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Rating: Iron Maiden... what can I say... there is really little to comment on: a piece of history, a formation that's brilliant in its own way, a monstrous career, a clan that despite their age still doesn't want to stop dreaming with their music and making others dream with their grandiose concerts.
An Iron Maiden concert is indeed something incredible, with gigantic Hollywood-style sets, great lighting effects, and most importantly: GREAT MUSIC. Following the line of Rock In Rio 2002, Harris & co. released in 2005 (although the DVD only came out in 2007) a new exciting concert: "Death On The Road". This took place on Monday, November 24, 2003, at Westfalhenhalle (Dortmund, Germany) and is part of the tour following the latest album Dance Of Death (2003). The all-medieval set that surrounds the arena already hints at what I consider to be the most fascinating Iron Maiden concert, tying with the unbeatable show the previous year in Rio De Janeiro.
Everything opens with very dark medieval tones, and after about thirty seconds the iron maidens explode with a hot track, even if maybe not up to what will follow: "Wildest Dreams", this piece mainly serves to warm up the cold German atmosphere at the end of November. Subsequently, the Iron Maiden continues to pour gasoline on the fiery stage with the most classic of classics, namely "Wrathchild" (belonging even to the era of Paul Di'Anno), and continues with "Can I Play With Madness", another emblem of the band. Following are, in my opinion, the two most beautiful songs of the show, "The Trooper" and "Dance Of Death"; there's little to say, the former is executed masterfully and appears even better than the song on the already insanely beautiful album; the latter is instead another emblem of the band's genius, starting very slowly and ending up playing extremely fast music with almost Irish tones (highlighting the immense performance of Bruce Dickinson). The subsequent "Rainmaker and "Brave New World" are a new rush of melodic energy, while "Paschendale" is a new dark masterpiece lasting nine minutes, introduced by a musical bomb launch (great lighting). The Iron Maiden closes the first part of the concert with "Lord Of The Flies" perhaps the only disappointing piece of the concert.
The second part opens with the beautiful "No More Lies", an extremely relaxing song despite the "unleashing" in the middle of the song; but this trend is immediately destroyed by the classic "Hallowed Be Thy Name", a very lively song played sublimely. Of course, the masterpiece "Fear Of The Dark" couldn't be missing (even if played less well than in Rio); then the Iron Maiden returns to warm tones with "Iron Maiden", subsequently relaxing the very large German audience with "Journeyman", a kind of truly fantastic ballad. It closes with "The Number Of The Beast" (with the introduction on stage of a gigantic Beast-shaped puppet chasing Steve Harris!) to which no need to dedicate too many words, I can only invite you to listen to it; The last piece is the one with which the Iron Maiden always close their concerts, I think you all know which one it is...
The concert itself impressed me a lot not only, as mentioned above, for the scenic aspect, but for the choice of pieces, the order in which they were played, and for Dickinson's capabilities, who even in his forties continues to deliver performances worthy of applause: technically, along with a few other singers like the one from Dream Theater, he is perhaps the most talented in the Heavy Metal genre. Compared to "Rock In Rio", "Death On The Road" is more or less at the same level and that's no small thing; it loses a bit in terms of the length of the show but makes up for it regarding the pieces played. Had it included some classics like "The Clansman" and "Be Quick Or Be Dead", in my opinion, it would have even been better than the performance in South America.
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 Wrathchild (02:49)
born into a scene
of angriness and greed
of dominance and persecution
My mother was a queen
my dad I've never seen
I was never meant to be.
Now I spend my time
looking all around
For a man that's nowhere
to be found,
Until I find him,
I'm never gonna stop searching
I'm going to find my man
gonna travel round.
so long wrathchild
Yeah I'm a wrathchild,
hello wrathchild
comin' to get you
oooh yeaheyeah
Some say it shouldn't matter
ain't nothing gonna alter
the course of my destination
But I know I've gotta find
some seriaus peace of mind
or I know I'll just go crazy
Now I spend my time
looking all around
For a man that's nowhere
to be found,
Until I find him,
I'm never gonna stop searching
I'm going to find my man
gonna travel round.
so long wrathchild
well I'm a wrathchild
yeah wrathchild
comin' to get you
oooh yeaheyeah
03 Can I Play With Madness (03:30)
Give me the sense to wonder,
to wonder if I'm free.
Give me the sense to wonder,
to know I can be me.
Give me the strength, to hold my head up,
spit back in their face.
Don't need no key, to unlock this door,
gonna break down the walls,
break out of this bad place.
Can I play with Madness?
The prophet stared at his crystal ball,
Can I play with Madness?
There's no vision there at all.
Can I play with Madness?
The prophet looked and he laughed at me!
Can I play with Madness?
He said you're blind, too blind to see!
I screamed aloud to the old man,
I said don't lie, don't say you don't know!
I say you'll pay for this mischief,
In this world, or the next!
Oh then he fixed me with a freezing glance,
and the hellfires raged in his eyes,
He said do you want to know the truth son?
I'll tell you the truth!
Your souls' gonna burn, in a lake of fire!
Can I play with Madness?
The prophet stared at his crystal ball,
Can I play with Madness?
There's no vision there at all.
Can I play with Madness?
The prophet looked and he laughed at me!
Can I play with Madness?
He said you're blind, too blind to see!
Can I play with Madness?
The prophet stared at his crystal ball,
Can I play with Madness?
There's no vision there at all.
Can I play with Madness?
The prophet looked and he laughed at me!
Can I play with Madness?
He said you're blind, too blind to see!
04 The Trooper (04:12)
You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back.
The bugle sounds and the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath
As I plunge on into certain death.
The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall
We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We were meant to fight another day.
We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below.
And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan
05 Dance of Death (09:23)
Let me tell you a story to chill the bones
About a thing that I saw
One night wandering in the everglades
I'd one drink but no more
I was rambling, enjoying the bright moonlight
Gazing up at the stars
Not aware of a presence so near to me
Watching my every move
Feeling scared and I fell to my knees
As something rushed me from the trees
Took me to an unholy place
And that is where I fell from grace
Then they summoned me over to join in with them
To the dance of the dead
Into the circle of fire I followed them
Into the middle I was led
As if time had stopped still I was numb with fear
But still I wanted to go
And the blaze of the fire did no hurt upon me
As I walked onto the coals
And I felt I was in a trance
And my spirit was lifted from me
And if only someone had the chance
To witness what happened to me
And I danced and I pranced and I sang with them
All had death in their eyes
Lifeless figures they were undead all of them
They had ascended from hell
As I danced with the dead
My free spirit was laughing and howling down at me
Below my undead body
Just danced the circle of dead
Until the time came to reunite us both
My spirit came back down to me
I didn't know if I was alive or dead
As the others all joined in with me
By luck then a skirmish started
And took the attention away from me
When they took their gaze from me
Was the moment that I fled
I ran like hell faster than the wind
But behind I did not glance
One thing that I did not dare
Was to look just straight ahead
When you know that your time has come around
You know you'll be prepared for it
Say your last goodbyes to everyone
Drink and say a prayer for it
When you're lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed
And you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead
When you're lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed
And you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead
To this day I guess I'll never know
Just why they let me go
But I'll never go dancing no more
'Til I dance with the dead
06 Rainmaker (04:01)
When I was wandering in the desert,
And was searching for the truth
I heard a choir of angels calling out my name,
I had the feeling that my life would never be the same again
I turn my face towards the barren sun
And I know of the pain that you feel the same as me,
And I dream of the rain as it falls upon the leaves
And the cracks in our lives like the cracks upon the ground,
They are sealed and are now washed away
You tell me we can start the rain
You tell me that we all can change
You tell me we can find something to wash the tears away,
You tell me we can start the rain
You tell me that we all can change
You tell me we can find something to wash the tears...
And I know of the pain that you feel the same as me,
And I dream of the rain as it falls upon the leaves
And the cracks in the ground like the cracks are in our lives,
They are sealed and now far away
You tell me we can start the rain
You tell me that we all can change
You tell me we can find something to wash the tears away,
You tell me we can start the rain
You tell me that we all can change
You tell me we can find something to wash the tears...
