Warthur Although the return of Bruce Dickinson to Iron Maiden is something to cherish, Brave New World is equally special for offering the return of Adrian Smith. Indeed, arguably it's Smith's departure after Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, rather than Bruce quitting after Fear of the Dark, which really marked the beginning of the band's mid-career slump, because whilst the Blaze Bayley era is often derided it isn't as though the two Smith-less albums featuring Bruce on vocals were top-flight additions to the Maiden discography.

As it stands, Brave New World feels like the band picking up where they left off after Seventh Son, as though the intervening albums were just a bad dream. The expanded three-guitar lineup gives the band confidence to get back to more complex song structures and lavish, layered arrangements which they may otherwise have struggled to reproduce live, whilst Bruce sounds as fresh as ever. I wouldn't quite call it a classic, but I certainly like it better than Somewhere In Time, and that means it deserves to be embraced in the Maiden canon.

Sinkadotentree Studio album number 15 for these guys and they haven't missed a beat. This kind of reminds me of RUSH and their latest as both bands have drifted into proggier waters late in their careers. And hey why not ? It's not like either band needs the money, so they are making the music that brings THEM pleasure...and a lot of the fans too. Of course with both band's latest recordings there are many long time fans who don't like the directions they've taken. My only two complaints about this latest MAIDEN offering is the length of it and that it's fairly wordy. Despite those minor issues this record brings me a lot of joy. Amazing cover art here too by the way. Tough to pick out the highlights because this album is very consistant but i'll start with the opening track "Satellite 15...The Final Frontier". That industrial sounding intro is incredible then Bruce comes in as we get told the beginning of this story. "El Dorado" simply kicks ass. The first two songs really work well together. "Isle Of Avalon" sounds so god to start as Dickinson's reserved vocals join in. It kicks in around 3 minutes. Nice. "Starblind" sounds incredible when they kick in before a minute. This album has taken me much longer to appreciate than past MAIDEN records but that's not a bad thing at all.

Sinkadotentree For me this is an improvement over "Dance of Death" the previous album. Especially the cover art which more than makes up for the lame cover of "Dance Of Death". Highlights for me are first of all the track "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns". Now the two songs before it are great as well but this one has some killer sections in it. I like they way they contrast the heavy parts with the more laid back ones. And check out Harris on bass ! Another highlight is "Lord Of Light" which starts off slowly before all hell breaks loose. Great track ! My other top three is "The Legacy" which is relaxed early on before that excellent rhythm section comes to the fore as it picks up. There are many highlights on this record and I like they way they mix things up. An impressive release.

Sinkadotentree Probably the worst cover art of all the MAIDEN studio albums but at least the music impresses. They continue along the same path as the comeback album "Brave New World" but this just isn't nearly as good in my opinion. "Wildest Dreams" doesn't exactly start off on the right foot considering it's my least favourite track but it's still good. "Rainmaker" has some killer groundwork as the bass and drums impress and Bruce sings his heart out. "No More Lies" starts off pastoral before building. Great 2 minute instrumental section before it ends as it began. "Montsegur" is about a civilization from the Middle Ages. Holy crap this is heavey to start. Thunderous rhythm section here. The title track is the longest at over 8 1/2 minutes. This is my favourite tune with Bruce telling us a story. "Gates Of Tomorrow" opens with some cool sounding guitar before everyone eventually joins in. "New Frontier" is such a good hard hitting track while "Paschendale" reminds me of that classic MAIDEN sound. Killer tune about a WWI battle. "Face In The Sand" builds until we get some ground shaking drums and bass. Check out the blistering guitar later. "The Age Of Innocence" is beautiful to start before it kicks in around a minute. Nice. "Journeyman" doesn't even sound like them with the orchestral bits and lighter sound. Interesting though. So an excellent album that's well worth 4 stars in my books.

