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Rating: On this site there's quite a bit of talk about Iron Maiden, judging by the sheer number of reviews available, but it's surprising to see that their singer as a solo artist doesn't get much attention. And to think he's written some great tracks in his career...
This live comes at a particular moment in Bruce's solo career: just back with the Maiden, he realizes that for a while he'll have to set it aside, and decides to release this live album. And, lucky for us, the Air Raid Siren is definitely in shape and produces a really great product. The packaging is nice, except for the cover. The booklet has quite a few photos, the image printed on the CD is very live... and the packaging doesn't matter much to you, right? But in any case, the packaging is what differentiates a burned CD from an original one, and when you see some that are sparse, you feel like throwing the CD out the window... so a decent package is welcome. But let's move on to the music!
A siren opens the concert, interrupted by the definitely less delicate sound of the guitars, VERY powerful and well-played. It's "Trumpets Of Jericho" that opens the dances, and immediately you jump like crazy! The blonde is in shape, the supporting musicians pump like madmen, and the track is strong and heavy. The first part of the concert is entirely dedicated to the new 'The Chemical Wedding': after the opener we hear the "King in Crimson", the dark "Chemical Wedding", then move on to the sad "Gates of Urizen" (the singer's extraordinary interpretation), the hectic Killing Floor and the long "Book of Thel". The first roar comes with the first dive into the past: the beautiful ballad "Tears of the Dragon" is reprised in a splendid version, even better than the studio version. Faster and heavier is the version here present of "Laughing in the Hiding Bush", which appears a thousand times more convincing than its studio version.
In the finale Bruce leaves the pearls of the discography: "Accident of Birth" live is an attack on the coronary arteries, such is the power expressed by the instruments and so explosive the voice. The digressions during "The Tower" are fun, with the beginning presenting a call and response between Bruce and the audience, a bit like Freddie Mercury: the song quite recalls the atmospheres of 'Piece of Mind'. Extraordinary is the long "Darkside of Aquarius", perhaps the best piece ever written by Bruce solo, complex and, again, very powerful. It closes with "Road to Hell", perhaps not perfect as a closure but nonetheless pleasant.
In short, while not reaching perfection, this live contains very valid tracks played and sung very well. It doesn't aspire to the Olympus of metal live albums, surely, but I think it's a great way to discover the "metal" side of Bruce's discography. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on musical tastes) the albums prior to 'Skunkworks' are left aside, except for two tracks... but you can't have it all!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Trumpets of Jericho (06:27)
This is the maze of life, this is the maze of death
This is the matrix of eternity
The demon never sleeps, the demon never lies
He beats my heart and leaves no echo
What heavy burden holds me back
Every step along the track
Fear that reaches deep inside of me
At the trumpets of Jericho, still the walls remain
At the trumpets of Jericho, Avalon's in chains
This is the river of space, this is the river of time
Chase the dragons of infinity
Atlas stands and laughs, throws his burden down
Rolls the earth in the inferno
Fingers holding onto cracks
The howling wind that blows us back
Sucked into the grinding wheels of hell
At the trumpets of Jericho, still the walls remain
Blow the trumpets of Jericho, still the walls remain
At the end of the rainbow, there the grail remains
Sound the trumpets of Jericho, Avalon's in chains
As they drag you down, in your clothes of lead
See the golden light, flashing overhead
Mocking you...
Do you know who you are
In your ropes of skin
How many creatures live inside you?
Man is born forever free, but is everywhere in chains
Trapped inside this earthly prison cell...
At the trumpets of Jericho, still the walls remain
At the trumpets of Jericho, Avalon's in chains
At the trumpets of Jericho, there the grail remains
At the trumpets of Jericho, still the walls remain...
Still the walls remain...
Still the walls remain...
Still the walls remain...
Silence of the tomb
And the wheel of fortune round... yeah...
02 King in Crimson (04:58)
In the darkness the ravens head
In the courtyard clothed in fear
I see gates that are opening
There's only one way out of here
Daylight has gone, the night has come
See his twisted sons and daughters
Wrighting slowly in Satan's mire
If you only could see the visions
The trembling world I now despise
As the veil reveals the outer darkness
I am sucked into the halls of flame
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson, crimson comes
He knows the weakness that you can't fight
Stone of night that weighs you down
If you only could see the visions
His hand is death if you take it now
As you scream into the web of silence
There is nothing that can save you now
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson, crimson comes
As you scream into the web of silence
There is nothing that can save you now
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson comes
Arise, awake, the king in crimson, crimson comes
To your window I come
At your window I come
03 Chemical Wedding (04:35)
How happy is the human soul
Not enslaved by dull control
Left to dream and roam and play
Shed the guilt of former days
Walking on the foggy shore
Watch the waves come rolling home
Through the veil of pale moonlight
My shadow stretches out its hand...
