity, despite the fact that Janick Gers found himself like a fish in the water in its place, and that in the 21st Century the band managed to get both of them plus Murray together. But something was amiss, and the towering and glimmering column of energy and genius started to plummet quickly back to the ground. Perhaps the band decided back then they have had enough of the proggy side of metal. No Prayer for the Dying sounds like an album recorded by an alternate universe version of Iron Maiden that never found its stride, popularity and creativity, and instead, after their first couple of groundbreaking works, had or chose to diminish back into an inconsequential pub-consigned outfit.

Maiden's eight LP is a mix of some good ideas that lack development, and some really bad ideas that feel imported in nature, all wrapped up by a production that's kind of dry and compressed. And this time, there's a smudge in their otherwise perfect performance. Bruce's vocals… what the hell? And I know I'm not the only one in saying and thinking this, but his voice CHANGED during the 90s. He used a raspier tone and his screams sound weak and even falter at its end. Just listen to the one at the 2:52 mark on “Hooks in You”; sounds like an unfortunate hobo being mauled to death by an escaped zoo cougar. On the other hand, he seems just fine on some tracks, like the sustained notes he sings at the end of “Run Silent Run Deep”. This issue would be continued in 1992's Fear of the Dark, the subsequent Maiden live releases of the 90s and even in some of his first solo material. My guess is, something truly affected his vocal chords those years, and he regained his better form for The Chemical Wedding onwards.

The rest of the Irons perform just fine, but there're painfully few amazing moments found here. In fact, I consider the… “highlights” of this LP to be vastly inferior to anything they released previously, those being war-themed opener “Tailgunner”, the title-track, which seems like a blueprint for some future Maiden tracks featuring keyboard orchestrations, my beloved/hated “Hooks in You” and Bruce's signature composition with the band, “Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter”, featuring stellar singing and cool atmospheric passages. Those tracks have several degrees of charisma, and that is found in some parts in other tunes of this album as well, but the inconsistencies are too many. For instance, “Assassin” starts really promisingly, but then you reach the appalling chorus…. damn! The “better watch out!” chants sound like they were recorded by some random-picked Premier League drunk hooligans after a match. Maiden gang shouts were never their forte, but had some quirky appeal to them. This one is plainly pathetic. Closer “Mother Russia” seems to be an inferior abridged version of “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” as it tries to recapture the proggy aesthetic, but it isn't too convincing, the pace of Bruce's singing making it sound weird.

Speaking of inconsistencies, I remember looking at a poster of the “Hooks in You” cover artwork by the great Derek Riggs as a 6-year old in a record store, featuring the hook-handed, leather jacket-clad Eddie which seems to be about to rip someone's entrails out. It gave me nightmares, along with some of the classic 80s/90s horror flick icons, but the song, which I listened a good decade after that, actually sounds like a Bon Jovi track. It has some catchiness to it, I won't deny it, but it's a far cry from classic Maiden. Most tracks are enjoyable to a degree, with cleverly written lyrics, but musically they feel like demos or incomplete ideas rather than fully fledged Iron Maiden songs. That would be somewhat corrected for the more varied Fear of the Dark, though the inconsistencies would remain. Whether by design or by a subconscious collective desire to dial it down to 7, No Prayer for the Dying is a tremendously frustrating head-scratcher that constitutes an unwarranted surplus in their early discography.

Not Exactly Seventh Son - 73%

Star_Fox, July 28th, 2020

This one gets its fair share of criticism for not being as progressive as previous albums, but I have never been that concerned about Maiden's musical direction. I guess it's because I wasn't around during the bands classic era, so my experience of this is different from those who were anticipating Seventh Son of a Seventh Son part 2. In recent times I've managed to listen to all of their albums and while this one's clearly weaker than some of its predecessors, it's still a rock solid addition where songs are very memorable.

This was the first of their '90s album with Bruce Dickinson providing vocals; the other being Fear of the Dark. I prefer No Prayer for the Dying as it has a significantly shorter running time. It has some catchy guitar melodies, some good leads from Dave Murray and Janick Gers, which never hang on wanky excessiveness. Steve Harris' bass is always prominent and feels important to so many of the songs structures, and a good performance from Dickinson. If you compare this album to what their understudies were doing, it does sound dated, although, other's were at their peak while Maiden had stalled. To their credit, they weren't copying new styles or trends; they were doing their brand of metal, which sounded more like a version of themselves from a decade earlier.

Although this album doesn't have the progression and experimentation of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, the opening song 'Tailgunner' has Maiden's distinctive galloping riff, melody and atmosphere. It serves as the high energy opener, much like what 'Aces High' did for Powerslave. There's also the overt humour in the line 'Nail that Fokker,' which doesn't sound disrespectful, even though the subject reflects the indiscriminate bombing of German cities and the use of a nuclear weapon on a civilian population. The 'Fokker' joke works, whereas the 'Enema' part in the title of the song 'Public Enema Number One,' is just silly though. The song itself has an interesting lyrically theme and meshes guitar harmonies really well with Dickinson's harsher vocals.

There's such a good collection of cuts, including the title track with its harmonies, then the sudden shift up in gear. I don't know if this was a regular for live sets, or even used for that matter, but it definitely has an arena vibe about it. And, I don't have an original version – I've got a remastered copy, which from a production standpoint has a really natural feel about it. It's very clean, measured, but still has a grittiness. And, Nicko's snare rocks – it really rocks – like a traditional hard rock sound. 'Fates Warning' also rocks. In fact, the vocals and instruments are perfectly weighted, like a great live performance, minus the audience. They blend their metallic sound with the rock elements very well, then you get more atmospheric cuts like 'Assassin' and 'Mother Russia.'

There's only one song I rather dislike and that's 'Holy Smoke,' with its really corny lyrics and awkward sounding chorus; aside from that, most of the lyrics and music pass for decent. This is one of the first albums I heard from Maiden and one which persuaded me to delve into their extensive body of work. I respect and often quite like some of their albums – even the not so classics like this one.

These Are Thirsty Words Making Holy Smoke - 85%

Sweetie, April 12th, 2020

From what I've gathered, almost every Iron Maiden fan has one record that they like a hell of a lot more than most of the other fans, and mine is easily No Prayer For The Dying. Considering what came before it, the band made a very dynamic shift in sound. One would probably foresee something even deeper into the realm of progression follow, rather something that hearkens back to basic song structures that build themselves off of catchiness. But does that mean that the songs are bad?

Of course not! And viewing this in the opposite vein of the predecessor, I find it to be solid in its own merit; simply a collection of songs that aren't meant to flow as a whole piece, rather '70s rock oriented into heavy metal riffage and tone. So it shouldn't be out of place for this to be packed with softer songs, and I dig that. The title track is one of these, building itself on softer licks without much bite. Opener "Tailgunner" lays on a bit more power, but there's still a much more welcoming aura than much of what the band did prior. "Run Silent, Run Deep" takes this same aesthetic and bends it into the form of something a bit more minor in groundwork. I love all of theses songs, and am glad that something like this came for a quick run.

However, that doesn't mean there's nothing with a greater kick. Calling anything from this "classic" seems like it'd be a stretch, but "Holy Smoke" is the closest thing to that. The writing on this one is probably the only one living up to previous efforts, and the lyrical content and execution are incredible. In contrast, you have songs like "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter" that are watered down to large degrees, but I still can't help but call it an earworm. There's some goofiness to be found in "The Assassin" from hokey lyrics, and "Hooks In You" is admittedly insipid trash. So I get where some of this has its hits from fans. But, as someone who enjoys little breaks like this in an overwhelmingly advanced discography, saying I dislike it would be a flat out lie.

Obviously, No Prayer For The Dying isn't really the album that comes to mind when I think of Steve Harris and co. There's some bare-boned tunes that I understand why they get the hate they get, and they just happen to please me. But I do think there're also some strong numbers that get overlooked. Though there are plenty of albums that the band put out that I prefer to this, I do thoroughly enjoy it all, despite some shortcomings.

Mediocre - 55%

DMhead777, July 27th, 2019
Written based on this version: 2014, CD, Parlophone (Deluxe Edition, Digipak, Remastered, Enhanced)

In my journey through the Iron Maiden albums I knew one thing. I knew that Iron Maiden could never make a truly bad record. As I am going through their discography I have found Maiden to be pretty overrated, but I always understood why they're regarded as the best heavy metal bands of all time. I have come to the conclusion that they are not my cup of tea. With saying all that, I don't even think die hard fans would like this album as much. I'm not saying "No Prayer for the Dying" sucks, but it's obviously not the same standard as the last seven albums. I mean, you have to think about it. Iron Maiden put out seven albums before this. They're not all going to be winners. In my opinion, they dropped off a bit after "The Number of the Beast" only to pick back up in "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". Maybe I shouldn't have assumed that Iron Maiden found their perfect sound on their eighth album, but I did have somewhat higher hopes for this one. However, the final product was a huge step back.

Listening to this with 2019 ears, all I can think about is how dated this album sounds. I always defended the previous Maiden entries by saying that you can listen to any of them now and still be blown away by the musicianship. On "No Prayer for the Dying", it really sounds like it came from 1990. The production value doesn't have that pop like previous albums. Everything sounds so watered down. It's a shame because the talent from these guys is obviously high. On this release, Dickinson sounds tired and the solos are a mess in certain songs. In the title track, "No Prayer for the Dying", the solo honestly sounds random. Dave Murray and Janick Gers are great musicians, but the guitar work on this song is painful to listen to. When the solo does come on, it sounds like it was added in post and took five minutes. It reminds me of a "I can make this random series of strings sound fast and good". A lot of the solos on this release feel like they were meant for speed when the vocals are slowed down.

