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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – En Vivo! (2012 CD, blu-ray)
Alas, the end: Part 45, the final chapter of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
In case you’re new to LeBrain’s blog, you may as well go back and start here. I have covered every album, every EP, every single, every rarity that I have had access to. I don’t know if a more comprehensive review of Maiden material can be found on the web. Enjoy.
It’s been a slice. Without further delay, here’s the final part. En Vivo!
IRON MAIDEN – En Vivo! (2012 CD, blu-ray, EMI)
Once again, Iron Maiden have followed a studio album with a live album. Unlike the last one, Flight 666, this time Maiden released a set representing the tour for their last studio platter, the excellent Final Frontier. For the first time, you will have a chance to own live versions of songs like “El Dorado” and “Coming Home”, mixed with a standard set of Maiden classics, recent and vintage.
The splendid set starts with a pre-recorded version of intro “Satellite 15”, which melds directly into “The Final Frontier”, an excellent Maiden rocker with a chorus built for the live experience. This version brings to the forefront Maiden’s melodic guitar goodness, along with Bruce’s powerful pipes. Adrian Smith rips the solo to absolute shreds, only to be followed by an energized Dave Murray. What a start. It’s an absolutely flawless start, and the Chilean crowd goes wild.
Just like the album, the band then seamlessly moves into “El Dorado”, which is superior here to its album version. More guitars, faster pace, more backing vocals, a more lively lead vocal…what more could you want? Even the most cynical fans, only there to hear “Run to the Hills”, would be blown away if they only opened their ears.
“2 Minutes To Midnight”, which was also available on the Flight 666 and Rock In Rio CD’s, is next. This one, I probably could have done without, after hearing it on two prior live albums, not to mention A Real Dead One and the immortal Live After Death! It is a great song, no doubt, and there’s nothing wrong with this version. But why not throw in something else, like “Icarus” maybe?
Then back to new material: a haunting “The Talisman” and the anthemic “Coming Home”. “Coming Home” in particular seems perfectly designed for the live concert environment. Both songs bring forth all the complexity and passion of The Final Frontier, with the crowd supplying ample backing vocals. Clearly, Chilean fans don’t mind new songs.
One of my personal favourites of more recent vintage is next: “Dance of Death”. I love Bruce’s Hamlet intro: “There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” The vocal is a tad more shaky than the version on Death on the Road, but once the song gets going, Bruce finds his footing. He has the crowd in the palm of his hands the whole way.
“The Trooper” only makes the ecstatic crowd that more crazy. Unlike “2 Minutes”, this is a song I never tire of. The solo just smokes, the Three Amigos blasting through. Then onto “The Wicker Man”, a song not heard on a live album since Rock In Rio, although some fans (like me!) are lucky enough to own a 2002 version on the Japanese “Rainmaker” single. “The Wicker Man” is a modern classic, a song that I believe belongs up there with “The Trooper”. Once again, Adrian performs a flawlessly melodic solo. One more track from the Brave New World album follows it, “Blood Brothers”. I was a bit surprised to see this slower one resurrected live, but like the other songs, this one was perfectly built for a live audience. Bruce wouldn’t even need to sing on the chorus, so loud is the audience.
The last of the newer songs is next, the amazing “When the Wild Wind Blows”. Not brief at 10 minutes, this is one of my favourite songs from The Final Frontier. The crowd is on board for every moment, every riff, every section, every emotional breath from Bruce’s mouth. Truthfully, if Maiden were not a band with over 30 years of classics in the back catalogue, this song would be considered a standard, never to be missed. But when you could easily play a 6 hour set of nothing but classics, it’s hard to squeeze them all in. All I can say is, I hope this song makes future tours, but at 10 minutes, don’t be surprised if it’s left out in favour of older classics.
And speaking of older classics, get ready for a whole slew of them: “The Evil That Men Do” (so much more powerful with three guitars!), “Fear of the Dark”, “Iron Maiden”, “The Number of the Beast”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, and “Running Free”. “Running Free” contains the usual band intros (Nicko being described as “the indescribable, the inevitable, the inimitable, the uneatable”), and the crowd goes wild once again.
And the listener is exhausted, after over 2 hours of regal metal classics performed by one of the best, if not the best, heavy metal band in history. The best? Well, I don’t want to open that debate. But after revisiting the entire catalogue these past few months, I’ve definitely gained a new respect for a band I already loved. The growth of this band, not always appreciated, has been steady with integrity. And the live experience is still one that tops bands less than half their age. En Vivo! proves this.
A blu-ray release provides the same concert experience with stunning visuals, plenty of space-age Eddies, and a manic Bruce running to-and-fro, while the rest of the band defy age. There’s also a great bonus feature: 88 minutes of documentary footage called “Behind the Beast”, chronicling the creation of the Iron Maiden live show.
5/5 stars
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – From Fear To Eternity (2011)
Part 44 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – From Fear To Eternity (2011 EMI)
One thing that you need to be aware of: If you’re a Maiden die-hard, From Fear To Eternity was not designed for you. This, much like Somewhere Back In Time, is for new fans only. (Although a bone was thrown to us die-hards, more on that later.)
This is a decent compilation. The reason I bought it was to “complete the collection”, and of course the great cover art (by Melvyn Grant once again). The cover pays homage to Maiden album and single covers of the past 20 years. The only one I didn’t see represented in some way was The X Factor, but see if you can spot a clue.