CHORUS: (x2)
And so we lay
We lay in the same grave
Our chemical wedding day
Floating in the endless blue
My seed of doubt I leave to you
Let it wither on the ground
Treat it like a plague you found
All my dreams that were outside
In living colour, now alive
And all the lighthouses
Their beams converge to guide me home...
CHORUS: (x2)
SOLO
CHORUS: (x2)
04 Gates of Urizen (04:22)
[B. Dickinson / Roy Z]
As above, so below
All things come from the one
Now you are the victim
Carried by the wind, rooted in the ground
If you want to learn the secrets
Close your eyes...
The ladder falls away
At the gates of Urizen, fallen eagles blaze
At the gates of Urizen, eternal twins are damned
At the gates of Urizen, separate lives begin...
In every woman is a man
From the moon come silver ghosts
Spectres of the blood
From my spirit comes the darkness
From the void, the crimson fortress rises...
[CHORUS:]
At the gates of Urizen, the ladder falls away
At the gates of Urizen, fallen eagles blaze
At the gates of Urizen, eternal twins are damned
At the gates of Urizen, separate lives begin...
[SOLO]
[REPEAT CHORUS]
The gates of Urizen [x3]
At the gates...
05 Killing Floor (04:13)
So this is dreamtime and all is quiet
So this is dreamtime and all is night
You've never been held by the hand of God
Who's rocking the cradle if he is not
He turned the oil into his blood
Panzer divisions burning in the mud
The stain of freedom, he's washed it out
Who's rocking the cradle, I have no doubt
Sleeping eyes awake, to see his hooded gaze
Whispers on the wind, the darker side of ecstasy
Satan - has left his killing floor
Satan - has left his killing floor
Satan - hell fires burn no more
Satan - has left his killing floor
So now it's dreamtime for you tonight
So now it's dreamtime and all is quiet
You've never been held by the hand of God
Who's rocking your cradle if he is not
Sleeping eyes awake, to see his hooded gaze
Whispers on the wind, the neverending breath goodbye
Satan - has left his killing floor
Satan - has left his killing floor
Satan - his fires burn no more
Satan - is coming back for more
Satan - has left his killing floor
Satan - has left his killing floor...
06 Book of Thel (08:26)
The mark is on you now
The furnace sealed inside your head
Melting from the inside now
Waxy tears run down your face
The whore that never told her tale
Relives it every night with you
Far off stands the lamb and waits
For the wolf to come and end its life
Stand inside the temple as the book of thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out rising
Come the dawning of the dead
Infamine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core
Serpent on the altar now
Has wrapped itself around your spine
So you look into its mouth
And you kiss the pearly fangs divine
Happy that your end is swift
The weeping virgin cries in bliss
The snake and priestess they are one
The veil of flesh is ripped undone
Standing inside the temple as the book of thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out shes rising
comes the dawning of the dead in famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its srotten core
By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
And when sleep takes you tonight
Will you wake to see the light?
The burning sweat of poison tears
The river flowing with red blood
The cradle robbing hand of death
Caresses every dreaming head
Waiting for the marriage hearse
To take you to the funeral pyre
So you burn the family tree
The generations burnig higher
Stand inside the temple as the book of thel is opening
the priestess ands before you
Offering her hand out, rising
Come the dawning of the dead
Infamine and in war
Now harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core
by the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
and when sleep takes you tonight
Will you wake to see the light?
By the dawning of the dead
By the dawning of the dead
07 Tears of the Dragon (08:08)
For too long now, there were secrets in my mind
For too long now, there were things I should have said
In the darkness, I was stumbling for the door
To find a reason, to find the time, the place, the hour
Waiting for the winter sun and the cold light of day
The misty ghosts of childhood fears
The pressure is building and I can't stay away.
I throw myself into the sea
Release the wave
Let it wash over me
To face the fear I once believed
The tears of the dragon for you and for me
Where I was, I had wings that couldn't fly
Where I was, I had tears I couldn't cry
My emotions, frozen in an iced lake
I couldn't feel them until the ice began to break
I have no power over this, you know I'm afraid
The walls I built are crumbling, the water is moving,
I'm slipping away.
I throw myself into the sea
Release the wave, let it wash over me
To face the fear I once believed
The tears of the dragon for you and for me
Slowly I awake, slowly I rise
The walls I built are crumbling,
The water is moving,
I'm slipping away.
