The Metal Files

I used to be a collector of all vinyl Iron Maiden.  I had a ton of stuff.  I didn’t have every pressing of every album or EP, but I had most of them.  It was crazy.  My OCD always had me looking for Iron Maiden records the minute I’d hit a record store.  Then No Prayer For The Dying came out and it seemed that Maiden had gone on marketing steroids.  Sure, they were the kings of releasing stuff since day 1, but it seemed to get crazy in 1990.  It was just too much.  I did buy a lot of the related EPs and such but decided to end it.  One reason was that the album, as I saw it at the time, wasn’t that good.

I saw that tour as well and had a good time although seeing Gers prance around on stage was utterly annoying.  Anthrax opened up on their Persistence of Time Tour.  They got pissed at the crowd for sitting down during their set.  It was a former friend from high school, Rogerson and myself at the patriot Center near Washington, DC.

Last night I decided to listen to this album again.  In a previous review I dogged it out pretty badly.  Listening to this again last night I really only cringed a few times.  I think I detested it so much back then because Adrian wasn’t on it, even though he gets partial credit for writing the worst song on the album, Hooks in You.  Musically it’s fine but the lyrics are silly.  Most likely they were written by Bruce Bruce.  I blame him.  The song sounds like it could have been on Tattooed Millionaire.

Overall I found listening to No Prayer rather enjoyable.  It was a nice trip down memory lane and there are a lot of songs on here that I actually like…a lot!  But Holy Smoke, Hooks In You and Bring Your Daughter are just dumb songs.  Absolutely horrible.  My absolute favorites would be The Assassin, Public Enema Number One, Run Silent Run Deep and even Mother Russia.  Tailgunner is just a mediocre track.

One thing that was blatantly apparent on here was the differences in the guitar solos.  There are no doubts as to who is soloing in each song.  To put is in simple terms, all of Jannick’s solos suck.  Seriously.  All of them.  I still think he sucks and still wish that he’d just go away.

In my original review I gave this album 2/10.  I am going to change it to a 6/10.  It’s energetic and Steve Harris was still a prominent feature in their sound.  Nowadays he’s just in the background.  What a pity.

If you were like me and hated this album back then, give it a new chance, especially after hearing how much they have changed in the last decade.

My ticket stub and a sticker that Maiden dropped from the ceiling at the end of their opening song, Tailgunner. (click to enlarge)