Every Iron Maiden Album Closing Song Ranked From Worst To Best
16. Mother Russia - No Prayer For The Dying
As well as being very problematic right now, Mother Russia (which is about historical Russia, just to clarify) from 1990's No Prayer for the Dying is also totally pants.
It starts out quite promising, with a gigantic-sounding riff to herald its arrival followed by a kickass driving melody, but things go downhill as soon as Bruce opens his mouth.
Hearing the Maiden belt out "Mooooother Russia!" with no sense of irony really undermines what is, otherwise, a fantastically crafted metal track. At only five-and-a-half minutes long, it's also one of the more digestible Maiden closers, if you can believe it.
Sometimes a strong arrangement isn't enough to overcome poor lyrics, which is what condemns this track to its icy fate.