Iron Maiden - "Death on the Road"

Iron Maiden
"Death on the Road"
Sony
Released 2005

For 30 years Iron Maiden has been churning out literate, high-energy metal for massive crowds around the globe. Apart from a couple lineup changes, the formula has stayed the same, the musicianship hasn't lost a step and the result is a remarkably long string of quality, if not great, studio albums. They may not sell in the same numbers they did during the eighties, but Maiden still fills arenas and they still put on a mean live show.

"Death on the Road" captures the band live in Germany during its 2003 tour, an is a fitting document to the group's longevity, creativity and rabid fan base. Half the songs are familar, in fact they are overplayed - "Fear of the Dark", "Hallowed Be Thy Name," "Wrathchild," "Run to the Hills", "The Number of the Beast." All have appeared on several live Maiden albums previously.

But the other half of the disc is devoted to more recent, and unexposed, work. Songs like the war chronicle "Paschendale" and the sprawling "No More Lies" fit nicely next to Maiden's classics. And more impressive, the audience knows every word to the new songs.

But the most exciting feature of live Maiden in the 21st Century is that singer Bruce Dickinson, who left the band in the early 90s, but returned in 2000, is willing to sing songs originally performed by his replacement. "Lord of the Flies," from the album "X Factor" which featured singer Blayze Bayley, is perfectly suited for Dickinson's air-raid siren howl and it is a credit to his ego that he performs the song he did not make famous.