Album
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the Dark is Iron Maiden's ninth studio album, released on 11 May 1992 through EMI. It followed No Prayer for the Dying (1990) and went to number one in the UK, the band's third studio record to do so. It was also the first Maiden album produced by bassist and founder Steve Harris.
The record marks a few endings. It was the last album to feature Bruce Dickinson on vocals before his return in 1999, and the last to involve producer Martin Birch, who had worked with the band for years. That makes it a turning point in the Maiden story, closing one long chapter before the line-up changes of the mid-1990s. For anyone tracing the band's path from their early records to the later reunion albums, it is the natural place to pause.
Fear of the Dark: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 58:39Tracklist
- 1Be Quick or Be DeadBruce Dickinson and Janick Gers3:24
- 2From Here to EternitySteve Harris3:38
- 3Afraid to Shoot StrangersSteve Harris6:56
- 4Fear Is the KeyBruce Dickinson and Janick Gers5:35
- 5Childhood’s EndSteve Harris4:41
- 6Wasting LoveBruce Dickinson and Janick Gers5:51
- 7The FugitiveSteve Harris4:54
- 8Chains of MiseryBruce Dickinson and Dave Murray3:37
- 9The ApparitionJanick Gers and Steve Harris3:55
- 10Judas Be My GuideBruce Dickinson and Dave Murray3:09
- 11Weekend WarriorJanick Gers and Steve Harris5:40
- 12Fear of the DarkSteve Harris7:19
- Produced by
- Martin Birch, Steve Harris
- Recorded at
- Barnyard (Essex, England)
- Recorded
- 1991 – April 1992
- Mixed by
- Martin Birch, Steve Harris
- Mixed at
- Barnyard Studios
- Engineered by
- Martin Birch
- Label
- EMI
- Length
- 58:39
Line-up
- Janick Gers · electric guitar
- Steve Harris · electric bass guitar
- Nicko McBrain · drums (drum set)
- Dave Murray · electric guitar
- Bruce Dickinson · lead vocals
Singles
- “Be Quick or Be Dead” · 13 April 1992
- “From Here to Eternity” · 29 June 1992
- “Wasting Love” · 1 September 1992
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1992 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1992 | 12 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2017–2019 | 3 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1992 | 4 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1992 | 4 |
| German Albums · 1992 | 5 |
| Swiss Albums · 1992 | 5 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1992 | 6 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1992 | 6 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) · 1992 | 7 |
All 23 charts
| Austrian Albums · 1992 | 8 |
| Swedish Albums · 1992 | 8 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1992 | 11 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1992 | 11 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1992 | 12 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1992 | 25 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1992 | 26 |
| Dutch Albums · 1992 | 36 |
| Scottish Albums · 2017–2019 | 39 |
| Greek Albums · 2010 | 53 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2017–2019 | 63 |
| Spanish Albums · 2017–2019 | 69 |
| Italian Albums · 2017–2019 | 88 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | Gold |
| France · 1992 | Gold |
| Italy | Platinum |
| Italy · 2022 | Gold |
| Poland · 2023 | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
82.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
150k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
66k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 11 May
Every year →
More from Iron Maiden
Full discography →
The Soundhouse Tapes
1979
Iron Maiden
1980
Live!! + One
1980
Killers
1981
Maiden Japan
1981
The Number of the Beast
1982
Iron Maiden Lo mejor de Iron Maiden 1983
Lo mejor de Iron Maiden
1983
Iron Maiden No me puedes dejar así / Decídete 1983
No me puedes dejar así / Decídete
1983
Piece of Mind
1983
Powerslave
1984
Iron Maiden Christmas EP 1984
Christmas EP
1984
Live After Death
1985
Iron Maiden Audio Pieces 1986
Audio Pieces
1986
Somewhere in Time
1986
Iron Maiden Maiden Mania 80–87 1987
Maiden Mania 80–87
1987
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
1988
Maiden England
1989
The First Ten Years
1990
No Prayer for the Dying
1990
A Real Live One
1993
A Real Dead One
1993
Live at Donington: August 22nd 1992
1993
The X Factor
1995
Best of the Beast
1996
Iron Maiden An Introduction to… Virtual XI 1998
An Introduction to… Virtual XI
1998
Virtual XI
1998
A Real Live Dead One
1998
Ed Hunter
1999
Brave New World
2000
Rock in Rio
2002
Iron Maiden Eddie's Archive 2002
Eddie's Archive
2002
Edward the Great
2002
BBC Archives
2002
Beast Over Hammersmith
2002
Dance of Death
2003
No More Lies: Dance of Death Souvenir EP
2004
The Essential Iron Maiden
2005
Death on the Road
2005
A Matter of Life and Death
2006
Somewhere Back in Time
2008
Somewhere Back in Time: The Best of 1980–1989
2008
Iron Maiden Flight 666 2009
Flight 666
2009
The Final Frontier
2010
From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990–2010
2011
En Vivo!
