Although this album generally irritates me with it's "hard" attitude and sound (in more of an AC/DC way, than metal way) and hosts one of my most disliked songs (an almost laughable rendition to Accept's 'Balls to the Wall' is what it sounds like to me), I do like this album more than most, I suppose. It was a tough choice between Mother Russia and No Prayer for the Dying, but... Mother Russia is the more superior song in my opinion. I can always count on Steve's songs to be the best. I picked this over NPFTD, because of the awful last solo in the NPFTD. I mean... I laughed out loud when I was listening to the song a couple weeks ago (after not listening to any Maiden for MONTHS). I was like, "What IS this? It HAS to be Janick." He may contribute some great melodies to Maiden's songs, but that guy couldn't play a good solo if his life depended on it. XD

Mother Russia for me

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 27.01.2010 at 18:59
I picked this over NPFTD, because of the awful last solo in the NPFTD. I mean... I laughed out loud when I was listening to the song a couple weeks ago (after not listening to any Maiden for MONTHS). I was like, "What IS this? It HAS to be Janick." He may contribute some great melodies to Maiden's songs, but that guy couldn't play a good solo if his life depended on it. XD

haha, The last solo in ''No Prayer For The Dying'' (the song) is actually played by Dave Murray!

The solo section is: Murray/Gers/Murray.

Written by Angelic Storm on 29.01.2010 at 23:24

haha, The last solo in ''No Prayer For The Dying'' (the song) is actually played by Dave Murray!

The solo section is: Murray/Gers/Murray.

Huh. That surprises me, because Dave is usually very clean with his solos. That one is just... messy. XP

Usually, I'm more knowledgeable with the "who-plays-which-solo-stuff", but NPFTD isn't exactly my *favorite* Maiden record... So I never really cared *too* much. Thanks for clearing it up though, O Mighty Knowledgeable of All Things Maiden!

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 30.01.2010 at 00:10
Huh. That surprises me, because Dave is usually very clean with his solos. That one is just... messy. XP

Usually, I'm more knowledgeable with the "who-plays-which-solo-stuff", but NPFTD isn't exactly my *favorite* Maiden record... So I never really cared *too* much. Thanks for clearing it up though, O Mighty Knowledgeable of All Things Maiden!

As soon as I heard it, I knew it was Davey! hehee
You can also hear the switch from the 2nd solo which is unmistakeably Janick into the 3rd solo.

If you watch live versions of the song, you can see Dave playing the last solo.

Im very geeky about ''who plays what solo'' stuff. To the point where if a band with two lead guitarists doesnt list the lead credits in the album booklet, it annoys me! Maiden never do that though, but I can usually always tell who plays what solo, because all of the guitarists in Maiden have their own unique styles.

Written by Angelic Storm on 30.01.2010 at 00:32

If you watch live versions of the song, you can see Dave playing the last solo.

Im very geeky about ''who plays what solo'' stuff. To the point where if a band with two lead guitarists doesnt list the lead credits in the album booklet, it annoys me! Maiden never do that though, but I can usually always tell who plays what solo, because all of the guitarists in Maiden have their own unique styles.

Live versions? :O I didn't even know they have played it live. It's not really a popular song.

I'm sorta the same way about who does/did what on music recordings. It really becomes a headache for me as a Frank Zappa fan, because he has SO much music... but the musicians differ from album to album (and he have a lot). I'm like, "Oh god, that solo just crushed my SOUL (in a good way). Who did it, again?" Too hard to keep track of... But I digress... This has nothing to do with Maiden.

Yes their solos do have specific personalities to them. Personally, (like most) I really like Adrian's solos teh bestest! They are so rich and full of character.

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 30.01.2010 at 00:46
Live versions? :O I didn't even know they have played it live. It's not really a popular song.

I'm sorta the same way about who does/did what on music recordings. It really becomes a headache for me as a Frank Zappa fan, because he has SO much music... but the musicians differ from album to album (and he have a lot). I'm like, "Oh god, that solo just crushed my SOUL (in a good way). Who did it, again?" Too hard to keep track of... But I digress... This has nothing to do with Maiden.

Yes their solos do have specific personalities to them. Personally, (like most) I really like Adrian's solos teh bestest! They are so rich and full of character.

*Geek mode on:* They only played the song live on the ''No Prayer For The Road Tour'' in 1990/91. As such, it has never featured on any of Maiden's live DVDs. But you can find bootleg videos from that tour on youtube. So you can see Davey playing that solo there.

Incidentally, only 3 songs from the album were not played on that tour. ''Mother Russia'', ''Run Silent, Run Deep'', and ''Fates Warning''. Those 3 songs have still never been played live, which is a shame. ''Bring Your Daughter...'' is the only No Prayer song which has been played live since 1992. And even that was only for a period of about a month. So the album is really heavily negelected by the band. *Geek mode off:*

With most bands, I can usually tell who's playing the solo if it isn't listed. Though there will invariably be the odd song where Im scratching my head trying to figure it out! As for Maiden, although I like Janick, I really don't ike it when he plays Adrian's solos live. He always makes a mess of them! Adrian is my favourite Maiden guitarist as well. A lot of his solos are like minature songs within themselves. hehee

Written by Angelic Storm on 30.01.2010 at 00:32

If you watch live versions of the song, you can see Dave playing the last solo.