Sinkadotentree After four very average albums in the nineties IRON MAIDEN started a new decade in style. Of course the return of Dickinson and Smith has a lot to do with how great this album sounds. Love the album cover too, my favorite from them. My cd cover has all kinds of smudges on it because i got to know this really well one year down in Florida, so yeah lots of finger prints that were covered in sun-tan lotion. "The Wicker Man" starts the album off with plenty of heaviness as Bruce joins the fray. Great chorus and i like the vocal melodies late to end it. "Ghost Of The Navigator" is even better in my opinion. The lyrics and rhythm section shine here. Head banging time ! I just can't say enough about this one. "Brave New World" is my favourite song on here. The relaxed beginning with reserved vocals are all blown away 1 1/2 minutes in. Nice ! Contrasts will continue in this amazing tune. "Blood Brothers" has this almost waltz-like rhythm and some orchestration that comes and goes. An interesting track. "The Mercenary" is balls to the wall all the way. An uptempo burner except on the chorus. "Dream Of Mirrors" is the longest tune at almost 9 1/2 minutes. A cool tune but i'm not a fan of the intro. The rest is a real trip though. "The Fallen Angel" kicks ass with those earth moving bass lines and pounding drums. "The Nomad" is a top three track. How freaking good does this sound ! Man ! "Out Of The Silent Planet" is another killer tune. Lots of tempo shifts along with the galloping rhythm. Great instrumental section 4 minutes in as well. "The Thin Line Between Love & Hate" has this excellent heavy intro. The vocals are fairly fast paced. Just a fantastic return to form by the band. So impressive.

AtomicCrimsonRush I enjoyed this rockumentary on the Irons thoroughly because it did not try to emulate the plethora of other rockumentaries we have all seen that focus on the infighting of stage crews and band members encountering one disaster after another (Metallica, Anvil) and then at the end they all make up and play their last song together. The Spinal Tappiness of such docos is worn out now. This doco on Maiden does the opposite, very little goes wrong and the band are always in high spirits, having fun and getting on. Now they have grown up, even their families go on the road with them. They commend each other in interviews as essential to the band and all have positive things to say as to the role of each member. They like to tease the air hostesses with annoying songs to the tune of Go West, and they play tricks on each other. They reference Monty Python and other British icons. They always have time for the fans, rabid for an autograph. The music is as good as ever and they are one of the bands who actually bother to visit cities or towns that are rarely visited by other massive groups. The fans are so grateful we see them pour out adoration and even tears for their beloved Irons. One cries his soul out when getting a drumstick during a show. It is a very moving scene, he has obviously been touched by the experience.

The doco is a powerful look at how to stay together as a band, they do not drink and do drugs liberally, instead take their music seriously and give everything to the fans and into the albums. They always seem upbeat in their approach to life, and I was quite taken aback by the optimism of all concerned and it was refreshing. Being in a band and making millions should be an experience to savour, not be burdened with. The crew seem to love their work and do not take it for granted. There are none of the obligatory shots of semi naked girls or demonised shots of angry band members. Instead the band are more role models, though they know how to swear as much as the fans do. The performances are snippets of their greatest tunes, played in various venues, such as my beloved all time favourite Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. To see Dickinson piloting the Ed Force One plane is surreal and it follows a map and we are on the journey. We are also treated to a lot of info about piloting, and it is quite astonishing to see how accomplished a pilot Dicko has become. Because of his skills, the band are able to fly quickly to their destinations with all their equipment on the same plane, and this is groundbreaking.

This is the best doco I have seen on Iron Maiden. The bonus disc consists of full versions of all the songs featured in the film. A must for fans of the monsters of metal.

friso Iron Maiden - The Early Days (2004), subject (1976-1983)

Such an amazing band!

I'm in love with Iron Maiden now for 10 years, it al started when I was eleven years old. I saw the band live once, during the tour to promote this dvd. This was the best show I've ever seen and might see in my live.

On this super-complete dvd we've got lot's of interesting Iron Maiden material, covering the first four albums and some footage of the band before the first album.

The Early Days documentary. This 90 minutes of documentary that shows the prehistoric times of Iron Maiden. All former band members are discussed, the reason line-up changed, the circumstances they were in, who the material came to be, etc. This way we learn that there was an Iron Maiden that only had Steve Harris playing in it of all the current members. Interviews with the now unknown former members (1976-1979) are done in nice settings and it's nice to hear their stories. Steve Harris reflects on a lot of subjects and early member Dave Murray is also to be seen in some interviews. The old footage and photo's are nice for Iron Maiden fans. This documentary also shows a short making of of the first four albums and the line-up changes that occurred during that period. This dvd is a real threat for fans and it's fun to watch for people who are new to the band. The process of the creation of such an important band is interesting and fun to watch.

