Customer Reviews

Fear of the Dark

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

It's interesting, most people seem to think that Iron Maiden went into an artistic decline in the 90's, but no one seems to talk to much about why, other than that they don't like Blaze. Still, before Blaze showed up this band had become pretty different from the classic Iron Maiden, even if they still were the same basic subgenre. Here they started to move in the semi-epic, pseudo-prog metal direction that has defined their style ever since. It's certainly not as far as they would go in later albums, but that's definitely the direction they're heading. This album also has a bit more of a hard rock flavor to it, which is pretty weird. Overall it's pretty good, but with probably only 1 legitimately great song, and too many tracks. (If a metal album has over 10 tracks it almost certainly has too many.)

'Fear of the Dark' is the legitimately great track, and it is indeed awesome. A nice memorable, galloping epic well worthy of being named with all their other great epics. 'Be Quick Or Be Dead' is a solid speed metal number. Not their best thing, but solid. 'From Here to Eternity', 'Chains of Misery' and 'Weekend Warrior' are all lighter, hard rock-ish rockers. None of them is bad, particularly 'Weekend Warrior', which is very catchy, but they're all a bit cheesy and certainly not up to IM's standards. The album has a weird stretch of semi-epics and ballads stretching from tracks 3 thru 6. (This is the part of the album which particularly displays their evolution) 'Afraid to Shoot Strangers' and 'Childhood's End' are the best of them, and are very good, if generally pretty low-key. 'Wasting Love' is the purest ballad, and it's pretty decent, if not remarkable. An effective chorus. 'Fear is the Key' is the darkest one, rather reminiscent of what you'd hear on 'The X Factor'. Not great, but sufficiently interesting, and different. 'The Fugitive' is one of your more classic Maiden songs, stylistically, except that it is really quite grating, with a very irritating chorus. 'The Apparition' is a little bland, not too aggravating but not of much particular interest. 'Judas Be My Guide' is a highpoint, the strongest track other than the title track. A very nice epic chorus.

Overall very little of what you'll hear on this album is bad, but it is almost uniformly a cut below classic Maiden.(And you pretty much never heard anything bad on the first 7 Maiden albums) Still, it's worth owning.

Fear Of The Dark is not a bad album, or the disaster many think it is. I think this album came off as bad because the band was wiped out from the 80's, a decade where they released 9 albums and toured constantly without a break, save for a few months. Bruce Dickinson shows the strain of this far more than any of the band members; his powerful howl has been reduced to a raspy gruff not worthy of his name. However, many of the songs here are great. Be quick or be dead, afraid to shoot strangers, the title cut, judas be my guide, childhoods end, and from here to eternity are great. Fear is the key, wasting love, the fugitive, and chains of misery are so-so tracks. they are good enough to be Maiden, but fear is the key and chains of misery should have been b-sides. Then FOTD would have been great. The album is mostly ruined by its worst tracks, the apparition and weekend warrior, which are truly horrid. They are not even worthy of being b-sides, they should have been scrapped at the start. Of course the record company wanted more tracks, and these were forced on, ruining the album. Ok-thats enough. The point is Maiden fans need this but newcomers to the band should get their other albums first.

For some reason, this album has a lot of negative stigma attached to it, and I have no idea why. No, it doesn't sound like Maiden's awesome 80's efforts ("Piece Of Mind", "Powerslave", etc). It's a pretty big change in style, but it's still pretty damn good (and even better where you compare it to Maiden's last release, the average "No Prayer For The Dying".

First off, let me say what's bad about this album: Bruce, man, what happened to your voice? It's not anywhere as odd as it was on "No Prayer", but really, it doesn't sound as if Bruce was trying as hard here as he was on previous albums. Also, there are a few filler tracks here, such as "Fear Is The Key" and "Weekend Warrior", that kind of take away from the album. "But," you say, "you can skip over the tracks you don't like!" To which I reply, that's true... but this is IRON MAIDEN we're talking about here! If it had been any other band, this would probably be a 5-star effort. But I hold Maiden up to a far higher standard than most other bands, and having filler on a Maiden album is simply unacceptable. Period.