2012
Maiden England ’88
2013
The Book of Souls
2015
The Book of Souls: Live Chapter
2017
Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City
2020
Senjutsu
2021
The best of 1992
All of 1992 →
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine · 1992
Dirt
Alice in Chains · 1992
Vulgar Display of Power
Pantera · 1992
Countdown to Extinction
Megadeth · 1992
Angel Dust
Faith No More · 1992
Incesticide
Nirvana · 1992
Hormoaning
Nirvana · 1992
Dehumanizer
Black Sabbath · 1992
Broken
Nine Inch Nails · 1992
Live
AC/DC · 1992
Creep
Radiohead · 1992
Live at Wembley ’86
Queen · 1992
More on EMI
The label →The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden · 1982
A Night at the Opera
Queen · 1975
Piece of Mind
Iron Maiden · 1983
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
Hot Space
Queen · 1982
Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden · 1986
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Iron Maiden · 1988
The Works
Queen · 1984
A Kind of Magic
Queen · 1986
13
Black Sabbath · 2013
Queen II
Queen · 1974
Dance of Death
Iron Maiden · 2003
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1992-05-12 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 11 May 1992 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 11 May 1992 | |
| Wikidata | 12 May 1992 | |
| US release | 12 May 1992 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 11 May 1992 | earliest UK or European date |
26 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Parlophone | 0825646128358 | other |
| 1992 | XE | EMI | 724383587728 | other |
| 1992 | AU | EMI | 077778086123 | other |
| 1992 | JP | EMI | 4988006670754 | other |
| 1992 | GB | EMI | 0077779916115 | other |
| 1992 | CA | Capitol Records | 077779916122 | other |
| 1992 | US | Epic | 074644899344 | other |
| 1992 | GB | EMI | 0077779916122 | other |
| 1992 | US | Epic | 074644899320 | other |
| 1992 | FR | EMI | 0077779916122 | other |
| 11 May 1992 | GB | EMI | 0077779916122 | original |
| 12 May 1992 | US | Epic | 074644899320 | other |
| 1995 | GB | EMI | 724383587728 | other |
| 9 October 1995 | US | Castle Records | 600234011126 | other |
| 29 November 1995 | JP | COOLPRICE | 4988006713512 | other |
| 1998 | GB | Raw Power | 602923013626 | other |
| 14 September 1998 | GB | EMI | 724349692503 | other |
| 2002 | US | Metal-is Records | 696998603721 | other |
| 26 March 2002 | US | Sanctuary Records | 696998621725 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Sanctuary Records | other | |
| 6 April 2015 | GB | Parlophone | 825646128358 | other |
| 19 May 2017 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295852344 | remaster |
| 19 May 2017 | US | BMG | 075597937619 | other |
| 16 November 2018 | XW | Parlophone | 190295524142 | remaster |
| 26 July 2019 | US | BMG | 4050538442236 | other |
| 26 July 2019 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295567668 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| coverartarchive | 1400×1400 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |