A Review of the Album "Fear of the Dark" by Iron Maiden: The Last One to Have Bruce Dickinson Until 1999

Release Date: May 11, 1992

Released by EMI and Epic Records in the US

This was the first album to be produced by bassist and band founder Steve Harris. This album would also be the last one to feature Martin Birch. He would retire after the release of the album. Bruce Dickinson who had joined Iron Maiden a decade earlier would leave the band following a live tour in 1993. He said that he had a family to raise. The album has Bruce Dickinson using kind of a more raspy style of vocals. The raspy vocal style used by Bruce in this album continues from the previous album No Prayer for the Dying.

1. Be Quick or Be Dead
2. From Here to Eternity
3. Afraid to Shoot Strangers
4. Fear is the Key
5. Childhood’s End
6. Wasting Love
7. The Fugitive
8. Chains of Misery
9. The Apparition
10. Judas Be My Guide
11. Weekend Warrior
12. Fear of the Dark

After the release of No Prayer for the Dying in 1990, I’m sure many Iron Maiden fans were wondering whether the band’s next album would be better. Fear of the Dark is certainly better than that album for sure. The opening track called "Be Quick or Be Dead" is a fast song that has an important message. The message is that we should be careful of the thieves that are out there in this world that will try to do what they can to deceive us. Sometimes it is our own mind that can deceive us. Or can it? "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" is a semi-ballad type of song that is about a soldier that goes off to war. He prays to GOD asking that HIS will be done on the Earth. This soldier feels that it is his duty to end the reign of terror and corruption that exists.

"Fear is the Key" is about the fear of having a sexual relationship because of the fear of AIDS. The band heard about the death of singer Freddie Mercury. There is even a line in the song that goes: “nobody cares til someone famous dies.” This is sad but true. As soon as famous people became affected by the disease, then there was awareness raised about it. Former tennis great Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) also died from the disease after getting it from a blood transfusion. The band brings up the subject for thought and I hope we can find a cure for this nasty disease someday. "Childhood’s End" is about the problem of childhood hunger across the world. At first it seems that there is nothing that can be done because the people in power in those countries have too much power and influence and they want to kick others when they are down. The way to combat this problem is to get enough public support.

After the good power ballad called "Wasting Love," we hear another good song called "The Fugitive." The song is about a fugitive who is on the run because he is being accused of a crime that he feels he did not commit. He feels that even if he is able to clear his name, his life will never be the same. "Chains of Misery" is an excellent song about how to use the power of love to heal our hearts and fight against evil and deceptive forces. "The Apparition" is not about a ghost per se. Rather it is about what to do when you are surrounded by delusions. At the end of the day, we know who our true friends are. Life is so precious that we have to make the most of it. We have to live a passionate life and do our best with our talents and abilities. Are all of us on this planet for a reason? I really thinks so because we are here for a purpose. We each have something special to do in our lives. I believe that I was born to be a writer. "Weekend Warrior" is a catchy, groovy song that is about what can happen during a soccer match. Sometimes the feelings and emotions get so heated and high that people can resort to hooliganism. Fear of the Dark is a song that I have heard Iron Maiden perform LIVE. I saw the band in the late 1990’s when they had the vocalist Blaze Bayley.

Overall, Fear of the Dark is a rather good album to listen to. The band experiments a bit with this album and it turns out to be pretty good. This writer gives Fear of the Dark an 85 out of 100 points. It is a nice way for the band to rebound a bit after the previous album being a little weaker.