At the pace Iron Maiden was going at the end of the 1980s, it was only a matter of time before the seams started to split. Of course, those of us kids who had spent all our teen years following the band’s ascent were so used to consistently strong work from them that we became spoiled. Maiden surely can’t mess up, can they?

By 1989 Maiden had capped off an extremely grueling seven-year cycle of album/tour/album/tour, and it was clearly wearing down the band. Bruce Dickinson was itching to exercise more creative control himself, and his outlet was a pair of solo efforts, the comically awful “Bring Your Daughter … To The Slaughter” for the A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 soundtrack, and then the vibrant, joyful Tattooed Millionaire album, made in collaboration with his friend and former Gillan guitarist Janick Gers. Meanwhile, guitarist Adrian Smith, a crucial songwriting contributor, had issues with the more simplified direction in which Steve Harris was steering the band, and announced his departure as the band prepared to record their eighth album in Steve Harris’s home studio. Interestingly, Gers would join the band as Smith’s replacement.

The end result of this tumultuous period, No Prayer For The Dying, is the depressing sound of a band running on fumes and totally devoid of ideas. Martin Birch’s production is terrible, the raw sound a severe contrast from their previous albums, but that’s the least of this album’s problems. Compared to Tattooed Millionaire, on which he sounded liberated, it feels like Dickinson doesn’t give a damn on No Prayer, as he ditches his powerful singing in favor of a cartoonish snarl. Even worse, the songs fail to deliver. Opening track “Tail Gunner” is the album’s catchiest track, but lacks firepower and comes off as a pale rip-off of Powerslave’s “Aces High.” The title track is a clumsy ballad; “Mother Russia” tries to be another album-closing epic but is rigid and powerless; and “The Assassin” is simply embarrassing (“Better watch out!”). Elsewhere the band relies on beaten-to-death heavy metal clichés, like televangelist baiting (“Holy Smoke”), awkward innuendo (“Hooks In You”), and bad jokes (“Public Enema Number One”). And just when you think things couldn’t get worse, “Bring Your Daughter … To The Slaughter” is carted out, given a Maiden-friendly tweak by Harris but sounding even more awkward.

In a horrible bit of irony, “Bring Your Daughter” would be Iron Maiden’s only No. 1 single in the UK, inexplicably topping the chart on January 5, 1991, right smack in the middle of the novelty single season. In the end it was darkly fitting, serving as confirmation that Maiden had been reduced to a joke. However, as betrayed as many fans felt, little did anyone know that No Prayer For The Dying would kick off a career nadir for Iron Maiden that would last for the rest of the 1990s.