Dance of Death: Three years later

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What are your impressions of DOD now that we've had more than enough time to let it sink in and dissect it? Personally, I loved it then and I love it now. Sure, there are a some weaker moments here and there (New Frontier, Journeyman and - please spare my life - Paschendale I don't really care for (I know, many people regard the latter as an amazing epic but I find it rather unengaging and boring), but for the most part it sounds really fresh. Montségur, with such raw energy, probably is the most surprising Maiden song in years. Dance of Death, I admit, grew on me over time and I now consider it a great epic in the IM tradition. Rainmaker is a fantastic song that should have been the album opener. No More Lies is a classic Steve Harris track (whatever that means -_-). Face in the Sand is flat-out kick-ass, etc.

Now, I must say I am somewhat disappointed to witness so many fans turning their backs on Dance of Death now that we're on the eve of the new album's release, like it's the cool thing to do. Some of these same people, I'm sure, were probably clamoring it to be the best Maiden album since the 1980s back in September 2003... Why the change of heart (I don't mean on this board obviously - I wasn't aware of its existence until last week ;))? I'm all for people having intelligent explanations for their opinions, but "Iron Maiden sucks ass since the 90s" doesn't cut it. People on the Internet are much too cynic and act too "smartassey" for their own good.
 
Doesn't this belong int the English Commentary in the DOD thread? sure it's maiden, but it is about this specific album... just a thought
 
Onhell said:
Doesn't this belong int the English Commentary in the DOD thread? sure it's maiden, but it is about this specific album... just a thought
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Sorry about that. I was overwhelmed at the magnitude of content on the site and missed that section.
 
I never "loved" DOD I liked it, but not even near as much as BNW (I LOVE BNW). It was a good album, better use of the three guitars, but not as impressive and with fewer "stand out" tracks than BNW, IMO. That being said I like it about the same now and I hope that TROBB is not an accurate representation of the new album, because if it is it won't be that great of an album or it will at least be as average as DOD.
 
To be honest, I didn't like DoD when it was released. With the exception of Passchendale, I thought it was overly simplistic and seemed too much like a "rush job." It wass too much of a departure from what I had come to expect from maiden. And the cover art..ICK. (I've made about 300 posts on that topic alone)

But it's grown on my. I've come to appreciate Wildest Dreams and Innocence for what they are. Dance of Death (the song) has wiggled its way up to being one of my favourite Maiden songs of all time (I actually found this topic when I came here to post on why).
It has its flaws, but it grows on ya is what I be tryin' to say, I guess.
 
Onhell said:
I never "loved" DOD I liked it, but not even near as much as BNW (I LOVE BNW). It was a good album, better use of the three guitars, but not as impressive and with fewer "stand out" tracks than BNW, IMO. That being said I like it about the same now and I hope that TROBB is not an accurate representation of the new album, because if it is it won't be that great of an album or it will at least be as average as DOD.
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According to bruce,  it's his least favourite song from the album,  so I guess that says something.  And besides,  BTATS and DW are much better imo.
 
I think DOD is one of their top 3 studio albums ever; up there with Powerslave and Brave New World. Dance of Death (the song) is, as IronDuke said, one of their best ever and Journeyman is a great tune too. Paschendale (yes, I love it!) and Montsegur are songs I never seem to tire of. Maybe it's not their best album song-by-song, but some of their best songs are on it, IMHO -_- (Me, humble...right :wacko:)

On another note, TROBB is a great song in my book. I love the heavy riffs and the solos on it. BTATS is growing on me and is quickly becoming one of the best Maiden songs I've ever heard. I really don't like DW though...the chorus is...dare I say it...pop-ish :help: That's not my Maiden. The whole song is great until the chorus comes and destroys it :( But then again, I've still never heard an album - of any band - that doesn't have it's weak spots.
 
To be honest, i find Age Of Innocence a bit well.....boring now.......i've listened to it so much.
 
In my opinion Dance of Death  features 2 tracks that emerge (Dance of Death & Journeyman) and one that is great (Paschendale). It's not much but it's what remains significant for me after 3 years. Obviously I was very happy at the time of release but I quickly felt uncomfortable with this record. It's very average if you consider the usual Maiden standards. That's all. It's a good rock album but an average Maiden release........
I sincerely hope that A matter of life and death will be stronger. :unsure:
 
i still love the album. everything on it i still really enjoy apart from age of innocence. Montsegeur (sp) probly has the best riff on the album its one that goes in the "i wish i wrote that" file.
 
Well my opinion hasn't changed much since 2003.

Before I got it I just hoped it will be as good as Brave New World was. Well it is good, but just too damn incosistent. "Age of Innocence" and "Gates of Tomorrow" are throw-away tracks in my opinion. "Wildest Dreams" and "New Frontier" still sound half-baked songs to me (although they've grown on me a little since then).

Other songs are fantastic :)

At this very moment I think A Matter of Life and Death is better than both Brave New World and Dance of Death.

Up the Irons
 
I had not heard DoD until the mid of last year (yeah :o ) but thats only because I went through a period of not keeping in touch with the latest in the metal scene or Maiden.
But since last year when I got Rock in Rio and then later on DoD I have been absolutely in love with both of those albums sometimes even more so than some of the 80s material.

As for DoD, the title track did grow on me as well after a few listens and I do consider it a really great song.
No More Lies is a really fun song with fantastic intros/melodies and solos and Paschendale is every bit an epic as it is touted to be. Montsegur is good as well Face in the sand and Journeyman is a nice album closer.
Not very fond of the other tracks which is where BNW scores more with having more consistency in the quality of the songs.

Of course AMOLAD is even better in that respect and has really good and some really great songs on it !
I still like DoD/BNW more than AMOLAD right now but that might change in a year's time.

Still sticking to the topic I think 3 songs from DoD (DoD, Paschendale and No more lies) will continue to be favourites of mine for years to come (or as long as I am alive/listening to Maiden).
 
Honestly, I probably rank it in the bottom 3 Maiden albums, along with Fear of the Dark and Virtual IX. I like Montsegur and Rainmaker is OK, but the rest of the songs are poor to average. I used to really like Journeyman but it really suffers from the repetitive chorus. Dance of Death the sing is total cheese and I only enjoy it on an ironic level, as with Spinal Tap songs.
 
Dance of death is my 3rd favourite all time Maiden album (1st is Somewhere in time, 2nd is beast). When I first bought it I loved it and still love it now. the song Dance of Death gets even better as the years go by. Face in the sand goes under the category of great songs that never got played live.
 
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