The MAIDEN Years: 2018/19/20/21/22/ad infinitum (Rock in Rio and Nights of the Dead)
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
hahaha, that is a cool way to put it. *Inserts in memory*
FTB
Stranger in a Strange Board
1999. 14 Years Old, first real concert of my life. Essen, 20th September. Man, that was special and still is the best gig i've ever witnessed. Will never forget the roaring crowd when aces high started and Bruce jumped over the monitors.
School the next day was a complete shitshow. couldn't concentrate on a single thing and was way too tired. Absolutely worth it, though.
First time i've heard Megadeth as well, thought to myself : man this singer sucks, but the riffs are a amazing. A thought i still hold 22 years later
School the next day was a complete shitshow. couldn't concentrate on a single thing and was way too tired. Absolutely worth it, though.
First time i've heard Megadeth as well, thought to myself : man this singer sucks, but the riffs are a amazing. A thought i still hold 22 years later
Rosscopolis
Trooper
When they played The Fallen Angel and OotSP at the Shepherd's Bush Empire 'RiR warm up' gigs, I was surprised by The Fallen Angel. I didn't think much of it as an album track (b-side material), but it was excellent live. Very heavy. OotSP was the opposite. I quite liked the studio version, despite it being hampered by Steve's insistence that the listener be made to wait for the gallop. And that's what made it fall (relatively) flat live. It might have been better earlier in the set when the band had more energy, but as the final encore it was a bit of an anti-climax.
Randalf
Ancient Mariner
Has anyone spotted "missing shows" from the tour dates archive on the official website?
I noticed that their visit in Finland during the Metal 2000/Brave New World tour isn't listed, but they were one of the headliners for Ruisrock that year and most definitely played there on 30th of June, right after Roskilde which was on 29th.
I noticed that their visit in Finland during the Metal 2000/Brave New World tour isn't listed, but they were one of the headliners for Ruisrock that year and most definitely played there on 30th of June, right after Roskilde which was on 29th.
Brazilian Benjamin Breeg
Educated Fool
Impressive how this sounds way better than TBOS-LC and NOTD in every aspect of the mix you can think of.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Doug Hall !
jcv
Trooper
Rosscopolis
Trooper
As a Scot, I really dislike it. Romanticised, ahistorical pish, just like the film it was based on. FREE-DUMB ad nauseam. I did like the LotB backdrop, though. That's a very cool Eddie.
Spaldy
Ancient Mariner
As a Scot, I'll take what I can get. If Maiden want to write an epic song about Scottish independence (romanticised or not) I'm not going to stop them.
Also, belting out "Freedom" at the top of my lungs in Aberdeen was the highlight of that show.
Randalf
Ancient Mariner
I can kind of understand the comments about The Clansman being "just ok" or "overrated", but at the same time I think it's one of those songs that is greatly more than a just a sum of it's parts.
Whatever it is musically, I think it has a great vibe and it's an outstanding live number. Especially with Bruce's intense and dynamic delivery. It's return to the set got a great crowd response on the first gigs of the LOTB tour and honestly, I wouldn't mind it taking Fear of the Dark's place for next tour.
Whatever it is musically, I think it has a great vibe and it's an outstanding live number. Especially with Bruce's intense and dynamic delivery. It's return to the set got a great crowd response on the first gigs of the LOTB tour and honestly, I wouldn't mind it taking Fear of the Dark's place for next tour.
DJMayes
Ancient Mariner
I like BNW a lot, but I was 5 years old when it came out. I didn't know what Iron Maiden was, let alone the context surrounding the album.
With that said, I don't hold it in quite the same reverence everyone else does and I have differing views on the best tracks (TFA > TWM). Still, wonderfully consistent album with the exception of The Nomad, which is an embarrassment.
With that said, I don't hold it in quite the same reverence everyone else does and I have differing views on the best tracks (TFA > TWM). Still, wonderfully consistent album with the exception of The Nomad, which is an embarrassment.