I throw myself into the sea
Release the wave, let it wash over me
To face the fear I once believed
The tears of the dragon for you and for me
I throw myself into the sea
Release the wave, let it wash over me
To face the fear I once believed
The tears of the dragon for you and for me
08 Laughing in the Hiding Bush (04:03)
There's a sinister game that children play, hey hey hey hey
When they get to the end of each schoolday, hey hey hey hey
They spend their lives getting ready for the kill � ha!
Laughing in the hiding bush, the joker is back
Laughing in the hiding bush, the joker is back
Who remembers the names of fallen heroes, hey hey hey hey
Who remembers today to fly their flags, hey hey hey hey
I couldn't say I loved ya, like I did before � nah!
Laughing in the hiding bush, the joker is back
Laughing in the hiding bush, it's a laughing attack
The joker is back
He's one of the pack
The joker is back
Laughing in the hiding in the kick him in the bush, yeah!
Laughing in the hiding bush, the joker is back
Laughing in the hiding bush, the joker is back
Laughing in the hiding bush, he's one of the pack
Laughing in the hiding bush, the joker is back
09 Accident of Birth (04:20)
Journey back to the darkside, back into the womb
Back to where the spirits move like vapor from the tomb
The centre of the cyclone blowing out the sun
Break the shackles of your union to the light
I might've had a brother, as I was born they dragged him under
To the other side of twilight, he's waiting for me now
Nativity was lost on me, I didn't ask, I couldn't see
What created me? What and where and how?
Welcome home – it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home – we've opened up the gates
Welcome home – to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home – to an accident of birth
Feel our bodies breathing as you try to stop believing
There's nothing you can do about your shadows
You can fight us, you are like us
And your body will betray you
Lay down and die like all the others
Where are the angels and their wings of freedom?
Jesus had his day off when they pulled you through...
Welcome home – it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home – we've opened up the gates
Welcome home – to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home – to an accident of birth (to an accident of birth)
Visions growing dim as the daylight fades away
A spinning, twisting black hole, it's your dying day
Welcome home – it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home – we've opened up the gates
Welcome home – to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home – to an accident of birth
Welcome home – it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home – we've opened up the gates
Welcome home – to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home – to an accident of birth
10 The Tower (07:43)
There are twelve commandments
There are twelve divisions
Twelve are the pagans who have mapped the sky
In the outer circle
To the inner sanctum
From the octave at the end of time
The fountain, the trinity
The pilgrim is searching for blood
(searching for his blood)
To look for his own free will
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, and the hanged man smiles
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, let the fool decide
In the atom circle
Where we break the stars
Hammer into anvil, stuffing out the sun
Witness all the killing
See the birth of Mars
Our religion thrown into the fire
The fountain, the trinity
The pilgrim is searching for blood
(searching for his blood)
To look for his own free will
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, the hanged man smiles
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, the magician laughs
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, and the priestess kneels
(priestess kneels)
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, let the fool decide
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, and the hanged man smiles
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, let the fool decide
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, the priestess kneels to receive
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided, the magician laughs
11 Darkside of Aquarius (07:34)
The first hellrider came, on wings of plenty in the dark
Poured out his poison and he blew away his mark
The fascist from the east is coming, mothers hide your sons
The second hellrider came, from flaming seas and molten sands
Pipers playing Hell's commands
Poured out his poison, with his promises of promised lands
Blackened toungues of lying leaders
Here come the riders as the wheel of kharmas running out of time
Here come the riders as the wheel of kharmas running out of time
The third hellrider came, teaching brothers to kill brother men
And the fourth hellrider waits, on an acid trip for an acid world
Wars of old religious fools and superstitious men
Throw some scary Tarot cards and...
Here come the riders as the wheel of Dharma's running out of time
Here come the riders as the revolution's stepping into line
The dark side of Aquarius has robbed us of our souls and minds
Here come the riders as the wheel of Dharma's running out of time
From the starlit sky, on the silver sea
A lonely silver surfer, comes to push the wheel for me
A lonely silver surfer, comes to push the wheel for me
Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move that wheel right 'round
Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move that wheel right 'round
Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move that wheel around
Gotta push the wheel of Dharma round
Push the wheel of Dharma round
Push the wheel of Dharma round
Push the wheel right round, right now yeah
I've gotta move the wheel of Dharma, gotta move the wheel of Dharma
Gotta move the wheel of Dharma, move that wheel right around
Gotta move the wheel of Dharma, gotta move the wheel of Dharma now
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