This collection is a joy to listen to from start to finish. I won’t go over the details with a fine-toothed comb, but there are plenty of fan favourites here: “Passchendale”, “Benjamin Breeg”, “The Clansman”…and these are not short songs, folks! Of course there were the hits, all big in Europe if not here in North America: “Bring Your Daughter”, “Wicker Man”, “Different World”, “Man On The Edge”, “Afraid To Shoot Strangers”, “Tailgunner”. There are also a slew of personal favourites such as “Be Quick or Be Dead”, “For The Greater Good of God”, and “Where The Wild Wind Blows”. Really it is very hard to find fault with this collection, or the running order.
In fact my only beef is the lack of inclusion of the ballad “Wasting Love” which I still have a soft spot for. Also I was surprised that “From Here To Eternity” is not on here, not a personal favourite song, but it did lend its title to this album!
Finally, one touch that I enjoyed was substituting the Blaze Bayley era songs for live versions with Bruce singing. After all, Maiden are out there touring now, and new fans don’t need to be confused by a different singer. This means that you’ll get the live version of “Sign of The Cross” from the Rock In Rio album. But what’s really cool is that the live “Man On The Edge” was only released as a B-side to “The Wicker Man” single, so this is its first album release. A little extra bonus for the Maiden die-hard who may have missed that single a decade or so ago.
I strongly recommend this collection to new Maiden fans, as there is really not a bad song in the bunch, and it’s a great listen from front to back. For die-hards, you already have (most of) these songs, so if you feel like picking it up for the cover art like I did, it’s still an enjoyable listen.
3.5/5 stars.
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier (2010)
Part 43 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – The Final Frontier (2010, EMI)
Iron Maiden had a hell of an album to live up to when they recorded The Final Frontier. 2006’s A Matter of Life and Death was a total triumph, a complex driving metal masterpiece. Witness: Not one but two 5/5 star reviews here on LeBrain’s Blog alone.
The Final Frontier begins daringly, with an incredible piece of music unlike anything Maiden have ever attempted before. The rhythmic intro “Satellite 15…” begins sounding like an improvised piece, but knowing Steve Harris and Adrian Smith who wrote it, it was anything but. It has a looseness that sounds like improvisation, but then Nicko’s persistent drum patterns ground it. Bruce’s plaintive vocals speak of “drifting way off course now” and trying to contact Earth, without success. The piece is loaded with tension, which is released only as it breaks into the first actual song, “The Final Frontier”.
Continuing the lyrical theme, Steve writes of drifting through space, alone, unable to bid his family farewell. Musically this is anthemic Maiden as Steve and Adrian have been known to write before, with a catchy riff and chorus. Some of the guitar work is reminiscent of 1986’s Somewhere In Time. I find it daring to team such a catchy metal tune with an abstract intro like “Satellite 15…”
Without letting up for a second, the lead single “El Dorado” gallops through the speakers. And yes, it’s an actual vintage Maiden galloping start! Written by the triumvirate of Steve, Adrian, and Bruce (who have written so many classics in the past), “El Dorado” careens through multiple sections all tied together by the effortless playing of the band. Adrian’s catchy yet exotic solo is a highlight. It’s not an obvious single at almost 7 minutes long, but this length is necessary to contain all the different riffs and sections. None of them are extraneous; every bit of this song is as good as the last, although it sounds like Bruce is reaching for notes too high on the chorus.
The heaviness lets up briefly for the start of “Mother of Mercy”, a brief but epic sounding track that could have fit happily on the Brave New World CD. Yet it’s even more riff laden than anything on that album, continuing The Final Frontier‘s tendency to cram awesome guitar after awesome guitar into one song. It’s a mere five minutes long, written again by Steve and Adrian, with another catchy chorus delivered with power by Bruce. A song like this proves that Maiden can be brief yet still cram all of their power and talent into a catchy five minute number. The lyrics question the deadly combination of war and religion.
How much more epic can you get? None more epic than the chorus of “Coming Home”. A Smith/Dickinson/Harris epic, the lyrics reflect Bruce’s love of aviation within one of the best choruses they’ve ever written. By any other band this might be considered a “power ballad”, but at no point in its six minute length do I really consider it as such. This is surely one of the best songs on The Final Frontier. There’s even a bluesy guitar solo (probably Davey) to fit the melancholy mood of the song.
“The Alchemist” is the shortest song on the album, but the first that is a traditional fast Maiden scorcher. It has a solid Janick Gers riff (who co-wrote it with Bruce and Steve) and Bruce spits out the quick verses. Janick’s solo is his typical manic style, but as a song, this is the weakest on the album thus far. It’s not as memorable or impactful as the four previous, but a fast one is required to balance out the more progressive material elsewhere.
And speaking of more progressive material, “Isle of Avalon”, written by Steve and Adrian, takes us back into that territory. Nine minutes long, it is very different lyrically from anything Steve’s done before: Celtic legends and mythology and all that. And of course, it has multiple riffs, time changes and melodies to keep the listening entranced through the whole length. It’s an effortless listen despite its complexity, simply because it’s loaded with great guitar parts.
One of my favourite tunes is next: “Starblind”. It’s another Bruce/Steve/Adrian masterpiece, and not too brief at almost eight minutes long. It starts slow, but the main riff kicks in at 50 seconds. Be prepared to be pummeled! Bruce delivers an epic chorus, while the lyrics seem to be another condemnation of corrupt religious figures (a traditional Maiden topic). Nicko’s drum patterns are anything but simple; this is one more progressive Maiden masterpiece.
The heaviness of “Starblind” is replaced by the acoustic intro of “The Talisman”. Yet another eight minute epic track, “The Talisman” was written by Steve and Janick. 2 1/2 minutes in, you’re assaulted with the next in what seems like an endless stream of incredible Maiden riffs. Bruce wails away of a treacherous ocean journey. Steve has written some of his catchiest melodies yet, with plenty of twists and turns. Yet another classic.
“The Man Who Would Be King” also starts slow, before moving into a classic sounding Maiden guitar harmony riff. This one was written by Steve and Dave Murray. Again, it’s not brief: Over eight minutes of riffs, melodies and changes. Lyrically, it doesn’t seem to have any great connection to the book or movie, The Man Who Would Be King. Musically, it’s another complex amalgam of amazing parts acting as a whole. Songs like these, there is no way to fully appreciate them after just one listen. Even now I’m finding new appreciation for “The Man Who Would Be King”. It has some sections that sound more “vintage” Maiden than anything else on The Final Frontier, but they’re over in a blink and onto the next section! This is a hell of a song to digest, must like the rest of the album.
Finally, the end of your journey into The Final Frontier: the epic track “When The Wild Wind Blows”. This is my personal favourite song, ten minutes of non-stop drama. This is the Harris album epic; the song that lives up to the legacy set by previous epics such as “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”. Lyrically, it’s an end-0f-the-world scenario, as they huddle in their bunkers waiting for apocalypse from the sky. When the world doesn’t end, they are found dead anyway, having consumed poison. Once again, the song has many different sections, each one more powerful than the last, all wrapped in those trademark Maiden guitar melodies.
There is no denying that The Final Frontier is a challenging listen. It is also a rewarding listen, a complete journey with a start, middle and ending. Very few bands can manage an album like this fully 30 years into their recording careers. Maiden have managed to do so, and not only that, but with their strongest lineup intact strong as ever. With the production talents of Kevin Shirley, the band managed a crisp sound that strikes a balance between polished and live.
Melvyn Grant has returned to do the cover; easily his best cover with Iron Maiden. An alien Eddie searches a derelict alien vessel for some kind of key. I don’t get it, but I don’t care. I’m a sucker for the alien motif. Two of my favourite things combined at long last — Iron Maiden, and aliens!
For the first time ever, there are no B-sides to discuss. There was only one single, which was “El Dorado”. Dan Slessor from Kerrang! magazine sent me a promotional copy of the single, a really nice collectible in a 7″ sleeve (with even printed “wear marks” to make it look like a vinyl single is inside)! It can be seen below for your enjoyment. Disappointingly though, it is merely a CD-R, not an actual factory pressed CD. I guess the old days have finally passed. Why send out an expensive promo single when everybody else is simply sending electronic files?
Lastly, there was a deluxe “Mission Edition” of this album made available with interview footage conducted by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen; unfortunately this content was not compatible in Canada so I never bought it. My copy did come with a cool Final Frontier sticker though.
5/5 stars
promo “El Dorado” single
inside the single
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Flight 666 (2009 CD, DVD)
This is part 42 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews! And we still ain’t done!
IRON MAIDEN – Flight 666 (2009 CD, DVD)
In lieu of releasing a live album from the A Matter of Life and Death tour (where Maiden played all of the new album live front to back), they instead chose to document their Somewhere Back In Time tour with a movie, directed by Canada’s own Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage). A live soundtrack was released not long after the film.
My buddy Peter and I got our tickets and got in line to see the movie the one and only time it played in town. Turns out that Tom and Meat were there too. Of course they were — who would want to miss this?
The film itself documents Maiden’s massive undertaking of the tour — resurrecting the Powerslave stage and a lot of the old songs. More important than that, it chronicles the logistics of singer Bruce Dickinson doing all the piloting himself, aboard the private charter jet lovingly known as Ed Force One. 23 concerts, 5 continents, from Mumbai to Toronto. Nobody had ever done that before. Due to regulations about a pilot’s rest time between flights, this is something that will probably never happen again.
Regardless of historical nature of this tour, some people bitched and complained. Another Maiden live album?
Yes, another Maiden live album, and this one with classics available on Live After Death and elsewhere. It’s still relevant.
Ever since Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned to the band in 1999, I feel Maiden have never been stronger. The way the three guitars of Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers have meshed is something to behold. I really enjoy listening to the three-guitar version of Maiden, and once again producer Kevin Shirley has provided a strong mix where you can hear every nuance of those three guitars. Not to mention Bruce’s vocals, Steve’s bass, and Nicko’s steppin’! In other words, this album sounds great.
As for the track listing itself, it sure is great hearing all 13 minutes of “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” once again. I never thought Maiden would ever play “Moonchild” or “The Clairvoyant” again either. “Powerslave”, “Wasted Years”, “Heaven Can Wait”…so many classics! As Steve Harris notes in the liners, some of these songs may never be played live again, so it’s great to have this document. Some fans will wish there were more old tunes such as “Flight Of Icarus” or “Running Free” instead of more common songs like “Fear Of The Dark”. Another tour, perhaps?
Worth mentioning, each song is taken from a different live gig from the Somewhere Back In Time tour. There’s some fade-in and fade-out between songs. Don’t let that bother you though. The whole idea was to give fans the sense that, “Hey, I was there!”
