Poll

What are your favorites of these Iron Maiden songs?

Strange World
11 (4.5%)
Innocent Exile
5 (2.1%)
Twilight Zone
4 (1.7%)
Invaders
14 (5.8%)
The Prisoner
25 (10.3%)
Die With Your Boots On
17 (7%)
Sun and Steel
6 (2.5%)
The Duellists
11 (4.5%)
Sea of Madness
23 (9.5%)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
14 (5.8%)
The Prophecy
13 (5.4%)
Run Silent Run Deep
6 (2.5%)
Judas Be My Guide
12 (5%)
Look For the Truth
3 (1.2%)
The Unbeliever
6 (2.5%)
Lightning Strikes Twice
4 (1.7%)
The Educated Fool
5 (2.1%)
The Fallen Angel
11 (4.5%)
Montsegur
17 (7%)
New Frontier
2 (0.8%)
The Pilgrim
4 (1.7%)
Out of the Shadows
4 (1.7%)
Mother of Mercy
8 (3.3%)
The Alchemist
6 (2.5%)
When the River Runs Deep
6 (2.5%)
The Man Of Sorrows
5 (2.1%)

Total Members Voted: 36

Author Topic: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Senjutsu  (Read 183474 times)

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Offline Mosh

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A Matter of Life and Death (2006)


In late 2005, Maiden began work on their 14th album and the third with the current lineup. By this point, it had officially become the band’s longest lasting lineup and the musical chemistry had really solidified. The next album would be focused, complex, and one of their most ambitious to date. The more experimental aspects of Dance of Death were honed in on and combined with the tightness of Brave New World to create A Matter of Life and Death. The band themselves have described the album as progressive rock, but inspired by their heroes of the 70s such as Jethro Tull and Genesis. With bands such as Porcupine Tree, Opeth, and of course, Dream Theater, the modern definition of prog had evolved considerably over the past decade. As discussed earlier, Maiden had always adapted elements of prog rock into their sound to varying levels. The last time the prog influence was so blatant was on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but nearly every Maiden album had a prog influence somewhere. But even at their proggiest, such as on A Matter of Life and Death, it was merely one element of their sound and was unlike any classic or modern prog band. As a result, Maiden has never been strictly classified as prog.

 In the early stages, as new songs were being written, it became obvious to the band that this would be a special album. Bruce stated that he had a feeling similar to what he had going into Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. A theme of war, religion, life, and death was beginning to germinate. While not strictly a concept album, A Matter of Life and Death is the most thematically unified album since The X Factor and is probably the closest they’ve come to an all out concept album since Seventh Son. The band allowed themselves a longer period than normal to complete the album, although there were so many ideas and the band was so inspired that it actually ended up being one of their shortest productions. That’s not to say the album is short, however. It is known for featuring very lengthy tracks and was their longest album to date at a whopping 72 minutes.

The band realized they were onto something special early in the writing process when Steve and Adrian got together for a writing session. The collaboration was extremely productive and provided the material that would make up a majority of the album. Indeed, Adrian’s name appears on the credits for five out of the ten songs. This was the same amount as on the previous album, although he contributed to varying degrees depending on the song. On A Matter of Life and Death, he was heavily involved in each of his songs. These songs also happened to be quite long. It was as if the success of Paschendale inspired him and Steve to create nearly an entire album of war themed epics.

The first song the duo worked on also happened to be the first song on the album. Adrian Smith presented the opening riff to Different World, although it was in a much different format and an odd time signature. After Steve straightened out the riff, the song was worked into an energetic rocker similar to Wildest Dreams and The Wicker Man. Needless to say, it was immediately obvious that this would be the album’s opener and a single (although it wasn’t released first, more on that later). Different World serves as an accessible and familiar start to the album, easing fans into its more progressive side.

That progressive side reveals itself immediately after with another Smith/Harris contribution: These Colours Don’t Run. This time, the duo were joined by Bruce who provided the lyrics (and uttered the title a year before the album was released at the infamous Eggfest incident). Adrian initially presented the song’s intro with the intention of it being the start of a ballad-y track. However, the song was Maidenized and morphed into a heavy rocker. The “slow intro before a heavy song” format is abundant on A Matter of Life and Death, which tends to bring criticism although it also contributes to the album’s cohesiveness. The lyrics introduce the common topic of war to the album by appropriately describing the feeling one has when they are about to go to war. It is a good starting place for an album that explores war from many different perspectives, from the soldiers who fight it to the warlords who start it to the religions that inspire it. Songs from the soldier’s point of view are not uncommon in Maiden, although These Colours Don’t Run specifically explores a soldier’s motivation, which is new. In many ways it’s similar to Afraid To Shoot Strangers, which describes the anxiety of a soldier who is about to be deployed. However, that song gives a fearful take of the anticipation where These Colours Don’t Run almost glorifies it. Bruce explained that these people are all heroes, regardless of whether they want to be. Musically, the song isn’t quite as complicated as what’s to come but it’s also not your typical rocker. It has a steady pace and an extended instrumental section. It also has plenty of singalong moments that were tailor made for the live stage.

The Smith/Harris/Dickinson partnership continues into Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, which also serves as the first real epic of the album. At 8 minutes and 44 seconds, it is longer than anything that appeared on the previous albums and would’ve been considered the epic on an album in the 80s, yet here it is only the third longest song. Like These Colours Don’t Run, the song starts off with a soft guitar driven intro before exploding into one of the band’s heaviest riffs to date. Not only is it one of the band’s heaviest songs, but it’s also one of their proggiest and is the first song on the album to really showcase the heavy prog influences. The song contains many twists and turns with sudden shifts in tempo and dynamics. There are odd time signatures (the main riff is in 7/4) and unusual chords (the “out of the darkness” bit includes an FMaj#11 chord). Despite these experimental aspects, it’s unmistakable Maiden. The lyrics, written by Bruce, deal with The Manhattan Project. This was a topic that Bruce famously approached back in the 80s with Two Minutes To Midnight, but this time the lyrics are more raw and direct (like much of the music). It specifically discusses the scientists who made the bomb and the immense power in what they created. For Brighter Than a Thousand Suns Bruce  revisited the idea of an old Skunkworks song: Strange Death In Paradise. Indeed, looking at the lyrics of the two songs it’s easy to see a lot of similarities.

