THE LIVE CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF SOULS OPENS TO THE SOUND OF A THOUSAND SCREAMING DEMONS IN WAITING. 7-10
By K-Man
Eternity is a song that doesn't fuck around live, things are quickly brought around to their immediate crescendo CLASSIC Maiden sound of them hitting the stage. Bruce revelling in his own sense of majesty, it's glorious in it's stupendousness and it's something that's not really normal for Maiden, a very dark and ominous opener with Bruce taking full credit and patting himself on the back all at the same time, it's exactly what Maiden needed and what Maiden's fans have been demanding for far too long. It's fun and it's mad and we don't give a fuck if you get it or not hahahah.
Well, Bruce IS BACK. Holy shit. Speed Of Light live is a total exercise in rock and roll and Bruce just seems SO happy and into being there in a way I've not heard from him since Forever?? Actually enjoying singing and having fun with all the songs. Long may it continue.
Same energy and attitude goes into Wrathchild, a song that by all rights should have been taken out to the old woodshed years ago but you cant keep baby in the corner and this baby crawls back time and again to remind you that Maidens roots run deeper than blood and when they get it JUST right it does the job that Paul Dianno is still claiming benefits for. hahahah.
Nickos new Sonor kit sounds incredible and really lifts his playing completely. Don't really care for the "cloudy" crowd mix but I guess that comes with these big arenas???
Death Or Glory is still VERY lame for me now though, a cool wee jazzy number ruined with pantomime lol I think Bruce needs to put away the crayons when coming up with lyrics STILL dunno what a "deflection shooting beam attack" is.. :S
Red And The Black is every bit of the behemoth that you'd expect live and has a much more natural ebb and flow on stage instead of how clunky and awkward at times it is in the studio. DEFINITELY DON'T compare it to the epics like Rime... or Sign Of The Cross even but it sits comfortably with the big songs of "the new era" and it slays and that's good enough.
Trooper is good and fine but there's a dozen other versions of this song to hear and this one is just another...Powerslave almost feels like that too sadly.
Great Unknown is good fun!!!, better than the album and clearly a favourite of the bands' but awft that pre-chorus bleh...Dave Murray SHINES though and the wee interlude jam is worth the price of admission ALONE
Book Of Souls is as hauntingly crushing and sad? As you'd want. Total centrepiece song and they unapologetically THROW IT DOWN for over 10 minutes of unnatural splendour relentless BUT as I feel is true with a lot of Book Of Souls' moments a LOT of the lyrics just end up coming over as boring, muddy...English "Shakespearian" babble and even made clear is just VERY tedious and a farcry from the anthemic, sophisticated and powerful poetry Maiden are capable of.
Fear Of The Dark, Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden, and the 666 song are are all electric and the response and love shown in these performances is all the answers you need to the question: THESE FUCKING SONGS AGAIN!?!!
Blood Brothers "a heavy metal waltz" is my champion song, for me its everything, the one track just like Killers or Number Of The Beast or Infinite Dreams that I encapsulates everything Maiden I but here? It's overkill they've overplayed it just like they ran Running Free into the dirt. It's good but no need.
Wasted Years is somehow bittersweet as the song always suggests but it really is a fun outing of the song and there's been some real crappy ones and this isn't that but Maiden have a bad habit of just using the last song is a tired hurrah and for whatever reason that's what the closer dissolves into with Bruce's (typically long innoxious ramblings) slowly but sharply cut off ending the album and leaving ME with just a kind of odd end to what really is a great live album, not iconic, not NECESSARY even but proudly brilliant all the same, FUN which is what metal is SUPPOSED to be btw. So take what you want from this and that, spend a tenner or don't?? Is it better than the last one? I guess that's up to you :) <3
K-Man! \m/
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