Most, if not all, of the songs are played at a pretty slow pace for Maiden. I was actually kind of taken back by their simplicity. It's kind of the reason why I gave this release the score that I did. My past complaints were that Dickinson desperately tried to keep up while the rest of the guys played at a fast pace. On "No Prayer for the Dying", I feel like the guys had to slow down for Dickinson's singing. It's probably not the case at all, but that's what it sounds like to me. The mediocrity on the album is astounding and that doesn't only go for the instrumentals.

The lyrics on this album are just plain bad. The worst case of this is the song "The Assassin". The lyrics to the chorus on this album are

"Better watch out, cos I'm the Assassin
Better watch out, Better watch out
Assassin"

Honestly, this is insulting. Iron Maiden has shown that they can write really good songs if they wanted to. Eight albums in and they write this kind of garbage. It feels like a high schooler scribbled that on some paper while he was bored in class. For Christ sakes, a song is called "Public Enema Number One". It doesn't sound like it, but even that song has some better writing than this. Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. "Run Silent Run Deep", "Mother Russia", and "Tailgunner" are good examples of lyricism on here. The rest is hard to read.

Overall, it's not a super shitty Iron Maiden album. I know that Maiden is not capable of writing complete trash. This is just almost straight down the middle for me compared to the others. On the other hand I know that this is Maiden's eighth album, so I can't judge it too harshly. It's completely decent for what it is and I know people will really like the slowed down instrumentals and Dickinson's raspy singing. Coming from a casual Maiden listener however, I'm still pretty let down by this.

Recommended songs: "Holy Smoke", "Hooks in You" and "Mother Russia"

Time Should’ve Been Kinder To This One - 85%

TheFinalSleep, June 6th, 2019
Written based on this version: 1998, CD, EMI (Remastered, Enhanced)

It’s 1990, you’re entering a new decade as the (arguably) biggest, most successful metal band on the planet- the benchmark for others, if you will- and you have the ‘new guard’ nipping at your heels (Metallica and the like), what do you do? Add to that losing one of your primary guitarists/songwriters? Well, if you’re Iron Maiden, you pick up a new guitarist, stick to your (tail) guns and do what you do best; be Iron Maiden.

I remember when this came out (I’m starting to show my age here…) and at the time much of the music press were beginning to question whether Maiden had an answer to the younger bands that they influenced. There was talk of whether they could actually do a show without all the props and special effects and still ‘bring it’ live. As hard as it may be for the young-ins nowadays to believe, people actually DID question Maiden’s relevance coming out of the 80’s, just like they did ten years later at the turn of the century. Such was the impact that thrash (and, on a smaller scale, death and grind) had on the metal scene in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

Their answer was this album.

Gone were the guitar/bass synths from the last few albums. Gone were the slick production values that helped propel them to their rightful thrones as ‘the band to beat’ in the 80’s. Gone were the laser light shows and crazy props that popularised their stage shows. What we were presented with was a band that basically rewound the clock on those advances to prove a point to any and all critics that dared to question whether they still had it in them to compete with the more aggressive bands they created in the wake of their success. They had no intention of being steam-rolled without putting up a fight. Whether or not they succeeded is up for debate (and personal taste), but one thing is for certain, this is one hell of a scrappy album regardless.

Exit Adrian Smith; enter everyone’s favourite whipping boy Janick Gers. As much as people don’t want to admit it, he did inject some much-needed new blood into the band. This guy possesses one hell of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants/about-to-fall-off-the-rails-at-any-time playing style that added to the whole middle-finger-in-your-face attitude that they were aiming for here. This guy’s solos have always had an element of danger to their sound, almost like he’s attacking you every time he goes off on one of his wild tangents. Not that I think many complain about his playing style more so than his stage antics. Say what you will about that, but one thing is for certain, he brings the fire on stage, adding that crucial dangerous vibe that many criticised the band for losing in the back end of the 80’s.

As for the music on the actual album itself? It’s Maiden, through and through, just a roughed up sounding one that hasn’t existed since the ’80-’81 period. Not that they completely dismissed everything they were known for; there is a (loose) theme to this album that seems to be forgotten.

Prayer. Hope. Praying for the death of the past, praying for a bigger, better future.

People have to remember, the Berlin Wall just fell, signalling an end of the Cold War. Those of us old enough to remember growing up and living during that era were terrified of WWIII breaking out between the world superpowers. Decades of that fear and tension had just ended. It was time of cerebration, of finally being able to put those old dogs down for good. Hence, at least the way I view it, why there are some light(er)-hearted songs on here (‘Holy Smoke’, Hooks In You’, ‘Bring Your Daughter…’) mixed with the thought-provoking (‘No Prayer…’, ‘Public Enema No. 1’, ‘Fates Warning’-*a highly underrated song*-) all culminating into one of their best closers ever in ‘Mother Russia’. To me, that one song ties the entire album together. A true tear-jerker (seriously) that’s sadly fell victim to the past (oh, the irony).

That’s not to say that everything was great, however. ‘Tailgunner’, although kickass, is ‘Aces High’ part two, ‘Hooks In You’ is ‘Charlotte The Harlot’/’22 Acacia Avenue’ part three (?) and ‘Run Silent, Run Deep’ is your stereotypical Maiden war tune that they’ve been doing forever. There is definitely an aura of revisiting the past going on here, I can’t deny that.

In the end, ‘No Prayer…’ can’t possibly compete with what they did before (and what honestly could) but as a middle-finger to those claiming they were washed-up/done? They succeeded, for the time being at least. They succeeded on a much higher scale ten years later.

Regardless, time should’ve been kinder to this album as it’s been to others in their catalogue (‘The X Factor’).

(Personal side note: I was at the opening of their North American tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia- with Anthrax opening- and can attest to their ‘rebirth’ stage-wise with Gers on guitar. The way they all ran around the stage with reckless abandon was insane. They definitely blew Anthrax off the stage, more than proving that they could put on a show without all the ‘distractions’ they were getting accused of. Funny how almost thirty years later, they’re still doing that too…)

No Prayer For Gers' Skills - 99%

Desert_Rat, August 7th, 2018

This band has been one of the popular bands of the 80s, and Killers is some pretty cold hard proof. They have always made music that stands out from the rest of the metal pack, giving a very unique listening experience. For me, this was my fifth pick up from Maiden, but it really should have been my second one. Killers and The Number of the Beast are pretty good introductions to the band, but No Prayer for the Dying is the one recommended for the newbie. Maiden 1990's offering brings to light a whole new display of endurance and aggressiveness skills. This album builds on the street landscapes presented in albums such as Killers, but also somewhat throwback to an older sound.

It is a beautiful, rich combination of rawness and simplicity. Killers and the debut were released ten years before, so it's quite amazing to see again this kind of songwriting. This is much more in the vein of straightforward heavy metal like the debut, instead of the epic stuff they have come composing, and this is what Iron Maiden do best. It is, in fact, their best 90s album along with Virtual XI. The production is not as cleaner like Seventh Son, but it's a sound they could use with for the next albums; unfortunately, that was not developed and only stands up on this record.

From the first note played on this album, you can tell you're going to be in a rip-roaring ride. You should know, by now, not to expect anything serious this time. Gone are the emperors, cyborgs and mystic characters themes. When the guitar riffs stand out, they're very prominent, but when they don't, you can still enjoy them at all. The solos are all impressive, as they range from utter wankery-fest to sliding along with the song perfectly. The lyrics are street as hell, and the raspy vocals truly seem to fit the thematic, but that matter doesn't make a difference really. Songs are catchy, and most likely you'll have them stuck in your head as much as you hum the choruses. Janick Gers' doodle solos show how skilled he is with his instrument, and is pretty damn addictive.

The title track offers some nice lead and riff work from Janick Gers, he has always been one of my top rhythm guitarists, and his playing sets the tone for this song, as well as much of the rest of the disc. It also features some nice bass runs from Harris and some pretty over-the-top drumming from Nicko. If you have a sense of rhythm, listen and see what I mean. After a while this can give the songs a very plodding, boring feel, as if they're not going fast enough, or don't have enough energy. The Assassin is a prime example. However, due to some good guitar and vocal work, this problem can be resolved, as pre-chorus shows. The last song is a mini-epic starting off slowly, speeding up during the verse and chorus, and having a slow section in the middle of the song, laden with keyboards, which blasts out with a majestic solo again.

As a whole the album ends satisfactorily and strikes out compactly. A great Killers sequel! Even so, No Prayer manages to release some of the rawest, pure songs I've heard in quite a while. Very raw and thrashy, which is the main thing that keeps the attention of listeners and will avoid leaving you still. But still, the raw and almost grungy feel is something you just gotta like in metal. To finish it off, this disc is just something you either like or dislike, even if you're not a big fan of raspy productions. The raw production in combination with the bluesy tunes instantly makes this a distinctive point.

Flattened - 58%

Felix 1666, January 14th, 2017
Written based on this version: 1990, CD, Capitol Records

Just like "Virtual XI", "No Prayer for the Dying" belongs to the outsiders of the Maiden discography. And that's no wonder. The album is a collection of ten more or less smooth, almost harmless songs that have ordinary structures and avoid stylistic experiments. A certain lack of creativity cannot be ignored in view of the very typical and slightly outmoded melody lines of songs such as the title track. This does not mean that the output is filled to the brim with songs that suck. Maiden's enormous musical skills avoid shitty albums per se. Yet the degree of excitement does not achieve previously unknown levels. The opposite is true. Already the opener "Tailgunner" shows that Maiden were running out of ideas while penning this work.

Its lyrics stand in the tradition of "Where Eagles Dare" and "Aces High", to say it politely. Differently expressed: we have heard this kind of lyrics before. They deliver another contribution about air raids and bombardments. How thrilling! Honestly, I have never understood this almost romantic scenario of the seemingly boundless freedom of the pilots and their divine power to sentence (innocent) civilians to death from above. Yet in terms of music, the "Tailgunner" does not miss his goal. The lively guitars and the catchy chorus characterize this track. It reflects the then new attitude of Iron Maiden. The band has reduced its sound to the essentials, bombastic, nearly overloaded songs do not occur, maybe with the exception of some parts of the final track. Progressive elements are also ostracized. Thus, the quality of the album very much depends on the effectiveness of the guitars. Sometimes it takes just one great riff to produce a good piece of music. But - and that's the other side of the coin - without this riff, everything is lost. "No Prayer for the Dying" holds songs of both categories. From my point of view, its hidden champion is called "Run Silent, Run Deep". Why? Well, very simple, it houses the best guitar lines. Apart from that, it emanates a gloomy atmosphere - too bad, that many of its comrades fail in this regard. For example, its direct neighbour "Hooks in You" remains almost completely expressionless (and its riffing sounds poor). The same applies for faceless tunes such as "Fates Warning" or "The Assassin".

Lean songs are often created in order to give the music an earthy feeling, to bring more or less pompous or overly complex metal back to the unpretentious roots. Good approach, but bands that have this vision should not forget to keep an eye on the production in order to make their idea come true. Five or ten percent filth can be very helpful in this context. But "No Prayer for the Dying" is free from dirt. Aggravating this situation, its production totally lacks of individual features. It is neither sterile or clinically clean nor does it possess this little yet necessary amount of filth. In short, this technically proper yet somewhat lukewarm sound matches the pretty flat tunes excellently. Indeed, this is not the highest compliment. But it is true. Just take "Holy Smoke". Its winsome flow and the acceptable lines cannot hide that one is listening to a painfully simple number which is actually beneath the dignity of Harris and his band mates. "Bring Your Daughter..." was a commercial success, but we all know that this does not mean much. Therefore, I rather recommend to lend an ear to fairly vehement tracks such as "Public Enema Number One". Anyway, one will not find many jewels while giving "No Prayer for the Dying" a chance.

The sound of Iron Maiden dying - 35%

Napalm_Satan, December 1st, 2016

In spite of what their first seven albums would imply, not even the mighty Iron Maiden are infallible, and actually weathered out the '90s with very little of their musical worth or dignity intact. While Blaze Bayley is rightfully singled out as the worst thing about the Iron Maiden albums of this time period, don't think that the two Bruce Dickinson fronted albums from the earlier half of the decade were much better. Far from it in fact; while I'm not too fond of this band's 2nd Dickinson era albums, it's also pretty obvious to me that a release like No Prayer for the Dying is a far less creative and (quite amazingly) a more musically stagnant and tired-sounding effort. It represents the band quickly losing creative steam and poorly integrating some outside influence to the proceedings as well. This is easily one of the weakest Maiden albums, as well their most annoying.

The music isn't especially far removed from their '80s albums, but the songs nevertheless lack the larger-than-life quality presented on the 5 albums that came before this one; it was a mood achieved through complex songwriting and intelligent riff construction built around the omnipresent guitar harmonies. This is a considerably more stripped back, rock-infused album, and while this regression alone doesn't make it a write-off the depths the band have plumbed is truly stunning. There is a near-total lack of high quality, memorable and thought out riffs and harmonies, with the guitars mostly playing bland metallic hard rock fodder that lacks any of the energy, atmosphere and intelligence of their older works. It's very run of the mill and forgettable music, okay while it's on but out of one's memory a short while after the album has finished. That's not to say it's all bad though, with competent soloing in spite of the loss of Adrian Smith and Steve Harris' usual bass guitar wizardry, but these plus points alone don't save the album.

To make matters worse, Bruce Dickinson puts forward one his most irritating vocal performances. While his voice retains its range he too has taken on board some hard rock influence, resulting in a gravelly inflection to his singing. This isn't a problem on its own, but as a result of this he seemingly can't hit a good clean note or put melody into his voice, instead simply shouting over the music with little restraint. The relatively banal music no longer accommodates for any gravitas or passion Bruce might have been able to put into his singing, and the music's lack of intrigue also makes this a more vocally oriented effort, further exacerbating these issues.

However, in spite of the mediocrity of the instruments and the bad vocals in front of them the real killer here is the songwriting, which is both a very large step down from before and bad even when this album is viewed in its own microcosm. The songs are largely flat and unengaging; there's very little in the way of intelligence or nuance in the structuring of a lot of these songs. They all have a tendency to repeat themselves a lot and not go anywhere. There is a clear lack of focus and development in the musical ideas used in each track, and despite the relatively short lengths of all of these tracks they tend to meander and ride off one idea like a strong intro (you need look no further than 'Tailgunner' for an example of this.) There's very little depth to the compositions or any sort of atmosphere. Few winners emerge from this album as a result; just about everything is simply too dull and shallow - certainly the title track is a decent half-ballad and 'Mother Russia' lacks Bruce's awful singing but everything else is either textbook rockametal or a song with promise that goes nowhere, aside from the hilariously bad 'Holy Smoke' which sounds like an overly simplified punkish commercial track gone very wrong.

The repetitious nature of the songs does mean a few hooks are catchy (there's a good reason 'Bring Your Daughter...' is a live staple and it isn't because you want to remember it) but this can be said of any piece of music, memorability derived from good craftsmanship is a far more meaningful indicator of quality. The lyrics on this album are very poor, especially considering the poetry and epic stories Iron Maiden had delivered in the past. The aforementioned pseudo-classic is one case, but the incoherent ramblings of 'Tailgunner' or the mindless tripe of 'Holy Smoke' will serve as equally apt examples of their failure on the lyrical front - in fact only the title track and 'Mother Russia' have decent lyrics. And as a final insult even the production is a step down, with the drums having a dry sound to them and everything else sounding decidedly lifeless and tired. Quite how a band that was a bastion of excellence that redefined metal could crash and burn like this remains something of a mystery. It's a tragic album this; the downfall of a heavy metal legend. Do not seek this out unless you wish to be irritated or saddened.

A Victim of Over-Analysis - 80%

lonerider, July 17th, 2012

In many ways “No Prayer for the Dying”, which was fraught with the unenviable burden of being the follow-up to the monumental “Seventh Son of the Seventh Son”, has never gotten a fair shake. First of all, writing an album that would match the sheer genius of its predecessor was probably a hopeless endeavor right from the start, particularly considering that Adrian Smith, the band’s talented second guitarist and an integral part of Maiden’s songwriting team since “Killers”, had just left the line-up and been replaced with Janick Gers, who was a competent substitute but couldn’t match Smith’s songwriting prowess. The fact that Steve Harris insisted on recording the album “live”, effectively curtailing Martin Birch’s influence on the production process and resulting in a rather substandard overall sound, certainly didn’t help matters.

To this day, “No Prayer for the Dying” is still the one Iron Maiden album – perhaps excluding Blaze Bayley’s ill-fated stint behind the mic – that is most maligned by fans and critics alike. Even band mastermind Steve Harris has often stated that the album was a mistake and that the band had gone in the wrong direction, mentioning Queensryche’s epoch-making “Operation: Mindcrime”, which had made a huge impact on the metal scene just two years earlier, as the album the band should have used as a model and blueprint instead. Then again, we’re talking about the same guy who has repeatedly admitted to not being fond of “Somewhere in Time”, one of the band’s most revered and perhaps best albums, because of (among other things) its supposedly “dated” sound. That just goes to show that a band’s opinion of a certain album does not always coincide with that of the fans, although in the case of “No Prayer for the Dying”, it mostly does.

As far as the actual music on “No Prayer for the Dying” is concerned, there isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been mentioned a thousand times. It is undeniably different from most of Maiden’s other albums, opting for a far less epic and much more direct, “hard-rocking” approach, but comparing it to some of the milestones in Maiden’s discography is the wrong premise anyway. To those who can keep an open mind, however, “No Prayer for the Dying” may turn out to be a surprisingly entertaining and rewarding affair. It’s true that the lyrics are probably the corniest and most clichéd Maiden have ever written: you usually don’t expect profanities (such as the infamous “flies around shit, bees around honey” line in “Holy Smoke”), hilarious song titles (“Bring Your Daughter … to the Slaughter”) or satirical excursions into the field of sadomasochism (“Hooks in You”) on an Iron Maiden album. At the same time, these lyrics fit the hard-rocking vibe of the songs while Bruce Dickinson’s altered singing style – his vocals are decidedly harsher, raspier and less operatic than usual – is the perfect way to present them.

In the relatively epic “Mother Russia”, there is only one song longer than five minutes on this album, and even it is a far cry from such monumental, grandiose compositions like “Alexander the Great” or “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”. Then again, who cares when the songs on offer rock as hard and are as much fun to sing along to as, to name just a few, “Public Enema Number One” with its intricate and melodic soloing, the galloping “Fates Warning” with its very heavy riffing or the aforementioned “Bring Your Daughter …” with its amusing yet amazing “wohohoho” choir. Further songs deserving special mention are the thoughtful title track and the opening “Tailgunner”, which is definitely an inferior “Aces High” rehash but a very good song nonetheless. It sometimes seems like those dismissing “No Prayer for the Dying” as bland and unimaginative are the same ones constantly criticizing the band for its cerebral and progressive leanings of more recent years. You just can’t have it both ways, and while “No Prayer for the Dying” is hardly Iron Maiden’s most original effort, it’s hard to find too much fault with an album as consistent and entertaining as this.

Even twenty years after its publication, “No Prayer for the Dying” is still being analyzed way too much when in fact it’s just a no-frills metal record that doesn’t claim to be or pose as anything else. While it should in no way be counted among the band’s best efforts and may not be what most of us expect from an Iron Maiden record, that certainly doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed for what it is or that it doesn’t have its rightful place in Maiden’s exquisite discography. On the contrary, it adds another interesting facet and is therefore an asset to Maiden’s extensive catalog, which would not be quite as fascinating without it.