Then why did I give this album four stars? Because there's much to enjoy here as well. "Be Quick Or Be Dead" is one of my favorite Maiden opening tracks, "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" is a beautiful ballad that I definitely enjoy, and "Childhood's End", "The Fugitive", "The Apparition", and "Judas Be My Guide" are all catchy, enjoyable tracks. And, of course, there's the awesome title track, which is, to this day, one of my favorite Maiden songs, hands down. Most of the people who trash the album even like this song.

So, yes, there's lots for Maiden fans to enjoy here, but it's not of the band's greatest albums. If you're new to the band, i'd recommend that you start elsewhere (probably with their mid-80's albums), but once you've picked up a few Maiden records, then come back here and buy this one as well. If you're already into Maiden but are hesitant to buy this album, I say download a few of the better tracks (and make sure you get the title track), and see if you like what you hear.

I am Maiden's #1 fan, so believe me when I say this: DO NOT listen to the bad reviews for this album. Ignore the critics and the so-called metal fans who call it weak. It is, quite simply, one of Maiden's top five best ever, and easily the most underrated metal album of all time.

Ah yes, FEAR OF THE DARK. The last album with Bruce Dickinson. It followed NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING, which got disastrous reviews but was actually very good. This is definitely Maiden's most unique and intriguing album. Nine of the songs are awesome, only three are average.

BE QUICK OR BE DEAD: The heaviest, most aggressive album opener they ever made (although "Moonchild" will always be the greatest). Borderline thrash metal, with it's earth-shaking riff and Bruce's nasty vocals. I love it when he sings in that snarling tone. This tune rips out of your speakers like a stampede of angry rhinos! Metallica - eat your hearts out.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY: How awesome is that chorus?! Those chants are simply killer! Classic metal.

AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS: Masterpiece. The first half of the song is a ballad, in which Bruce proves that he really can sing softer stuff when he wants to. A very hypnotic vocal melody. Then, it changes gears and a wonderful guitar riff comes in, followed by a crushing riff and some insane soloing. Then it reverts back to it's original mellow form. Excellent song.

FEAR IS THE KEY: One of my top five favorite Maiden songs ever. For the life of me, I cannot understand why everyone puts down this song. I don't get it. The pounding riff, the fascinating vocal melody, the part where it changes tempo in the middle, etc. Aw God, it's incredible. It's really more along the lines of Rainbow or someone like that. My favorite song on the album.

CHILDHOOD'S END: Perhaps the most unique song they ever recorded. That drum beat is tops, complemented by a rather haunting synth riff. And again, a killer vocal melody here. These guys were really on their game when they wrote this stuff!!

WASTING LOVE: Until Bruce comes in with the vocals, it sounds like just another cheesy metal ballad. But Bruce really saves it from becoming that. He gives a wonderful performance here, one of his best.

THE FUGITIVE: Aw man, that's gotta be the heaviest riff they ever came up with. Definitely. Wall-shaking stuff here! I love the chorus, and those guitar runs at 3:49 are absolutely mesmerizing. Whether it was Dave or Janick, I don't know, but it absolutely kills.

CHAINS OF MISERY: Like "From Here To Eternity", this one has a chanted chorus that will stick in your brain forever. I still can't get it out of my head.

THE APPARITION: Uh, not that great. Maybe their weakest song ever.

JUDAS BE MY GUIDE: Nothing special.

WEEKEND WARRIOR: Nothing special.

FEAR OF THE DARK: Now we're cookin'! Regarded by fans as one of their greatest songs, and I fully agree. The beggining is very moody, with Bruce giving an almost creepy vocal performance before a devastating riff comes in and it starts to rock like you wouldn't believe! That riff just might be my favorite of all time. It positively kicks ass!! And it ends the same way it began, with a very eerie atmosphere.

All in all, this album is definitely on par with any of their earlier ones, no matter what anyone says. Trust me. Buy it now.

