Izvajalec: Iron Maiden
Založba: EMI Records
Izid: 2009
Ocena: 4.5/5
As a rule, Iron Maiden put out their live records on DVD and audio CD in their golden years. The band’s latest tour, “Somewhere Back On Tour,” got the same treatment, and those of us who caught one of those shows got to relive scenes mostly from the legendary “World Slavery Tour” (1984). For the occasion, Iron Maiden brought classics from “Somewhere in Time,” “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son,” and “Powerslave” back into the setlist. So it was known and guaranteed in advance that this would be yet another hugely successful world tour for Iron Maiden, and one they’d naturally milk for all it’s worth.
It didn’t take much head-scratching to make the new release something special. Maiden used their very own plane and their very own pilot, Bruce Dickinson, who flew the band around continents outside of old Europe in February and March of last year, playing venues where bands rarely show up. The mass turnout of utterly rabid fans, who had spent all those years praying and pleading to see Iron Maiden live, finally became reality.
What we’re dissecting here is a double live CD that isn’t really a live CD. It’s the soundtrack to the double Iron Maiden DVD “Flight 666,” which you absolutely have to get, because only then do the recordings on these two separate CDs make real sense. So I’ll say it right away: the audio release isn’t essential, unless you’re an Iron Maiden “die hard” fan. In that case, there’s no helping you anyway. The first and only downside of this recording is the plain fact that the breaks between songs are cut out, so the authentic feeling of being at a concert suffers a bit.
On the flip side, that downside is richly made up for by the massive singing of the united heart of the crazy fans, to whom Bruce Dickinson often just hands over the choruses (Two Minutes To Midnight), and you won’t believe it. The concert magic is so strong that goosebumps wash over you effortlessly and shivers run down your spine when you feel that grandiose magic of the energy flux of the crowd joining in with the band.
Iron Maiden have once again delivered an excellent recording. I dare say much better than on “Rock In Rio” (2002), where the arrangement of the guitars and basses isn’t exactly ideal, clear, or transparent.
The revamped setlist brings quite a few novelties, so we can truly talk about this as a special Iron Maiden release. For the first time in their career (apart from the single “Out In The Silent Planet”), we get to enjoy Wasted Years finally released on a live album, with excellent sound of all the lead motifs, especially Adrian Smith’s soloing, which almost takes the lead over Bruce Dickinson’s singing. Bruce even politely hands a few lines of the chorus over to Adrian Smith in this song, which, let’s be honest, wasn’t exactly the smartest move. The new version of Heaven Can Wait, with much more precisely “measured” guitars, tops every captured version of this song released on the band’s earlier official live albums, including the average releases from the “Fear Of The Dark” tour of 1992-1994. Powerslave is enriched with keyboards that carry a suspicious resemblance to guitars played through synthesizers, but perfectly lift the atmosphere of the chorus. The outro of Aces High is split into three harmonized guitar lines, while the same trick from 1999 in The Trooper remains a live staple. Even the overplayed Fear Of The Dark brings a special freshness. Then there’s the treat and highlight of this recording, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, plus one more sweet little extra called Moonchild!
Another novelty is that Iron Maiden went for a somewhat lower tuning, since Bruce Dickinson is no longer 26 and in “Number Of The Beast” vocal form. It suits the guy, and the songs keep their exceptional trademark expression. Without Bruce on vocals they wouldn’t mean a thing to us.
Even 33 years after the band’s formation, you can tell Iron Maiden are fully committed on stage and give their fans their absolute maximum. The proof is the outstanding stage performance of mature men who’ve stayed in excellent, relentless “sharpshooter” form. Iron Maiden are the number one heavy metal elders today.
These days Iron Maiden have long been set for life. They could be carefree, nonchalant, loftily arrogant, yet they still sweat out serious liters on stage and stay approachable to every one of us mere mortals. They’re a big company, one we’re sometimes pretty angry at, since it demands a hefty price for its services, but at the same time, with its sheer greatness, this very company is probably doing the most, in this age that will kill us with information overload, to keep the spirit of healthy heavy metal music spreading unstoppably and successfully across this (long since) utterly mad planet. Everybody wears their shirts. Those who first heard that you can play a guitar with electricity, and those who grew up with the band from the very beginning. Their music carries the greatness of timelessness. And “Flight 666” is nothing less than that.
Zasedba
Bruce Dickinson – vokal
Adrian Smith – kitara, spremljevalni vokal
Dave Murray – kitara
Janick Gers – kitara
Steve Harris – bas kitara
Nicko McBrain – bobni
Seznam skladb
CD1.:
1. Churchill’s Speach (taped intro)
2. Aces High
3. Two Minutes To Midnight
4. Revelations
5. The Trooper
6. Wasted Years
7. The Number Of The Beast
8. Can I Play With Madness
9. Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner
CD2.:
1. Powerslave
2. Heaven Can Wait
3. Run To The Hills
4. Fear Of The Dark
5. Iron Maiden
6. Moonchild
7. Clairvoyant
8. Hallowed Be Thy Name