Choicest cuts: “No Prayer for the Dying”, “Public Enema Number One”, “Fates Warning”, “Bring Your Daughter … to the Slaughter”

A compilation record aching to satisfy all fans - 67%

kluseba, May 1st, 2011

"No prayer for the dying" is considered as one of the weakest albums of Iron Maiden and I must agree that it is in my bottom top three as I exceptionally agree with the majority. There are multiple reasons why fans criticized this album. For the first time the band didn't develop further and created something new but focussed on their initial sound of the early years. There is no brilliant epic track on the record that crowned the previous albums. There is no clear guiding line within the record. The vocals are darker, harsher and less technical then before. There are no truly outstanding and emotional instrumental passages on the record. Many associate this with the departure of Adrian Smith that got replaced by the technically less impressive Janick Gers. The sound and production of the recording aren't as majestic and authentic as on the last and very atmospheric albums.

But the main reasons why one tends to dislike this record is that it has the style of a compilation album where old ideas are rehashed. "Tailgunner" sounds like a weaker version of "Aces high". "Holy smoke" and "Hooks in you" could be b-sides from the first solo album of Bruce Dickinson just like the very successful but overrated "Bring your daughter... to the slaughter" with a little touch of the first two Iron Maiden records when Paul Di'Anno was still in it.. "No prayer for the dying", "Public enema number one", "Run silent run deep" and "Mother Russia" copy the style of the two previous records. My favourite tracks from those ones are the really beautifully sung and underrated title track "No prayer for the dying" that easily happens to be the best song on this album and that would have merited a place on the last two records as well as the atmospheric "Run silent run deep" that would be my hidden gem on this record and a song worth to get discovered over and over again by anyone that hasn't listened to this record for a while.

"Fates warning" and "The assassin" try to be a little bit darker and experimental and are the only tracks that present us something new. The first one is quite atmospheric and indicates the way that the band would take on the next two records and after a while I happened to like this song. The only thing that misses is a truly catchy chorus or addicting instrumental part. The second song has another interesting and atmospheric introduction and remind of the sound of the great "Powerslave" album. The verses are interesting, mysterious and atmospheric but the chorus turns out to be amongst the most horrible ones the band has ever written. The vocals are really annoying and weird and the whole thing is repeated too much. The guitar solo is just shitty shredding. But at least the band tries out something new.

This record has the style of a compilation album and that's why it is difficult to get compared to the seven previous albums that all had a certain style and clear direction. The band seems to have wanted to satisfy all their fans by getting inspired by anything they have done before including songs in the key of the earliest works with Bruce Dickinson on the vocals this time. The problem is that the band wanted to spread in too many directions and styles and focussed on quantity instead of the quality and most people simply get lost on this record. Another problem is that the songs that try to connect to the previous styles simply aren't as hooky, fresh and passionate. There are three great songs on the record with "No prayer for the dying", "Fates warning" and "Run silent run deep" and I also happen to like rock party tracks like the funny and energizing "Holy smoke" but half of the album is rather weak and simply doesn't touch me.

I still think this is album is more than just ordinary, it's actually rather good but by considering the high quality of the band's records a pretty good album isn't just great enough. I would like to add that the recent "The final frontier" is even weaker than this record and gets completely lost while this album is at least short and sweat and leaded to a new style that the band developed further and better on the upcoming two records. That's why this record was still an important step in the band's career.

No Prayer for Mediocrity - 65%

Evil_Carrot, August 15th, 2010

After a string of seven albums often regarded to be masterpieces, Iron Maiden released their eighth album, “No Prayer for the Dying,” and ever since it has received mostly negative to lukewarm reviews. To me, the oddest part is the conditions of the complaints. While most bands generally get a lot of shit from the metal fan base for changing their style, Iron Maiden receives mostly praise for changing their style throughout the past seven albums, and instead the fans were disappointed in this, a release that sounds almost like Maiden pushed a musical reset button and attempted to go back to square one. So, why is this album often considered to be the beginning of what would be a four string of albums considered to be Maiden’s low point?

I think the first complaint many people would make would be Bruce’s vocals. He has a raspier voice and isn’t hitting the high notes like he used to. There were times he’d do this on “Seventh Son,” but it’s much more prevalent here. The production is often brought up, as it is somewhat back to the roots and straightforward itself.

Another reason may be that several of the songs seem to be rehashes of old ideas. I’ve always referred to “Tailgunner” as the song that wishes it was “Aces High.” “Public Enema Number One” features some of those dual harmonies Maiden is known for and some classic sounding riffing, but the song just doesn’t stick with you like the classics. After a melodic intro, we get a classic gallop bass riff from Steve Harris on “Fate’s Warning.” But the bass almost seems more interesting than the guitar riff. “The Assassin” is an attempt to write a bit of a darker, more menacing song, feeling a bit like a Seventh Son reject, guitars replacing synth, but just never living up to the greatness of Seventh Son.

On the other hand, some songs sound more like a classic rock song than a Maiden tune. “Holy Smoke” has been compared to AC/DC and that sounds pretty accurate, and “Hooks in You” has a similar feel. The intro guitar riff to “No Prayer” feels almost as if you could sing “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow” right along with it. “Bring Your Daughter… To the Slaughter,” the most successful song on the album, has a somewhat dark atmospheric verse, with a classic rock-ish, and very catchy chorus, with a climax of Bruce chanting “Bring me your daughter, bring me your daughter…”

Another odd thing about this album is it’s the only one not to feature one of Maiden’s epic songs. Besides Killers, every maiden album up to this point (and every one after) had that epic feeling 7 minute or longer song (Some more than one), though “Prodigal Son” can be considered the epic for that one. The closest this album offers us is “Mother Russia,” the only song breaking 5 minutes, though it feels rather epic compared to the rest of the album.

So all in all it seems that the problem with this album is, for the most part, the fact that it’s a very average album released by a band the fans hold a higher standard to. Everything about this album is average. The song writing, Bruce’s new, raspier singing style, much of the instrumental work, and especially the lyrics, are all decent enough to make a listenable album, but all pale in comparison to the things maiden had accomplished in the past. It feels like they went from attempting to make progressive music, to wanting to make safe music. It’s not that this album is particularly bad. It’s just particularly forgettable. And at least you remember a bad album.

A Blaze In The Northern Sky (Part I) - 34%

OzzyApu, August 13th, 2010

The ‘80s were a great time to be a fan of heavy metal and definitely a perfect time to be an Iron Maiden fan. From Killers on up to Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, fans were given albums ranging from good to genre masterpieces. Hell, the happiest people must have been the Maiden guys themselves, as they were pretty much on top of the world by the time Somewhere In Time became part of human history. Eclectic leads and riffs, jovial bass rhythm, usually upbeat songs, and vocals that aligned with the epic nature of the music towered above the heavy metal spectrum – Iron Maiden were the shit. Now fast forward to… now, and I’m stuck in a rut with Maiden’s No Prayer For The Dying, an album I knew would be a step down from the previous releases.

Now at the core it’s still Maiden, but the idea of starting anew sort of got to the band’s head in the wrong way. While each album has an engaging theme stuck to it like rubber glue, this one ends up with Elmer’s Glue, already making it a dull affair. The band doesn’t really go above and beyond like they did with most of their albums by that point, and while this isn’t a necessity, it does show the band getting a bit lazy ahead of their game. On laziness, Dickinson is the wailing ace no higher and more up-close than before; he’s had some fair performances before, but most of these tracks show us just how annoying his voice can get. Make way for out-of-touch (“Run Silent Run Deep” and “The Assassin”), overly-loud (the title track and “The Assassin”), wide shouting (“Bring Your Daughter… To The Slaughter” and “The Assassin”) before you get to hear the skillful eruption of stomach power manipulated into sympathetic singing and howling.

The first to get hit is the production; starting over shouldn’t always mean going for a straightforward sound again. No more profound, ethereal atmosphere or sonic soundscapes jolting like active particles in the air. No Prayer For The Dying goes for a cross between Powerslave (loosely) and Piece Of Mind (yeah, not much of that old school vibe), which is killer in theory but executed with the desire for mediocrity. While sensibly dissimilar to the debut album (the direction the band wanted to go back to, if I remember correctly), the dreariness of that particular album is reflected onto this one. However, the disjointed tracklist of the self-titled debut is cleansed in favor of a dry, level playing field; no track on No Prayer For The Dying truly trumps another. At the highest we get good tracks and at the worst we get pitiful ones; on average, though, it’s a logically stable endeavor.

Referring back to the production right quick, it isn’t abysmal in the sense of absolute abhorrence. Coming off the ‘80s ride, anyone will surely be disappointed. Personally, I think Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son has an infuriatingly monotonous production job, so No Prayer For The Dying falls in the crevice above it; non-echoed and neutral, yet properly mixed and obviously well-refined (money makes a big difference). For the first five varied songs (and with a lot of proper listens), I looked past these setbacks, but by the fifth track there’s a huge slump (likely because “The Assassin” itself is an atrocious song). The album goes from a set of only good to average tracks and then dips into an abyss of hopelessness; I could tell the band gave up with that song. The next album, Fear Of The Dark, would be chalked full of these filler, emotionless tracks, but this is the album where each one literally eats away at your intelligence.

By that point, I remember my first journey or two through this album; I remember how the band took a turn for less compelling riffs and songs altogether. Maiden still puts forth rationally fun riffs and infuses realistic songwriting to create ambitious or amusing tracks like “Tailgunner,” “Holy Smoke,” the title track, “Fates Warning,” and “Hooks In You.” As cool as these tracks are, the bar has been lowered drastically to accommodate the passing rate. Think of it like the current American education system – students basically having to suck up to decreased passing standards across the board, or else only a few would make it out unscathed. Maiden had set the standard during the ‘80s, but one step into the ‘90s and they already failed to meet their own benchmark.

