Iron Maiden - Live After Death DVD review

Finally!!! After years of it being out-of-print, and having to either shell out the dough for a degraded VHS copy or a really horrid, muddy sounding and grainy-looking DVD bootleg, the official release of one of heavy metal’s most important concerts has been bestowed upon the masses.

Complete with recaptured video, revamped sound, and a shitload of extras, Live After Death is the latest mandatory installment in the Iron Maiden archival saga. While the concert features the performance at Long Beach Arena in 1985 within the Powerslave tour, it’s one of the most powerful and energetic performances ever. It shows Maiden at their height, right before they would become more melodic (no complaints about that) and enter another era and expand their musical annunciations.

The show could only be described a lightning in a bottle, complete with the dueling leads of Smith and Harris, McBrain’s rhythmic punch, Harris’ galloping bass, Dickinson’s magnetic stage presence and, of course, Eddie. Through it all, they burn through classics such as “Aces High,” Flight of Icarus,” “Number of the Beast,” “Run to the Hills,” and “Revelations,” which the latter shows a rare glimpse at Dickinson playing rhythm guitar. Noticeably, not only does the show have a lack of digital harshness due to the era of production, it’s also in full-screen…but then again, it’s in its original form, as it was filmed. The sound has been re-mixed in 5.1 (with stereo mix as well) to put you further into the front row.

With the extras, the first thing is the part two of History of Iron Maiden documentary, which is a continuation from the Part One DVD that was released in 2004, which itself was the beginning of the archival releases for the band. It features interviews from manager Dick Bell, Rod Smallwood, and band technicians who all speak about the recording of Powerslave and how the "World Slavery Tour" came together. Segments include Rock In Rio 1985, where songs from the same era are played, which is somewhat grainy in quality, but then again, we are glad to have it as a bonus. A nice documentary of performances, interviews, and home footage is included called Behind the Iron Curtain. At the time, this was something sacred considering this was in the height of the Cold War – this is montaged similar to a short film. You also get a photo gallery, promo videos for “Aces High,” “2 Minutes to Midnight” and a fifteen minute segment called “’Ello Texas” which like the Iron Curtain segment, features both performances and home video/interview shots.

Undoubtedly, this is one of metal’s finest moments. Indeed, I’ll never forget when I first got into metal big time, when I first heard the album. It wasn’t the first time I'd heard Maiden, but there was something about this recording in general that intrigued me. Watching a friend of mine’s older brother play “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” on acoustic guitar and seeing the LP spin on the turntable with the gravestone label, now that was cool. That was really the milestone in my life where listening to metal music was important and unlike in today’s world where video games, reality TV, computer worshiping is present…this was a time when hanging out with friends and listening to records was fun, it meant something. So, Live After Death was really my entry into the whole metalhead army, not bad for this Catholic Schoolboy who was only eight or ten years old at the time. (Universal Music) - Review by Tommy "Hashman" Hash

(Click on the DVD cover to buy Live After Death from Amazon.com)