Iron Maiden
Live After Death
Universal
Happiness in powerslavery
The redressing of the Live After Death fan favorite—a full concert filmed in Los Angeles during the Powerslave tour in 1985—is crucial in explaining to a new generation of fans what an ambitious, honed and, well, ludicrous live proposition Maiden were at their youthful peak. Re-mastered into 5.1 sound, the playing is eerily flawless, outstripping even Maiden’s recorded output.
There’s something symbolic about how this run of sold-out California arena shows has been chosen to represent their ascendancy. There’s always been something a bit cringe-worthy about Maiden’s tourist board campaigning for a quaint, imaginary Englishness of easily-translated clichés—take their intro tape of Winston Churchill’s “We will fight them on the beaches…” speech. You’re almost surprised they don’t go all out and dress up as Beefeaters. In the States, this might have provided them with a marketable niche, but I remember at high school in the U.K., Maiden were regarded only as music for posh Games Workshop kids. Still, Live After Death is proof of how dorkily down to earth and unpretentious Bruce Dickinson’s Maiden were, and the sheer no-brainer fun of their best tunes is undeniable.
It is, however, just a brief glimpse of a lone Metallica t-shirt in the front row of Long Beach Arena which provides a sharp reminder of how, in 1985, California was already producing a lethal new metal that, by as early as the following year, would make bands like Iron Maiden and theatrical stadium rock shows like this seem a passé exercise in nostalgia. —David McNamee