The other half of this album, made up of lackluster or annoying tracks, drags what competence was agreed upon into the depths of degradation. Some decent riffs and solos manage to subsist in scattered forms, but not enough trust is mustered to join forces with other riffs, rhythms, and vocals to create another decent track. One major disappointment comes from a lack of organization – no track wants to work with another. No Prayer For The Dying offers a bit of variety, but every song is independent of one another in a whole effect sort of way. I jump from one track to the next, but any feelings built from the last song I heard evaporates like some scared apparition. Even at the core, Steve Harris can’t unify anything; his blubbery, autonomous bass lines trudge with the main rhythm or harmony of every track like a good parent looking out for their child. For this album he tries to be a shitty parent, letting his children run amok how they see fit – everyone wants a piece of their own action (yes, I know he didn’t write every song).

The guitar duo switch-up, then consisting of Murray and Gers, isn’t as memorable as Murray and Smith; the margin is beyond comparison. The fault is with the songs, of course, and even with this drawback the two are still able to utilize the rougher production – which doesn’t exactly emphasize the crisp guitar tone – to create blasts of harmony and heavy metal temperament (or lack thereof). Once more, they never blow your mind even passively (i.e. atmospherically), but they do pull it off with candid intentions. On the battery, coworker Nicko never projects himself in front of the band, always maintaining steady beats to compliment the rest of the gang. He knows them well enough to implement a good dose of cymbal / hat tatters and cut-off snare hits in a manner that’ll work around the music. Thankfully, the desiccated production does away with cold snares, although the double bass sounds like dead fish getting clobbered by a wooden club.

Overall, this one is dead weight resting on Maiden’s established career then and today. This is hardly a keeper, serving only as a dud looking to get laid like the previous hot streak of ‘80s albums. There are some nice songs to be heard here, but remember that just because this bears the Iron Maiden name, doesn’t mean you need to check this out. Nothing here will change your outlook on the band in a more positive light than say Powerslave or something. I know that’s pretty high competition to also live up to, but not every album deserves a chance. In the end, I can honestly say to skip over this one not because it flat out sucks, but because it’ll steer you away from that which has truly contributed to Iron Maiden and heavy metal.

The Eighth Classic - 84%

MaDTransilvanian, July 11th, 2010

The 1980s are widely considered to be the decade of glory for Iron Maiden; seven albums of varied brilliance, the last of which, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, was arguably the most epic and progressive. However, the arrival of the 1990s also saw a complete shift in Iron Maiden’s career: Adrian Smith left, the keyboard-based atmosphere was essentially thrown out the window, and the whole epic side of the band essentially disappeared. In the midst of all these changes is No Prayer for the Dying, the first of the widely-considered “decline” albums of Iron Maiden, and while such statements might be correct for the filler-happy Fear of the Dark, this here album is very solid heavy metal with three essential qualities: consistency, purpose and style.

No Prayer for the Dying is essentially a back-to-the-beginning effort from the band, having similar songwriting to the two Paul Di'Anno albums: this album is dirty and rocking, with perhaps even a slight punk influence; it’s a complete reversal of the previous five albums’ evolution. Such a shift in direction is highly commendable because it’s what the band desired, and they followed their artistic wishes to fruition. All the signs are there: the songs are relatively similar in terms of tempo variation as well as length: there are virtually no epics in the vein of the 1980s ones; even Mother Russia is a relatively brief (5:31) song which only has the vaguest resemblance to an Iron Maiden epic.

This album combines the three virtues of traditional heavy metal with surprising talent: catchiness is balanced very well with technical prowess and aggression. The former element is reduced when comparing this to the band’s earlier albums, and that’s essentially what makes No Prayer for the Dying such an externally unattractive album: there are relatively few individual moments that jump to attention here; this is an album that’s truly meant to be listened to as a whole. Its core is the very high quality of the guitar riffs: despite Adrian Smith’s departure, Dave Murray and the newly arrived Janick Gers work wonders with their instruments. Memorably riffs can be found on essentially all tracks, but particular highlights would have to be the title track, The Assassin and the especially the unforgettable Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter (including the superb mid-time solo).

Whereas the previous decade’s Iron Maiden albums relied on increasingly grandiose effects for atmosphere, No Prayer for the Dying sees a return to the dark basics that made the band great in the first place. The atmosphere is sombre and gritty, both musically and lyrically, while the impressive-as-usual artwork follows a similarly refreshing direction. One notable moment is the previously mentioned Mother Russia. Here, the guitars are used to great effect to create a strong atmosphere revolving around the theme of Russia, and the whole effort is a crowning success, despite not being an epic in the traditional sense for the band.

In the end, No Prayer for the Dying’s greatest quality is its consistency. Unlike many other Iron Maiden albums, there are absolutely no abominable tracks here, not a single one which I’d skip. Beginning with the “raw version of Aces High” that is the cool Tailgunner, everything is damn solid here, including a title track which just screams Iron Maiden due to the very recognizable riffs; this might even be called the stereotypical Iron Maiden track, the impressive and memorable (if oddly titled) Public Enema Number One to the addictively catchy Hooks in You (which I kind of hated at first... it’s something of a grower).

No Prayer for the Dying is Iron Maiden’s most underrated album, by a pretty damn wide margin. It simply rocks, having all the qualities that make Iron Maiden great. Many of these songs should by all rights be considered Iron Maiden classics and it’s a shame that they’re usually overlooked. The 1990s might not have been the band’s best decade, what with the terribly inconsistent Fear of the Dark (whose best tracks do however rival and even surpass this album’s) and the two others, but this album certainly isn’t at fault in any way. I strongly suggest this be approached with an open mind, for it’s a magnificently solid Iron Maiden album. It’s not their best, but is pretty much essential.

Assume an attitude - 72%

autothrall, February 27th, 2010

Iron Maiden hit a brick wall when they released their 8th full-length No Prayer for the Dying, because the world was moving on and it was pretty obvious that the boys had no intention of keeping up with it. And should they have even tried? Part of me wants to say, fuck no. Granted, this was the same year Judas Priest released Painkiller, which I would argue did in fact 'keep up with it'. Yet, rather than a heavier, more forceful Maiden, they kept the status quo. I had already mentioned that I felt Iron's 'dating' had begun with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and this album furthers that theory, but regardless of what I or anyone else might say about its lack of wall to wall arena-stunning anthems, the fact is that No Prayer for the Dying is not really a 'bad' entry into their catalog. It comes and goes, with a few pretty good songs (some of which even entered their live program), and doesn't necessarily leave a foul aftertaste in the mouth. Only a craving for more, and better...

But the advent of Viagra aside, just how many bands could 'keep it up' as long as Maiden did in the 80s? I think it's asking a little much, but since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was so loved, expectations were huge for this, and honestly it just wasn't bound for success in a metal scene that was producing efforts like Painkiller or Rust in Peace in the very same year. Though I have my doubts that it might have turned out much differently, this is the first album on which Janick Gers (White Spirit) had joined the band, being asked to replace the departing Adrian Smith, after he had worked with Dickinson on his first solo album. I honestly didn't notice a difference, though clearly Gers and Dave Murray in tandem had a more driving rhythm than past (and future) Maiden albums.

"Tailgunner" is a strong opener to the album, in part because it's one of those soaring rhythmic tracks that feels like a natural spiritul sequel to something like "Aces High", "2 Minutes to Midnight" or "Where Eagles Dare". The bridge is quite good, with crashing grooves beneath the racing dual melodies, and it's honestly one of Maiden's heavier tracks of the 90s. I'm not entirely fond of "Holy Smoke", though its got a more barroom brawl mentality than many of the band's other songs, and there are still a few worthwhile melodies in there, plus a filthy delivery courtesy of Dickinson. The title track only skirts on being memorable, due to the light synth melody that slowly builds to the climax. It's the type that you'll remember as you're listening, but simply not wish to listen to independently of its environs. I really enjoy the little guitar melody right around the minute mark of "Public Enema Number One", and the entire song delivers more than several others you'll find here, with a little choppy guitar harmony section that introduces the fairly scathing lead guitar.

"Fates Warning" is not a song I think much about, partly because the guitar rhythm reminds me much of "Chains of Misery" from the following album Fear of the Dark, and I liked that one a little more. However, the vocal performance is pretty passionate, and it's not unpleasant to sit through by any means. Though "The Assassin" is plucky and keeps a busy rhythm due to the little guitars that grind off to counter the central rhythm, the chorus is somewhat underwhelming and it's not a favorite here. Ditto for "Run Silent Run Deep", though it has a nice savage pace and a song about submarines was probably inevitable for Iron Maiden.

As mixed as my feelings may be for much of the album thus far, I actually really enjoyed the final three tracks on No Prayer for the Dying, all of which stand out the most to me after two decades. "Hooks in You" is pure kickass rock & roll, with a nice jangling rhythm around the verse, and a really killer chorus that you simply can't ignore...for both Dick's fun delivery and the actual lyrics themselves:

'Hooks in you, hooks in me, hooks in the ceiling for that well hung feeling
No big deal, no big sin, strung up on love I got the hooks screwed in'

I appreciate the duality here, between the smutty S&M and the wider implications of any relationship. I also love the ringing, old school guitar on the bridge over Dickinson's moodier vocals, took me right back to Somewhere in Time. "Bring Your Daughter...to the Slaughter" needs little introduction, as it wound up the most successful song on the album, worming its way into the hearts of fans and a staple in Maiden's live rotation for many years. And for good reason...the vocals are extremely infectious, as is the moody, Billy Idol-like gothic rock atmosphere of the verse, and the big R&B-gone metal chorus. It's like the next best thing to "White Wedding". And though it's the most 'far out' track on the album, "Mother Russia" does much to evoke the natural, hammer and sickle rhythms of that territory, and it's great that Dickinson and crew aren't trying to totally take the piss out of the formerly 'feared' capital nation of Soviet Union, but celebrating the chance it now had to return to its roots.

As you can see, No Prayer for the Dying does deliver...it's just that the milkman has brought you skim since they were all out of whole milk. Tasty, refreshing and light, but it's not going to fill your belly or satisfy that craving alongside those chocolate chip cookies. There's no reason to dwell on it or direct much dissatisfaction when there are such staggering disappointments on the late 90s horizon.