“Brighter than sunshine, for all of our lifetimes
1000 stars turned day into night at the end”

Following the sprawling three song onslaught comes the first song on the album not written by Adrian. Since joining in the 90s, Janick’s role and influence in the band had increased with each album. On the Blaze albums, he was a primary songwriter. Even on Brave New World, a large chunk of the songs came from him. However, with two primary songwriters back in the band, his role began to diminish. On A Matter of Life and Death, he only receives writing credits on two songs, his lowest contribution since Virtual XI. It’s unclear why he took a backseat on this album, although it’s possible that he just didn’t have as many ideas this time around. The benefit of having so many writers is that there is not much obligation to deliver the goods every time.

The first of Janick’s two songs is The Pilgrim. A collaboration with Steve Harris, The Pilgrim is one of the album’s few straightforward rockers. It’s typical Gers: fast paced riffing interlaced with melodic interludes complete with a manic guitar solo. The song was created out of two separate ideas that Janick presented to Steve. Steve then took what he considered to be the strongest elements of both songs to create a single track. That being said, it doesn’t sound like two songs awkwardly glued together. The song is cohesive and has plenty of interesting twists, although it was unfortunately overshadowed by the big epics. The lyrics, written by Steve, are not about a specific pilgrimage although it was heavily inspired by the Mayflower. It is a bit of a departure from the rest of the album’s themes, but it’s religious imagery helps it to fit in surprisingly well.

The next song on the album is yet another Smith/Harris/Dickinson contribution and another big epic, although this time it’s just under 8 minutes. In many ways, this song can be seen as Paschendale part 2. It once again deals with the feelings of a soldier in the middle of a horrific battle, but this time it’s the D-Day Normandy landings and the lyrics were penned by Bruce. The music for the song came from the earlier mentioned session between Adrian and Steve that birthed a majority of the album. The structure isn’t as vast as Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, featuring a more traditional ABABCAB structure. The instrumental section, however, is one of their most complex. It features more odd time signatures, intricate riffing, and tight syncopated rhythms. It also continues the cinematic style of Paschendale, with musical cues that are meant to illustrate the event, such as a machine gun sounding guitar riff in the instrumental. Bruce also wrote the lyrics and performed the vocals to help further portray the story.

The second half of the album starts with Out of the Shadows, a rare ballad in the Maiden catalog and also a rare collaboration between Bruce and Steve. While both are credited, it is really primarily a Dickinson track, as Steve only came up with the melody for the verse. It marks the first time since No Prayer For the Dying that the two worked on a song together without help from one of the guitarists. Like The Pilgrim, it serves as a departure from the war themes of the album. The song is about birth and the preciousness of life. While it’s not related to the album’s main topic, it is an eerie juxtaposition with the songs of war and death. It’s almost as if Bruce intentionally wrote the song to counterbalance the others and provoke further thought from the audience. It’s a fairly simple song musically, heavily driven by acoustic guitars and filled with bluesy guitar frills from Dave Murray (the actual solo is performed by Adrian, however). Being a ballad, the song feels like a musical progression from Journeyman. It has a similar vibe but with electric guitars. In context of the album, it serves as a nice break before the final sludge of epics.

The last four songs are all over seven minutes and are among the album’s densest tracks. The first, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, is the sole contribution from Dave Murray. After writing quite a bit on the last few albums, Dave has gone back to his more limited role of one song per album, which remains to this day. Like The Pilgrim, the song is an amalgamation of several different ideas that Dave presented to Steve. Steve then arranged the ideas into a coherent song and penned the lyrics. It starts like a typical Murray track with a soft bluesy opening before exploding into one of the album’s heaviest tracks. It is pretty straightforward in structure, although like many of the other songs on the album the form seems to be extended considerably. It’s fascinating to think that, at a little over 7 minutes, this is one of the album’s shorter songs, but it’s actually longer than epics of the 80s such as Phantom of the Opera and Hallowed Be Thy Name. While there are a lot of interesting musical qualities, the mysterious lyric has attracted the most attention for this song. Written by Steve, the identity of Benjamin Breeg caused quite a bit of buzz among the fans. There was even a viral marketing campaign around the character to help promote the album (more on that later). The lyric itself is actually pretty typical Harris fare, dealing with nightmares, the afterlife, and questioning your purpose in life. These are all themes that found themselves in classic Maiden tracks like The Number of the Beast, Still Life, and Infinite Dreams. Once again, the relation to the album’s main themes is not immediately apparent here, although an argument could be made that the song describes PTSD experienced by soldiers after returning home. This is another idea that Steve has approached in the past, specifically on The X Factor with songs like Fortunes of War.

Following Benjamin Breeg is For the Greater Good of God, Steve’s big solo epic. The longest song on the album, although not by much, this is the first Harris solo epic since The Clansman in 1998. It’s a fairly typical Harris song, with a soft slow intro, lots of guitar driven melodies, and a huge (although repetitive) chorus. It also features an extended instrumental section with guitar solos from all three guitarists (the only time all three players solo on a track). The lyrics show Harris trying to come to grips with how religion has inspired so much war. It can apply to current events, but Steve intentionally opted not to reference one specific religion or war so that the song could apply to many different periods of history. When speaking about the song, he states that he is neither pro-religion or anti-religion and wanted to look at it from a fairly neutral position. It is definitely one of the band’s most powerful songs and serves as the album’s centerpiece.