Rosscopolis
Trooper
Well, this North Briton (more so than a Scot now, tbh) was also at that show and would grudgingly concede it was a highlight. I fully expected it to be on a LotB equivalent of 'Live Chapter', but hey ho.As a Scot, I'll take what I can get. If Maiden want to write an epic song about Scottish independence (romanticised or not) I'm not going to stop them.
Also, belting out "Freedom" at the top of my lungs in Aberdeen was the highlight of that show.
I don't know that The Mercenary has crossed the line into legendary Maiden tracks. But in general, legendary performance, great setlist, just a huge exclamation point on the statement Iron Maiden is back!
Cosmiceddie
Back From The Edge
The Mercenary slays the Clansman...
Rock Am Ring 2003
The Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead tour holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Maiden show I attended (and my first concert). Denver, 2003. There’s even a pretty good video bootleg of the show. The concert has gained more significance in recent times as it was also the only time I got to see Dio and Motorhead live, something I’m very grateful for.
This was a really cool tour. First of all, opening with The Number of the Beast and The Trooper back to back was an awesome decision. It’s fun because you really don’t know what to expect for the rest of the concert when they’re opening with songs that traditionally go closer to the end. Even Hallowed Be Thy Name appears very early on.
We’re pretty spoiled now as many of the songs on this set have been played on several tours since, but for 2003 this was a feast of rarities. Revelations hadn’t been played since the Powerslave era, 22 Acacia Avenue hadn’t been played since 1991. Die With Your Boots On and Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter also hadn’t been played since the early 90s. And, with the exception of Revelations, those are all songs that you could still consider rarities today.
Dance of Death
Brave New World proved that this new incarnation of Maiden could be a force to be reckoned with, but Dance of Death was the album that would shed light on what kind of band Maiden would be going forward. Would they now make competent but safe albums that tread no new ground? Would the new album even matter? Other bands at this caliber and this stage in their history would occasionally make new albums but they would be instantly forgotten in the live sets. Fortunately, Dance of Death immediately demonstrates that Maiden still cares about making new music and forging new ground.
This is definitely Maiden’s most experimental album. It’s not like they’re playing free jazz or anything here, but for a band that has traditionally been fairly conservative, there are a lot of firsts on this album. Nicko’s first use of double kick, Nicko’s first songwriting contribution, the first epic penned by Adrian, the first all acoustic Maiden song, Bruce’s first time rapping on a Maiden album (…). It seems fairly obvious that the band were fully invested in figuring out what their sound was going to be going forward. With three albums (and a fourth on the way) since to provide context, it’s easy to point at elements on this album that became fixtures and elements that were abandoned right away. To that end, while this may be widely seen as the weakest reunion album (more on that later), its importance cannot be denied. This album set the trajectory for each one to come. For that reason, I believe Dance of Death is actually the most important album they ever made. It’s also the most interesting to talk about because fan opinion on it has shifted quite a bit over the years and with each new album it seems to become less relevant in the Maiden canon. Again, more on that later.
With this album you see two paths emerging for Maiden. There’s the classic style short rockers in Wildest Dreams, Rainmaker (imagine a Maiden song under 4 minutes!) and Montsegur. There are the epics primarily in Paschendale and Dance of Death, but you also get progressive elements in No More Lies and Face in the Sand. They do both very well, and unlike future albums, it doesn’t really feel like they’re pulling in any one direction. I can easily see a scenario where Paschendale and Dance of Death aren’t quite as strong and Maiden decides that the classic rockers thing is the way to go. The rockers on this album are very strong and they’re trying new things in this area too. Wildest Dreams is uncharacteristically upbeat (it’s even in a major key!). Rainmaker has a 70s hard rock vibe with the bluesy fills and the form is kinda interesting, it seems to jump between what feels like two different choruses for most of the song. New Frontier, obviously, is treading new ground with Nicko as a songwriter. It also feels like Adrian is working up his songwriting chops again with some of these. My favorite of these short rockers, however, is Montsegur. How this song didn’t get played live is crazy to me. There are only a small handful of never played songs that really should’ve been played live and this is one of them. It’s classic Maiden. It’s got the riffs, awesome instrumental works, awesome chorus, cool lyrics. If you want a modern 80’s Maiden track, it’s hard to get closer than that.
