Disco de Iron Maiden: “Fear of the Dark [Limited]”

Fear Of The Dark is not a bad album, or the disaster many think it is. I think this album came off as bad because the band was wiped out from the 80's, a decade where they released 9 albums and toured constantly without a break, save for a few months. Bruce Dickinson shows the strain of this far more than any of the band members; his powerful howl has been reduced to a raspy gruff not worthy of his name. However, many of the songs here are great. Be quick or be dead, afraid to shoot strangers, the title cut, judas be my guide, childhoods end, and from here to eternity are great. Fear is the key, wasting love, the fugitive, and chains of misery are so-so tracks. they are good enough to be Maiden, but fear is the key and chains of misery should have been b-sides. Then FOTD would have been great. The album is mostly ruined by its worst tracks, the apparition and weekend warrior, which are truly horrid. They are not even worthy of being b-sides, they should have been scrapped at the start. Of course the record company wanted more tracks, and these were forced on, ruining the album. Ok-thats enough. The point is Maiden fans need this but newcomers to the band should get their other albums first.

I am Maiden's #1 fan, so believe me when I say this: DO NOT listen to the bad reviews for this album. Ignore the critics and the so-called metal fans who call it weak. It is, quite simply, one of Maiden's top five best ever, and easily the most underrated metal album of all time.

Ah yes, FEAR OF THE DARK. The last album with Bruce Dickinson. It followed NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING, which got disastrous reviews but was actually very good. This is definitely Maiden's most unique and intriguing album. Nine of the songs are awesome, only three are average.

BE QUICK OR BE DEAD: The heaviest, most aggressive album opener they ever made (although "Moonchild" will always be the greatest). Borderline thrash metal, with it's earth-shaking riff and Bruce's nasty vocals. I love it when he sings in that snarling tone. This tune rips out of your speakers like a stampede of angry rhinos! Metallica - eat your hearts out.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY: How awesome is that chorus?! Those chants are simply killer! Classic metal.

AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS: Masterpiece. The first half of the song is a ballad, in which Bruce proves that he really can sing softer stuff when he wants to. A very hypnotic vocal melody. Then, it changes gears and a wonderful guitar riff comes in, followed by a crushing riff and some insane soloing. Then it reverts back to it's original mellow form. Excellent song.

FEAR IS THE KEY: One of my top five favorite Maiden songs ever. For the life of me, I cannot understand why everyone puts down this song. I don't get it. The pounding riff, the fascinating vocal melody, the part where it changes tempo in the middle, etc. Aw God, it's incredible. It's really more along the lines of Rainbow or someone like that. My favorite song on the album.

CHILDHOOD'S END: Perhaps the most unique song they ever recorded. That drum beat is tops, complemented by a rather haunting synth riff. And again, a killer vocal melody here. These guys were really on their game when they wrote this stuff!!

WASTING LOVE: Until Bruce comes in with the vocals, it sounds like just another cheesy metal ballad. But Bruce really saves it from becoming that. He gives a wonderful performance here, one of his best.

THE FUGITIVE: Aw man, that's gotta be the heaviest riff they ever came up with. Definitely. Wall-shaking stuff here! I love the chorus, and those guitar runs at 3:49 are absolutely mesmerizing. Whether it was Dave or Janick, I don't know, but it absolutely kills.

CHAINS OF MISERY: Like "From Here To Eternity", this one has a chanted chorus that will stick in your brain forever. I still can't get it out of my head.

THE APPARITION: Uh, not that great. Maybe their weakest song ever.

JUDAS BE MY GUIDE: Nothing special.

WEEKEND WARRIOR: Nothing special.

FEAR OF THE DARK: Now we're cookin'! Regarded by fans as one of their greatest songs, and I fully agree. The beggining is very moody, with Bruce giving an almost creepy vocal performance before a devastating riff comes in and it starts to rock like you wouldn't believe! That riff just might be my favorite of all time. It positively kicks ass!! And it ends the same way it began, with a very eerie atmosphere.

All in all, this album is definitely on par with any of their earlier ones, no matter what anyone says. Trust me. Buy it now.

I can't understand why people talk so much trash about Janick. This album is a great album. There are some great songs on here. Janick is a damn good guitar player. I have been playing myself for 7 years and I'm sure he's probably a whole lot better than the people who criticize his playing. Besides in my opinion Dave Murray is the heart and soul of the Maiden guitar sound anyway. Well enough defending Janick. Anyway, about the songs. They are all pretty good. I guess The Apparition and Fear is the Key could be considered fillers (my reason for only 4 stars) but they are Maiden which makes them pretty decent. Be Quick, Fear of the Dark, Afraid to Shoot Strangers are the classics and in many cases the reason people buy this album. Judas Be My Guide was one song that surprised me. I love that song, I haven't had the CD long enough to decide whether or not it's my favorite off this one. The Fugitive, Wasting Love, Chains of Misery, Childhoods End, and Weekend Warrior are all great Maiden songs. Even Adrian fans should give it a chance. If not for anything else check it out because it's Maiden.

When "Fear of the Dark" came out in the early 90's it came out to so little fanfare that as a Maiden fan, I didn't even know a new album had hit the shelves until a couple months after it's release. Of course I picked it up as soon as I heard about it, and maybe it's just that I have a soft spot for Maiden, but it was refreshing to hear new Maiden tracks amidst the onslaught of grunge at the time. The Seattle sound killed off most hair-metal bands, and pushed real metal bands like Iron Maiden onto the backburner. And while metal radio was full of Pearl Jams, and Alice in Chains, I was able to escape with "Fear of the Dark", "From Here to Eternity" and "Judas Be My Guide". There are a couple weak tracks found here, "Fear is the Key" and "Afraid to Shoot at Strangers", but overall this is a solid Maiden album. Nicko McBrain's drumming on "Childhood's End" is fantastic. I don't think McBrain's contributions to the band have ever fully been recognized, and "Fear of the Dark" features some of his best work. While this album may not be on par with "Powerslave" or "Somewhere in Time", it is a good solid Maiden album, and worth adding to your collection.

A lot of people hate this album because they think most songs here are fillers and the three bad songs. I don't like those three songs either but I like most of the others with two incredible songs that work everything out. Janick is a great guitarist by the way.

1. BE QUICK OR BE DEAD (9.5/10)

2. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (8.5/10)

3. AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS (11/10)

4. FEAR IS THE KEY (7/10)

5. CHILDHOOD'S END (8.5/10)

6. WASTING LOVE (8/10)

7. THE FUGITIVE (9/10)

8. CHAINS OF MISERY (8.5/10)

9. THE APPARITION (6/10)

10. JUDAS BE MY GUIDE (9/10)

11. WEEKEND WARRIOR (6.5/10)

12. FEAR OF THE DARK (10/10)

I still think this album is worth picking up even though it has three bad songs. I don't know why Maiden didn't just excluded those songs from the album. This would've been a great album if it weren't for those cursed songs!