No Prayer For The Dying marked a gritty reset for Iron Maiden, dialing back the grandeur of their ’80s epics in favor of a rawer, more stripped-down sound. It was their first album with guitarist Janick Gers following Adrian Smith’s departure, and the shift is noticeable—gone are the elaborate synths and multi-part suites, replaced by pub-ready bangers like “Holy Smoke” and the politically charged “Public Enema Number One.” Overall, for me, this feels like a ham-fisted attempt to go back to basics, as in a lot of ways it tosses much of their progressive innovations into the trash, leaving just a heavy ass shell of what their were building upon. The album does not suck, but it’s a step down from the epic Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, for sure.
1990 US pressing, red vinyl variant from Epic Records and it sounds fantastic.
Comments
Post a Comment