Then you have the epics. One thing that feels missing with BNW is that the epic game isn’t quite as strong as it was on the Blaze albums. Dream of Mirrors is cool, but it seems in general that the big epics weren’t really priority on this album. With Dance of Death, not only do we get a return of the epics but they’re much more story-telling based like the epics of the 80s. No More Lies is a bit of a mixed bag. I want to say it was more popular 15 years ago. I like it mostly for the three guitar onslaught in the instrumental section and I actually really like Steve’s lyrics. Really nice vivid imagery, classic subject matter. But the real meat of this album can be found in Dance of Death and Paschendale. Now Paschendale is an interesting one. When I first joined this forum, before the release of TFF, Paschendale was hyped up as a top 10 Maiden song, if not the greatest of all Maiden songs. Nowadays that feels like a fringe opinion. My relationship with the song mirrors that. It’s a fantastic song and unlike anything Maiden had done before. Vivid lyrics that put you right in the trenches, devastating riffing, some of the best lead guitar work in a Maiden song, huge dynamics. But then Maiden made a whole album of war epics, most of which are better than Paschendale. And beyond that we’ve really been spoiled by the epics. I really think that circumstance has shaped opinion of this song. Paschendale has gone from being a unique part of the Maiden catalog and a peak in creativity to being just one of many. It’s like Phantom of the Opera. An early example, still a great song, but also the foundation for many great things to come.
Dance of Death, the title track, is imo the song that has aged the best from this album. It’s so melodic, so adventurous, and busts a ton of Maiden tropes. The long acoustic beginning portion is really unique, as is the way the acoustic guitar carries throughout the song. The folk-y element of the lyrics is really refreshing compared to Steve’s more word salad-y lyrics. The song doesn’t really have a chorus, which keeps everything moving forward and staying fresh. The song is chock full of fantastic guitar melodies and harmonies. It just does everything right. And, unlike Paschendale, it’s an approach that Maiden has replicated only a couple of times since. Off the top of my head, When the Wild Wind Blows and Empire of the Clouds are probably the closest. There have been a few other Janick acoustic epics too, obviously, but they have felt more conventional in form.
When talking about this album, I find myself spending most of the time comparing it to other works. Recognizing elements of the band’s past sounds or elements of later material. This is where Dance of Death falters. It does a lot of different stuff, but every new element introduced here has either been done better on subsequent albums or just wasn’t that interesting to begin with (the novelty of the acoustic song is nice but Journeyman is only OK and I don’t need to hear them do anything like that again). If we were back in 2005 and the lineup had only made BNW and Dance of Death, I could see why people prefer Dance of Death. It feels like a step forward for sure and they reach heights that aren’t heard on Brave New World. But in 2021, if I need my progressive Maiden fix I’m going to listen to A Matter of Life and Death. If I need something that’s more straightforward with great sound and variety, I’m going to put on Brave New World. Dance of Death kinda sits in the middle. I guess a lot of it is also just that Maiden has gone on to really exceed expectations since then. I don’t think anyone expected Maiden to be putting out some of their best work in the later stages of their career. Dance of Death is a good album, and one that is very impressive for a band 23 years in, but they’ve gone on to do so much better.
Death On the Road
First of all, I really enjoy Melvyn Grant’s artwork for this album. It’s way better than what they came up with for Dance of Death and makes me wonder why they didn’t go for Grant in the first place.
