Iron Maiden: Death On The Road

When you look at the releases of Iron Maiden over the last couple of years it seems that while they manage to release a studio piece on a regular basis, they are also releasing a good amount of live recordings and Greatest Hits packages. There have been so many in fact that it would amaze you if you added them up. This one intends to keep your collection growing ever more as what Iron Maiden seems to be doing these days is releasing a live album for each tour they do. This has been the case since the CD Brave New World begat the live release Rock In Rio. Entitled Death On The Road this particular live opus brings us some of the music performed in support of the Dance Of Death CD. It was recorded in the Westfalenhalle Arena, Dortmund, Germany during the European leg of the Dance of Death World tour. Of the 16 tracks we get from Maiden on this CD, a full 6 of them are from the last studio album. That is a pretty big sampling of new material to absorb and while it might seem excessive it does stand to generate a little more interest in the studio recording. As far as the "expected" tunes this includes all of the standards: "The Trooper", "Number Of The Beast", "Hallowed Be Thy Name" etc. and even touches upon some other soon to be classics like "Can I Play With Madness". Given their mixing the classic material with a fair amount of new tunes any discriminating Iron Maiden fan should be pleased. A fair amount of "classic" material and "new" tracks for any discriminating fan. It is also different enough from Rock In Rio which is smart for releasing two live CD's almost consecutively that are too similar would cause both items to suffer in the sales end.

I would have to say that this live release was pretty good but as a fan I admit I enjoyed Dance Of Death a little more than I did Brave New World so it's a matter of choice in what you prefer. "Wildest Dreams", the CD's opener is a kick-ass live tune and "Dance Of Death" also translates well in a live situation. I think the band has also come to their own as a group with three lead guitar players now. Dickinson is in very good form over the thundering bass of Steve Harris and drumming of McBrain. The trio of Smith, Gers and Murray continually impress and sound great. The Die-hard Maiden fans will purchase this no matter what but I feel the casual fan or live album fan in general can easily enjoy this as well. On the packaging side there is a booklet full of photos from the tour but no real liner notes from the band. Given each CD seems to mirror a particular tour these days it would have been excellent to have some band perspectives and thoughts on the whole run of shows. Maiden has been around long enough to be interesting and insightful on most occasions. Give it a listen and remember "Up The Irons"!!!!

Track Listing
1. Wildest Dreams
2. Wrathchild
3. Can I Play With Madness
4. The Troopers
5. Dance Of Death
6. Rainmaker
7. Brave New World
8. Paschendale
9. Lord Of The Flies
10. No More Lies
11. Hallowed Be Thy Name
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden
14. Journeyman
15. The Number Of The Beast
16. Run To The Hills

Added: October 25th 2005
Reviewer: Ken Pierce
Score:
Related Link: Iron Maiden Website
Hits: 4692
Language: english

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