And I know of the pain that you feel the same as me,
And I dream of the rain as it falls upon the leaves
And the cracks in the ground like the cracks are in our lives,
They are sealed and now far away
08 Paschendale (10:17)
In a foreign field he lay, lonely soldier unknown grave
On his dying words he prays, tell the world of Paschendale
Relive all that he's been through, last communion of his soul
Rust your bullets with his tears. Let me tell you 'bout his years
Laying low in a blood filled trench, killing time 'til my very own death
On my face I can feel the falling rain, never see my friends again
In the smoke in the mud and lead, smell the fear and the feeling of dread
Soon be time to go over the wall, rapid fire and the end of us all
Whistles, shouts and more gun fire, lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire
Battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb, be reunited with my dead friends soon
Many soldiers eighteen years, drown in mud no more tears
Surely a war no-one can win, killing time about to begin
Home, far away, from the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away, but the war, no chance to live again
The bodies of ours and our foes, the sea of death it overflows
In no man's land god only knows, into jaws of death we go
Crucified as if on a cross, allied troops they mourn their loss
German war propaganda machine, such before has never been seen
Swear I heard the angels cry, pray to god no more will die
So that people know the truth, tell the tale of Paschendale
Cruelty has a human heart, everyman does play his part
Terror of the men we kill, the human heart is hungry still
I stand my ground for the very last time, gun is ready as I stand in line
Nervous wait for the whistle to blow, rush of blood and over we go
Blood is falling like the rain, its crimson cloak unveils again
The sound of guns can't hide their shame, and so we die on Paschendale
Dodging shrapnel and barbed wire, running straight at cannon fire
Running blind as I hold my breath, say a prayer symphony of death
As we charge the enemy lines, a burst of fire and we go down
I choke a cry but no-one hears, feel the blood go down my throat
Home, far away, from the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away, but the war, no chance to live again
See my spirit on the wind, across the lines beyond the hill
Friend and foe will meet again, those who died at Paschendale
09 Lord of the Flies (05:06)
Lord Of The Flies (Harris, Gers) (Commentary)
I don't care for this world anymore, I just want to live my own fantasy
Fate has brought us to these shores, what was meant to be is now happening
I've found that I like this living in danger
Living on the edge it feels, it makes feel as one
Who cares now what's right or wrong, it's reality
Killing so we survive wherever we may roam
Wherever we may hide, we've got to get away
I don't want existence to end, we must prepare ourselves for the elements
I just want to feel like we're strong, we don't need a code of morality
I like all the mixed emotion and anger
It brings out the animal, the power you can feel
And feeling so high with this much adrenaline
Excited but scary to believe what we've become
Saints and sinners, something within us
We are lord of the flies
Saints and sinners, something willing us
To be lord of the flies
(3:17-Solo: Janick Gers)
Saints and sinners, something within us
We are lord of the flies
Saints and sinners, something willing us
To be lord of the flies
Saints and sinners, something within us
We are lord of the flies
Saints and sinners, something willing us
To be lord of the flies
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Other reviews
By AR (Anonima Recensori)
Bruce is in great form, the guitarists are in top shape too, Harris provides excellent rhythmic support, and Nicko stuns the drum set for over an hour.
A beautiful concert and a beautiful Live album if it weren’t for the tracks from the new album, but... it’s always the Maiden, and the concerts are always the best moments.
By Laskar_nec
Impeccable instrumental performance, but penalized by an underwhelming Dickinson.
Production destroys the good performance, taking away its impact and making it little more than passable.
By Ragnaròk
Calling them sacred monsters is an understatement; I am talking about those whose name translated into Italian is 'Vergine Di Ferro.'
The album is packed with masterpieces from every album and of every era, even if this live album doesn’t compare to Rock In Rio and Live After Death.
By thetrooper
"I MUST not and CANNOT complain because it is on par (or perhaps superior) to 'Rock In Rio.'"
"Iron Maiden once again convince us of their live experience and their supremacy in the field of heavy metal."