Can you post a link please
lol I always like seeing Steve bass guitar hehehe ICF in the streets looking for headhunters LOL

Written by Angelic Storm on 30.01.2010 at 11:24

With most bands, I can usually tell who's playing the solo if it isn't listed. Though there will invariably be the odd song where Im scratching my head trying to figure it out! As for Maiden, although I like Janick, I really don't ike it when he plays Adrian's solos live. He always makes a mess of them! Adrian is my favourite Maiden guitarist as well. A lot of his solos are like minature songs within themselves. hehee

Really? I always thought Janick does the same. I *hate* the fact that they gave him a solo in Hallowed Be Thy Name live. Maybe it's just me, but I think that his messes it up way more than he should. :l Honestly, it always seems like Janick is more concerned with spinning his guitar around and doing cartwheels than his guitar playing. XD

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 30.01.2010 at 22:18
Really? I always thought Janick does the same. I *hate* the fact that they gave him a solo in Hallowed Be Thy Name live. Maybe it's just me, but I think that his messes it up way more than he should. :l Honestly, it always seems like Janick is more concerned with spinning his guitar around and doing cartwheels than his guitar playing. XD

Janick always does the same what?

Yep, he now plays H's solo in Halllowed...he also played H's solo in Moonchild when they started playing that again. I like Janick, but he butcher's H's solos, he should just be left to play his own.

Janick is very entertaining to watch live! But I agree, if he cut back on that stuff, he probably would play better. I think he is a much better guitarist than most people think, or that he makes himself appear live.

Written by Angelic Storm on 31.01.2010 at 11:53

Janick always does the same what?

Janick is very entertaining to watch live! But I agree, if he cut back on that stuff, he probably would play better. I think he is a much better guitarist than most people think, or that he makes himself appear live.

I meant Janick butchers songs live with his solos (mostly the ones that weren't orginally his).

I think Janick is a much better songwriter when compared to how he performs... It's just if you didn't know how much he contributes to Maiden's songs, one would probably be inclined to wonder why they've kept him around since Adrian came back. ;P

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 31.01.2010 at 20:45
I meant Janick butchers songs live with his solos (mostly the ones that weren't orginally his).

I think Janick is a much better songwriter when compared to how he performs... It's just if you didn't know how much he contributes to Maiden's songs, one would probably be inclined to wonder why they've kept him around since Adrian came back. ;P

Then you were only agreeing with what Id previously said.

No, I like some of his own solos! But he's much more off the cuff than Davey or H. Dave said Janick's solo in 'The Pilgrim' was improvised on the spot in one take. Why he was kept on, I dont know. But I do know Bruce recommended him to Steve for Maiden when Adrian left. I also know that when Bruce went back to Maiden, it was only under the condition that Adrian rejoined as well. Janick has written some great songs for Maiden. I am glad he was kept on when H came back, I just dont like it when he's allowed to play H's solos live! hehe

Written by Angelic Storm on 01.02.2010 at 00:14

Then you were only agreeing with what Id previously said.

No, I like some of his own solos! But he's much more off the cuff than Davey or H. Dave said Janick's solo in 'The Pilgrim' was improvised on the spot in one take. Why he was kept on, I dont know. But I do know Bruce recommended him to Steve for Maiden when Adrian left. I also know that when Bruce went back to Maiden, it was only under the condition that Adrian rejoined as well. Janick has written some great songs for Maiden. I am glad he was kept on when H came back, I just dont like it when he's allowed to play H's solos live! hehe

Oops... I seem to have read your post wrong. Just... uh... nevermind? *embarrassed*

I seem to be missing out on something here. I've been a huge Maiden fan for almost ten years now... But I don't ever recall anyone referring to Adrian Smith as "H". O_O

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 01.02.2010 at 00:30
Oops... I seem to have read your post wrong. Just... uh... nevermind? *embarrassed*

I seem to be missing out on something here. I've been a huge Maiden fan for almost ten years now... But I don't ever recall anyone referring to Adrian Smith as "H". O_O

Haha, yah okay! hehe

Adrian's nickname is ''H'' to his bandmates. I got into Maiden in the late 80's, and I heard him reffered to as that a lot back then. Though strangely I dont hear it that much anymore. I think anyone who got into Maiden from the mid 90's onwards probably wont know that's his nickname...

Written by Guest on 22.02.2010 at 02:01

I voted for Holy Smoke,it's catchy & has a funny videoclip!

Great song!

I remember being creeped out by the end of that song as a kid, and the front cover of the single.

While I do consider this to be Iron Maiden's weakest album, along with many other fans, there are still some really good tracks on here. I of course voted for the title track.

This is Maiden's weakest album with Dickinson, though some songs are alright. No real "classics" however, and the production, to quote Dickinson, "sounded like shit".

My vote went to "Mother Russia", though I like the title track and "Run Silent Run Deep" as well.

What a mess of an album; I used to like it as a teenager.

"other:please specify" yeah you forgot Public Enema Number One which I actually still like.

Can't vote, none of the songs really stands out. :

Written by Guest on 29.02.2012 at 01:20


Can't vote, none of the songs really stands out. :

I find Bring Your Daughter to stand out... in a totally negative whay that is and that is saying something since No Prayer has no really good song on it

I voted for Holy Smoke... Took me some time to love that one! It was either that or NPFTD or Mother Russia (a bit cheesy, but I like it).
But Bring Your Daughter... What an horrible song! Worse than most of the Bailey era for sure.

Wow this is hard because I really don't like this album....it's so "meh" and boring ( for being a IM album). But I choose bring your daughter..mostly because it was the first song I hreard from this album

I really hate this album.

I actually really like the title track, it's a beautiful song.

For me its no prayer for the dying... with close seconds being Holy Smoke and Mother Russia.