Review of Iron Maiden: Rock In Rio (2 Disc Set Limited Edition)

Introduction

Fans of today`s one hit wonders that see the music charts change totally from one week to the next may laugh at heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, but in the cold light of day, Iron Maiden`s enduring popularity and enormous record sales over the last 23 years speak for themselves.

I was lucky enough to get hold of tickets to one of the three sell-out shows for the benefit of ex band member Clive Burr in the Brixton Academy earlier this year, to see the band perform a selection of old favourites and some of the newer (and not as popular) material.

The stage and setlist in Brixton was almost identical to that used for this concert last year, which saw the band perform in front of a staggering 250,000 people in Rio, Brazil.

Bizarrely, I`ve got "The Number of the Beast" in my car at the moment, and the title track from that album features in "Murder By Numbers", starring Sandra Bullock and in UK cinemas at the moment!

Video

When I review music discs, I get fed up of seeing relatively static shots of the band members on stage, with little visual excitement. Iron Maiden on the other hand, used 18 cameras to film themselves and the vast crowd (which really is very big indeed), which makes the songs more interesting to watch as well as listen to.

The picture comes in full-frame and is of a very high standard, providing crisp and clear visuals, and overall providing a lesson in how a rock convert should be filmed and presented on DVD.

Audio

The soundtrack comes in a choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 and comparing the two produced a surprise - the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is slightly better - despite having less range, it is less boomy and is better balanced. Listening to "Hallowed Be Thy Name" in both reinforces this, with the vocals slightly clearer and a crisper sound from the guitars.

The rear channels are used for both music and crowd noise, and full use is made of the entire soundstage to provide a room filling sound.

Features

The first disc contains the concert, the second contains a number of extras including interviews, "a day in the life" and a photo gallery.

The section on the band members takes a look at what they do on days off - so we see Adrian Smith going fishing and Bruce Dickinson fencing.

The "a day in the life" is a 10 minute featurette, strangely enough about a day with the band, which is very interesting.

The DVD is packaged in a cardboard slip case, which contains a fold out cardboard holder for the two discs - with a pop-up stage at the top.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed seeing Maiden earlier this year in Brixton, and I really enjoyed watching and listening to this DVD, which is one of the best music discs in my collection, with only Roger Waters: Live in the Flesh in the same league.

The track listing contains a little too much of the newer material, which frankly isn`t in the same league as classic Maiden, but then again, when you have "The Number of the Beast", widely regarded as one of the finest rock albums ever recorded, as your benchmark, achieving that level of perfection more than once is nigh on impossible. The show is well balanced, alternating between old and new tracks, but the last quarter included songs like "The Number of the Beast", "Run To The Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", the latter being perhaps one of the best rock songs ever, which gives the show a grand finale, leaving me wanting more.

The video and sound are both very good, and the extras quite interesting and overall this DVD comes highly recommended.