Highlights: Tailgunner, Hooks in You, Bring Your Daughter...to the Slaughter, Mother Russia

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Going through the motions in a hurry - 60%

MacMoney, February 23rd, 2010

Widely considered a letdown after the popular Seventh Son of the Seventh Son, No Prayer for the Dying often gets dismissed as a lackluster album. Partly it is a return to root, of sorts. It's not a return to the musical roots of the band itself - there are no traces of the punky aggression of the first two albums here - but to the roots of the members' musical influences. In contrast to the soaring metalness and over-reaching theme of Seventh Son, on No Prayer for the Dying we find the band going for a more rockier sound with a jumble of songs with no real links to each other. It is funny that Adrian Smith left the band prior to this album to record hard rock with his own project, A.S.A.P., while Maiden moved towards that direction as well.

This is very evident with songs like Holy Smoke and Hooks in You (written by the aforementioned Smith prior to his departure and finished by Dickinson). While they don't sound rooted in their time, it's clear with the rise of grunge that this kind of change of pace wasn't the right one if Maiden were looking to score big sales. Both of the aforementioned tracks are simplistic hard rock songs, but the single, Holy Smoke, is pretty much the epitome of that. It's got about three riffs, four if you count the intro melody as one, and two of them, chorus AND verse, are primitive, a chord per bar wallflowers. Fortunately Dickinson's gruff vocals, catchy lines and biting lyrics more than make up for the insipidity of the riffs. You won't even notice it, unless you pay particular attention.

The song also clearly exhibits the greatest downfall of this album: lazy songwriting. The band lost a member who used to write a great deal for them, especially lately, and now they are throwing everything they got into this album (hell, Bruce had to sacrifice one of his solo songs for it) and sometimes it shows. The song structures are uniform except for the title track and Harris's usual epic closer, Mother Russia. The choruses rely strongly on repetition and the songs on Dickinson's vocal lines to move the songs forward and keep the listener interested. Of course, there's a catchy riff or two for a song, maybe substituted for a lead in some and while they make the songs easier to differentiate from each other, they don't bring enough variation and the songs end up being quite samey. With almost all of them being just a tad longer than four minutes doesn't help.

Maiden seem to have taken an interest in social matters with the lyrics dealing with matters like Televangelism, things (metal) getting scapegoated to gloss over more important matters, religion, the fall of Soviet Union. Of course, they always write from their own bias and point of view that may end up being rather silly, but you take things as they come. The vitriol that Dickinson eschews in Holy Smoke is tangible as is the desperation in the title track and the want to fight even in face of certain defeat that is present in Public Enema Number One. So the shift from Fates Warning to The Assassin seems rather off. After four songs with emotional delivery and lyrics that seem more or less passionate, we get a cheesy rocker about a killer for hire that Dickinson sings with the conviction of a first time karaoke participant. It is followed by three songs with little seriousness to them, but at least Dickinson's performance picks up on Run Silent, Run Deep and Bring Your Daughter. It feels like the band was going through the motions in a hurry. Not much thought went into the arranging of the album nor into the songwriting itself so it is no surprise listeners feel a little letdown by it. But songs like No Prayer for the Dying, Public Enema Number One or Mother Russia makes this album worth a spin every now and then.

The Air-Siren becomes The After-Dinner-Speaker! - 65%

Necroticism89, December 18th, 2008

This album has been panned quite a bit by Maiden fans, citing lacklustre songs and poor vocals from Bruce Dickinson (A phrase I never thought I'd hear). Rarely any of the songs are ever included in the modern-day setlists, same as the next 3 albums, but does it really deserve to be shunned so much? Is it actually quite good?

Well, on first impressions, not really. Tailgunner is not bad, but could be better. I was expecting a galloping headbanger like Aces High or Where Eagles Dare, but what I got instead was an odd beast, which was as Prog as can be, without actually Progressive at all. The riffs reek of Genesis or Yes, but in a very bland way. It is good, but nowhere near as good as I thought it could be. Holy Smoke is reeeeally fucking bad. Absolutely terrible. I forgot just how poor this song sounded until I listened to it again. Christ, it is bad. This is Pop Metal, lacklustre rock riffs, Maidenized. So generic, and bland. It basically consists of Bruce ranting over riffs which AC/DC rejected.

No Prayer for the Dying is actually a really fucking epic song, or it could've been. It is way too short, and shows oodles of potential, but it just slithers away until you've noticed it's gone and you think "Fuck, that was quick, a bit TOO quick". This should've been another Hallowed Be Thy Name-style sing-along. 7 minutes long and drenched in darkness, a true classic. But it's not. It really isn't. It's way too short and just makes you think how amazing it could have been. Public Enema Number One has a horrific title. Who actually thought that was a good title? This too is a great song, I really like it. Nothing can save it from that wretched title though. I don't even think I could put this in a Dream Setlist if I wanted to, because of that title. It's embarassing, but good nonetheless.

Nooooow we're talking! The air siren's back and in force! Bruce goes back to his high vocals on Fates Warning. This suffers from the same syndrome as No Prayer for The Dying. This should be 15 minutes long, and in the vein of Rime of The Ancient Mariner. Nonetheless, it is a really good song, which could be better. The Assassin isn't too bad, just quite boring to start with, but the Chorus is quite good. Once again, this doesn't sound like it should. It should be in the vein of The Trooper or something like that. But it isn't. It does get repetitive after a while though. Starts out boring, ends boring, with an interesting bit in the middle.

Run Silent, Run Deep is actually really quite good. It restores us to the generic Maiden fare of old. You know, the filler tracks you never bothered about... Ganglands, Quest For Fire, Back In The Village. But on this album, sounds really good compared to the rest. It's nice to be comforted by familiarity once in a while. Hooks In You has cowbell. and a chorus that goes on forever, and is terribly "alternative" with Bruce does his boring "spoken-word" vocals.It had outstayed it's welcome by the second chorus, but continues to go on and on and on.

Then it all picks up on the last two songs. Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter has taken a lot of stick over the years from the Maiden elite, citing it as being "too popular" due to appearing in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The stick got so bad that Maiden dropped it from their setlist, saying that the fans were bored by it. And it's a shame, as it is an amazing song, a true anthem and one of Maiden's best songs ever. Bruce's vocals are at a peak on this track, truly the best vocal performance he's ever done... on this album. This is the song where they take all the elements panned on this album (the "Pop Metalness", the odd vocals) and makes them work. It's a song where the songwriting truly shines out, they got it right on the money with this. Mother Russia is another highlight, where they finally realise their ambition of writing an epic song. This is epic, but as highlighted in other reviews, it pales in comparison to Maiden's other great epics such as Hallowed Be Thy Name and Children of The Damned. Nonetheless, it is still a great song, and the nods to traditional Russian music are a great touch.

In conclusion, this album is OK, a bit mediocre. The problems on this album are endless. Songs are either too long, outstaying their welcome or waaay too short. There should be 7 minute epics but there's not. It seems Steve said "Right lads, on this album. every song should be under 4 and a half minutes long" and then told them to go "Let their hair down" on Mother Russia, but not too much mind. Although i can see that maybe they wanted to distance themself from the Prog of Seventh Son, it seems that they just tried to capitalise on the success of that album's singles, and tried to keep up the momentum by trying to make every song a hit single, and failing miserably.

This album also has another big fat dog turd in the form of Bruce's vocals. They are terrible, I don't know what happened since Seventh Son but he just lost the inability to do any Clean vocals whatsoever, and adopted a strange voice, which make him sound like he has a chest infection. He also likes to do a lot of the songs in an odd spoken-word style, that doesn't really work. And although it works on Bring Your Daughter,,,, it fails practically everywhere else. Every other member is putting a hardly-groundbreaking yet commendable performance, but the vocals drags everything down. And this pisses me off, because it's the biggest reason why this record is so panned. There are songs which would work really well live today, now that Bruce has had his Lemsip and has his voice back, but because the album was panned, due to the vocals, they refuse to play any of it today.

If this album had better vocals and songs were allowed to flow past 4 and a half minutes, this would be in the high 90s in terms of rating. There is some songs which sound different from what they should, and epic tunes which should be twice their length, and if they WERE twice their length, this would be a masterpiece. Despite this, it is a not bad performance. There is some good tunes on this, but nothing too major (Bar the final 2 tracks) as well as a lot of filler material. You should probably put this near the bottom of your Maiden shopping list, but buy it anyway, if not for completion, but also due to the presence of a couple of a good songs.

No Prayer for 90s Maiden. - 56%

hells_unicorn, March 21st, 2008
Written based on this version: 1995, 2CD, EMI United Kingdom (Reissue)

After 12 years of owning this, Maiden’s 8th studio effort, I still have a hard time believing that this album has 4 out of the 5 same guys that gave us "Somewhere in Time" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". There are a few good songs on here, but the vast majority of the songs are completely uninspired. In some cases the music kills the song, in other cases the lyrics do, and in the case of "Holy Smoke", you reach for the CD player and fling it clear out the window. The production is not up to par with previous efforts, as it lacks the punch of the earlier stuff, and also the luster of the more epic music that followed.

As far as the various members pulling their share, it should be noted that Janick Gers is an excellent guitar player, technically he is probably better than Adrian Smith was, however he doesn’t write songs nearly as well. He and Dave Murray get the job done as far as leads go, but, regardless to what Kurt Cobain may have said, solos do not alone make a song good metal. Steve Harris’ bass playing is still as technically intricate as ever, but unfortunately his songwriting is not as consistent on this album. Nicko’s drumming is pretty much par for the course, although the dry, dead sounding production drags the sound of his kit down severely.