When Flight 666 was released on DVD, it went to #1 in Canada and almost every other country it was released in. The DVD is a great package, mixed in 5.1 by Kevin Shirley, but also including a hell of a bonus feature. Just in case you wanted a straight Maiden live DVD without the songs being truncated by the documentary, it’s all here. Every song from the movie can be viewed complete, in sequence, on the bonus DVD.
It would have been nice to see a new Eddie painting on the cover…but if you look closely he’s still there.
5/5 stars (both CD and DVD)
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Edward The Great (2002)
Part 31 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – Edward The Great (2002)
“If you have purchased this then you have no doubt heard of Iron Maiden at some point during the band’s career over the last two-and-a-half decades.” – from the liner notes by Steve Harris
Clearly this CD (released simultaneous with the Eddie’s Archive box set) was not designed for the existing Iron Maiden fans. The die hards were not the intended target market, they got the box set to satisfy them.
In fact, Maiden wisely made the cover art (a ho-hum piece by someone named Tom Adams) available for free download. They knew some fans would just want it, and didn’t to force them to shell out for an album full of songs they already had. Again.
Yes, this was Maiden’s third compilation CD since 1996’s Best of the Beast. To keep things interesting, at least they shook up the format a bit. Unlike Beast, this is not a career spanning anthology. Unlike Ed Hunter, the fans did not vote on the tracks. Edward the Great was a simple chronological compilation of singles from 1982 to Brave To World. It ends with a recent track, a live version of “Fear of the Dark” from 2001’s Rock In Rio disc. I don’t understand the lack of Di’Anno tracks while still including two Bayley songs.
(NOTE: Maiden have also re-released the disc with an updated tracklist. I don’t have that, so I can’t really talk about it. Except to say it still has Blaze stuff on it!)
There’s an attractive booklet but not enough pictures. For a CD called Edward the Great, I think a few Eddies from the past would be in order. Oh well.
With the exception of the Blaze material, which simply breaks up the flow of the disc, every song belongs here. You could argue about exclusions, certainly. Most conspicuous by its absence is “Aces High”. You could also make a case for including the original studio version of “Fear of the Dark”. Playing Devil’s advocate, perhaps Maiden included the live version to demonstrate the power of an Iron Maiden concert to the initiated.
Whatever the case may be, as a greatest hits set I find this one lacking a bit. Considering the format, I would have chosen to call it the “Bruce years” and remove the Blaze tracks. Then you’d have room for two more classic singles (perhaps “Aces High”, “Tailgunner”, or “Be Quick of Be Dead”. As it stands I don’t understand excluding Di’Anno classics in favour of more recent Blaze material (two songs that they weren’t playing live anymore anyway).
1.5/5 stars. Better compilations were to come.
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Virtual XI (plus singles, 1998)
Part 26 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – Virtual XI (1998)
For the first time in a long time, there was this vibe of, “new Maiden? Meh.”
I recall seeing this listed in our distributor’s catalogue and ordering one for myself. We didn’t even order it in for the store. Think about that! The catalog had the title listed as Vartual Xi, which made me wonder what the hell I was buying.
Virtual XI is the 11’th studio album by Iron Maiden. It is the second with Blaze Bayley on lead vocals and second to be co-produced by Nigel Green. It is also the second to feature cover art by Melvyn Grant, this time an improvement on his Fear of the Dark work (but only barely).
You’ll notice the Iron Maiden logo was changed — the jagged bits lopped off! It is this logo that Maiden used almost exclusively going forward. I prefer the original.
I was living with T-Rev when the album came out, early ’98, and both of us were heavily into the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye. One Saturday night when he was out working his second job at the Waterloo Inn, I stayed home with Virtual XI, Goldeneye, and enough junk food to last the weekend. I was set. And my feelings on Virtual XI largely go back to that night and the great fun it was to play the Statue Park level whilst rocking out to “When Two Worlds Collide”.
As highly as I rate the two Blaze albums, I will be the first to admit that he was the wrong singer for this band. His voice lacks the range. As I argued in my review for The X Factor, I think Blaze’s voice suited the mid-90’s and the darker tones that Maiden were taking. I remember cranking Best of the Beast in my store, Dickinson wailing away, and two kids laughing. Context is important! In the 90’s, tastes had drifted and so had Maiden. And don’t lie to me — you owned one of these five albums: Ten, Nevermind, Superunknown, Purple or Dirt. I know you did!
I personally enjoy the dreadfully-titled Virtual XI. I bet Steve Harris wishes he could take that title back. It is not as strong as the powerfully dark X Factor album. This is Iron Maiden trying to relax a little more, be more comfortable in their new sound, and trying to lighten up a bit after an entire album of dark thoughts and suicidal tendencies. Witness “The Angel And The Gambler” which is as close to a good-time rocker as Iron Maiden get. Its problem (and the problem with a few songs on the album) is length: At 10 minutes, it’s not an epic, it’s too repetitive. I could also do without Steve’s boppy keyboard line.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The album kicks off with “Futureal”, a short fast rocker akin to “Man On The Edge” or “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, but with plenty of melody to spare. Harris wrote this one with Blaze.
Up next is “The Angel And the Gambler” which I guess Steve was hoping would sound like 70’s UFO or something like that. A classic Davey guitar solo keeps it in Maiden territory. It had a good video, very Star Wars cantina, funny with dated CG! The video however doesn’t do much to make Blaze Bayley’s case as a frontman.
