Iron Maiden CD Review

[TageRyche]

Iron Maiden

The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter

Sanctuary Records Group - 2017

http://www.ironmaiden.com

Given that I've reviewed The Book of Souls studio album and The Book of Souls concert date, it feels like a bit of perfect symmetry that I now complete the trifecta and talk about the live 2 CD set that serves as the memorialization for the tour.

While there was a deluxe edition release for this latest Iron Maiden live album that came with a hardcover book, I stuck to just getting the standard 2 disc set that captures the entire 15 song set that Maiden performed all over the world for nearly a year and a half.

Following up on recent live releases, each track is from a different concert across the tour. It opens with a show in Australia and circumnavigates the globe to end in Brazil. I should note that I was a little disappointed that not a single US date on the tour got represented in the final track listing. That's a bummer as I keep hoping that they'll pick a track for a show I attend but that is just a personal thing and not really a true criticism.

The CD booklet is jam packed with the standard collection of "rare" live photos of the band in action throughout the entirety of the tour. Some offstage pics are included as well. There's a brief essay recapping the tour and various new achievements by the band from their longtime manager Rod Smallwood.

Musically speaking, if you've seen the tour, you know exactly how this live set rolls out. There isn't any kind of surprise in this package but like all of Maiden's seemingly endless live releases, it does the job intended. It puts the band front and center for fans who want to relive the tour or didn't get to see it in the first place. But I defy anyone to not get that same sense of electrical charge running through themselves when Bruce Dickinson screams out for "The Trooper", or the intro to "The Number of the Beast" starts playing.

Lately, I've been less than thrilled about live albums and have pretty much stopped buying them. The main exception has been the Iron Maiden releases. If they put it out, I buy it. Why? Simple really, they always seem to put together a perfect memento of their most recent tour which goes hand in hand with demonstrating just why they continue to be the standard bearers for all things heavy metal.

While I have yet to see any of their live releases top the monumental Live After Death album, this album is a wonderful addition to Iron Maiden's live catalog. From "If Eternity Should Fail" to the closing "Wasted Years", you will feel the continued passion of the band, the manic excitement from the fans and understand just what a heavy metal concert should always be.

Once again, you get to scream for them...wherever you may be. As always, Up The Irons!

Set List:

"If Eternity Should Fail"
"Speed Of Light"
"Wrathchild"
"Children Of The Damned"
"Death Or Glory"
"The Red And The Black"
"The Trooper"
"Powerslave"
"The Great Unknown"
"The Book Of Souls"
"Fear Of The Dark"
"Iron Maiden"
Encore:

"The Number Of The Beast"
"Blood Brothers"
"Wasted Years"
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars