No Prayer for the Dying

No Prayer for the Dying is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is their first album to feature Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian Smith. Smith left the band during the pre-production phase, unhappy with the musical direction it was taking,[1] and only having contributed to one song, "Hooks in You".[2] Gers previously worked with singer Bruce Dickinson on his first solo album, Tattooed Millionaire,[3] and had also worked with Ian Gillan,[4] former Marillion singer Fish,[4] and new wave of British heavy metal band, White Spirit.[5]

No Prayer for the Dying
Studio album by
Iron Maiden
Released1 October 1990 (1990-10-01)
RecordedJune–September 1990
StudioBarnyard (Essex, England)
GenreHeavy metal
Length43:42
LabelEMI
ProducerMartin Birch
Iron Maiden studio albums chronology
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
(1988)		 No Prayer for the Dying
(1990)		 Fear of the Dark
(1992)
Alternative cover
1998 remastered edition
Singles from No Prayer for the Dying
  1. "Holy Smoke"
    Released: 10 September 1990
  2. "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"
    Released: 24 December 1990

Although it received generally mixed to negative reviews, the album peaked at No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart and contains the band's only UK Singles Chart No. 1, "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter".

Background
Guitarist Janick Gers replaced Adrian Smith during the album's preproduction stages.

The album departed from the keyboard- and synthesiser-saturated progressive rock direction of the band's two previous studio outings (1986's Somewhere in Time and 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) in favour of a more "stripped down," straightforward style, reminiscent of the band's earlier material,[1] which ushered in a change of vocal style for Bruce Dickinson from the operatic sound of the 1980s to a raspier way of singing.[6] In addition, Michael Kenney, who had played keyboards on tour for the band, played keyboards on the album, replacing Harris and Adrian Smith from previous albums. The idea to make a more "street level" release also inspired the band to record in a barn on bassist Steve Harris's property in Essex, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.[1] This means it is the first Iron Maiden album to be recorded in their home country since 1982's The Number of the Beast. Dickinson states that this idea was a mistake, commenting that "It was shit! It was a shit-sounding record, and I wished we hadn't done it that way. At the time, I was as guilty as anyone else in going, 'Oh great! Look, we're all covered in straw! What a larf!'"[7]

The album also departed from literary and historical lyrical themes in favour of more political content, with songs focusing on religious exploitation (such as in the record's first single, "Holy Smoke") and social concerns ("Public Enema Number One").[2] No Prayer for the Dying is the only Iron Maiden studio album to date without a song exceeding six minutes in length and the second one to contain profanity in the lyrics, the debut album being the first to do so. It was also the band's first release with Epic Records in the US, after the band left Capitol Records, but was sold through EMI for all territories outside the US. Despite charting well in most countries, particularly in the UK where it debuted at No. 2,[2] it would be the band's last album to receive gold certification in the US.[4]

No Prayer for the Dying includes the hit song "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", which, in spite of a ban by the BBC, remains Iron Maiden's only UK No. 1 single to date.[2] A tongue-in-cheek song written by Dickinson and originally recorded with his solo band for the A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child film soundtrack, Harris decided that the song would be "great for Maiden" and had the band re-record it.[8]

Following Dickinson's departure from Iron Maiden in 1993, songs from No Prayer for the Dying have been largely ignored at live performances. "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" was the only song played on a post-1993 setlist, appearing on the band's 2003 summer tour.

Album cover

No Prayer for the Dying does not follow the continuity of previous album covers, as Eddie no longer exhibits either his lobotomy or cyborg enhancements.[9]

Three versions of the cover exist. The original 1990 version has Eddie bursting from his grave and grabbing a gravedigger (with the likeness of the band's manager, Rod Smallwood) by the neck. However, Smallwood disliked the figure and asked artist Derek Riggs to remove him from the cover for the 1998 re-release,[10] although the original artwork is used on the disc itself. Additionally an inscription was added to the plaque on the tomb, which Riggs had initially left blank to allow the band to add their own words,[11] and reads "After the Daylight, The Night of Pain, That is not Dead, Which Can Rise Again." The picture disc LP shows Eddie firing a weapon made of four machine guns (a reference to the album's opening track, "Tailgunner"). It has the original cover on side two.