Then, back to the darkness that marked the last album. “Lightning Strikes Twice” is a decent song with quiet verses and a powerful chorus. It takes a while to build unfortunately, since it’s only 5 minutes long.
Side one ended with “The Clansman”, continuing the Maiden tradition of basing songs on movies and historical events! This was the epic of the album, and one that they performed into the Dance of Death tour. You’ll be chanting, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” by the end. This one sounds very traditional Iron Maiden, especially the fast parts.
Side two kicked off with a personal favourite, “When Two Worlds Collide”. Here’s Maiden’s take on the whole Deep Impact/Armageddon thing:
Now I can’t believe its true
and I don’t know what to do
For the hundredth time
I check the declination
Now the fear starts to grow
even my computer shows
There are no errors in the calculations
Kinda cheesy, kinda nerdy-cool at the same time. Have you ever seen the word “declination” in a heavy metal lyric before? This is the first and only collaboration between Steve, Blaze and Dave Murray.
Another dark and moody one is up next, “The Educated Fool”, another one I like quite a bit due to its delicate guitars. At this point Maiden were no longer trying to simply assault you aurally, now they were introduced in a smoother sounding guitar sound. But the song does kick in soon. There’s a line reflecting some of Steve’s personal inner pain, “I want to see my father beyond.”
This is followed by “Don’t Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger”. These songs are good tunes, but by this time we’ve already had several dark and moody ones with repeated choruses. The repetition was getting a bit much. Even the previous song, “The Educated Fool” suffers from repetitive chorus syndrome.
Last up is the closer “Como Estais Amigos”, translated as “How are you my friends”. It was written by Blaze and Janick. This one has an epic vibe to it as well, with its anthemic chorus of “No more tears, no more tears. If we live for a hundred years, amigo no more tears.” It is as if Maiden are saying, “We have been through some rough patches but better times are up ahead.” And yes, Maiden really did go through rough times, Steve Harris in particular.
And that is it, a mere 8 songs. Brevity this time unlike the previous two albums. No B-sides were recorded, either. The only B-sides were live. Let’s have a look at ’em!
“The Angel And the Gambler” was released in two parts, one with cover art by Derek Riggs, one from the forthcoming new Maiden video game, Ed Hunter. They wisely included a single edit on the second one. The B-sides were live takes of “Blood On the World’s Hands” and “The Aftermath”, which if you recall are two of the songs I ranked poorly on The X Factor.
“Futureal” was the second single, with more Ed Hunter cover art. Inside, a poster featuring Derek Riggs’ far superior artwork. The live tracks were were “Man On the Edge” (another one I’m not fond of) and “The Evil That Men Do”, from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son! This is one of the few official versions available of Blaze doing a Bruce song. My take? His “Come on! Come on! Come on!” intro fails to inspire me, but the band is playing it fast and great. Vocally this one is well suited to Blaze’s voice. He does an excellent job. (He does screw up the lyrics in the same place that Bruce used to, too!) It was recorded in 1995, which makes sense. Everything I’ve heard from that tour sounds great. Everything I’ve heard from the Virtual XI tour, however…
I think after this album the vibe was generally one of “Who cares what Maiden do next?” I still would have loyally bought it. I had just given up on the idea of Maiden being a huge band that mattered again. I didn’t expect albums that would impact me the way that Piece of Mind or Powerslave or even The X Factor did. Maiden seemed to be coasting, at a time that Bruce Dickinson was forging forward with superior solo albums. In general though, it seemed metal was done, Maiden pretty much with it, and all that was left were unremarkable studio albums and tours.
Oh, how wrong I was.
3.5/5 stars
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REVIEW: Bruce Dickinson – Accident of Birth (1997) Man of Sorrows EP (1997)
Part 25 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
BRUCE DICKINSON – Accident of Birth (1997)
As mentioned in the last chapter, Bruce Dickinson was eager to get back to metal, and he brought Roy Z with him. Together they forged a great modern steel beast of an album. But there was an additional surprise in store:
Bruce had also teamed up with his old Maiden alumnus Adrian Smith! The classic writing partnership was back, and Adrian was playing those trademark melodies again.
And then, just to stick it in Steve Harris’ nose, Bruce hired on Derek Riggs to do the cover art. He came up with a mascot: Edison! Get it?
The opening track, “Freak”, slams the listener right in the face with a modern metallic riff before the classic Bruce wail forces you to admit this is the kind of music he’s best at. And while it’s not the same as Maiden, you will be delighted to learn there are guitar harmony parts once again.
You have to give Roy Z credit where it’s due, the guy is great at writing metal riffs. He’s also a great soloist and a nice contrast to Adrian. Also not slouches are the badass rhythm section: Eddie Casillas (bass) and David Ingraham (drums), both back from the Balls To Picasso album.
“Starchildren” is an absolute stunner, a fucking brilliant song that combines programmed samples with traditional metal riffery. I also love that Bruce has continued on with the sci-fi lyrics, something he’s quite good at.
Although “Taking the Queen” is another great song, it is overshadowed by the epic track “Darkside of Aquarius”. At almost 7 minutes long, “Darkside” combines multiple parts together with guitar harmonies into one cohesive, stomping whole. This to me is the jewel on a fine album. I think this would have made one fine Maiden number (finer than what Maiden were releasing at the time).
Then, “Road To Hell”, a co-write between Bruce and Adrian. You can tell by the catchy guitar parts and singalong chorus. It is followed by the anthemic ballad “Man of Sorrows”. This one was chosen for release as its own EP later.
