Iron Maiden

"Death on the Road"

Rating:                         

Iron Maiden has become the new Megadeth in terms of releasing Best Of-collections, live albums and DVDs, instead of focusing on new material. I hate that. Especially since these two bands don’t need to release collections period, as they are both Main Players from an era when albums were complete in themselves, with every song fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. But whereas Mustaine was just working off the remainder of his Megadeth slave contract with Capitol, before his Mustaine solo-deal could come in effect, Maiden has no such excuse. Maiden has proved themselves still potentially capable of continuously making great music, even at this late stage of their career,  and it is regrettable that they have fallen into the sell out-trap.

Never mind. We are here to check out the new live album, right? "Death On The Road”, released both as a double CD and a DVD, true to "Rock in Rio" form.  This review is for the Compact Disc only.

Recorded in Dortmund in 2003, the album kicks off with the mandatory symphonic opera score before launching into “Wildest Dreams”. I never liked this track much. It was the weakest track on"Dance of Death” and not very representative of what Maiden sounds like today. Bruce sounded tired on the album, singing this song, and sounds lame again here live. Maybe this song just doesn’t sit well with his voice? The crowd seems to enjoy it, though, and sings along loud enough to rival the crowds from past live albums. Even the Brazil nuts.

Then follows a bunch of classics like “Wrathchild”, “Can I Play With Madness” and “The Trooper”. These songs, of course, come as no big surprises as they are “must haves” in a Maiden set list (unless you enjoy massive riots) and sound exactly like they have always done. That’s a good thing in this case. Flawlessly executed masterpieces. What can you say? Classic metal just doesn’t come any better than this. Some people don’t like Bruce singing the old Di’Anno songs. Snap the fuck out of it already. Bruce has been in the band so fucking long that he has made those songs his own by now. I never hear anybody complaining that Nicko’s overplayed boring ass predictable drumming is a disgrace to Clive Burr’s wonderful tight straight forward rhythms on the songs from the three first albums, so shut the fuck up. Paul did great on those songs a million years ago, but that was then. If you like him so much, go down to your local dive bar where the village idiots drink for free, and catch his solo band performing for five drunks and a toothless old whore. If you buy him lunch maybe he’ll sign your goddamn “Killers” album too. Whiney ass bitches.

The overall production on the album is very good and really allows you to actually hear the audience singing along, without sounding over-dubbed or voiced-over in the post-mix (which I am sure they did anyway - hey, what else should they use all those fancy mixing gadgets for?)

Anyway…

Next up is the title track of the touring album in question, “Dance Of Death”. Such a great track. I really liked their latest album and think they have found their old groove again with these epic songs that feature instrumental passages and the shifting between heavy and slower parts. Perfect performance from the band, with Bruce’s voice in spectacular theatrical form. The way he reads the lyrics into his singing comes across very convincingly here. A “Hallowed Be Thy Name” for a new generation. (In certain places it does have that “To Tame a Land” sound to it though, almost ripping the old song off at times.)

Same thing with “Rainmaker”. It is a great track that could have come straight out of any old Maiden album. Unfortunately Bruce sounds a little out of breath on this one. Excellent guitar playing from the axe-trio saves the song. I think that is where they have picked up the dropped ball from the past the most. The harmonies and twin leads are back, showing the boring Power Metal bands of today how this style of playing is supposed to sound.

The only song from “Brave New World” is the title track. Even though that album had some flaws, it was still one of the greatest comebacks in modern time. That album was a fist in the face of any doubters. It still stands well on its own.

Overall, so far, I am very much enjoying hearing the newer tracks. If I want to hear old Maiden I could always put on “Live After Death” and crack out to old memories. What would be the point to record the same album again? “Death on the Road” is like the complimentary album to that old Maiden classic. Not a rival for the title.

“Paschendale” kicks fucking ass. Best track of “Dance of Death” and destined to become a future Maiden vintage classic, right up there with “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” and “Fear of the Dark”. It has that ”Alexander the Great” feel to it, carrying the true sense of what an epic song should be all about. Great lyrics, cool breakdowns, tempo changes, melodic interludes and excellent hooks. The string samples infuse the song with majestic powers.

So what the fuck is this?

“Lord of the Flies”?

Are they fucking high?

One of the worst songs Maiden has ever recorded from THE worst Maiden album ever. Did they put that on here just to piss me the fuck off? Obviously the crack binge the band was on when they hired on Blaze Bailey to record songs like this, has its side effects to this day. Maybe it was just to piss Bruce off? “Hey, Bruce! Let’s play Lord of the Flies!” – “Play what?” – “Yeah, you know. You made us play Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter.” – “Fuck you.” – “No, Bruce, fuck YOU!” I don’t know what’s worse… The song itself or the fact that the German audience seems to dig it. Dumbasses.

And then, to make up for the horror of “Lord of the Flies”, we get treated to a magnificent trilogy, showcasing the band’s greatness through time: “No More Lies”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and “Fear of the Dark”. I would buy the album just for these three songs, played back to back. Beautiful and true. I changed my mind. “No More Lies” is the best song on “Dance of Death”. Fucking sue me.

After oldest meets newest in “Iron Maiden” and “Journey Man”, we get the standard finale with “The Number of the Beast” and “Run to the Hills”.

Note, if you will, all the songs that were NOT on here. Yes, of course songs like “2 Minutes to Midnight”, “Powerslave” and “Children of the Damned” are classics, but hand on heart… haven’t we heard them to the point where they are on perpetual repeat in the back of our minds at all times anyway? Do we really need another live album with those songs? I think Maiden picked wisely among their old and new, with the exception for the song that shall not be named no more, of course.

What really hit home the hardest with this album is how good the new songs sound next to the old ones. This is almost like a seamless journey in time.

As far as I’m concerned, this is “Live After Death – Part 2”, and is a much better testament to a new Maiden than “Rock in Rio”.

- Skeletal Grace

Reviewed by:

Skeletal Grace

Artwork used with permission from Neverland Music Inc.