'Dance of Death' is the long awaited follow-up to 'Iron Maiden's' excellent comeback album 'Brave New World' and again the lads fail to disappoint. In my opinion this betters 'BNW', the songwriting and compositions feel stronger and the repetitive choruses have thankfully all but disappeared. 'Dance of Death' is a little more experimental than the previous release, but still far from a Progressive Metal album, although orchestral style arrangements are put to good use on a couple of tracks and succeed in adding further depth and power to the epics. There's a good mix of songs present, most have that 'Seventh Son' / 'Somewhere in Time' epic feel about them, while 'Bruce Dickinson's' solo material creeps into a few numbers. Fortunately the old school 'Maiden' from 'Number of the Beast' and 'Piece of Mind' is still at times present and 'Dance of Death' is an easily identifiable 'Maiden' release, to rival early classics and easily better those of the Nineties.

The first single release 'Wildest Dreams' opens the album solidly and although it holds a strong chorus and a fine lively rhythm, it isn't one of their best singles, in fact 'The Wicker Man' from 'Brave New World' in my opinion was a lot stronger and exhibited a less commercial feel. Improvements are immediately felt with the melodic but gutsy 'Rainmaker', 'Bruce Dickinson' delivers the superb lyrics with controlled power, while the three pronged guitar attack turn in an energetic performance, complete with a cracking solo. 'Still Life' is next, Oh sorry 'No More Lies', well the intro sounds very similar and as with that track this is the first epic of the album. Regrettably it does feature an overused chorus, which was my only mute point with 'Brave New World', overlooking this it's still a good track complete with more blazing guitars and another cracking rhythm which flows throughout. Continuing with classic 'Maiden' is the galloping cracker 'Montégur', probably the best track so far, as it balances crunching riffs with lighter vocals sections, lyrically it's enjoyable and another highlight. It doesn't get much better than the title track though, this is a real jewel, it might not be to everyone's taste with it's traditional Folk meets crunching Metal approach, but it's definitely a new 'Maiden' masterpiece. The song starts off as a darkly spoken tale and builds into a ripping rocker, fuelled by the three guitarists blazing away to more splendid lyrics which 'Bruce' delivers with strength and skill- Superb. Less potent is the upbeat rocker 'Gates of Tomorrow', far from a poor track but the tempo is pretty static at times and generally isn't up to the former quality, despite the choice guitar solo present. Next up is 'New Frontier' and for the first time features the penmanship of 'Nicko McBrain', generally better, but pretty similar to 'Gates of Tomorrow', personally I like the chorus and the free flowing guitaring so it gets my nod. It's back to the epics with the "World War II" inspired 'Paschendale', after an acoustic sounding intro, the instruments kick in and you know this is going to be class. Lyrically this is just superb and emphasises a majestic hard hitting rhythm, along with more great passionate vocals. 'Face in the Sand' is next and has a 'BNW' feel about it, the intro does tend to drag a little, but when it gets started it's a decent track, which highlights more fine lyrics and vocals. Less inspiring is 'Age of Innocence' and although it cleverly blends heavier verses with lighter choruses, it comes across too murky, as 'Bruce Dickinson' is pushed way back in the mix. The last track is a bit of a surprise, an acoustic / orchestral epic called 'journeyman', in all honesty I prefer 'Maiden's' heavier material, but this is a sweetly performed piece, with cracking lyrics, stunning vocals and a beautiful melody throughout.

'Maiden' have come up trumps again with another album full of quality and while I personally would have liked to have seen a couple more blazer along the lines of 'The Trooper' or 'Aces High', this is class. Comparing this to 'Metallica's' last attempt 'St. Anger', just makes you realise the staying power and talent of 'Maiden'- "Up the Irons"!