The single “Accident of Birth” is next, yet another great tune, but also a standout among great tunes. Once again the samples are back, blasting this piece of sheet metal into a pulp. The guitar melodies ground it in familiar territory as Bruce’s wail assaults the listener.
Why is Ingraham wearing that pilot hat?
“The Magician” comes somewhat awkwardly afterwards, as it is more upbeat than the previous material. But “Welcome to the Pit” (also co-written by Smith) sinks deep into a sludgey morass. “Welcome to the Pit” is filler, the first obvious such track on Accident of Birth.
The US edition of the album was elevated by another Smith co-write, the Maiden-esque “The Ghost of Cain” which restores the melody and guitar harmonies to the forefront. The UK edition skipped this track but made it available on a single (which we’ll get to). But it is a song like “The Ghost of Cain” that reminds the listener of the kind of magic that Iron Maiden lost when it lost Adrian Smith.
“Omega” and “Arc of Space” form a sci-fi duo. The sun is about to go all red-giant on Earth’s ass, and most people have left. But many remain behind.
Now it’s Omega-Zero day
The red star shines its last rays
The sun that gave us life yesterday
Is now the sun that takes our lives away
It’s this kind of lyric that gets my nerd-blood pumping. Arthur C. Clarke would have been proud. I’m sure Bruce has read The Songs of Distant Earth. But even musically it’s a winner. At first it sounds like a ballad before the band hits the gas and it turns into a blazing rocker with twin guitar harmonies.
And finally “Arc of Space”, an acoustic number (with cello!), and a perfect ending to a fine album. The choruses soar. Roy Z’s acoustic solo is perfect. The album ends as a triumph.
There were also singles to be had: “Accident of Birth” parts 1 and 2. Part one added “The Ghost of Cain” to the lineup for those who didn’t get it on the UK album. Both parts contained demo versions, basic stripped down recordings of “Accident of Birth”, “Taking the Queen”, and “Starchildren”. It sounds like these were most likely recorded using drum machines. In the case of “Accident of Birth” itself, in a lot of ways I prefer the more mechanical demo!
The Japanese even got their own exclusive EP from the albums called Man of Sorrows.
BRUCE DICKINSON – Man of Sorrows EP (1997)
Man of Sorrows is an awkward 5 song collection, essential only to the obsessed or the lucky ones able to find it at a good price. It has three versions of the title track: A radio edit, an orchestral mix, and a Spanish version (on a CD released only in Japan.) The orchestral version just mixes those instruments in higher. The Spanish version, “Hombre Triste”, is especially poor since the backing vocals in the chorus are still in English. You can also hear edits, as if the vocal recording was probably spliced together piecemeal line by line.
The saving grace to the EP (but not worth the $30 price tag to the average collector) are two more demos: “Darkside of Aquarius” and “Arc of Space”. Much like the other demos, these are fully fleshed out arrangements. “Darkside” features that drum machine again, but “Arc of Space” sounds like Bruce and Roy just doing the song live in a room. The liner notes reveal that Roy Z plays all the instruments on the demo versions.
Incidentally, all these songs plus the “Accident of Birth” single B-sides are now available on the deluxe edition of the album.
Bruce made a hell of a comeback on Accident of Birth, showing up Iron Maiden, and proving that he was built to sing heavy metal music. The cynical said that Bruce was just cashing in, but the next album would prove to be an even more powerful statement. Stay tuned.
For Accident of Birth:
4.5/5 stars
For Man of Sorrows:
1.5/5 stars
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Best of the Beast (1996 2 CD edition)
Part 22 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – Best of the Beast (1996)
I’m not sure what prompted Iron Maiden to put out their first greatest hits disc in 1996, but at least they did it in style. Originally available as a limited edition 2 CD book set, it was pretty extravagant packaging for the time. My only beef is by the nature of such packaging, the paper sleeves will always scratch your discs, 100% of the time.
This album was also available in a standard edition single disc, with the songs in a different running order. I don’t have that one so I’m not going to talk aboot it.
The 2 disc version, perhaps to emphasize that Blaze Bayley is the current Maiden vocalist, starts at the present and then rewinds all the way back to the beginning, closing with The Soundhouse Tapes! An interesting approach indeed. As a listening experience I’m not sure that it works that well.
Since we’re starting at the present, the album kicks off with a new song. “Virus” is 6:30 of same-old same-old X Factor Maiden, but not as good as anything on that album. It drags and drags for three minutes before finally kicking into gear, but it is otherwise repetitive and boring until then. Lyrically, it is another attack on the sicknesses in society, much like “Be Quick Or Be Dead” and “Justice of the Peace” were.
Then back in time one year, to “Sign of the Cross”, the dramatic 11 minute epic from The X Factor, as well as “Man on the Edge”. (I would have preferred “Lord of the Flies” to “Man on the Edge”, but perhaps “Man” was the bigger single of the two.)
To bridge into the Fear of the Dark album, a new live version of “Afraid To Shoot Strangers” is featured, with Blaze Bayley singing. It’s a good live version, but it’s immediately obvious that Blaze is no Bruce.
Bruce takes over on the next track, “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, and we’re back in the saddle. Singles (including the popular live version of “Fear of the Dark”) and album tracks are counted down from 1993 to 1986’s Somewhere In Time album, ending disc 1 with “Wasted Years”, a great closer. My beef here: I would have preferred the single “Stranger In A Strange Land” to the album track “Heaven Can Wait” (but I know the Heavy Metal OverloRd doesn’t agree with me!)