Next is the final entry from the Smith/Harris/Dickinson combo: Lord of Light. This is probably the proggiest song on the album, featuring a very psychedelic intro and unusual guitar chords. There are spacey effects all over the track, with flanged cymbals akin to The Beatles’ psychedelic period and processed vocals. Despite the album as a whole probably being their most raw, Lord of Light is one of the more “produced” songs of the reunion era. This is also yet another song that originated from the initial writing session between Adrian and Steve. Bruce came in with the lyrics, this time inspired by a Metal classic: Satan. It’s a different take from Bruce, writing through the lens of a character who worships and sympathizes with the Devil. It’s a dark lyric and one that would’ve likely encouraged the “devil worshiper” title that the band was tagged with in the 80s.

Finally, the album ends on an appropriately ambitious note with The Legacy. The second contribution from Janick, it’s another collaboration with Steve Harris and is a musical continuation of many of the ideas from Dance of Death and Dream of Mirrors. It is yet another epic with a heavy acoustic guitar presence. Janick came up with the bulk of the song before Steve helped arrange it and added lyrics. It starts out with a storytelling vibe, akin to Dance of Death, but quickly morphs into something else. The extended acoustic intro is reminiscent of a fairy tale, similar to classic Gabriel era Genesis songs such as The Musical Box. It also features the band experimenting with alternate tunings, with the acoustic guitars in DADGAE (a variation on a tuning commonly used by Jimmy Page). Once it gets going, the song still has several distinct parts that keep things unpredictable. There’s an instrumental section with a Black Sabbath inspired riff and a huge chorus with classic Maiden harmonies. For the lyrics, Janick presented Steve with the idea of “truth and lies”. Steve took the idea and wrote something that managed to tie the entire album together by discussing an aspect of war that is not often broached by Maiden: the politicians. Each section of the song takes a different perspective, making for one of Steve’s most vast and well formulated lyrics. There appears to be influence from the film Jacob’s Ladder in the intro, but after that it takes on a life of its own. It’s ambitious, but it’s hard to imagine a more fitting conclusion to the album.

It makes sense to cover this album track by track because it truly was created in a way that the sequencing from one song to the next impacts the overall experience. That is true for any album to some degree, but it was especially important on A Matter of Life and Death. The songs were also recorded in the order that they appear on the album. While it was a quick recording process, each song was meticulously crafted and given an equal amount of attention. The band would spend an entire day on each song, from the rehearsal tracks all the way to the final mix. This was the logical continuation of their mission to make the records as live as possible. Much of what you hear on A Matter of Life and Death is a first take. Many of Bruce’s vocals come from the rough run throughs and there are very few overdubs. Also like Dance of Death, all of this was immortalized through footage shot by Kevin Shirley when time permitted. A deluxe edition of the album was released with a documentary that covers the whole album track by track along with a general synopsis of how the album came together and the band’s recording process.
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Offline Mosh

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Part 2:

To make the album sound even more raw, Steve opted not to have it mastered. For those who don’t know, mastering is the final stage in the production process and is a lot like putting the final coat of paint on a car. EQ, compression, stereo imaging, and other techniques are applied to give the album a nice sound and volume across different formats. In the age of digital recording, it can technically be bypassed and that is exactly what Maiden did. The result is an album that sounds exactly as it did when Maiden left the recording studio.

It’s not clear when the album title came about, but it was suggested by Bruce as a reference to an old British war film. The suggestion likely came once the album had been finished, as it perfectly captures the album’s themes. A Matter of Life and Death, the film, is ultimately a love story in a war setting. While most of the album deals with war, there are also hints of optimism in songs like Out of the Shadows and themes of love in songs like For the Greater Good of God. It’s also the fourth Maiden album without a title track. Supposedly some songs were considered for the title, namely The Pilgrim and The Legacy, but ultimately these were not used.

The cover is a much more literal take on the album’s theme, featuring an army of the undead led of course by our beloved Eddie. Interestingly, and for the first time ever, Eddie doesn’t seem to be the focal point here. I actually remember seeing the cover for the first time and not being able to find him at first, I was shocked at the idea that his only representation in the artwork was on the tank. On the other hand, it’s a return to a familiar style after the more modern look of the last few albums. For this album, the band recruited Tim Bradstreet, best known as a comic book artist who has worked on titles such as The Punisher. The result is a return to the comic book style of the 80s covers and, thanks to Bradstreet being a big fan of Riggs himself, feels more like a classic Maiden cover than anything since the early 90s.

As I mentioned earlier, Different World was an obvious choice for first single but the band surprisingly decided not to go that route. Instead, they decided on a bolder move and released The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg as the first single. It was put out initially in the form of a video for fan club members, before being put out for wide release. It was their longest single to date and so long that it was ineligible for the UK singles chart. The artwork was designed by longtime Maiden collaborator Melvyn Grant and to many was even better than the album artwork. Naturally the single came with quite a bit of controversy, as some fans felt it wasn’t strong enough to warrant a teaser for the entire album. On the other hand, it was a great PR move because it allowed the mystery of Benjamin Breeg to be used as a promotional tool. An entire website was made featuring paintings supposedly created by Ben Breeg and a biography written by a relative. The website has since been taken down, but at the time it was an early example of viral marketing to promote rock music. Something that is extremely common today.



Around this time, Different World and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns were also made available for streaming on Maiden’s website. Eventually, Different World was also officially released as a single. Where the video for Benjamin Breeg was simply footage of the band performing the song in the studio interlaced with archival footage of the band throughout their history, the video for Different World was an animated clip similar to the one made for Wildest Dreams. The single also marked the last time Maiden released a non-album b-side. A cover of Focus’ Hocus Pocus was included on some versions with a fun vocal from Nicko. The band actually also recorded a cover of Tush by Z.Z. Top, Angel of Death by Thin Lizzy, and Space Truckin’ by Deep Purple but unfortunately none of these were used. The former two have yet to see the light of day, although Space Truckin’ was eventually released in 2012 on a Deep Purple tribute album.

