Dance of Death (album)
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| Dance of Death | |||||
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| Studio album by Iron Maiden | |||||
| Released | September 2, 2003 (Japan) September 8, 2003 (rest of the world) |
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| Recorded | Sarm West Studios, London during November/December 2002 – August 2003 | ||||
| Genre | Heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 67:59 | ||||
| Label | EMI | ||||
| Producer | Steve Harris, Kevin Shirley | ||||
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| Iron Maiden chronology | |||||
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Dance of Death is Iron Maiden's 13th studio album, released first in Japan on September 2 and rest of the world on September 8, 2003.
This album marks the first participation in songwriting by Nicko McBrain, who co-wrote the song "New Frontier." It is sometimes mistakenly said that Steve Harris performed all the keyboard parts on the album because no credit is given to usual collaborator Michael Kenney, but this is actually due to an oversight in the printing of the album booklet (no instrument credits are given to any of the full band members either). Interestingly, the band's usual message in every album (a variation on the line "Up the Irons!") is absent too.
Give Me Ed... 'til I'm Dead Tour & Dance Of Death World Tour was the tour supporting the album. Dance of Death once again brought costumes to Maiden's stage show. During "Dance of Death," Bruce Dickinson would wear theatrical masks and a cape while moving around the stage; at the end he would dress as the Grim Reaper for the final chorus. During the song "Paschendale", Dickinson would sometimes wear a traditional British Infantryman suit as worn during World War I and act out his death onstage during the song.
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[edit] Songs
The song "Montségur" was inspired by Bruce Dickinson's holiday stay near Montségur, the last stronghold of the Cathars conquered by the Albigensian Crusade in 1244. The lyrics include verse As we kill them all so God will know his own, referring to a well-known quote of the papal legate before the massacre of thousands in Béziers in 1209, and mentions of "Templar believers," as it is frequent popular belief today that there was some link between Knights Templar, Cathars and Montségur.
The song "Paschendale" is about The Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War and is considered by many to be a standout track on the album.
"Journeyman" is Iron Maiden's first fully acoustic song. According to Bruce Dickinson, before playing the song on the Death on the Road live album, the song is about "the whole process of song writing and being a musician," though the lyrics seem to be more focused on appreciating life while you have it.
Other lyric themes are current events in the world ("Face in the Sand," "Age of Innocence," "New Frontier") religion ("No More Lies") and realising yourself ("Wildest Dreams," "Rainmaker," "Journeyman"). The title track features lyrics in a more classic storytelling vein, being about a man who experiences the Danse Macabre and has many similarities to "The Number of the Beast". The album is also notable for its heavy Celtic influences in the guitar melodies, especially the title track, "No More Lies," and "Face in the Sand."
[edit] Cover art
The computer-generated cover art for the album was provided by David Patchett, but he asked to be removed from the credits because he was not satisfied with the result. The version used was actually a prototype provided by Patchett, but the band decided to use it in its incomplete form. Upon close inspection, one can note several of what appear to be errors; the small infant/dwarf to the right appears to be suspended in midair with his/her ankle sunk into the side of the wolf. The other small person to the left is also standing on the toes of a man, and the woman directly to the right of Eddie (center) seems to have some disfiguring on the fold of her elbow. The woman to the right of the foreground also has a long, misshapen neck.
When the cover art was first revealed on the Internet, many Iron Maiden fans believed that the band was playing a prank. It has been the cause of much controversy amongst fans and is generally quite disliked[1]. Images of the album's cover briefly circulated as an Internet meme as it was ridiculed by many fans and casual observers alike.
[edit] Track listing
- "Wildest Dreams" (Adrian Smith, Steve Harris) – 3:52
- "Rainmaker" (Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Harris) – 3:48
- "No More Lies" (Harris) – 7:22
- "Montségur" (Dickinson, Janick Gers, Harris) – 5:50
- "Dance of Death" (Gers, Harris) – 8:36
- "Gates of Tomorrow" (Dickinson, Gers, Harris) – 5:12
- "New Frontier" (Dickinson, Smith, Nicko McBrain) – 5:04
- "Paschendale" (Smith, Harris) – 8:28
- "Face in the Sand" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 6:31
- "Age of Innocence" (Murray, Harris) – 6:10
- "Journeyman" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 7:07
[edit] Personnel
- Bruce Dickinson – vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Janick Gers – guitar
- Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
- Nicko McBrain – drums