Disc 2 is the glory years, if you will, everything from Live After Death to the beginning. It begins with the epic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, a ballsy move for a greatest hits album, and the live version at that. Chasing it is the live single version of “Running Free”. Then we count them down, all the singles from Powerslave to “Run To The Hills”, plus “Where Eagles Dare” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” thrown in for good measure.
Then it’s the Di’Anno years, which are given an unfortunately brief expose. “Wrathchild”, from Killers is one of the best songs from that era, but the only included track from that album. Maiden’s first epic, “Phantom of the Opera” and the single “Sanctuary” represent the debut Iron Maiden. Finally, an unreleased track from The Soundhouse Tapes sessions (“Strange World”), and the rare Soundhouse version of “Iron Maiden” close the set. To read my review of The Soundhouse Tapes and these tracks, click here.
There was also a 4 LP vinyl edition available, with 7 extra tracks: “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, “The Prisoner”, “Killers”, “Remember Tomorrow”, an exclusive live version of “Revelations” from the Piece of Mind tour, plus the final two songs from The Soundhouse Tapes, “Prowler” and “Invasion”. You can read a story about the 4 LP edition by clicking here.
And there you have it, Maiden’s first greatest hits set, with lots of the hits and plenty of rarities thrown in for the collectors. I confess that I don’t listen to it often, and this time for this review was the first time in roughly two years.
The cover art was once again by Derek Riggs, doing a sort of mash-up of his (and nobody else’s) Eddie’s. It’s a suitably glorious piece of art for such a monument of metal. The inside of the book is loaded with concert dates, lyrics, liner notes, and chart positions, as well as more Eddie’s and photos!
I still want to talk about the single, “Virus”, but I think that it should get an article of its own. Check back soon for that!
Curiosity: the cover features an ad for the never-to-be Iron Maiden video game, Melt! Maiden did eventually release a video game, but we’re not going there yet….
For the 2 CD edition of Best of the Beast:
4/5 stars
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark (1992, 1996 bonus disc)
Part 15 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – Fear of the Dark (1992, 1996 bonus disc)
I remember staying up late one night, listening to Q107, waiting to hear the new Maiden track. They promised it, and after airing “Burn” by Deep Purple, they debuted “Be Quick Or Be Dead”.
Nice riff, I said. The song took a while to grow on me, because Bruce was still growling a bit too much for my taste. If there was one thing I disliked about Maiden’s previous, No Prayer for the Dying, it was Bruce’s growl. I’d rather hear him sing. He was growling the verses, and singing the choruses. And Nicko was doing some serious steppin’! It was the Maiden writing debut of Janick Gers (with Bruce), and it was a rant on big business. Maiden were the 99% in 1992! I thought it was one of the best songs from the new album, Fear of the Dark.
The second track, “From Here To Eternity” featured the return of Charlotte! Harris wrote this one alone, and it too was a single. It has a shout-along chorus, but too much rinky-dink bass way up high in the mix. This song wouldn’t make my road tape, I never particularly cared for it.
Much, much better is “Afraid To Shoot Strangers”. Steve wrote this one for the men and women who served in the Gulf War, who as Bruce said, “never wanted to kill anybody.” I consider this song to be the birth of the “new” Iron Maiden. The gentle guitar, with the melodic bass in the background, the keys…is it a ballad or an epic? It’s both. Then it picks up with some of the catchiest guitar parts Steve’s ever written. There would be many many Maiden songs that followed this blueprint on albums to come, especially The X Factor. (My friend Andy and I beat this song by a year. In 1991 we wrote a Maiden-inspired tune called “Unleashed in the Middle East” about the Gulf War. Fortunately, it remains unrecorded to this day.)
Did you also noticed Maiden getting more topical? Big business…the Gulf War…it was the 90’s.
The Zeppish “Fear Is the Key” is next. Bruce and Janick wrote this one, but again, I’m not too fond of it. It has a great hook, and it’s technically accomplished, but Maiden and Zep don’t always mix. I don’t think they ever played it live. Do I hear a slide?
“Childhood’s End”, written by Steve, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the Arthur C. Clarke novel. It is rhythmically complex and melodic and powerful with a soaring guitar melody. I don’t consider this one of Maiden’s greater songs in the canon, but it is one of the better songs on Fear of the Dark.
The triumphant ballad, “Wasting Love” closes side 1. This one may have thrown people for a loop, both by the title and the music. Maiden, singing about love? More Scorpions sounding than Maiden, this one came from Bruce and Janick.
Maybe one day, I’ll be an honest man
Up til now I’m doing the best I can
Long roads, long days
of sunrise to sunset, sunrise to sunset
The song seems to be a reflection on infidelity on the road, but was there more between the lines? “Maybe one day I’ll be an honest man…”
Yes, it’s a ballad, but it is not wimpy. The guitar harmonies evoke mellow Thin Lizzy. I think “Wasting Love” is among the three best songs on Fear of the Dark. “Afraid to Shoot Strangers is another one, and we’ll get to the third in due time.
Side 2 opened with Steve’s “The Fugitive”. It takes a long time to build. It’s OK, nothing special. Again, I doubt it was ever played live. I don’t know if The Fugitive really needed to be made into a song, but Steve beat the movie adaptation by a year!