The album itself was released in August 2006, a couple months after being recorded. It was a similar release schedule to Dance of Death, but without the summer tour in between recording and release. It was a continuation of the increased commercial success Maiden were seeing in the new millennium, managing to hit #4 on the UK chart and #9 on the US Billboard (their first album ever to crack the top ten). It was a hit with fans and critics alike and was praised for its unified feel and the band’s willingness to continue to progress at such a late stage in their career. It was a huge hit among fans and is a fan favorite to this day. The less than successful experimentation on Dance of Death had finally come together in a way that was universally praised. If Brave New World showed that Maiden could still write competent music, A Matter of Life and Death showed that they could still capture their past glories. It was not all praise, however. Some fans criticized what they felt were unnecessarily lengthy songs and the frequent soft intro format also drew criticisms. Several songs also had fairly repetitive choruses, which has always been a common complaint about Maiden. That being said, most fans identified with the album in spite of its flaws and it is still considered one of their greatest albums. It is often cited as the best album of the reunion era and even their best full stop. Maiden’s dedication to progressing and continuing to evolve was paying off. Very few bands release classic albums 20 years into their career, Maiden had suddenly done it a second time.




A Matter of Life and Death Tour (2006)


In October, two months after the album release, Maiden hit the road yet again to tour the new album. As mentioned earlier, a lot of thought went into the sequencing and flow of the album to create a complete experience for the listener. With this in mind, along with the fact that the band felt that they had created something truly special, it only made sense to play the album live in its entirety. This was an extremely bold move. At the time, playing full albums live was starting to become a bit of a trend, although typically it was older bands performing their classic albums. The idea of a band such as Maiden performing their new album live in lieu of the “hits” was a risky choice. Maiden were already known for spending a lot of set time dedicated to new material when they were touring for an album, which tended to get mixed reactions from the audience, especially in America. Ten new songs in a row, which much of the audience may not have even heard before, would be taking it to a new extreme. To the band, however, it was a logical choice. In his biography, Bruce states that they did it for the new generation of fans that were supporting the band. He claimed that many people discovered Maiden because of Brave New World and that the new albums were to them what the “classics” were to older fans. The new fans were the torchbearers for Maiden and the album would be played as a token of appreciation to these fans. Personally, as part of that new generation of fans, I could absolutely see where Bruce was coming from.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the decision received a mixed response from fans. There were many complainers online and it’s obvious in bootleg footage from the tour that much of the audience in each show wasn’t really into it. An infamous moment from the tour was when a fan threw a sign at the stage that read “PLAY CLASSICS”. Bruce grabbed the sign and ripped it up to the sound of cheers from the front rows (this can all be found on YouTube). Many fans, especially, the hardcore fans and those who enjoyed the album, were delighted to see Maiden taking a risk and playing every song live. Part of the excitement of a new album release has always been the question of which songs Maiden will perform live, especially since one of their unspoken rules is that a song will not be performed if it is not played on the initial album tour. Inevitably this can lead to disappointment when a favorite is not played, but that was not the case here. Furthermore, the band had just finished a tour that was exclusively focused on the first four albums, so it was an appropriate time to give the hits a break.

That being said, a handful of classics was performed after the AMOLAD portion of the setlist. Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, Two Minutes To Midnight, The Evil That Men Do, and Hallowed Be Thy Name closed out the show. Even this selection was slightly controversial, as The Trooper, Run To the Hills, and The Number of the Beast were not included, despite arguably being the band’s 3 most famous songs. While Run To the Hills had been dropped from the sets frequently in the band’s recent history, The Trooper and The Number of the Beast were thought to be staples and had been present in nearly every setlist since their release. The decision made sense though, as it made room for fan favorites that were not played on The Early Days tour. The Evil That Men Do hadn’t been played since the Brave New World tour and Two Minutes To Midnight hadn’t been played since the Give Me ‘Ed Tour. This was not exactly a long period of time, but it was better than getting The Trooper yet again. The absence of The Trooper was a bit of a surprise though, as it fit in with the war theme of the show.

Speaking of the war theme, the band went all out for the stage production. The stage was designed to look like a war zone, complete with barb wire and sandbags. It was as if they took the idea for Paschendale on the Dance of Death tour and turned it up to 11. The lights were darker with warmer colors being used. It wasn’t quite as large or elaborate as the previous two tours, especially Dance of Death, but that wasn’t necessary for this show. The focus this time was completely on the music and the presentation of the album. The centerpiece, of course, was Eddie, who arrived in a large tank during the band’s eponymous track. A second walk on Eddie appeared during The Evil That Men Do later on in a soldier’s outfit complete with a machine gun.

As was the case for the Dance of Death tour, the A Matter of Life and Death tour was pretty brief. They started with a a short 11 date US tour before finishing out the month in Japan and then heading to Europe. The European tour lasted about a month but with considerably more dates. Given that the tour took place during the winter, it was primarily in indoor arenas. They finished out the year with a proper UK tour, one of their larger UK tours in quite some time. Overall, one of the band’s shortest tours, although it was technically just the first leg.

Sadly, an official live album or video was never released from the tour, so it was a very special event for those who were lucky enough to witness it. There are some good bootlegs out there though, as usual. I’m going to upload some here but I have to go through them first to pick a good one. So stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, here's the band performing Brighter Than a Thousand Suns and Hallowed Be Thy Name live in Abbey Road studios: https://vimeo.com/116793139

This sort of footage is rare from the band, so it's quite a treat.

A Matter of the Beast Tour (2007)


While the A Matter of the Beast tour didn’t officially start until the summer European tour, the band did perform a few dates earlier in the year. They performed at Dubai and India for the first time, and also visited Serbia and Greece. At these dates, the band opted not to play A Matter of Life and Death in its entirety, which made sense as these shows were going to be many fans’ first opportunity to see Maiden live. It was still very much an AMOLAD focused show though, with five songs being played live, including three of the epics. There were no surprises in the set additions, just the return of The Trooper, Run to the Hills, and Wrathchild. The shows themselves were a success for the band and proved that they were still penetrating new markets. Their popularity in India in particular was growing at a fast pace, with A Matter of Life and Death being one of the highest selling Rock albums of all time there.

