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Iron Maiden
From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990 – 2010
(EMI Records/Universal Music)
I’ll be the first to admit that when I was initially approached regarding worshipping at the First (Un)Holy Church Of Iron Maiden via a Junior High classmate (circa 1989), I was more than a little apprehensive. This was, after all, a ‘serious’ Heavy Metal group and I, not knowing any better, had spent a disproportionately large portion of my adolescence deeply immersed amid the hairspray and mascara-encrusted offerings of AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and Krokus to name only a few. Despite this--or perhaps in part because of it--I was able to set my more than considerable misgivings aside and wholeheartedly embraced the group with a previously unparalleled, childlike enthusiasm. Now, twenty-two woefully long years later, my disturbingly intense love affair with the group continues unabated with the issuance of From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990 – 2010.
On the stellar From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990 – 2010 (2011), an expertly assembled twenty three song, two disc collection of Gold and Platinum-tinged Heavy Metal, each track, beginning with the anti-Televangelism lament “Holy Smoke”, a live rendition of the scalding, Falling Down-fueled “Man On The Edge” and the outright shimmering “Rainmaker”, immediately command the rapt and undivided attention of all parties involved, myself most definitely included. Armed with a veritable wealth of the carefully-calculated ferociousness that has, more often than not, personified their notoriously-storied career, the group boldly forges ahead via a seamless, mostly mid-tempo barrage of soaring, multi-octave vocals, searing fretwork and unusually punishing rhythms, thus quickly distinguishing themselves from their truly legitimate NWOBH contemporaries.
Continuing with the uniquely thunderous “Brave New World”, a blistering live version of “Fear Of The Dark” (taken from the exhaustive Rock In Rio) and the maddeningly infectious “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, the steadfast--to say the very least--combination of vocalist Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers, bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain and keyboardist Michael Kenney (keyboards on “Afraid To Shoot Strangers”, “The Clansman”, “Fear Of The Dark” and “Sign Of The Cross”) steamrolls ahead like the well-oiled machine they so obviously have become. Effectively reinforcing the group’s already well-deserved reputation as a bona fide creative and commercial force not to be ignored, the group deftly showcases the airtight tonalities that initially propelled them to the dizzying heights of international recognition.
While obviously not the improbably long-running group’s most coherent and consistent Greatest Hits collection to date (a distinction I’ll continue to reserve for the undeniably ingenious Somewhere Back In Time: The Best Of 1980 - 1989), other standouts, including the curiously-overlooked gem “Tailgunner”, the quasi-anthemic “Coming Home” and the delightfully tongue-in-cheek “Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter”, offer an arguably long-overdue retrospective on the group’s oft-maligned later-day material. An absolute must-have for both clueless newcomers and obsessive completists, even if you somehow find yourself less than enthralled with the prospect of yet another compilation (there have been several, now haven’t there?), the end results of the group’s more than considerable efforts are indeed quite worthy of the highest of critical accolades.
But what are you really waiting for? Although one might effectively argue that the inclusion of material from The Final Frontier (or, for that matter, the exclusion of Blaze Bayley renditions of “Man On The Edge”, “Sign Of The Cross” or “The Clansman”) may ultimately subtract from the overall enjoyability of the majority--if not all--of the decidedly tuneful wares contained herein, the improbably long-running group’s seemingly insatiable penchant for continuously honing their chops is seemingly destined to leave all parties involved only wanting for more. Accordingly, if you’ve once again found yourself in search of a refreshingly forthright alternative to the painfully mindless, Pop and Hip Hop-laden din and clatter that is so often force fed en mass, then this, my friends, might just be the high octane cure for what ails you. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Select Discography
From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990 – 2010 (2011)
The Final Frontier (2010)
Flight 666 (DVD) (2009)
Live After Death (DVD) (2008)
Somewhere Back In Time: The Best Of 1980 - 1989 (2008)
Death On The Road (DVD) (2006)
A Matter Of Life And Death (2006)
The Essential Iron Maiden (2005)
The Early Days (DVD) (2004)
No More Lies (EP) (2004)
Dance Of Death (2003)
Visions Of The Beast (DVD) (2003)
Rock In Rio (DVD) (2002)
Edward The Great (2002)
Eddie’s Archives (Box Set (2002)
The Number Of The Beast (DVD) (2001)
Brave New World (2000)
Ed Hunter (1999)
Virtual XI (1998)
Eddie’s Head (Box Set) (1998)
Best Of The Beast (1996)
The X Factor (1995)
Raising Hell (DVD) (1994)
Donington Live 1992 (DVD) (1993)
Fear Of The Dark (1992)
From There To Eternity (DVD) (1992)
The First Ten Years (DVD) (1990)
The First Ten Years (Box Set) (1990)
No Prayer For The Dying (1990)
Maiden England (DVD) (1989)
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)
12 Wasted Years (DVD) (1987)
Somewhere In Time (1986)
Powerslave (1984)
Behind The Iron Curtain (DVD) (1984)
Video Pieces (DVD) (1984)
Piece Of Mind (1983)
The Number Of The Beast (1982)
Live At The Rainbow (DVD) (1981)
Killers (1981)
Maiden Japan (EP) (1981)
Live! + One (1980)
Iron Maiden (1980)
The Soundhouse Tapes (EP) (1979)