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Iron Maiden: Flight 666

11/12/09 || InquisitorGeneralis

Let me tell you a few things about Iron Maiden you may or may not already know…

1) They fucking rule. If you are a habitual cocksmoker like Daemonomania who refuses to acknowledge said ruling then you need to stop reading this right now and go stick a fucking icepick up your stupid fucking nose… fuckhole

2) Last year they embarked on the record-setting Somewhere Back in Time tour that saw them play a list of classic tunes to sold-out audiences all over the world.
I saw this tour and it did live up to the hype, my little Eddie was erect for days
afterwards.

3) They released a DVD and live album of the tour, both of which are quality. The quality of the album will now be discussed. Prepare yourselves!!!

“Flight 666” the album is every bit as awesome as the tour it displays. Maiden has had their fair share of awesome live releases, no doubt about it. From “Live After Death” to “Rock in Rio”, people know these bristlin’ Britons bring it live. But, I dare say this may be the best. The set-list is completely unfuckwithable and the performances are top notch. From beginning to end you get certified classics from the golden era of Iron Maiden. Not to knock on the the post 80s material, alot of which I greatly enjoy, but these are the creme de la creme and it shows.

Let’s get a few technical things out of the way before we hit the tunes. The production is awesome and every track sounds great. Bruce can not hit every high note anymore but he still is phenomenal. As expected the guitar playing is top notch with Murray and Smith wailing away as Gers plays with his guitar…and himself on stage. Nikko dominates behind the kid and pounds out the classics even better than he did 25 years ago. Listen to “Powerslave” if you do not believe me! McBrainiac nails the killer of all drum fillers after the solos better than he did on “Live after death”. That part tickles my little McBrain every time.

This is not one concert, oh no young maidens. While this is the set-list from the first leg of the “Somewhere Back in Time” tour, each song is taken from a different venue. I think that is fucken cool and really gives you an idea of how great the tour was from start to finish. Need more proof, how about the intense crowd participation from three different continents? The beginning to “Fear of the dark” is awesome with thousands of red hot Chileans chanting along. Oh, and the rest of the song kicks ass too. “Heaven can wait” also gets a big crowd boast during the anthemic chorus. It might even be the strongest track on this double-disc dominator. As expected, the Japanese stroke their katanas to “The trooper” like no one’s business, helping Bruce out with probably his hardest vocal performance.

There are a few weak moments on here: first and foremost being Adrian Smith’s backing vocals on “Wasted years”. Sorry AIDS, they just do not sound up to snuff and even though I love that song, I usually skip this version of it. “Iron maiden” also sounds a bit off and is not the best number to close the regular set with. Still, something from the Di’Anno albums needed to be thrown in here, but I would rather have seen “Running free” or “Sanctuary”. Oh well, these are minor points for sure. “Hallowed be thy name” is certainly a great finale encore though, hard to pick a better song to go out swingin’ on than that!

“Moonchild” to me sounds better here then on “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”. I am sure this will fire up the forum trolls but something about the live guitar sound, especially during the introduction really gives the track an extra shot of awesomeness. “Revelations” is nailed, as are “Number of the beast” and “Run to the hills”, although I am a little tired of the two latter but only because I hear them too much. They sound great on “Flight 666” though and are necessary inclusions. “Rime of the ancient mariner” is not my favorite Maiden song but I doubt it will get regular live attention ever again. I would rather have seen another track from “Somewhere in Time” in here, but that’s just me and I am a SIT fanboy though and through. I’ve got no problems with only two tracks from “Piece of Mind” on here, although the epic nerd in me would like to have heard “Flight of Icarus”.

It is hard to pick a best song on here. I award a three-way tie between “Aces high”, “Powerslave”, and “Heaven can wait”. “Aces high” is perhaps the greatest concert opener ever when tied in with the Churchill speech. While Bruce’s voice falters a bit at the end, the band lights the song up like an ME109 over Brighton. “Powerslave” just kicks ass and is certainly a rarity. The epic solo section in the middle is flawless and, as previously mentioned, Nicko McBrain gives perhaps his best performance behind the kit. “Heaven can wait” is a stadium anthem deluxe and makes me want to move to Latin America, buy tight shorts, and like soccer so I can chant like a mutherfucker!

I would not go as far as calling “Flight 666” an essential Maiden live album…but it’s damn close. You will never see many of the songs on here played live again so for nostalgia’s sake, especially if you saw this tour, I would highly recommend picking this up. The band’s performance is great and you certainly get a shitload of bang for your buck. It’s amazing these guys are still this fucken good.

8,5

Information
Released: 2009
Label: EMI
Website: www.ironmaiden.com
Band
Bruce Dickinson: vocals
Dave Murray: guitars
Adrian Smith: guitars
Janick Gers: guitars
Steve Harris: bass
Nikko McBrain: drums

Tracklist
Disc 1:
01. Churchill’s Speech/Aces High
02. 2 Minutes to Midnight
03. Revelations
04. The Trooper
05. Wasted Years
06. The Number of the Beast
07. Can I Play with Madness?
08. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Disc 2:
01. Powerslave
02. Heaven Can Wait
03. Run to the Hills
04. Fear of the Dark
05. Iron Maiden
06. Moonchild
07. The Clairvoyant
08. Hallowed be thy Name

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