Following these sporadic dates, it was announced that the band’s upcoming European tour would partially serve as a celebration of The Number Of the Beast’s 25th anniversary. The tour would be renamed A Matter of the Beast and feature five songs from A Matter of Life and Death and five songs from The Number of the Beast. Considering most of these European shows would be performed at festivals in front of a more casual audience, this made a lot of sense. Unsurprisingly, these announcement was met with much excitement among hardcore and casual fans alike. Casual fans were excited to see more material they were familiar with, and hardcore fans were looking forward to potential surprises. Run To the Hills, The Number of the Beast, and Hallowed Be Thy Name were obviously in, but after that there were four songs that weren’t performed nearly as much and would be surprises. From the current lineup, Children of the Damned had only been played at select shows on the Brave New World tour. 22 Acacia Avenue was only played on the Gimme Ed Tour. The Prisoner and Total Eclipse had never been performed by the current lineup. Or maybe they’d finally do a song that had never been played live before. It was a long shot, but Maiden was full of surprises the past couple years, so anything was possible.

Eventually, the tour began and the setlist wasn’t quite as exciting as many may have hoped. It was exactly the same as what the band had played earlier in the year, but with the addition of Children of the Damned. It was certainly a rare song and a nice treat for the fans, but it only made for four songs from The Number of the Beast, instead of the promised five. Still, Children of the Damned hadn’t been featured regularly on a tour since 1982 (it was played sporadically throughout the 80s though). The five songs selected from A Matter of Life and Death were also unsurprising: the two singles (Different World and Benjamin Breeg), the Harris epic (For the Greater Good of God), and two other tracks from early in the album (These Colours and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns).

Once again, the tour didn’t last very long. It was a brief run through Europe and consisted of just 12 dates. Fortunately, some of it was actually filmed this time. The band’s appearance at Download festival in Donington was streamed on the internet and was filmed by the band with the intention of a DVD release. It’s unclear why the live release never came about, it was listed on Kevin Shirley’s website for a long time and there is footage of Kevin and Steve working on the mix in the Flight 666 movie. There has been speculation, however. For one, as can be seen in the live stream, a lot of the stage shots are blocked by the numerous flags being held by the audience. Secondly, it was still daytime when the band started the performance and the daylight prevented the full lightshow from being displayed until later on. There was also a slightly embarrassing moment during Wrathchild when Bruce fell on stage, although it’s hard to see how that would prevent the band from releasing the DVD. That being said, since it was live streamed, it can easily be viewed online. A polished fully mixed official version would be nice someday, but for now this is the best way to catch footage from the A Matter of Life and Death era of the band.

Donington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL42k2rnB38

The touring cycle for A Matter of Life and Death was uncharacteristically short. It’s hard to say why, other than the band simply wanting to slow things down as they got older. However, the continued success of Maiden albums and tours was about to reach a climax and this would be the last time a tour wasn’t a huge global affair.
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Offline Anguyen92

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1577 on: December 29, 2017, 09:52:05 PM »
All I got to say about the whole A Matter of Life and Death album cycle is, "PRAISE IRON MAIDEN!"  No other classic rock band (except for Rush when they were active) would put this much care and effort and wanting to go to create longer songs, explore more cerebral themes in their lyrics, and make the songs still enjoyable to listen to, etc.

Also, I loved the fact that they decided to spend the first leg of the tour playing the whole album in its entirety.  Again, no other classic band (except for Rush as well) would put this much emphasis in new material for their shows.  Too bad their US tour only composed of 11 shows and it was mainly focusing on the big markets (LA, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, etc.).  I don't think they played a solid leg of US shows when it comes to the reunion album tours until the Book of Souls World Tour where they played a lot of shows in the states, but we'll get to that point eventually.

One more point about A Matter of Life and Death.  For the Greater Good Of God is a tremendous song to me.  As mentioned, in the main Maiden thread, I heard Trivium's Matt Heafy play an acoustic cover of it, and that was good.  That got me into listening to the original version and it was a tremendous gem of a song.  I really enjoyed the orchestral instrumental part of it before they kicked in the solos.  Some people do not think that bands can create really great songs, 20 years past their "prime era", but Iron Maiden has been defying that logic on this run they have and to me, For the Greater Good of God was the peak of it, until they got to The Book of Souls album, but more on that later.

Anyway, great write-up Mosh on those two posts.  Very informative and loaded with great info on the creation of the album and the tour.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 10:00:59 PM by Anguyen92 »

Offline ProfessorPeart

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1578 on: December 29, 2017, 10:58:50 PM »
Count me in as one who was disappointed by the tour. I don't have many memories of the show other than it being rather boring. I remember being seated the whole time as no one bothered standing. Disappointing is the word I always use to describe the show.

The album isn't bad by any means, it just didn't deserve a complete playing.
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Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1579 on: December 29, 2017, 11:55:01 PM »
Does anyone else think that Out of the Shadows and Tears of the Dragon are similar, at least in the choruses?

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1580 on: December 30, 2017, 03:48:24 AM »
This was the time I became a fan of Iron Maiden. I spent the summer of 2006 immersed in Powerslave and Piece of mind, purchasing the Edward the Great compilation several months later. I was aware there was a new album out due to the fact that it was surprisingly enough announced on local news in my country. I made a note out of it and bought the album mid November. At that point, I realized I have found my favorite band. A Matter of life and death was a masterpiece to my ears, one of the best albums I'd ever heard, and I still love it to bits.

The timing was perfect that at the moment I discovered the best band ever, the news came out that Maiden was coming to Serbia for the first time in 20 years. It would have been a perfect time to see them, but due to my financial situation and the fact that I was only 16 years old, my parents didn't allow me to go. It was disappointing and hearbreaking - little did I know, though, I would see Maiden 8 times over the next 10 years.

