Iron Maiden

The Live Collection

The Irons’ two best live albums, now polished and repackaged.

If you’ve been eagerly scarfing up Iron Maiden’s studio album remasters, then adding The Live Collection to your haul is a clear no-brainer. A cynic might argue that most Maiden fans will already own multiple versions of 1985’s Live After Death. But since it is the greatest heavy metal live album of all time, hearing it again in remastered form is a simple and welcome pleasure. Diehards will know it inside out, of course: the Churchillian intro, the adrenalin avalanche of Aces High, the grand melodrama of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, that extended, riotous Running Free, Bruce discussing “what happens when a bird shits on you”… It’s ageless, life-affirming stuff, from explosive start to celebratory finish. It would take Maiden 17 years to deliver another live set to rival Live After Death’s power and potency.

Recorded in January 2001 and released just over a year later, Rock In Rio captured the band on imperious form, shortly after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined. By this point, Maiden’s comeback was a nailed-on triumph, and a colossal Brazilian crowd’s ecstatic response to songs from 2000’s Brave New World said it all. Switching from the freshly minted likes of The Wicker Man and Dream Of Mirrors to certified classics such as Wrathchild, The Trooper and Fear Of The Dark, Maiden sounded revitalised and reborn in Rio. Which probably explains why this album was chosen for the remastering process ahead of the very nearly as good likes of Death On The Road (2005) and En Vivo! (2012). As an added bonus, Rock In Rio also includes the two best songs from the much-maligned Blaze Bayley era, Sign Of The Cross and The Clansman, delivered with respectful precision and much bombast by Dickinson. In South America, where Blaze’s efforts were appreciated more sincerely than anywhere else, both are greeted with as much deafening glee as anything else in the set-list. Meanwhile, becoming a bit misty-eyed during Blood Brothers has become an essential part of any Maiden show; you can hear the tradition gaining traction right here, and it’s a magical moment.

These reissues are aimed squarely at Maiden diehards, but metal’s best-loved band inspire a level of devotion that remains unrivalled. Whether you can discern the difference between these shiny, new versions and the originals or not, the sound of Iron Maiden in full flight will always be worth the price of admission. ■■■■■■■■■■