siLLy puPPy Rekindling their classic juju, IRON MAIDEN deliveries an impressive comeback with their album “Brave New World” and the tour of the same name which produced this excellent live album ROCK IN RIO which finds the band in a sea of 250,000 head banging Brazilians who just can’t get enough of the huge sampling of this classic British band’s entire discography. Surprisingly there is at least one track from each album with only “Somewhere In Time” and “No Prayer For The Dying” being shunned. This is shocking since there is one track from both Bailey albums here as well. I always thought “Virtual XI” and “The X-Factor” could have been great albums if only Bruce Dickinson was on singing duties and in a way this tour is a celebration of his comeback along with Adrian Smith back on guitars reuniting the classic MAIDEN lineup and to show how nice these guys are they didn’t even kick Janick Gers out but found a way to include him in the mix.

This is a wonderful live double album. Although it’s not as perfect as “Live After Death” which found IRON MAIDEN at the absolute pinnacle of their game, this is my pick for best live album after that one. While Bruce’s vocal abilities are clearly in tact, there are times when it is a bit obvious that he is not totally what he once was such as on “The Number Of The Beast.” The energy of this performance is outstanding with the Brazilians becoming one with the band as heard on the audience participation. The production is stunningly beautifully perfected and the band sounds like they never parted ways after “Seventh Son…” Although i find live albums more of miss thing than a hit i am happy to report that this one is very satisfying. I didn’t exactly rush to track this down since i was hugely disappointed in the double fiascos of “A Real Live / Dead Ones” but i find ROCK IN RIO to be the perfect comeback live album to complement their rekindled career. This wonderful performance is available on both audio CD as well as DVD.