Going from Rock In Rio to Death on the Road is similar to the progression from Live After Death to Maiden England. Much less bombastic, smaller venue, etc. Where Rock In the Rio was presenting the band as larger than life, Death On the Road seems to be a more “slice of life” document of one of many shows on this particular tour. There isn’t really anything special about this show specifically, but it’s a nice document of a “regular” Maiden concert. On the other hand, it feels like a much less powerful performance. Bruce sounds tired on a lot of it (I understand he was suffering from a cold at the time). Songs that had a lot of power on Rock In Rio, like Wrathchild, Run To the Hills, and The Trooper feel more like they’re going through the motions. On some songs, the tempo actually feels kinda slow! Although we’re pretty spoiled
Death on the Road is the beginning of a trend where Maiden’s new album tours had less interesting setlists than the nostalgia tours, outside of the selection of new songs for the most part. With the exception of Lord of the Flies and Can I Play With Madness (both of which are nice rarities which also just don’t go down very well live), every non-Dance of Death track appeared previously on Rock in Rio. Most of these also represent the band’s most documented live songs. After coming off the Give Me Ed tour where they were playing quite a few rarities, it’s strange that Die With Your Boots On or Revelations didn’t make the cut. Even Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter would’ve been an interesting addition. I understand they’re trying to balance the setlist by playing it safe with the classics, but they definitely have more than the standard 7 or 8 songs that casual fans would enjoy (The Book of Souls tour proved this imo).
The selection of Dance of Death songs is pretty good. It’s pretty much what you would expect, although Journeyman is a really cool surprise and a unique live Maiden moment. It’s great to have live performances of Paschendale and Death on the Road which aren’t hampered by the clipping of the studio version. As I mentioned before, the absence of Montsegur is pretty egregious, but other than that it’s hard to complain about the new songs.
Although I have my complaints about the performance and setlist, this show was a visual feast. It’s one of my favorite Maiden videos to watch. Great stage production, really nice lighting, some awesome theatrical elements. Finally Maiden was back to the incredible stage shows of the 80s. Not only that, but they were breaking some new ground with the stage show.
By the way, as far as I know, Lord of the Flies 2003 is the only time Maiden has changed keys for a song. Anyone know the story behind this? I doubt it was to help Bruce, they never change keys on other songs he’s struggled on and it seems more likely that they’d just opt not to play the song.
The Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead tour holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Maiden show I attended (and my first concert). Denver, 2003. There’s even a pretty good video bootleg of the show. The concert has gained more significance in recent times as it was also the only time I got to see Dio and Motorhead live, something I’m very grateful for.
This was a really cool tour. First of all, opening with The Number of the Beast and The Trooper back to back was an awesome decision. It’s fun because you really don’t know what to expect for the rest of the concert when they’re opening with songs that traditionally go closer to the end. Even Hallowed Be Thy Name appears very early on.
We’re pretty spoiled now as many of the songs on this set have been played on several tours since, but for 2003 this was a feast of rarities. Revelations hadn’t been played since the Powerslave era, 22 Acacia Avenue hadn’t been played since 1991. Die With Your Boots On and Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter also hadn’t been played since the early 90s. And, with the exception of Revelations, those are all songs that you could still consider rarities today.
Dance of Death
Brave New World proved that this new incarnation of Maiden could be a force to be reckoned with, but Dance of Death was the album that would shed light on what kind of band Maiden would be going forward. Would they now make competent but safe albums that tread no new ground? Would the new album even matter? Other bands at this caliber and this stage in their history would occasionally make new albums but they would be instantly forgotten in the live sets. Fortunately, Dance of Death immediately demonstrates that Maiden still cares about making new music and forging new ground.
