As The Longest Day was eliminated, I would like to commemorate the amazing section that follows its intro.
Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire,
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red,
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive, pray to God I survive
Wow, Dance of Death is lacking in many regards. Their songwriting took a dive in 2003 but luckily recovered with AMOLAD. Most of the album is skippable and somehow tedious to sit through. Many songs follow the same “clean intro” formula, which can be said about most reunion albums, but on DOD it feels the least convincing. Rainmaker, Dance of Death, Paschendale and even No More Lies are strong songs but the poor sound mix of the album makes even those a tad tiresome. Out of the notoriously bad ones, Age of Innocence is my favourite: I like the chorus and the harmony after the solos is one of the best guitar moments on the album. Speaking of which, Maiden is synonymous with guitar paradise but where’s all the memorable licks and riffs this time? There are a few but not enough. Also, when New Frontier came on, I had to check the title because I didn’t recognise it as a song I had ever heard before.
Voting for:
Wildest Dreams
No More Lies
Montsegur
Gates of Tomorrow
New Frontier
Face in the Sand
Age of Innocence
Journeyman