Had I gone to that show, I would have been thrilled to see the entire AMOLAD performed live. Instead, we got the mixture of old and new. The 18000 fans were thrilled nevertheless. Here's footage of Fear of the dark from that show. I like to think Bruce was blown away by Serbian crowd that he actually allowed the people to sing an entire verse ("...and when the light begins to change..."), something that I've never seen him do. Also, pay attention to 3:55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hxGWcUaOV4

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1581 on: December 30, 2017, 04:26:52 AM »
Great album. At first I loved it, then I hated it because almost every song has that same fucking chord progression, but now I love it again.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1582 on: December 30, 2017, 03:17:47 PM »
Once again another excellent write-up, Mosh!  :tup

Of course I knew the songs were long but until you pointed it out I never realized that Brighter than a Thousand Suns was longer than *anything* on Dance of Death. In a sense it's a prequel to Strange Death in Paradise, since his solo song is specifically about the outcome of the Manhattan Project - the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

About the album... good album, for sure. But I never was its biggest fan and I couldn't really explain why. First of all, I loved Dance of Death very much, and it was hard to top that album for me. Secondly, I wasn't impressed with the production, and the lack of mastering, I get the whole "Let's make it raw and live" but at times it put strain on Bruce's voice, to a casual listener it could sound like he was finally reached by his age and that he was straining and having difficulties.

Also little things here and there annoyed me, such as the many slow intros, and how Bruce starts "late" to sing during Brigher. Probably it was made on purpouse, to make it less predictable and more dissonant, but to me it always felt like he started a half bar late with "We are not the sons of God" (considering how he ends up the stanza with the heavy section already going) and I never got over it.

I was almost annoyed, also, at how people were praising For the Greater Good of God like it was the best thing ever came out of England (including the Beatles, every other metal band, Shakespeare and anything else) while to me it was just yet another variation of the same old same old Harris formula. And The Legacy, as long as it may be, it felt short to me - slow "storytelling" into, slow burn verses and choruses, solo section and then the big ending. It felt like there should have been some other stuff in there, the ending comes too soon and too upbeat and joyful after such a plodding tune.

Still: I don't think it's a bad album, I would never look funny those who love it, and in time I warmed up to it. For all my initial dislike of Greater Good, I have to say Bruce sings it tremendously well (live he filled me with emotion at the beginning and the end), and look how well it works translated for piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIXwvVZmvEc

The day Maiden ever plays with an orchestra, this song has to make the setlist!

About the album cover: of course it's a gazillion times better than Dance of Death, and Eddie IS there, on top of the tank with the gun. He's not just an insignia, he's actuallly standing on the tank.

--------------

About the live shows: I've seen them both!  :metal It was absolutely NOT a chore to sit through the whole album. Mosh explained brillantly the reasoning behind playing it in full, but I've also read that they were anyway undecided on which songs to keep and which to shelf. When other bands are undecided about a setlist, they just go for a greatest hits show, when Maiden are undecided, they play the whole new album  :lol I fully support, then and now, their decision to play it in full. There are plently of nostalgia bands and cover bands anyway, if you want to see just the classics. But a band that strives to remain vital and current has to believe in the new material, and it was a bold and daring move to go for the whole new album. Also, for a while I didn't have to sit through The Number of the Beast, it's not that I dislike the song, but I can live without it by now.

The show was good, it didn't drag at all, stage set was cool and the tank was FUCKING AWESOME. Seriously, people, the best video bootleg does NOT give the idea of how absolutely freaking insane was Eddie appearing out of a giant tank. A jawdrapping moment.

About the "Bruce lets the crowd sing the whole intro of Fear of the Dark": it happened also in Italy. At the second date out of two played in Milan. I was at the first, damn  :D

The second round of this tour, with the Number of the Beast songs back in, happened in Venice, at a Heiniken sponsored festival. It was a four day festival, and Maiden headlined the metal day, the other three days were way more mainstream. Slayer was the last band in the bill before Maiden, and the venue was a very nice park right outside Venice. I still remember me shouting "Hear how damn well he's singing!!!!" during the ending of For the Greater Good of God. And this time around I knew the tank was coming so I really enjoyed it. Very nice show, it left me happy and pumped, Doctor Doctor was not yet universally known as the intro song so I was one of the relatively few that was singing along with joy when it was on. I was so happy to have gone - I had at the time a very bitchy boss at work and I had to fight through mails to get the few hours off the day that would allow me to take the train and go to Venice, I was almost about to give up, also because it was hard to find a sleeping place, but after the show I was so happy that I made it happen.

Funny thing about the festival: I had to sleep there 'cause there were not night trains back from the show... UNLIKE the three other more mainstream days of the festival. Metalheads can screw themselves evidently, the fans of other kinds of music are more cared for. And the day after, as the second of the fourth days of the festival was about to start, and right as I was boarding the train, what happened? a frigging hurricane swept up the festival area, causing enough damages to cancel the whole festival.

I saw it as revenge from the gods of heavy metal, for not putting extra trains only on the metal day... and also frankly because after Iron Maiden have played, who else would be worthy to be on the same stage in the next days?  :D
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1583 on: December 30, 2017, 04:13:01 PM »
About the album cover: of course it's a gazillion times better than Dance of Death, and Eddie IS there, on top of the tank with the gun. He's not just an insignia, he's actuallly standing on the tank.

