A Heavy Fall

As a HUGE Adrian Smith fan, I remember being absolutely crushed to hear that Adrian had left the band. To my mind, he was at least the equal of Steve Harris as a songwriter and the best guitarist in the band. He'd written the best songs on Somewhere in Time, his influence was all over SSOASS and he was writing incredible solos on every record. I don't think this influences my view of this particular album but you will have to decide for yourselves.

First off, let me say that although I don't rate Janick as highly as Adrian as a guitarist, I think he brought some much needed energy to their stage performances and although he didn't write anything for this album, I rate him very highly as a songwriter.

I can't really sugarcoat this and having followed Maiden religiously since 1980, I don't feel I have to, but it has to be said that this album is absolutely awful!!!

Tailgunner is alright, but it's essentially a second-rate Aces High. The title track I really like but these two aside, absolutely nothing else appeals to me. I can't even bring myself to justify my dislike of each song. Even for average Metal bands, this album would be average to poor at best, but for a Maiden fan like me, it was a crushing disappointment. I know it produced their only Number One single, but honestly, I find Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter just as awful as most of the rest of the album. I still went to see them live, largely because I had done so for every tour since 1981, but even that didn't help my perception of the album. Janick's energy aside, they looked like a band going through the motions and running out of ideas. There is no doubt in my mind that Adrian was a MASSIVE loss.
 
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