The MAIDEN Years: 2018/19/20/21/22/ad infinitum (Rock in Rio and Nights of the Dead)

Hope you don't mind I go back to 2003 but this was the best sounding bootleg.
Guitarists do not have the same volume in the mix though. Janick is the softest, Adrian is heard best. Still a great, full sound and atmosphere.
(Edit: just heard Rock am Ring and there Janick is also the softest (e.g. his solo in BNW))

Enjoy!

(Great gig, I was there and I remember Bruce did some dangerous climbing. Probably during HCW. I don't think he did such daring stuff on later tours)
Oh wow, this bootleg's the first time on that tour I've heard Bruce actually pull off those screams in 22AA.
 
Mosh…firstly, thanks man. This thread of yours is so well written and thought out…alongside the two singles it has been the perfect build up to the new album release. Your critique of AMOLAD blew me away…it’s an album I love, my favourite Maiden release, and your summary nailed my thoughts too. The soloing is incredible throughout, especially Dave’s on TROBB and Adrian’s on TCDR.

SBIT…I hadn’t seen Maiden since the FOTD tour in 92, so having the band finally tour Australia again was massive. As mentioned already, the original promo spruiked a SIT/Seventh Son theme then at one stage prior to the tour I’m sure the artwork for the tour changed fairly radically to a more Powerslave/World Slavery reboot theme was promoted. I’ve been searching for the original tour poster but cannot find anything, so maybe I’m dreaming that it did change. But if the band did change their mind…perhaps in rehearsals the SIT songs didn’t sound “right”?Or perhaps they decided a SIT/SSOASS heavy setlist may not be balanced enough for stadium shows? No idea. Either way, it was a great setlist. For some reason at the time I was surprised they didn’t play The Evil The Men Do. Rime and Powerslave were highlights. And I’m glad a song from the Sydney show ended up on Flight 666.
 
Mosh…firstly, thanks man. This thread of yours is so well written and thought out…alongside the two singles it has been the perfect build up to the new album release. Your critique of AMOLAD blew me away…it’s an album I love, my favourite Maiden release, and your summary nailed my thoughts too. The soloing is incredible throughout, especially Dave’s on TROBB and Adrian’s on TCDR.

SBIT…I hadn’t seen Maiden since the FOTD tour in 92, so having the band finally tour Australia again was massive. As mentioned already, the original promo spruiked a SIT/Seventh Son theme then at one stage prior to the tour I’m sure the artwork for the tour changed fairly radically to a more Powerslave/World Slavery reboot theme was promoted. I’ve been searching for the original tour poster but cannot find anything, so maybe I’m dreaming that it did change. But if the band did change their mind…perhaps in rehearsals the SIT songs didn’t sound “right”?Or perhaps they decided a SIT/SSOASS heavy setlist may not be balanced enough for stadium shows? No idea. Either way, it was a great setlist. For some reason at the time I was surprised they didn’t play The Evil The Men Do. Rime and Powerslave were highlights. And I’m glad a song from the Sydney show ended up on Flight 666.
Thanks for the kind words, glad you are enjoying!

I remember the original promotional poster included prominently Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and Seventh Son. My interpretation was that it would be like The Early Days and they would release Live After Death, Maiden England, and maybe something from the Somewhere on Tour era to coincide with the tour. Unless I’m misremembering, they did say that a dvd release of Maiden England would shortly follow Live After Death (as in during the SBIT tour).

Pure speculation, but I don’t think they were expecting to do the Maiden England tour at this point. I think they expected that, like in the 80s, the Somewhere Back In Time tour would be a peak for them in terms of global popularity, especially in the USA. You can see a change in tone from the band’s PR as the tour continued and more shows sold out and the band was getting tons of press coverage. This all culminates in the Flight 666 theatrical film, which was probably only originally meant to be a bonus feature on a DVD. The tour extension in 2009 always felt kind of last minute, which makes me think they had a slight change of plans after seeing how successful it all was. At that point the seeds may have been planted for a full blown Seventh Son themed tour. Also note how in 2009 the number of Seventh Son songs on the set went from 3 to 1 and Moonchild/Can I Play With Madness were removed from the set, like they were saving those for later. Heaven Can Wait was also taken off. Instead we get The Evil That Men Do plus two songs from pre-1985 that probably wouldn’t fit as much on a Seventh Son theme (although they did end up playing Phantom on Maiden England tour as well, but that’s a different story).

So in short, I definitely agree that the focus of the tour shifted gears, but I think it was a more gradual process.
 
This poster shows the three eddies from PS, SIT and SSOASS prominently (plus a spitfire on the left and the floating ice blocks on the right). Back then I expected songs from all three records. I wonder how early they decided to do the Maiden England history tour.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/91/1b/0b/911b0b7032e8758b788be16e63e7dca5.jpg
 
At that point the seeds may have been planted for a full blown Seventh Son themed tour.
When you look at dates, at attendance, at sales numbers, Somewhere Back In Time was really a big shift towards what we would get in Maiden England, TBOS, and LOTB. Massive tours, all of them. This tour really proved Iron Maiden remained a force, globally, and it gave them the ability to get bigger at a time most artists would be settling into a more comfortable routine. It's really impressive how they grew. When this tour came out Ed Force One was seen as a huge gamble; now it's a disappointment when they do a traditional road tour.
 
Someone stole Adrians guitar on that tour in Greece. They would give a battle jacket and an autographed photo to anyone who would find it.
 
Flight 666 is Maiden's 2nd best live album IMO. Best version of 2MTM; the instrumental ending part (before the last "Midnight...") is one of Nicko + Steve's greatest moments.
 
The only one I've listened to in full is Live After Death, and I didn't think it lived up to its reputation.
Live After Death is the supreme metal document because it captures Maiden in the middle of their Slavery Tour problems. Bruce was distracted, trying to kill Nikki Sixx with a sword. Steve was spiritually unfulfilled because he hadn't yet built a pub in his basement. Nicko had old Parisian gambling debts to settle from his pre-Maiden days, and Davey binged on his Jimi Hendrix albums. Yet somehow they pulled it together for four nights in L.A. and put on a bitchen show. If Live After Death doesn't thrill ya, then yer probbly a commie.
 
Well I’m a commie and I think LAD is the bee’s knees so what does that mean?

haha jk
....unless
 
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