2012 CD Reviews - Iron Maiden - En Vivo!

[TageRyche]

Iron Maiden
En Vivo! - Live at Estadio Nacional, Santiago
Universal Music Enterprises - 2012
http://www.ironmaiden.com

The latest Iron Maiden live album release comes from the band's supporting tour for their album The Final Frontier. The show was recorded in Santiago, Chile and features a set list of 17 songs that comprises some of their biggest songs as well as a more than a generous helping of their newest material.

The release is a two disc set. There is a 2 DVD set (which I purchased and will review later) as well. The CD booklet features the lyrics to each song, a bunch of live photos and the obligatory thank yous.

The show opens with "Satellite 15" and "The Final Frontier". As with my review of The Final Frontier album, I was very cold towards the opening. "Satellite 15" is just such a flat opener. The first line of the lyrics got swallowed up by the crowd noise. "The Final Frontier" was a bit more lively to me than the studio version so I liked it more but it was still not great.

The oddest thing about the opening two tracks was for a Maiden concert recording their was very little in the way of easing into the concert. When the disc starts playing, there is a bit of crowd noise and then BOOM!, the music starts. While it is not really a bad thing, it was just unexpected from what one might be expected from a Maiden live recording.

After that, the next 15 songs across the two discs are just outstanding. Simply stated, this was an awesome live show. "El Dorado" came off well. Classics like "The Trooper" and "2 Minutes To Midnight" sound just as good as they always have.

On Disc One, the new song "Coming Home" and the slightly older number "Dance of Death" were particularly noteworthy.

Also of note was the stage banter being kept to a minimum. The only extended chatter was at the end of the show when singer Bruce Dickinson introduced the band and thanked the crowd for coming out, promising to "see them soon".

On Disc Two, you got 8 tracks that all were great to hear. Four of the band's classic tracks ("Iron Maiden", "The Number of the Beast", "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Running Free") were all fantastic. However, the best song on this was the new song "When the Wild Wind Blows".

When I reviewed The Final Frontier album, I made mention that this song should definitely be included in the band's set list. It was one of the best songs on an album I thought was good but disappointing. I was very happy to see the song included in the set and then even more happy when it came out so well in performance.

All in all, En Vivo! is an outstanding live recording and a worthy addition to Maiden's catalog of live albums. Up The Irons, indeed!

GRADE: A MINUS

[Scott]

Weird timing Tage!  I was literally just reading reviews of this on Amazon...  In on ecase the reviewer was lamenting that of the 17 tracks only 6 are new the live catalog from Maiden.  But for any fan who does own a live Maiden show on CD od DVD this woudl be agreat purcahase.  I am considering the DVD show...

[TageRyche]

Most veteran bands when they tour, play maybe one or two songs from a new album they are supporting.

Maiden's tours for their new albums feature lots of the new songs. Keep in mind that there were only 10 songs on The Final Frontier. Six songs in the set means 60% of the album was in the set. That's a pretty damn good ratio.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Good read TR.  Thanks for posting.