Live After Death New Mexico

Live After Death

Iron Maiden

Raw Power Records, 1985

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/17/1998

Some live albums work. Not as a cheap way to sell more albumswithout doing any recorded time in the studio, but as albums thatgenuinely add to a band's collection of work. That is especiallyevident if the band is known for delivering a great live show.Dozens of albums come to mind. Bob Dylan's electrifying live albumreleased this year, Nirvana's MTV show that showcased their softerside and James Brown's live stuff comes to mind. Oh yeah, and IronMaiden as well.

Yup. 'Dis the Irons as much as you want, but in the '80s theywere known for their over-the-top theatrical shows. Their Powerslave era was the beginning of an era where the stageof an Iron Maiden concert looked like it could make afootball-sized stadium look cramped. The full-Egyptian stage of Powerslave provides the basis of their excellent Live After Death CD.

The introduction is pure heavy metal camp at its finest: Asprawling speech by Winston Churchill. After Churchill declares,"We Will Never Surrender", the thunderous "Aces High" comes on.It's Maiden's declaration of war and for the next hour, Maiden ownsyour boom box.

Bruce Dickinson's vocals (sorry folks, he IS the voice of IronMaiden, as much as Sean Connery is James Bond) translates extremlywell live. Many of the songs, especially "Two Minutes To Midnight,""Powerslave" and "The Number Of The Beast" sound very much like thestudio versions.