This is definitely Maiden’s most experimental album. It’s not like they’re playing free jazz or anything here, but for a band that has traditionally been fairly conservative, there are a lot of firsts on this album. Nicko’s first use of double kick, Nicko’s first songwriting contribution, the first epic penned by Adrian, the first all acoustic Maiden song, Bruce’s first time rapping on a Maiden album (…). It seems fairly obvious that the band were fully invested in figuring out what their sound was going to be going forward. With three albums (and a fourth on the way) since to provide context, it’s easy to point at elements on this album that became fixtures and elements that were abandoned right away. To that end, while this may be widely seen as the weakest reunion album (more on that later), its importance cannot be denied. This album set the trajectory for each one to come. For that reason, I believe Dance of Death is actually the most important album they ever made. It’s also the most interesting to talk about because fan opinion on it has shifted quite a bit over the years and with each new album it seems to become less relevant in the Maiden canon. Again, more on that later.
With this album you see two paths emerging for Maiden. There’s the classic style short rockers in Wildest Dreams, Rainmaker (imagine a Maiden song under 4 minutes!) and Montsegur. There are the epics primarily in Paschendale and Dance of Death, but you also get progressive elements in No More Lies and Face in the Sand. They do both very well, and unlike future albums, it doesn’t really feel like they’re pulling in any one direction. I can easily see a scenario where Paschendale and Dance of Death aren’t quite as strong and Maiden decides that the classic rockers thing is the way to go. The rockers on this album are very strong and they’re trying new things in this area too. Wildest Dreams is uncharacteristically upbeat (it’s even in a major key!). Rainmaker has a 70s hard rock vibe with the bluesy fills and the form is kinda interesting, it seems to jump between what feels like two different choruses for most of the song. New Frontier, obviously, is treading new ground with Nicko as a songwriter. It also feels like Adrian is working up his songwriting chops again with some of these. My favorite of these short rockers, however, is Montsegur. How this song didn’t get played live is crazy to me. There are only a small handful of never played songs that really should’ve been played live and this is one of them. It’s classic Maiden. It’s got the riffs, awesome instrumental works, awesome chorus, cool lyrics. If you want a modern 80’s Maiden track, it’s hard to get closer than that.
Then you have the epics. One thing that feels missing with BNW is that the epic game isn’t quite as strong as it was on the Blaze albums. Dream of Mirrors is cool, but it seems in general that the big epics weren’t really priority on this album. With Dance of Death, not only do we get a return of the epics but they’re much more story-telling based like the epics of the 80s. No More Lies is a bit of a mixed bag. I want to say it was more popular 15 years ago. I like it mostly for the three guitar onslaught in the instrumental section and I actually really like Steve’s lyrics. Really nice vivid imagery, classic subject matter. But the real meat of this album can be found in Dance of Death and Paschendale. Now Paschendale is an interesting one. When I first joined this forum, before the release of TFF, Paschendale was hyped up as a top 10 Maiden song, if not the greatest of all Maiden songs. Nowadays that feels like a fringe opinion. My relationship with the song mirrors that. It’s a fantastic song and unlike anything Maiden had done before. Vivid lyrics that put you right in the trenches, devastating riffing, some of the best lead guitar work in a Maiden song, huge dynamics. But then Maiden made a whole album of war epics, most of which are better than Paschendale. And beyond that we’ve really been spoiled by the epics. I really think that circumstance has shaped opinion of this song. Paschendale has gone from being a unique part of the Maiden catalog and a peak in creativity to being just one of many. It’s like Phantom of the Opera. An early example, still a great song, but also the foundation for many great things to come.
Dance of Death, the title track, is imo the song that has aged the best from this album. It’s so melodic, so adventurous, and busts a ton of Maiden tropes. The long acoustic beginning portion is really unique, as is the way the acoustic guitar carries throughout the song. The folk-y element of the lyrics is really refreshing compared to Steve’s more word salad-y lyrics. The song doesn’t really have a chorus, which keeps everything moving forward and staying fresh. The song is chock full of fantastic guitar melodies and harmonies. It just does everything right. And, unlike Paschendale, it’s an approach that Maiden has replicated only a couple of times since. Off the top of my head, When the Wild Wind Blows and Empire of the Clouds are probably the closest. There have been a few other Janick acoustic epics too, obviously, but they have felt more conventional in form.