Bruce and Davey’s “Chains of Misery” follows. I think it’s another OK song, again nothing special and again I doubt it was ever played live. Nice shout-along chorus.
Another Zeppish song is next: “The Apparition”. Steve wrote this one with Janick. See above comments: OK song, never played live. The lyrics start with promise, a ghost story perhaps, but then it turns into a series of pieces of advice from the apparition to the living. Stuff like “You can make your own luck,” etc. And Bruce is doing that annoying growl vocal!
Thankfully, “Judas Be My Guide” gets us out of this slump! Ironically I always found this one to sound kind of Priest-like! I like this tune. Bruce wrote it with Davey, and to me this is the kind of song that Adrian Smith used to bring to the table. Melodic, powerful, anthemic, sing-along metal. I don’t think it was ever played live, but to me this one would have been single material. I would have picked it over “From Here To Eternity”.
The mellow “Weekend Warrior” is one of the oddest on the album. Bruce does his growl vocal (again!) but the song goes from acoustic section to electric section to acoustic again, and it’s quite unlike most Maiden songs. The lyrics seem to be about football hooliganism. I’m not sure if this was a topic that Iron Maiden needed to delve into, but there it is.
Finally, we have the Steve epic you have been waiting for: “Fear of the Dark”. It’s a little simple and repetitive compared to past epics, but it’s solid and has remained in the live set tour after tour after tour. It is a fan favourite worldwide, and I think it’s great. Although it’s simpler musically, I think in a lot of ways it’s one of Steve’s best epics. It’s absolutely perfect live, it begs to be sung along with, and it goes from peak to valley so well! I like big gothic opening riff. The mellow sections, again, would serve as a blueprint for the next era of Iron Maiden. Steve’s melodic bass, backed by quiet keys…
And that’s the album, a fat 12 songs, and although many are in the 3 minute range, there are several over 5 minutes this time. It was a generous slice of studio music from Maiden, never before had they crammed so many songs onto a record. It was also released on DAT, cassette, and CD. The vinyl was a double, and very hard to find. Vinyl was an import here in Canada: Capitol stopped pressing vinyl here in early 1990.
As I mentioned, there are moments here that musically look into Maiden’s future. But changes were already afoot, and in a real way, Fear of the Dark is the first album of the new Maiden. For the first time ever, Derek Riggs’ artwork was absent. Maiden instead chose a painting by Melvyn Grant. Gone were the Riggs trademarks, and a lot of fans reacted negatively to the new art. Eddie looked more Nosferatu than Eddie, and the idea of Eddie being reborn from a tree was…weird?
This was also to be Martin Birch’s final production effort. He retired after Fear of the Dark. Happy retirement, Martin! What can you possibly say bad about the man who produced Machine Head? Nothing. I will say though that this album, recorded digitally for the first time, sounds very thin. I think it was immediately noticeable and this was rectified on future albums.
My 1996 reissue has a bonus disc chock full of B-sides.
“Be Quick Or Be Dead” came with the piano-infused joke boogie tune, “Nodding Donkey Blues”, an ode to plus-sized ladies. It’s actually really great fun. “Ahh, there should be some kind of guitar solo here!” says Bruce before the piano kicks in.
Also from the same single is Montrose’s “Space Station #5” – Sammy Hagar’s first and only writing credit on an Iron Maiden disc! Maiden of course kick this song in the nuts. What an awesome riff. But wait — don’t turn it off. The hidden track “Bayswater Ain’t A Bad Place To Be” is yet another hilarious roast of manager Rod Smallwood!
Second single, “From Here To Eternity” was an oddity of sorts, one of the few Maiden singles to not feature Eddie on the cover. It’s B-sides included a Chuck Berry cover/ode to roadie Vic Vella called “Roll Over Vic Vella”. There were also two live tracks from the previous tour: “Public Enema Number One”, and “No Prayer For the Dying”. Nice to have live versions of these songs, as I doubt they were played again after that tour.
“From Here To Eternity” also supposedly featured a remixed A-side — a “Triumph Mix”. (The name “Triumph Mix” is only printed on the disc itself and not the back cover.) I can’t tell the difference, so don’t get excited. I also haven’t attempted to do a detailed comparison, so if you know more than I do, please comment.
The third and final single was “Wasting Love” which unfortunately had a terribly boring music video. It’s just too 90’s! It had three more live tracks, all from the previous tour: “Tailgunner”, “Holy Smoke”, and “The Assassin”. Same comment as above: Nice to have live versions. But note, none of these songs are on the 1996 reissue with bonus disc! Not one! And this is one of the rarest of Maiden singles. Took me a while to find a copy at a decent price.
There was one bonus included on the 2 CD edition of Fear of the Dark, in lieu of the above: “Hooks In You”, also live from the previous tour. Probably my most hated of all Maiden tunes. It’s actually from a later single, and I’ll get to that when I get to that album.
This was the last of the ten Iron Maiden 2 CD reissues from 1996.
So there you have it: Fear of the Dark. It’s superior to No Prayer, I believe. Both the good songs and the filler are superior. It pointed the way to some interesting new directions, mixing light and shade, and it proved that Janick Gers was an able songwriter in Iron Maiden. He had also begun to gel with Dave Murray as guitar player. Yet the album also had much filler, it would have been stronger at a traditional 9 or 10 tracks. I still have a fond place in my heart for Fear of the Dark, for it was one of many albums that helped me get through the 90’s.
But if you thought the last couple Maiden albums were controversial among fans, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
3.75/5 stars
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