With the flash that was nu-metal fading fast in the pan, it is perhaps no surprise that the old guard (or in the case of The Darkness, nu old guard) are re-emerging to fill the void. Arising out of and influenced by the tail end of the London punk scene, the ’90s found Iron Maiden floundering in the wilderness somewhat. Dance Of Death, their 13th studio album, however finds them not only in the right place at the right time but sounding something close to their best.
Opening with a Ramonesesque ‘1-2-3-4’, those punk roots are at their most evident since that groundbreaking debut. ‘Wildest Dreams’ also demonstrates an unexpected lyrical depth, even hinting – as does the following ‘Rainmaker’ – at a degree of self doubt and analysis, not especially Iron Maiden kind of words. They do return to their traditional style of epic hokum on the title track and ‘Montségur’ with their nods to Satan and the undead but to knock them for it would be churlish, particularly when they can still pen a tale as subtle and insightful as ‘Paschendale’s hymn to the fallen of World War I.
The musical template remains largely unchanged, but the combination of galloping, melodic bass and searing twin lead guitars – at times oddly reminiscent of Thin Lizzy – is hard to resist. They may not have the headline grabbing tactics of some of their younger competitors but Dance Of Death proves that this particular metal machine has still got more than a little left in the tank.