Groowing up with Adrian during the 80's and then getting No Prayer AND Janick? Lol, yeah, I can see where people would not take too kindly to him.
So I grew up with Adrian in the 80's and I'll give you my take.
I honestly never really followed Iron Maiden and gave their solos much of a thought.
(EDIT: I DID follow Iron Maiden heavily. It was their solos that I never really considered..)
Iron Maiden were different that way in that they operated as a
band. It was about the songs and how they were constructed. And Dave and Adrian's strength were working together, creating dual harmonies.
Here's a magazine cover from 1985.
And another..
They were basically a package deal. Even Ronnie Dio called on them to play the harmonies on Stars.
Adrian had come to be my favorite member of the band. I liked that he really presented some songwriting balance to what Steve was doing. I thought the Reach Out b-side was awesome.
While Bruce's solo album seemed like an excuse to burn some energy and see if he could pull it off, ASAP was a far more serious venture. Adrian was carving out his own thing.
I literally remember the moment I heard Adrian left. It was a Friday, at college, and we were about to start partying, and I was reading a CMJ Music Journal that I had grabbed from the school radio station.
I was gutted. Gutted. But as I read it stated that Janick Gers would be taking over. I was pleasantly surprised. He was practically already in the family, having played with Bruce.
I felt Adrian's absence was definitely felt on No Prayer. Janick was only called in I think literally the night before they started recording. There are a lot of things to look at with that album, but I never felt Janick was one of them.
But what I do know is that the tour was amazing. I've already posted about the energy he brought to the band on stage. I saw two shows on that tour and I felt much better about the band, even though their new album was quite weak.
Fear Of The Dark is much stronger And yes, I know it's got a number of filler tracks, but it was the first album they made in the CD age, and a few of those tracks would've been b sides, but since there was room, they were put on. It is what it is. But when I hear a track like Afraid To Shoot Strangers, you can see how well Janick fit in.
I thought the band was set for the 90's with Fear Of The Dark. But then came the news that Bruce was leaving at the end of the tour.