It does seem that many people whether fans or not, don't like this album. It does seem this way because some of the songs are weak. There is no point in masking the truth. I find it hard to enjoy The Apparition and Weekend Warrior. Wasting Love and From Here to Enternity lack in areas too, but if you took those away you'd have a killer album. But as they are there you may be wondering why I gave Fear of the Dark five stars. Frankly no album or even song is perfect, there's always somehting that's annoying. Then fans don't like the album because of Janick being in the band (it's BS), but don't get me started on that. He's a great guitarist. Anyhow, the album opens with the riveting Be Quick Or Be Dead. Great Guitars and sounds good live too. From Here To Eternity, lyrics aren't that imaginative, but Steve deserves to have a little slack. My Second Favorite Song is Afraid to Shoot Strangers. Written by Steve, its about the souls who fought in the Gulf war. The beginning is so subtle; its a gentle guitar tune that explodes into a inferno of percussion. Then at the end, it winds down back to the same guitar tune. It's terrific. Fear is the Key is tolerable and has a good beat. Childhood's end is my third second favorite song. Great lyrics. Wasting Love has intersting drums if you listen closely. The Fugitive is my third first favorite song. It's about a fugitive (DUH!). It has a distinctive chorus and great bass playing. Chains of Misery is has a kind of swing beat to it that's somehow pleasing to listen to.
The Apparition is incredibly irritating. There's a heavy whack on the snare drum and obnoxious guitar filling between it for almost the whole song. Judas Be My Guide is a welcome change. The chorus of this song is probably the best one on the album. Weekend Warrior is so surprisingly grotesque that I would have had to write Parental Discretion Advised as the title or the first sentence of the is review. And finally, we have the album titled song. I'll start by saying all the songs on this album could "be real bad" besides the last one but I'd still get for Fear of the Dark. (Actually I'd probably just get the single). This song however is totally, completely, there's no other word for it, Kick-"butt"!There's a mass of commotion to start it off, but then, like Afraid to Shoot Strangers, it goes quiet with the humming guitar. Then it launches itself into a whirling tornado of music and lyrics. This song is unbelievable. It quiets down at the end again and then fades out. What a song!! I urge you to look for a live edition of it too, because I am sure this one was written to be played onstage! It will knock your socks off I swear to God. In short, this album desererves a lot more respect than its receiving.

When "Fear of the Dark" came out in the early 90's it came out to so little fanfare that as a Maiden fan, I didn't even know a new album had hit the shelves until a couple months after it's release. Of course I picked it up as soon as I heard about it, and maybe it's just that I have a soft spot for Maiden, but it was refreshing to hear new Maiden tracks amidst the onslaught of grunge at the time. The Seattle sound killed off most hair-metal bands, and pushed real metal bands like Iron Maiden onto the backburner. And while metal radio was full of Pearl Jams, and Alice in Chains, I was able to escape with "Fear of the Dark", "From Here to Eternity" and "Judas Be My Guide". There are a couple weak tracks found here, "Fear is the Key" and "Afraid to Shoot at Strangers", but overall this is a solid Maiden album. Nicko McBrain's drumming on "Childhood's End" is fantastic. I don't think McBrain's contributions to the band have ever fully been recognized, and "Fear of the Dark" features some of his best work. While this album may not be on par with "Powerslave" or "Somewhere in Time", it is a good solid Maiden album, and worth adding to your collection.

I can't understand why people talk so much trash about Janick. This album is a great album. There are some great songs on here. Janick is a damn good guitar player. I have been playing myself for 7 years and I'm sure he's probably a whole lot better than the people who criticize his playing. Besides in my opinion Dave Murray is the heart and soul of the Maiden guitar sound anyway. Well enough defending Janick. Anyway, about the songs. They are all pretty good. I guess The Apparition and Fear is the Key could be considered fillers (my reason for only 4 stars) but they are Maiden which makes them pretty decent. Be Quick, Fear of the Dark, Afraid to Shoot Strangers are the classics and in many cases the reason people buy this album. Judas Be My Guide was one song that surprised me. I love that song, I haven't had the CD long enough to decide whether or not it's my favorite off this one. The Fugitive, Wasting Love, Chains of Misery, Childhoods End, and Weekend Warrior are all great Maiden songs. Even Adrian fans should give it a chance. If not for anything else check it out because it's Maiden.

This album takes alot of abuse because of some real stinkers that made it by 'Maiden Quality Control', but for the most part THIS IS A GOOD ALBUM. Don't stand still for people telling you how worthless it is.

Be Quick or Be Dead and From Here to Eternity are good enough Hard Rock tracks, Wasted Love and Judas Be my Guide are REALLY GOOD SONGS. Childhoods end, Afraid to shoot Strangers, and the title track itself are all as good as anything Iron Maiden has ever done on ANY album.

That's seven good songs right there, enough for most albums, and the songs Fear is the Key and the Fugitive are decent enough songs to make the cut for any Maiden album. Even Powerslave had "Back in the Village" after all.

This albums entire bad reputation lies on three complete SNAFU'd songs that Maiden let onto the album in some vain attempt to inflate the track total and running time. Weekend Warrior (bad AC/DC song basically), Chains of Misery (annoying AND repetitive), and The Apparition..which is the worst song I've ever heard in my ENTIRE LIFE, no hyperbole intended.

If this had been a typical 8-9 song Maiden album, it would be remembered as a comeback from NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING, and a classic album. But because someone wanted more songs...your typical fan hates it. I do reccomend this album, but get it in CD form. You're going to want to skip a handful of tracks to get to the truly GREAT songs that really really are on this album.

When I read reviews about this album, the reviewers see Fear Of The Dark as an album with some standout tracks but also a lot of fillers. I do not really agree. Sure songs like "Apparition" and "Weekend Warrior" do not belong to Maiden's best work, but these songs are far from weak. The main reason why I like this album is the diversity of it. Fast songs/slow songs, raw songs/atmospheric songs and complex songs/simple songs. On this album you can hear influences from Bruce Dickinson's solo-album Tattooed Millionaire. The songs are bluesier and Bruce's vocal style is rawer and less high. The album sound is also rawer than on most Maiden albums. Gers his guitar-style is probably an important reason why the album sounds so different compared to earlier albums. (He also played guitar on Tattooed Millionaire.) You recognize his raw bluesy sound more than on his Maiden debut No Prayer For The Dying.

On this album Maiden uses keyboards, but not as much as for example on Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. On some songs you can hear the direction Maiden was heading for in the future. Especially the keys in a song like "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" remind me of the album the X-Factor. Acoustic guitars are more prominent on this album. I would go as far as to say that there are more songs with acoustic guitars on this album than on all earlier albums together. This does not mean that Maiden plays softer music. The acoustic guitars are mostly played at the same time as the electric guitars. Furthermore Fear Of The Dark contains a lot of heavy guitar playing. I also personally think that this album is the last Maiden album that contains plenty of excellent and noteworthy guitar-solo's. The lyrics on this album are more down to earth and about more actual themes than on earlier albums. They are for example songs about the Golf war in Iraq, hooligans and aids.

The album opens with the fast and furious "Be Quick Or Be Dead". The song style reminds me of the style on the album Killers. "From Here To Eternity" is a simple but catchy rocker. Dickinson's solo-album influences can really be heard on this song. "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" is about the first Golf war. The song starts out with slow melodic guitars and sensitive vocals. Halfway the music shifts up a few gears and then some fast riffs and solo's take over the song. The song finally ends the way it started. "Fear Is The Key" is a heavy blues driven song, with a for Maiden unusual twist halfway. I really like the combination of the electric and acoustic guitar-parts on this song. "Childhood's End" starts out with a great melodic part with cool drumming. Check out the up-tempo melodic part in the song. "Wasting Love" is one of few Maiden songs that can be described as a ballad. Still a great song. "Fugitive" starts with a, for Maiden, brutal guitar intro. The song combines heavy guitar playing with some atmospheric guitar playing. "Chains Of Misery" is sing-along rocker in the vein of "From Her To Eternity".