When talking about this album, I find myself spending most of the time comparing it to other works. Recognizing elements of the band’s past sounds or elements of later material. This is where Dance of Death falters. It does a lot of different stuff, but every new element introduced here has either been done better on subsequent albums or just wasn’t that interesting to begin with (the novelty of the acoustic song is nice but Journeyman is only OK and I don’t need to hear them do anything like that again). If we were back in 2005 and the lineup had only made BNW and Dance of Death, I could see why people prefer Dance of Death. It feels like a step forward for sure and they reach heights that aren’t heard on Brave New World. But in 2021, if I need my progressive Maiden fix I’m going to listen to A Matter of Life and Death. If I need something that’s more straightforward with great sound and variety, I’m going to put on Brave New World. Dance of Death kinda sits in the middle. I guess a lot of it is also just that Maiden has gone on to really exceed expectations since then. I don’t think anyone expected Maiden to be putting out some of their best work in the later stages of their career. Dance of Death is a good album, and one that is very impressive for a band 23 years in, but they’ve gone on to do so much better.
Death On the Road
First of all, I really enjoy Melvyn Grant’s artwork for this album. It’s way better than what they came up with for Dance of Death and makes me wonder why they didn’t go for Grant in the first place.
Going from Rock In Rio to Death on the Road is similar to the progression from Live After Death to Maiden England. Much less bombastic, smaller venue, etc. Where Rock In the Rio was presenting the band as larger than life, Death On the Road seems to be a more “slice of life” document of one of many shows on this particular tour. There isn’t really anything special about this show specifically, but it’s a nice document of a “regular” Maiden concert. On the other hand, it feels like a much less powerful performance. Bruce sounds tired on a lot of it (I understand he was suffering from a cold at the time). Songs that had a lot of power on Rock In Rio, like Wrathchild, Run To the Hills, and The Trooper feel more like they’re going through the motions. On some songs, the tempo actually feels kinda slow! Although we’re pretty spoiled
Death on the Road is the beginning of a trend where Maiden’s new album tours had less interesting setlists than the nostalgia tours, outside of the selection of new songs for the most part. With the exception of Lord of the Flies and Can I Play With Madness (both of which are nice rarities which also just don’t go down very well live), every non-Dance of Death track appeared previously on Rock in Rio. Most of these also represent the band’s most documented live songs. After coming off the Give Me Ed tour where they were playing quite a few rarities, it’s strange that Die With Your Boots On or Revelations didn’t make the cut. Even Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter would’ve been an interesting addition. I understand they’re trying to balance the setlist by playing it safe with the classics, but they definitely have more than the standard 7 or 8 songs that casual fans would enjoy (The Book of Souls tour proved this imo).
The selection of Dance of Death songs is pretty good. It’s pretty much what you would expect, although Journeyman is a really cool surprise and a unique live Maiden moment. It’s great to have live performances of Paschendale and Death on the Road which aren’t hampered by the clipping of the studio version. As I mentioned before, the absence of Montsegur is pretty egregious, but other than that it’s hard to complain about the new songs.
Although I have my complaints about the performance and setlist, this show was a visual feast. It’s one of my favorite Maiden videos to watch. Great stage production, really nice lighting, some awesome theatrical elements. Finally Maiden was back to the incredible stage shows of the 80s. Not only that, but they were breaking some new ground with the stage show.
By the way, as far as I know, Lord of the Flies 2003 is the only time Maiden has changed keys for a song. Anyone know the story behind this? I doubt it was to help Bruce, they never change keys on other songs he’s struggled on and it seems more likely that they’d just opt not to play the song.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Ah, that explains.
Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
I always thought that they probably decided to change keys while rehearsing so that Bruce can do the octave jump in the chorus.