Iron Maiden - EN VIVO - Live from Estadio Nacional, Santiago!!

Are they actually trying to play in perfect sync? I don't think so...sounds great having two guitarists carve out the same solo adding their own unique sound and style.
 
Ranko said:
@chaosapiant - actually, they're very much out of sync during the shared solo in The Trooper; they pulled off TETMD much better (but nowhere near perfect).
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True, but them being slightly out of sync is the only way I noticed it in the first place. That speaks volumes about their skill. :)
 
From Kevin Shirley's Facebook page:

Someone asked him:

why in some songs Adrian is on the right and then jumps to the left during another song? Dave is constantly on the left, but Janick and H jump around through the different songs.

And he answered:

3 guitars are very difficult to balance, plus 'Arry's bass is in the centre with lots of treble, so that's more difficult. I like the way some of old live Maiden sounds with 2 guitars, so on En Vivo! I sometimes choose the main guitar to be the frame of the picture. It's a musical choice - I hope it doesn't distract you too much.
 
It's not jumping around. As I said Adrian is only three times on the right, so only 3 songs are "different" in this context. I like it. It doesn't distract, it can challenge the mind of the Maiden fan but I bet there are millions who wouldn't even have noticed.
 
Yeah, but they do play the same notes (or try to play the same notes), so musically it would make sense to play in unison. For example, it's what Dream Theater's Petrucci and Rudess often do on guitar and keyboard, respectively.
 
Hmm. They play a lot of harmonising stuff (some quite tricky) already though. I just get the impression H leads (literally) & Janick likes to play slightly off him. I think they aim to play it, the way they do.
 
Harmonies is one thing; they've always been a dual harmony band. But, for some reason the knowledge that they are doing dual leads floors me. But, i'm easily amused, and can't even tell who is playing what solo half the time...unless it's Janick. He's easy to pick out.
 
If you can pick out Janick, then you can tell Dave & H apart too. They're styles are all quite distinct. Also, the tone of each is slightly different.
 
Being from Chile myself, I was present at the concert. I can say that this is one of Maiden's finest performances; although, in my opinion, it will never top LAD. Some songs didn't really shine (The Trooper, for example), while others like Hallowed Be Thy Name, The Number Of The Beast and Blood Brothers were nearly flawless! I am really happy with this DVD, just another proof that Maiden gets better the older they get. Too bad I didn't appear in the DVD, though :( haha
 
I finally watched the DVD.
If I can say, "yeah there is something special" this is Adrian. All the best for him :) he did a really great job and I'm sure he will every time.
 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
I don't think they're trying to play exactly in sync. --what would be the point in that? I think they want you to hear both guitarists.
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Generally, musicians do try to play in perfect sync. Such a feat is nearly impossible; the human ear can detect non-synchronous tones even if the difference is a millisecond. When it's that close, you won't hear it "consciously", but your ear and brain detect it, and the sound is recognized as "thicker" because of those tiny variations. On a different scale (and in a different genre), it's why the violin section of an orchestra sounds fuller than a single violin, even when the violins in the orchestra are so close that you can't consciously pick out any single player.

In other rock applications, many singers and guitarists double their parts in the studio to thicken up the sound. That's the point: the total sound, not showing off the people making it.
 
I have a slightly simplistic opinion on The Trooper and The Evil That Men Do solos that doesn't involve phase shift calculations, waveform analysis and sound thickening -

- Adrian leaves the band and Janick joins.
- Of all the Adrian solos that Janick is playing live, Trooper and Evil That Men Do come closest to the originals.
- Adrian joins again and they decide it would be cool if they tried doing those solos together.
- The crowds cheered, the band noticed, and so it continued.

I also don't believe one guy follows another. They both have their ways of playing the solos, which they have learnt, and they just play at the right time.
 
That's pretty much my take on it too... Adrian left and came back and they thought "Well it's not fair to leave Adrian with no solo's, and we can't just say sorry Janick but your not needed for them now. Let's double them up!". I'd like to see Adrian doing Hallowed solo again once in a while though.
 
Hmmm... I don't think anyone disagrees with why it happened (Janick always did play these pretty close to the originals --so the choice was an obvious one), but it's still fair comment to discuss what it sounds like.

In The Evil That Men Do they do play the same thing; it's pretty note-for-note. But if you listen to The Trooper, in particular on En Vivo! (from 02:16), they are not playing the same lead note-for-note. This is deliberate. Adrian isn't even playing the same fast repeating section they way he normally does; it sounds like he's tapping with a slightly higher note than normal. And Janick always bends (at the end) in harmony after Adrian. You may call this playing the same thing. I don't.

As for H's original Hallowed lead --I think Janick's (sometimes, like on RiR) is better.
 
I do like Janicks solo on RiR, it was one of my favourite solo's full stop for a while, but Janick has a tendency to do very wild solo's whereas H's are much more precise, I'd like to see Adrian do a solo for it occasionally, see if he does anything different to the album version (esp with the solo now going on longer than it used to when played live).
 
Hmmm... I don't think anyone disagrees with why it happened (Janick always did play these pretty close to the originals --so the choice was an obvious one), but it's still fair comment to discuss what it sounds like.
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Fair point.

I think the guys improvise the solos more and more each tour. With the 2 solos we are talking about here they have to follow a basic structure, but as you say Adrian is even stepping outside of that now! Ad lib seems to be a theme of his during this recording!!
 
It is (Crimson Idol) interesting how much longer Janick improvises over this part in HbtN. In RiR the fast end sequence is spectacular, but in En Vivo! it's a little more scrappy sounding, with the timing just not quite so sweet as in RiR. Either way, there's absolutely nothing like that in the original; & although H loves his tapping work (e.g. recent example on 2MtMN), Janick's technique here is damn effective. Both Davey & Janick are absolutely on fire in that version --that's one of my favourite live lead sections, full stop. (That & Davey's Breeg a Donnington 2007).
 
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