"Apparition" is a song that is mostly based on one riff. The first couple of times I heard this song I really hated the song. Nowadays I really appreciate this song. Especially the heavy and atmospheric middle-part with fast solo's and harmonies. "Judas Be My Guide" starts out with a harmony guitar part and a solo. The song is rather short but catchy. It is one of Maiden's most underrated songs. "Weekend Warrior" is a song about football hooligans. The main riff sounds like an AC/DC riff. Although this is an average Maiden song, the combination of electric and acoustic guitars work extremely well on this song. The strongest parts of the song are the guitar solo's and one of Maiden's best guitar harmonies I have ever heard. The titeltrack "Fear Of The Dark" closes the album. It is one of the strongest songs on the album. Lyrically the song reminds me of the title track from the album Killers. It starts with an up-tempo harmony, and shortly after that the songs slows down with more atmospheric guitars. Bruce starts to sing with a creepy voice. After the intro Maiden plays one of their most impressive riffs. It as a fast but still melodic riff. It almost sounds like a riff from a melodic Black Metal band. The song stays up-tempo till the end of the song. The song ends in the same way as it started. Fear Of The Dark is one of the most diverse and interesting albums from Iron Maiden. Buy or die. (Just kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

A lot of people hate this album because they think most songs here are fillers and the three bad songs. I don't like those three songs either but I like most of the others with two incredible songs that work everything out. Janick is a great guitarist by the way.

1. BE QUICK OR BE DEAD (9.5/10)
Fast paced riffs and drums make this another great opener.

2. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (8.5/10)
Fourth part of the Charlotte series. A decent song with a catchy chorus.

3. AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS (11/10)
Now this is a great song! My favorite on the album. The beginning of the song includes light guitar playing and the help of some keyboards. Nice lyrics sung well by Bruce. Drums come in well. It continues like this for about 2 minutes 45 seconds building up to some sweet ass guitar playing. The chorus comes in well during the guitar. Then after a minute of that the song gets even more fast paced with some great drumming and a cool guitar solo. Then it goes back to that sweet guitar tune for the rest of the song. A really good song indeed!

4. FEAR IS THE KEY (7/10)
This song would've been better if the vocals weren't so damn annoying. I hate the part when Bruce starts singing "lies and lies and lies". Some decent guitar riffs atleast.

5. CHILDHOOD'S END (8.5/10)
The guitar intro is awesome but then the song just starts to bore me a bit. The drumming during this song is done well.

6. WASTING LOVE (8/10)
This song has nice guitar work. A decent song.

7. THE FUGITIVE (9/10)
The drumming in the beginning is cool. The riffs and vocals during the song are done well. The chorus is alright.

8. CHAINS OF MISERY (8.5/10)
This song is alright. The chorus is pretty catchy.

9. THE APPARITION (6/10)
I really don't like this song. Its boring. The whole song is just a riff, some crappy vocals, and a solo for almost 4 minutes. Nothing really changes during this song. Hear it once if you want to, just to hear what it sounds like and then just skip it all the time.

10. JUDAS BE MY GUIDE (9/10)
This song is pretty good. A catchy tune with a good chorus and lyrics.

11. WEEKEND WARRIOR (6.5/10)
This doesn't sound like any type of Maiden song. The guitars don't fit in well and sound all goofy. The vocals are also goofy and the lyrics are retarded (who the hell wants to hear a song about soccer?). The riffs and singing sound very similar to The Apparition which makes it sound like a slightly better version of it. I really hate when Bruce sings "maybe someone will die" or "watchoo gonna do on monday?" repeatedly with that goofy sounding guitar tune playing. What the hell is this?

12. FEAR OF THE DARK (10/10)
Ahhhh, much better. This song makes up for anything bad that you heard earlier. Now this is a song that has a creepy mood.
Especially the quiet part in the beginning with a guitar playing lightly and Bruce's eerie vocals. Then the song gets faster all the way up to the end. I love the riffs in this one. The only thing I don't like is the repetition of "fear of the dark" being sang over and over. Great song either way. A very good way to end the album.

I still think this album is worth picking up even though it has three bad songs. I don't know why Maiden didn't just excluded those songs from the album. This would've been a great album if it weren't for those cursed songs!