Retroactive Abortion [ECD] - Venomous Concept

Advantages: Highly polished heavy metal
Disadvantages: The concept album tag might put you off

...This is the album where Steve Harris' love of some of the progressive and concept bands of the sevties comes to the fore, because Iron Maiden recorded a concept album. Surprisingly though that wasn't such a bad thing. This album is good, very good in fact. The theme running through the album doesn't detract at all from the music and this contains some very fine songs with Infinite Dreams and The Clairvoyant being the best. The songwriting on this is highly polished, the performances slick and driving and the production helps bring everything to the foreground without swamping any one part of the sound. This is what Maiden do best, and these songs are great live.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Well, it's certainly original...
Disadvantages: Gradually becomes annoying

...Pleasant at first, the album gradually becomes a little boring. Its highlight is its cute music box version of Happy Birthday included in track “Charles’s Birthday card”. In fact, there are lots of music boxes. In nearly every song. Well, I suppose it is a concept album, with music boxes being the concept… But so much cuteness is invariably grating. Perhaps Colleen’s concept is a little too narrow. It also seems that Mademoiselle Cécile Schott (Colleen’s real name) is a fan of strange song titles such as “What is a Componium?”. (No, we don’t know either. Answers on a postcard please.) She should have met Snow Patrol a few years back - they’d have got on well. Remember "Get Balsamic Vinegar... Quick You Fool", anyone? Maybe one day, she too can scale the heights of stadium-sized MOR territory.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Flexibility of Sound
Disadvantages: Variety of music sound

....Some of te songs are the following,Brutal Planet,Sanctuary,Blow a Kiss in which Bob Ezrin who is also the albums' executive producer is a co-writter,Pick Up the Bones,a ballad, which has an intro that sounds like that one of Metellica,Pesi-mystic in which the intro sounds like that on Bloodlust from Venom and Gimme.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful