Iron Maiden
Maiden England

THE REVIEW

It was the distant 1988.... The Maiden, in the midst of the "Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour," decided to record a live show in Birmingham.... in '88 it was only released on VHS and in 1994 the CD version was also released. The main difference lies in the setlist, in fact, in the video version, Harris and his companions play the beautiful "Hallowed be thy Name", while on the CD version we find historical songs such as "Prisoner", "Still Life", and "Die with Your Boots on".

Overall, it is my favorite live performance of the Iron Maiden, even superior to the wonderful "Live After Death", due to the quality of the individual musicians' performances and the impeccable recording quality.

The show opens with the Mephistophelean "Moonchild" which immediately opens the gates of hell in this breathtaking performance. The second track is also one of the most frequently performed live by the Maiden: "The Evil that Men Do" is a perfect song, where keyboards and synthesizers blend seamlessly with the distorted sounds of Murray and Smith's guitars, and Steve Harris's galloping bass. The first surprise of the disc is a great classic from "The Number of the Beast", namely the fast and powerful "Prisoner". A superb performance by Dickinson & co. The surprises continue with "Still Life" and "Die with Your Boots on" which have us moshing until we hear the sweet intro of the stunning "Infinite Dreams" that makes us dream before the abrupt awakening with "Killers" where Harris's performance far exceeds excellence. Then there are two songs from "Somewhere in Time": "Wasted Years" (unfortunately rarely performed live) and the best of the setlist "Heaven Can Wait". The magical bass intro of "The Clairvoyant" drags us into another infernal track that once again impresses for its precision in execution. Then there's the masterpiece "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (very similar in structure to "Rime of the Ancient Mariner") which thrills us and leads us to the show's closing, entrusted to two classics such as "The Number of the Beast" and "Iron Maiden".

Perfect concert even if the only flaw that can be found is that much of the actual show setlist was cut to fit everything on a single disc.... but what has come down to us as the final product is a masterpiece concert from a band that knows no age, and has been captivating entire generations for 30 years with its music full of emotions, grit, and passion. There is nothing left to do but applaud the passion this group has put into every day of its career. UP THE IRONS !!!!!