Description
2017 box set with No Prayer For The Dying lp and Fear Of The Dark dlp in a huge box where you can collect the complete 1990-2015 vinyl re-issues
No Prayer For The Dying
With their first album of the ’90s, Iron Maiden wanted to return to basics. Comparable to their more straightforward early work, No Prayer for the Dying quickly shot up the charts all over the world, but it was clear that the songwriting wasn’t up to snuff when compared to such classics as Killers or Number of the Beast. The album also signaled the debut of new guitarist Janick Gers, best known for his stint in Ian Gillan’s solo band and on Bruce Dickinson’s solo album, Tattooed Millionaire. Featuring a pair of U.K. hit singles — the anti-televangelist diatribe “Holy Smoke” and Maiden’s lone number one, the controversial “Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter” (which was banned by the BBC) — plus another that should have been issued as a single (the opener, “Tailgunner”), No Prayer as a whole doesn’t measure up to the hits. The title track contains an opening too reminiscent of their 1988 single “Infinite Dreams,” while other tracks such as “Fates Warning,” “Run Silent Run Deep,” and “Hooks in You” never catch fire. And even though the epic closer “Mother Russia,” “Public Enema Number One,” and “Fates Warning” are standouts, they just don’t hold up well when compared to past classics. While Maiden retained their solid following elsewhere in the world, No Prayer for the Dying would prove to be their last gold-certified album in the U.S.
Fear Of The Dark
While 1992’s Fear of the Dark was definitely more of a return to form for Iron Maiden, it still wasn’t quite on par with their exceptional work from the ’80s. Easily an improvement over 1990’s lackluster No Prayer for the Dying (both musically and sonically), the album debuted on the U.K. charts at number one. The opening “Be Quick or Be Dead” proved Maiden could easily hold their own with younger thrash metal bands, “From Here to Eternity” contained lyrics that seem better fitted for Mötley Crüe, while the expected epic album-closing title track would become a concert staple (all three tracks were released as U.K. singles). While Maiden records of the past would contain an album’s worth of first-rate material, Fear of the Dark is again weighed down with too many drab compositions — “Childhood’s End,” “Chains of Misery,” “Judas Be My Guide,” and more. The serene “Wasting Love” proves to be one of Maiden’s better ballads of the ’90s, while the rockers “Fear Is the Key” and “Afraid to Shoot Strangers” are also standouts. Fear of the Dark would be singer Bruce Dickinson’s final studio album with the band (until their late-’90s reunion), as he publicly voiced that he felt the band had run its course.
Track listing:
Lp 1: No Payer For The Dying
1. Tail Gunner
2. Holy Smoke
3. No Prayer For The Dying
4. Public Enemy Number One
5. Fates Warning
6. The Assassin
7. Run Silent Run Deep
8. Hooks In You
9. Bring Your Daughter… To The Slaughter
10. Mother Russia
Lp 2 and 3: Fear Of The Dark
1. Be Quick Or Be Dead
2. From Here To Eternity
3. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
4. Fear Is The Key
5. Childhood’s End
6. Wasting Love
7. The Fugitive
8. Chains of Misery
9. The Apparition
10. Judas Be My Guide
11. Weekend Warrior
12. Fear Of The Dark