LIVE AT THE RAINBOW, Filmed at The Rainbow, London, December 1980 This is pure gold! This set shows Iron Maiden playing seven songs from their first two albums, though Killers wasn't record yet. This particular part of dvd is mega-essential because of the wild performance of lead singer Paul di'Anno. There isn't any better footage of the band in this phase of the band! Iron Maiden plays very motivated, the songs are great and the people enthusiastic. They were so good in their early days! As I said, essential for both fans and people who like the metal/hard rock genre.

BEAST OVER HAMMERSMITH, Filmed at Hammersmith Odeon, London, March 1982 One of the early shows Iron Maiden performed during the time Bruce Dickinson had joined the band and The Number of the Beast came to be. Iron Maiden plays unbelievably motivated and this can be seen as the one of the highlights of Iron Maiden's and vocalist Bruce Dickinson's career! Most tracks are from The Number of the Beast and the material is fresh! It's also nice the band included the important b-side Total Eclipse in their set. Essential metal footage.

LIVE AT DORTMUND, Filmed at Rock and Pop Festival, Dortmunde, Westenfalle, Germany, 1983 This concert was recorded during the Piece of Mind tour. Most songs originate from this album. Though the footage is almost as good as the Beast over Hammersmith from 1982, it's lacks some of it's bombastic enthusiastic power of Hammersmith. Still this is a very interesting show and fans will appreciate this very much!

EXTRA'S The first five clips of Iron Maiden and some top of the pops performances are nice, but they are less hard to find then the gigs on dvd one. Still a great bonus to complete the release.

LIVE AT THE RUSKIN, Home Video filmed at The Ruskin Arms, 1980 This is home video footage of the band in an early stage. This might only appeal to hard-core Iron Maiden fans for it's historical value.

Conclusion. This is the meaning of completeness! This is everything I could ever ask for, concerning the theme of this dvd. Five stars without doubt. Every fan should own this and others might be surprised on how energetic and complete this release is.

friso Iron Maiden - Flight 666 (2009)

Leaving on a jetplain...

I love this band. It was the first real music I listened to (I was 11 years old when my brothers hired a cd from the library because of it's weird cover) and the band regains my full attention once in a while. This time because of a new concept: the band that had a plain. This new approach to a world tour isn't just about luxury. This way they could play in nations they weren't able to attend before because of logistic reasons.

This new Iron Maiden film is precisely what an Iron Maiden fan wants. It shows both their amazing skills on stage and their professional approach to playing live AND the other important Iron Maiden thing: I sincerely like the personalities of the band-members and the sum of it. Lead-singer Bruce Dickinson that actually flies the 767, band-leader and bass- player Harris with his always soft voice and shy/sympathizing way of speaking about the band, the funny drummer Nicko McBrain, the shy and golf-playing guitar master Dave Murray, the wise and involved Jannick Gers and the fishing/sightseeing guitar pro Adrian Smith. This movie shows why it is no a miracle a band that Iron Maiden is still a big fish around in the metal-scene.

I like films about bands with good interviews with critical questions (like in Live at Pompeii). It's good to hear band-members talk about issues like: the South-American audiences that are so intensive that it's hard to be blown away as a band, how to deal with big world tour with all the people around you, etc.

The live material presented here is of good quality, but perhaps not as perfect as Rock in Rio. It's nice to see Maiden play in these different places all over the world, but the sound quality and characteristics differ now and then. I do think the experience of the movie is main feature of this dvd-set, not per se the live performances on dvd 2.

Conclusion. A great concept for a tour, a great film and a lot of good live footage. This is a doc about a legendary metal band (with some nice progressive influences..) and it's a story about a ground-braking tour. This dvd is recommended to metal-fans, fans of the band of course and everyone that wants to see a good film about a good band. It might even be a good way to get to know Iron Maiden as a newbie. There might be some debate whether this band is very important for progressive music or very progressive itself, I do think a lot of people in this community will come to like their great sound, their songs and epics and their melodic approach to metal. Four stars.