Shot In The Dark - Main Line Riders

Advantages: DMX's RUFF RYDERS ANTHEM / superb lyrics, amazing DARK production, gritty flow - BITES!
Disadvantages: DMX's lyrics can be X-plicit and frightening for young children - SO WATCH OUT, GRRR!

...for Ruff Ryders Entertainment. The production begins chillingly with the sounds of oriental bells and drums followed by dark bass lines and then shaking samples of keyboard beats. All these beats together create a HAUNTING atmosphere for something mysterious and exciting about to rise out of the DARKNESS. Then as soon as DMX starts to rap, BANG! The atmosphere lights up with a simultaneous mixture of oriental bells and other sounds to create a fast-paced, synthesized beat. Swizz Beatz makes his beats sound hotter with sizzling and crackling noises in the background, more like the burning sound of FIRE and LAVA. DMX freestyles, rapping about his hard personality and how his dog-like rapping skills can cause problems for his black rivals. In doing so he barks out street poetry from his mouth, using metaphors like 'werewolf' and lines like... Read review

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Advantages: Well-crafted, unexplored song subjects
Disadvantages: Old school fans may not approve

...After the virtual disaster that was 'No Prayer for the Dying', Maiden went back to the drawing board. Little did anyone know at the time that Bruce Dickinson was unsettled. Despite his passionate delivery and enthusiastic stage shows, Dickinson felt confined by Maiden's subject matter and genre. After very heated exchanges, Dickinson left the band after the 'Fear of the Dark World Tour' and Maiden's second headlining of Donington. On this album, new boy guitarist Janick Gers contributes to the writing, and there is a much 'rockier' element, rather than grandiose metal, which Gers no doubt helped come out. Where 'No Prayer...' failed, 'Fear of the Dark' scored, with the group concentrating on writing mainly about the album's title, i.e. human weakness, fear, and reaction to circumstances. The effect was that, with the absence of myth... Read review

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Advantages: A classic, for all the reasons listed below
Disadvantages: Is more popualarist than earlier material

...the same kind of beat as the last track. This track is dominated by overlapping synth notes, the band liked their VCS3’s quite a lot you know! The harmony is a little reminiscent of Breathe, a strong chord structure suited for the trippy soloing that makes this track what it is. Brain Damage: Part 1 of the simpler closing tracks of Dark Side, this track deals mainly with founding member Syd Barret, who left due to his decreasing mental health and tendency to stand his band mates up in concert towards the end. The second line of the song deals more generally with public figures, “The lunatics are in my hall, the paper holds their folded faces to the floor”. Musically, the song is quite simple in its harmony, sarcastically copying the kind of comical harmony that Barret would use in his songs, such as ‘Bike’. This leads straight into... Read review

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