The overriding problem with this release is even more overt than the lack of songwriting prowess, and that is Bruce Dickinson’s vocals. They are extremely scratchy and inconsistent, at times becoming almost unbearable. The worst case is probably “Holy Smoke”, although even a good song like the title track suffers from Bruce’s seeming inability to hit a clean note. “Mother Russia” escapes much of this because Bruce is barely singing, and when singing he is doing so with a voice that you can discern some actual pitch quality from.

The lyrics also do their share to drag this troubled opus down. With perhaps the exceptions of the title track and Mother Russia, the best route is to not think about what you're singing along with, particularly if you are a Maiden fan that feels obligated to own and regularly play their entire catalog. Amongst the worst offenders in the lyrical department, "Holy Smoke", "Tail Gunner" and "Public Enema Number One" take the cake, with the misfire of a 3rd part to the Charlotte the Harlot series "Hooks in You" not far behind.

The music behind the antics masquerading as words and singing is mostly a mixed bag. Songs like "Fates Warning" and "Run Silent, Run Deep" have several inspired moments, but they don't cross over into being spectacular. "The Assassin" has some interesting riffs but it gets repetitive after the first 2 minutes. "Tail Gunner" and "Public Enema Number One" both have pretty good intros, but don't really go anywhere. "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" sounds like a knockoff of an AC/DC song from the early 80s. I don't loathe it quite as much as most others do, but it doesn't fit into the Maiden sound. And as far as "Holy Smoke" goes, unless you like bad, quasi-punk pop mixed with 80s metal, hit the skip button.

If the goal was to bring their music to a younger audience that wanted a dry sound with half-assed socially conscious lyrics, Maiden succeeded royally here. Musically, it’s a collective failure for all in congress, as even Adrian Smith’s lone compositional offering before jumping ship “Hooks in You” reeks of rock/metal mediocrity. This album sold well, and it featured the band’s only number one single. It is a testament to what the mainstream was demanding of metal at the time and why it ultimately went back underground. If you are someone who likes buying albums for two decent songs tracks, some mediocre filler, and a fair amount of crap, or if you worship Iron Maiden blindly and think they can do no wrong, I would recommend looking for a copy at $4 max

Slowly losing it, but not yet entirely - 80%

morbert, April 12th, 2007

After the fans had become used to getting improvingly epic albums from Iron Maiden with equally improving productions, the band for some reason decided to release a back-to-the-roots kind of album as they were drifting at that point and looking for a way to be reborn. Dickinson had already tried some things solo and he brought in new guy Janick Gers to replace the unreplacable Adrian Smith.

This resulted in the ‘No Prayer For The Dying’ album on which Dickinson sung far less theatrical and more like a regular rock vocalist. To be honoust, this was of course beneath him and nobody saw the use of this. Neither did he in the end, seeing he’s back to square one these days and remembering his stroingpoints. Also the songmaterial was more compact and – except for maybe ‘Mother Russia’ - there were no epic songs to be found this time. Finishing it up was the very basic and dull straight forward production.

The titletrack would have been an instant classic if it had had the production of – let’s say – Seventh Son or Somewhere in Time. Try to imagine that and then tell me what you think! It is really a great song. Same goes for ‘Run Silent, Run Deep’. And how about ‘Fates Warning’ which still gives me goosebumps to this day when I hear the guitars interact while Dickinson sings the verses. If I would make a greatest hits collection, these songs would definitely be on it. ‘Tailgunner’ was a great uptempo opener by the way, but lyrically too much of an ‘Aces High part 2’.

The only thing I can complain about are - as said - the production and some of the songmaterial. ‘Holy smoke’ and ‘Bring Your daughter’ are both funny in their own way but not suit the album at all. I do not care if 'Bring Your Daughter' was a hit somewhere, it just did not fit the album. ‘Hooks in You’, ‘The Assassin’ and ‘Public Enema nr One’ are bearable and adequate at most. ‘Mother Russia’ surely does have its moments but never really reaches the magnificence of earlier epics.

I didn’t care they released an album without epics. They’d done that before on ‘Killers’. So what! I rather hear this than an album with only epics (boring!) If I say Iron Maiden, I say eighties. 'No Prayer...' did not come close to all their pervious work but it did have its moments. Enough moments actually to make this a decent album.

Not Nearly as Bad as They Say - 70%

DawnoftheShred, January 16th, 2007

One of Maiden’s more widely panned albums, No Prayer for the Dying presented a stylistic alteration that tested the loyalty of their fan base. The atmospheric and synthesized elements of the previous two albums were gone and the songwriting had returned to a simpler form, often compared to the sound of the band’s early work with Paul Di’anno. Surely Iron Maiden didn’t need a slew of complex, progressive arrangements to write killer songs, did they? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes. While the resulting album isn’t nearly as bad as it is notorious for, it’s certainly Iron Maiden at their least ambitious and NPftD is one of their weakest albums overall.

The songwriting is definitely simpler than it has ever been. Only one song breaks the five minute mark (Mother Russia), the song structures tend to adhere to a generic verse-chorus formula, and the focus is on catchiness of riffs and vocal melodies rather than on atmosphere or lyrical content. Everything sounds much less like heavy metal and much more like 80’s hard rock, making the album sound quite similar to Bruce Dickinson’s early solo work than any Maiden release (perhaps due to Janick Gers, a far inferior player and writer to Adrian Smith). Even so, there are some good songs here, which is the reason my rating is so generous. There are some solid rockers on here, such as “Tailgunner” and “Holy Smoke,” that while adding nothing particularly new, still carry with them an admirable sense of fun. This is not an album to really take seriously lyrically, as much of it is either typical of hard rock or just somewhat lighthearted. This is true especially when compared to the last few Maiden albums. The songs that absolutely make this release are “Hooks in You” and the title track. The former is pretty much the catchiest song the band has ever released to date (and a personal favorite among their more straightforward tracks) while the latter is a very mellow half-ballad, mixing expressive clean tones with heavier riffing towards the end. The rest of the songs range from mediocre subject attempts to poor filler and are otherwise forgettable.

One of the reasons the songwriting here suffers is the band’s playing, not just their arranging or writing. Bruce’s voice is a lot raspier and generally sucks through much of the album. This is also the only Maiden album where the lead work actually fails to impress me. Not a single solo stands out here, with many of them sounding sloppy and rushed and others are out of place entirely. Steve Harris actually sounds pretty good here. His bass lines come through nicely without overpowering and they’re usually well thought out. Unfortunately, no one else seems to make the effort, leaving the album feeling weak and incomplete.

Despite all these problems, the few good songs and some otherwise nice riffing makes this worthwhile at the end of the day. But fans of Iron Maiden be warned: this may not earn the same respect of you. With the good songs come the bad and it’s still the weakest Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson as vocalist (the Bailey ones are worse). I still recommend giving it a shot, but I can’t promise much.

Directionless but decent - 64%

Fatal_Metal, September 29th, 2006

Nobody in their wildest dreams expected this after the marvelous 7th Son Of A 7th Son.
It is impossible to know what the band was actually aiming for in making such a release.
They dropped all the synths, dropped even the Maiden tradition of having a song of long (sic) duration, heck – they dropped almost everything they developed with NoTB and went for this watered-down pseudo Killers sound. I mention watered-down and pseudo here because frankly, judging by this release – it seems that the band just doesn’t have the energy to go back and play such stuff again. Another thing’s missing – ADRIAN SMITH. His immensely cool guitar licks are sorely missed throught this release. Newcomer Janick Gers isn’t exactly a bad guitarist but he isn’t an Adrian Smith. The album sounds quite uninspired (Bruce being the lone exception to this) and the energy and fun of Killers is totally missing. Also several songs sound like needless rehashes of older material and others sound like directionless fillers added in just to increase the album length. Lots of half-baked, sometimes horrendous ideas with even worse execution are to be found on these fillers.

Bruce adopts a rasp on the album to try and fit in with its ‘aggressiveness’. Sometimes, he sounds totally off-place needlessly overdoing the rasp while at other times he sounds energetic, fresh and menacing. The problem here is – the only one who seems to be ‘into’ the record is Bruce as he tries a variety of different styles here and always performs with inspiration and energy despite not always hitting the mark. We get the usual excellent soloing that all Maiden albums have but the riffing is totally off-mark and sounds rather odd. Its like they thought of a melody and poured it all over a standard riff instantly without thinking of how bad it actually sounded or the context in which they play it. Nicko doesn’t have much of a role to play here and neither does Steve. The underperformance here definitely shows how much the band actually relies on Adrian.
‘Tailgunner’ starts the album off decently. It sounds like a bastardization of the classic ‘Aces High’ but I’d pick this any day over a ‘Run Silent, Run Deep’ or a ‘Fates Warning’. ‘Holy Smoke’ is probably the best song on here, its fairly catchy with a nice vocal performance by Bruce (He really hits the right notes here), the soloing is particularly good here. The lyrics of the song are a satire on Bible-bashers and the lyrics contain a rather un-Maidenish line in the form of ‘Flies around shit, bees around honey’. Its just out of place for a band as honoured and hmmm, dignified as Maiden? Well, can’t explain why I think so. ‘No Prayer For The Dying’ then sounds rather puny at times and the main melody sounds like a bastardized ‘Infinite Dreams’. The song itself is fun, they actually sound better when they keep it slow than try oh-so-hard to go thrashing about and failing. The hilariously titled ‘Public Enema Number One’ is just decent, there’s nothing differing from the album’s norms to be seen here. ‘Fates Warning’ builds up well but then becomes completely directionless with a nice but totally out of place chorus. ‘The Assassin’ is actually quite decent – it’s amazing in that it manages to sound excessively cheesy and somewhat menacing at the same time. The atmosphere around the song is excellent, but Bruce goes on and off – he sometimes sounds rather vicious and at other times his vocals sound cheesy beyond cheesy. That chorus manages to be cheesy and hypnotically evil at the same time. It’s hard to say what exactly works (or doesn’t) about this song. ‘Hooks In You’ is a try at an 80’s anthem and although it sounds overtly silly, its decent – although like the rest of the album, it sounds tired and uninspired. ‘Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter’ is different from the rest of the album (finally), it rules with killer melodies and a killer (pun intended) performance by Bruce who sounds viciously evil and horny at the same time. ‘Mother Russia’ is possibly the best song on the album although it cannot for a minute compare with the rest of Maiden’s epics. The keyboards are back and Bruce sings normally through the song (he actually shuts up for most part of the song). There isn’t really a problem with the song, its like all of Iron Maiden woke up all of a sudden after playing asleep all the while and say ‘It’s the end of the album, Golly!’ and throw up whatever remnants of 7th Son they could muster.