The album title may have been inspired by the 1987 film A Prayer for the Dying.[12]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[13]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[14]
Sputnikmusic2.0/5[6]

The album received generally mixed to negative reviews, with AllMusic commenting that "the songwriting wasn't up to snuff when compared to such classics as Killers or Number of the Beast" and "as a whole doesn't measure up to the hits."[4] Sputnikmusic were equally negative, stating that "No Prayer for the Dying is a plain, listless record that never really gets itself going."[6]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tailgunner"
4:13
2."Holy Smoke"
  • Harris
  • Dickinson
3:47
3."No Prayer for the Dying"Harris4:22
4."Public Enema Number One"
4:03
5."Fates Warning"
  • Murray
  • Harris
4:09
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."The Assassin"Harris4:16
7."Run Silent Run Deep"
  • Harris
  • Dickinson
4:34
8."Hooks in You"
4:06
9."Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"Dickinson4:42
10."Mother Russia"Harris5:30
Total length:43:42
1995 reissue bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All in Your Mind" (Stray cover)Del Bromham4:30
2."Kill Me Ce Soir" (Golden Earring cover)
6:17
3."I'm a Mover" (Free cover)
3:29
4."Communication Breakdown" (Led Zeppelin cover)
2:41
Total length:16:57

Personnel

Production list acquired from AllMusic[15] and from the album liner notes.[16][17]

Iron Maiden

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 23
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 19
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20] 27
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 31
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[22] 3
French Albums (SNEP)[23] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 7
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[25] 21
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[26] 15
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] 13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 4
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[30] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 2
US Billboard 200[34] 17
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 37
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[35] 118

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Platinum 100,000^
Italy (FIMI)[37] Gold 100,000[37]
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[39] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 283. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  2. Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 286. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  3. Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 281. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  4. Prato, Greg. Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  5. Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 278. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  6. Stagno, Mike (18 August 2008). "Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  7. Berelian, Essi (June 2000). "The Wicked Man". Classic Rock (15): 36–43.
  8. Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 282. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  9. Popoff, Martin (2006). Run for Cover: The Art of Derek Riggs (1 ed.). Aardvark Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 1-4276-0538-6.
  10. Popoff, Martin (2006). Run for Cover: The Art of Derek Riggs (1 ed.). Aardvark Publishing. p. 114. ISBN 1-4276-0538-6.
  11. "Derek Riggs- No Prayer for the Dying commentary". Derek Riggs. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  12. Iron Maiden Fan Club Bulgaria. "No Prayer For The Dying". Iron Maiden Fan Club Bulgaria. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  13. Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  14. Mack, Bob (26 October 1990). "No Prayer for the Dying Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 37. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  15. "Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying: Credits". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  16. No Prayer for the Dying (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 1 October 1990.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. No Prayer for the Dying Remastered (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. "Australiancharts.com – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  19. "Austriancharts.at – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7745". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  22. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  23. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – I". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Iron Maiden from the menu, then press OK.
  24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  25. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1991. 6. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  26. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 3 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "No prayer for the dying".
  27. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  28. "Charts.nz – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  29. "Norwegiancharts.com – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  30. Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  31. "Swedishcharts.com – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  32. "Swisscharts.com – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  33. "Iron Maiden | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  34. "Iron Maiden Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  35. "Ultratop.be – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  36. "Canadian album certifications – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Music Canada. 30 January 1991. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  37. "Gold Prayers" (PDF). Music & Media. 12 January 1991. p. 1. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  38. "British album certifications – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". British Phonographic Industry.
  39. "American album certifications – Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
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