Iron Maiden's Reviews
Rock In Rio (Average Rating: 8.78 out of 10)
Wow... The best live Iron Maiden album?? (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
westknife
from new york
This very well may be the best live Iron Maiden album. The contrast between their newer songs ("The Wicker Man," "Sign of the Cross," "The Clansman," etc.) and their older songs "2 Minutes to Midnight," "Wrathchild," "Hallowed Be Thy Name,") is beautiful. The tracklist leaves nothing to be desired, and is all I could have asked for. The performance is incredible. I consider the current lineup of Maiden to be the best they have ever had (Dickinson, Harris, Murray, Smith, Gers, McBrain). The three-guitar attack is brutal!! This album proves that Iron Maiden has successfully updated their sound for the new century, without losing the spirit that made them so good 20 years ago. The production is possibly the heaviest on ANY Maiden album, live or studio. It is an assault on your ears!! I think the best song on here is "The Clansman." I say this because the studio version was just plain boring, but somehow with this new lineup of musicians playing in front of a crowd, the song is mind-blowing!! (They played this when I saw them at Madison Square Garden... the part where he shouts "Freedom!!!" is the greatest thing I have ever experienced.) This album does exactly what a live album should do, and that is make you feel like you're there. Between the great performances and the clear, flawless production, this truly is one of Iron Maiden's greatest releases.It is great to hear the old songs done with the "updated" band, and it is simply awesome to hear the new ones as well. The 6 songs from the album Brave New World are far superior to their studio versions, I think this is undeniable. In fact, I never really cared for Brave New World that much, but now I love these songs! Possibly the most surprising thing about Rock In Rio is this: Bruce hits the high note in the chorus of "Run to the Hills"!!!!! He has never before done this on a live album, not even on Live After Death! The only other time I've heard him do it is on the studio version. Is his voice actually IMPROVING as he gets older?? Also, he seems more inspired than ever, putting more into his voice than he ever has. He displays a greater range of tonalities and textures than he did 20 years ago! The only problem I have with this album is that Janick Gers stole Adrian Smith's guitar solo on "Hallowed Be Thy Name." Not that Gers is a bad guitarist, but I wanted to hear Adrian do it!! This, however, is a minor flaw, and does not ruin the fact that this is probably the best live Iron Maiden album.
Buy this album on Amazon at $21.98
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