All in all, this is one of Maiden’s worst albums – although it isn’t quite their worst (the follow-up ‘Fear Of The Dark’ is). The album is recommended only for die-hard Maiden fans, others can stay content with downloading ‘Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter’, ‘Holy Smoke’ and maybe ‘Holy Smoke’, ‘Tailgunner’ and the title track. The rest of the album should be left to the dogs.

Iron Maiden's Worst Album - 41%

GuntherTheUndying, September 7th, 2006

Iron Maiden had an unusual amount of success when being compared to most bands. During the 1980's, Iron Maiden released seven excellent studio albums that were perfect from beginning to end. The song writing was incredible, the lyrics were poetic, and everything flowed together perfectly, but this kind of perfection couldn't last forever. The 1980's had ended and the golden years Iron Maiden once had came to an end with there first lackluster release of the new decade, "No Prayer For The Dying."

Iron Maiden's guitar attack has severely downsized on "No Prayer For The Dying." Most of Maiden's material on the first seven albums contained a decent amount of speed in the riffs; the speed element on "No Prayer For The Dying" has basically vanished. Songs like "Tailgunner" and "Public Enema Number One" lack the speedy guitar work that was once a key factor in Iron Maiden's music, and it makes the songs seem really boring. Repetition of the riffs doesn't help the already lame guitar work. Most of the songs have one riff that repeats until the song ends. This repetitiveness obviously makes the music seem extremely dull. The only positive factor about the guitar work is the solos. The solos seem to be much more technical then on previous albums. This does add a little comfort, but the overall guitar work is terrible.

Bruce Dickinson changed his vocal style on "No Prayer For The Dying," and it really drags the album down. Instead of that high flying voice he had on previous albums, Bruce now has a raspy voice. His new gritty voice doesn't fit the usual Maiden tone. There are hardly any good singing moments by Bruce, just the annoying voice that sounds like someone dying.

Not every song on "No Prayer For The Dying" is bad. "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter" has become a Maiden classic with the thumping bass lines, the numerous amount of solos, and the famous raunchy lyrics. The title track is probably the best track on the album. The title track is filled with soft guitar notes and catchy leads. There is also a nice speed metal burst in the middle, which seems to regress that old Maiden sound. These two tracks are the only songs that stand out on this mistake of an album.

I've been very fond of most of Maiden's material, but this album is truly terrible. "No Prayer For The Dying" was the first album of Maiden's decline, which ultimately led to the departure of Bruce Dickinson. Without a shadow of a doubt, "No Prayer For The Dying" is Iron Maiden's worst album. I doubt they'll make something as bad as this again. Unless you're a Maiden superfan, I suggest you stay away from this one.

This review was orginally written for: http://www.Thrashpit.com.

All guts, all glory - 100%

Hattori, August 21st, 2004

In 1988, Maiden released their mellowest, most epic and most transcendent album in Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. But instead of giving fans another dose of the same medicine, the band threw their keyboards into the fire and got back to the gritty basics. The result is one of the best albums in heavy metal: "No Prayer for the Dying."

The album sound is dirty. Bruce replaces his comfortable clean voice with his best impression of a bat getting raped by UDO. Musicially, the songs are stripped-down and not as epic. Even the closer Mother Russia isn't really an epic by Maiden standards. This would be a problem.... if not for the fact that the songs fucking rock. This album is the perfect blend of mandatory Maiden metal and down-and-dirty hard rock. The songs stick to a verse-chorus, verse-chorus format, but who cares? The verses fucking rule and the choruses will have even mutes singing in the shower.

You don't have to sift too deep through the dirt to find Maiden's trademark sound. The band's twin guitar harmonies rear their heads in tracks like "No Prayer for the Dying" and midway through "Fates Warning." The title track appears surprisingly early and is refleshingly concise: it's a rare example of Maiden in ballad form, with Bruce crooning his way through each sorrowful verse. "Assassin" has an "I'm Watching You" vibe that will make you get up and close the curtains. "Bring Your Daughter..." sounds much better here than on the Nightmare on Elmstreet 5 soundtrack. Martin Birch strips the track down, taking away the B-horror production and cheesy backing vocals.

"Mother Russia" marks the first time that Maiden experimented with the sounds of a foreign country (they would later tackle the Middle East with Nomad and achieve equal success). Female backing vocals build a misty mood, before heavier guitars implore the listener to dance Russian-style---don't spill the vodka. Lyrically, you can expect more profanity and anger, with politicians and TV evangelists falling prey to the beast. Anger carries the vocal-driven "Holy Smoke," until Jannick introduces himself with a scorching solo.

With "No Prayer," Maiden took a gamble that paid off a millionfold. Sure they lost some fans ("Boo hoo! This is too raw. Where's the cleanliness of Seventh Son?"), but these people are pussies that are better off listening to Michael Bolton records on their parents dusty turntables. Painkiller? Rust in Peace? These albums have their supporters, but "No Prayer for the Dying" is the true hero of 1990.

Ouch. - 20%

Nightcrawler, August 11th, 2003

Wow, does this suck or what? After the awesome Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, you'd think that they'd put out something good. Instead, they put out the worst piece of shit in their entire career. On this album, the songwriting just went to hell. The songs come off as really forced and generic, and nothing really works. This is evident right from the opening song Tail Gunner- a balls-out rocker that has no balls. The opening riff is too simplistic, and the production makes it way too clean and harmless for it's own good. The verses are too happy, and the chorus is dead cool but really fucking repetitive- "Climb into the sky, never wonder why" x 4. It really gets old.
Many of the songs give a vibe of lack of inspiration, in that they all seem to be trying to recreate old classics instead of creating new and fresh heavy metal. The previously mentioned Tail Gunner sounds like a really weak Aces High clone, the lead-based title track which speeds up later on is what Infinite Dreams would be if it sucked goat balls. The so-called 'epic' Mother Russia is weak as all fucking hell, and one of the worst Maiden songs ever. The keyboards that give the impression of some huge melodic backing choir were already used in a much better way on the Seventh Son title track, and the whole song seems really watered out. They just suddenly forgot how to write really good songs.

Musically, the album is more riff-based than the previous two- construction-wise pretty similar to The Number of the Beast, only much simpler, and completely lacking a sense of punch or decent riffwork. The leads are also over-happy and give a watered-out feeling for the most part, most notably in the title track, which I believe is the worst Iron Maiden song of all time. What must also be mentioned is the completely atrocious opening riff to Holy Smoke- I can't describe the godawfulness of it. It's really fucking horrible.
But, one thing that you can always count on when it comes down to Iron Maiden is that you get some really fucking good soloing. Cause that's the only thing that the album doesn't fuck up. We get some awesome solos in pretty much all of the tracks, with Holy Smoke standing out on that point. But good solos can't save this album; it'd take alot more to redeem this steaming pile of goo. I thought it was impossible to have this huge amount of bad songs on the same Iron Maiden album. Fates Warning- the supposedly introspective lyrics are just really fucking generic and dull, the vocals go nowhere and the chorus bores me to death. The Assassin actually has one cool melodic riff coming in at about 0:22, but aside from that it's just over-atmospheric and a failed attempt of making something dark. Hooks In You has that catchy 80's styled intro riff but then gets really fucking generic, boring and completely forgettable. Tail Gunner, Holy Smoke, Run Silent Run Deep, it all sucks.

Fact remains though, that there is one real fucking classic on the album, which totally kicks the shit out of anything else on the album. Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the song rules. One of the most wicked sex songs ever, with that incredibly catchy chorus, the devastating midpaced basslines, the badass solo and the atmospheric "aahaah" middle part with that sinister melodic riff underneath it. Yes, that song fucking rocks.
But, with Bring Your Daughter being the one and only exception, this album infinitely sucks goat balls, and has no place at all in the Maiden discography.

Crash and burn - 54%

UltraBoris, August 10th, 2002

So this is what happens when you decide you no longer want to make epic masterpieces, but really have forgotten what the general mood of the Killers album that you are so trying to imitate was actually like.

The problem with the album is that there are no really overwhelmingly great tracks, and some of them are just all-out horrible, and even among the good ones, some stuff seems to be overtly recycled. Example: Tailgunner. Nice speed metal, but didn't they have a song called Aces High, that did the same thing, only better?

Holy Smoke is probably the best song on here, though it features the quite out of place line "flies around shit, bees around honey" - somehow, when I think of Iron Maiden, I don't think of them spouting off random obscenities. Maybe that's just me.

Other okay songs include the hilariously titled Public Enema Number One, and even Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter (it's not a great song, but far better than some others I'll mention in a second) and also Mother Russia, which is decent, but nowhere close to the real epic numbers they had been able to come up with. Oh and Hooks in You is fun and catchy, despite the overwhelmingly silly lyrics.

Boring: No Prayer for the Dying. Nice, pleasant, but a bit too elevator-music for my tastes. Fates Warning, I cannot remember this song right now, seeing as I haven't listened to this album in a few months. The Assassin is pretty terrible. Really, enough dissecting this album - it lacks the overwhelmingly cool guitar work of Adrian Smith (okay it lacks EVERYTHING of Adrian Smith ... he's gone. Janick Gers is okay, but just not a guitar legend). Oh and the album cover is silly.