Iron Maiden
EN VIVO! (DVD)

May 2012
Released: 2012, Universal
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Celtic Bob

May is Maiden Mania Month for us at http://www.metal-rules.com. This month we are going to review lots of Iron Maiden related material. Two books, two CD’s and a Maiden DVD, all of it mostly related to the last two world tours: the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour (2008-2009) and the Final Frontier World Tour (2010-2011). Lastly, we have the formal results from The Iron Maiden Tournament run by Erik on our Metal Forum. Thanks to Erik for running this fun poll and series of threads. Feel free to enjoy all of these reviews in this mini-series.



Just home from work and the new Iron Maiden Blu-Ray was waiting in my mailbox. I crack open an ice cold ale and place the disc into the player. I choose the DTS Audio option on my receiver and THX Picture mode on the Plasma. I am all set for awhile.



After the somewhat lengthily intro which shows the South American fans, the band arriving, stage set up...etc. The music finally starts and we are off. The sound is really well done. The DTS mix is clear with just the perfect amount of crowd in the rear speakers. Well mixed in the front with Bruce’s vocals centered where they should be.



The visual aspect of EN VIVO! is a bit of a mixed bag. The show was filmed well with great angles and some really cool angles. The colors are perfect and look very natural. The video falls a little flat in a couple of places, the first being that it is not crystal clear like it should be this day in age. Some shots are slightly better than others for clarity. The second place where the visual aspect fails is in the overuse of multi-angle screens. One image on the screen at a time is how a concert video should be viewed. More than that and it gets annoying and distracts from the show itself.



With the technical out of the way we can now concentrate on the most important feature; The Music.

As you would expect Maiden are on top of the game and perform flawlessly. These guys are the ultimate professional musicians. Bruce may not be able to sing like he did 20 odd years ago but he belts it out better than many bands out there now can ever dream of doing. 
After just coming off of the Somewhere Back In Time Tour where they basically played their ‘Hits’ they chose to concentrate on the latter albums from BRAVE NEW WORLD to the current FINAL FRONTIER disc. While they do include a few of the oldies the setlist is mainly newer material. For the die-hards this is quite a treat to hear some different songs live, while a newer fan that is just getting into them may be a little disappointed. If you are looking for Classic Maiden ‘Hits’ then get the FLIGHT 666 Blu-Ray as it is phenomenal. 

Despite a couple of minor flaws this release is extremely enjoyable. I am now on my second playing of it as I write this. Being a Maiden fan that came on board when POWERSLAVE was released I can say that hearing the older songs like “The Trooper”, “The Number Of The Beast” and “Running Free” will never get old or tiring. Every Maiden fan should own this release.