Sorry wasn't clear. I wasn't able to find him at first, of course I did see him quickly enough, but it was the first time Eddie wasn't the centerpiece of the artwork.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1584 on: December 30, 2017, 11:20:42 PM »
About the "Bruce lets the crowd sing the whole intro of Fear of the Dark": it happened also in Italy. At the second date out of two played in Milan. I was at the first, damn  :D
Way to shatter my illusions, man.  :lol The hurricane story is horrific, yet awesome.  :metal

Two more things I want to add about this album - it has my favorite Maiden production. It's the Maiden sound at the peak of vitality and live feel. It's just fantastic, aggressive and sensitive all around. The cover art is also amazing, one of their best overall. Such a brilliant album.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1585 on: December 31, 2017, 02:30:53 AM »
Yeah, as far as I remember there were a few people slightly injured, but no casualties or serious injuries. It sucked for everyone attending the other days of course, but looking back to it, it's funny how metalheads got the "worst" deal (Thursday while the rest was taking place in the weekend, no night trains added) and in the end we were the only ones to actually enjoy the festival  :D
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1586 on: December 31, 2017, 07:01:12 AM »
The Longest Day might have my favorite Iron Maiden chorus ever. This was the first of their new albums I picked up after becoming a fan, and I thought it was brilliant at the time. I still enjoy it, but do agree that many of the songs are too long for their own good and it's definitely a chore to listen in its entirety. I'm not sure how I would have liked it live, but I always respect bands who are unafraid of playing their new shit at the expense of older songs. I wish they'd play all of their post-reunion albums in their entirety. Maybe not in sequential order, but with substitutions during 2nd legs like they did with Tears Of A Clown and The Great Unknown.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1587 on: December 31, 2017, 08:03:37 AM »
Maiden's Modern (Reunion) Era Classic!

I remember this was released on the same day as DT's Score. It was also about 3 weeks before my birthday. With young kids, I couldn't buy the Score DVD AND CD, along with the Maiden CD, so I opted for the Score DVD, which meant waiting for my birthday to get the two CDs.

It took me a couple of listens, but I immediately loved Brighter, and Lord Of Light, and the ominous opening to The Longest Day stood out.
There's a lot to chew on, so it took about 6 listens to really start to grasp all that was here, and what it was was a masterpiece.

While I personally find The Final Frontier just as strong, and a little easier on the ears, For me, The Reunion Era is defined by AMOLAD. An instant classic.

Unfortunately for the tour, the night they were playing in Boston coincided with a family trip to Disney World. Unfortunately, I misses the show. But the Boston Boot is awesome, especially the part where Bruce chastises a lighting guy.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1588 on: December 31, 2017, 08:42:04 AM »
I liked DOD and especially BNW so much when I got into the band that AMOLAD was pretty tough to get into. I sorta ignored the band for a while. One eventually comes around to good things, of course  :tup

I still enjoy it, but do agree that many of the songs are too long for their own good and it's definitely a chore to listen in its entirety.

Definitely. May suffer the most from 'progmaiden bloat syndrome' imo.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1589 on: December 31, 2017, 10:25:55 AM »
This was the album that got me back into Maiden. I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World, and just ignored the band for several years. It was about a year after FF came out that someone told me to check out AMOLAD, and I was completely blown away. Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1590 on: December 31, 2017, 11:29:49 AM »
  Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.

Without question.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1591 on: December 31, 2017, 12:04:13 PM »
After falling out of love with Maiden years before, I jumped back in with BNW and sort o& enjoyed it. doD came and went and didn’t impress (apart from Paschendale) but I gave AMOLAD a go without expecting much.

Great album though, so much better than anything they did since SSoaSS.

The slow intros get a bit much. I particularly dislike when they go all folky Morris Dancery but that’s worse on the next one. Typically, the production is crap.

But yeah, excellent album


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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1592 on: December 31, 2017, 12:28:56 PM »
This was the album that got me back into Maiden. I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World, and just ignored the band for several years. It was about a year after FF came out that someone told me to check out AMOLAD, and I was completely blown away. Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.
So out of curiosity: there's a lot of repetition on this album. Choruses, structures, even the same chord progression shows up several times. How did that affect your enjoyment (if at all) compared to on Brave New World?

I have my own answer to this, AMOLAD is tied with Piece of Mind for favorite Maiden album, but I'm curious to hear other takes.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1593 on: December 31, 2017, 12:37:04 PM »
There's an intensity to AMOLAD that just isn't there on BNW. As experimental as BNW feels, there seems to be a little trepidation that is not present on AMOLAD.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1594 on: December 31, 2017, 01:12:29 PM »
This was the album that got me back into Maiden. I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World, and just ignored the band for several years. It was about a year after FF came out that someone told me to check out AMOLAD, and I was completely blown away. Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.
So out of curiosity: there's a lot of repetition on this album. Choruses, structures, even the same chord progression shows up several times. How did that affect your enjoyment (if at all) compared to on Brave New World?

I have my own answer to this, AMOLAD is tied with Piece of Mind for favorite Maiden album, but I'm curious to hear other takes.

 I saw this in the original post and I just don’t get it. I don’t hear nearly the  repetition on this album that I do on others. I hear nothing like the atrocity of blood brothers on this album.  In fact, I can only think of one or maybe two songs that repeat the exact same line 8 times or more. Almost all the rest of the songs change up the chorus a little bit or only repeat four times

EDIT-  in fact, the number one reason I love this album so much is because it WASN’T as repetitive as previous efforts had been. To my ears anyway.
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would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1596 on: December 31, 2017, 02:07:38 PM »
I liked Brave New World but thought they took a dip with Dance of Death. This album restored the reunion era credibility with me. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns has a pretty cool groove, Lord of Light incorporates the galloping song style that they play so well. The other stand out epic to me is For the Greater Good of God. It took me a while to get into The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg and The Legacy but when I play the whole disc through they fit. Out of the Shadows is the only weak track on the disc.

I would have loved to have seen this show but they didn't stop anywhere near me. I'm a long time fan and listened to them a lot during their classic era but if they don't play a lot of classics and focus mostly on new stuff I'm fine with that.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1598 on: January 01, 2018, 07:34:49 AM »
I'm willing to give this another crack (maybe today as I'm not going outside at all - noon wind chills expected to be -5 degrees.  NOON!  But while it's good, and I think better than BNW, it doesn't - for me - touch Dance of Death. 

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1599 on: January 01, 2018, 08:14:01 PM »
Incredible write ups - I just learned so much about the album that I never really knew before!  I've had this love/hate relationship with AMOLAD - when it came out, I loved it.  I remember hearing Benjamin Breeg debut on Sirius XM radio that year.  After a while, I grew tired of the record.  Probably because to me, it sounds quiet and sometimes flat.  Maybe it's because of the lack of mastering.  Maybe it's my brain thinking of the lack of mastering that affects how I hear it.  I don't know.  But I shelved this album for years and only listened to BNW and Final Frontier from the reunion era for a long time.

This thread had me going through all of these records in preparation a few months ago and I listened to AMOLAD in full several times for the first time in years.  The album blew me away like it did when it came out, and it was like discovering a new Maiden album all over again.  Bruce fucking soars on this album.  I think he still sounds at his best on BNW/Rock in Rio, but his vocals here are incredible.  Musically, there's some really nice, heavy riffs meshed with the super melodic reunion era sound. 

I skipped the tour (weeknight show!  ugh) but applaud the hell out of the band for standing behind their new album and playing it in full.  I'm a big fan of bands that really push their new music (especially when touring for a new album) and don't rely on the hits. 

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1600 on: January 02, 2018, 01:43:19 AM »
Great album, top 3 easily for me. Off course, the rumour at the time was that Benjamin Breeg was none other then Paul D'ianno, and the rumours were flying that there was to be a collaboration of some kind. Turned out, it was nothing of the sort....
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1601 on: January 02, 2018, 02:17:14 AM »
Maiden's best album. Balls to the wall metal from first to last, all killer, no filler. I love this album! Shame they've never given any of this material an official live release though.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1602 on: January 02, 2018, 06:55:26 AM »
  Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.

Without question.

I agree with this and may even go as far as top 3. There is just something special about this album. I love the rawness and intensity and there really isn't any filler.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1603 on: January 03, 2018, 01:10:35 AM »
About the album: I forgot to mention how godly and perfect is the entire first verse of Out of the Shadows. Absolutely brilliant performance from Bruce.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1604 on: January 03, 2018, 02:54:11 AM »
I also forgot to single out Bruce as the standout performer on this album. It might actually be my favorite vocal performance of his, ever.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1605 on: January 03, 2018, 09:14:09 AM »
As promised, some bootlegs from the tour. One audio and one video.

Sweden: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v75z0m4m3q09kp0/Iron%20Maiden%20-%20Stockholm%2C%20Sweden%20November%2018th%2C%202006%20FM%20-%20DJ%20FREE%20%2BDefinitive%20Edition%2B.zip?dl=0

This is an audio bootleg from the 2006 leg and is probably the best sounding of the bunch (including Donington). It's sourced from a radio broadcast and is pretty close to pro quality, although it's a little rough sounding. Adrian's guitar is pretty low in the mix but other than that it's probably the best way to hear the album played in its entirety live.

New York: https://www.dropbox.com/s/21wryzp5xu6kt91/2006-10-12dvd.zip?dl=0

This one is video and is also really good. The audio is really good for a fan recorded boot and the video quality is really nice. The location of the camera is pretty much perfect and you get a lot of really great wide shots of the stage. Plus it's indoors. I almost prefer this to the blurry outdoor Donington footage, despite not being professionally recorded.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1606 on: January 03, 2018, 10:07:24 AM »
Great album, top 3 easily for me. Off course, the rumour at the time was that Benjamin Breeg was none other then Paul D'ianno, and the rumours were flying that there was to be a collaboration of some kind. Turned out, it was nothing of the sort....

You hear that occasionally, and I have to say, from what I know about Bruce and Steve, there is a better chance of Donald Trump appearing on stage with Maiden than Paul Di'anno.  If it didn't happen around the time of Clive's illness and what not, it's never going to happen.   I don't see the control freak Harris inviting that shit show into his world, even for a one-off.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1607 on: January 03, 2018, 12:37:06 PM »
Another thing I forgot to address: in the end, what was the whole Benny Breeg thing about? as cheesy as it was, the viral marketing was nicely done, with the website and the clues and everything, but it feels to me that everyone was obsessed with it, and then everyone simply forgot about it and moved on without anyone ever asking the band in any interviews. Kinda like the Pink Floyd stunt with the Publius Enigma.

There was a double mystery actually: who was Benny Breeg to begin with, and who is his reincarnation.
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Online Grappler

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1608 on: January 03, 2018, 01:32:35 PM »
Another thing I forgot to address: in the end, what was the whole Benny Breeg thing about? as cheesy as it was, the viral marketing was nicely done, with the website and the clues and everything, but it feels to me that everyone was obsessed with it, and then everyone simply forgot about it and moved on without anyone ever asking the band in any interviews. Kinda like the Pink Floyd stunt with the Publius Enigma.

There was a double mystery actually: who was Benny Breeg to begin with, and who is his reincarnation.

From Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reincarnation_of_Benjamin_Breeg

Quote
The website, as well as the biography of Benjamin Breeg, was completely fictional, and was later found to have been created by the band to increase publicity since they knew that fans would research the name trying to figure out who the character was. The date that the cousin and the informant were supposed to meet was none other than the date of the single's release. The website - which has since been taken down - sported an image that was allegedly painted by Benjamin Breeg himself.[citation needed]. This was a dead give-away for fans who recognized that it showed none other than Eddie, the band's mascot, easily discernible by Eddie's one red glowing eye which he has had since the album Somewhere in Time.

Mosh included the self portrat of Benjamin Breeg in his album entry under Part 2.   ;)

Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
« Reply #1609 on: January 03, 2018, 02:03:27 PM »
Great album, top 3 easily for me. Off course, the rumour at the time was that Benjamin Breeg was none other then Paul D'ianno, and the rumours were flying that there was to be a collaboration of some kind. Turned out, it was nothing of the sort....

You hear that occasionally, and I have to say, from what I know about Bruce and Steve, there is a better chance of Donald Trump appearing on stage with Maiden than Paul Di'anno.  If it didn't happen around the time of Clive's illness and what not, it's never going to happen.   I don't see the control freak Harris inviting that shit show into his world, even for a one-off.

Maybe if and when they decide to do a farewell tour, but even that is a stretch. I've seen Paul live twice, and it's a horrible sight.