Iron Maiden - Death on the Road
Sanctuary
Heavy Metal
Disc 1: 9 songs (50'21) Disc 2: 7 songs (44'05)
Release year: 2005
Iron Maiden, Sanctuary
Reviewed by Ben

Another studio album harkens yet another live album for the legendary Iron Maiden. I was very skeptical about them releasing a live album especially since Rock in Rio came only two years prior and there has been just one new cd since. Throw on top the recently released Essential Iron Maiden collection and the forthcoming DVD companion of this two cd live set and it seems as if the band is trying to milk the fans for all they are worth.

In usual Iron Maiden fashion there are a good six tracks culled from Dance of Death so for those of you that enjoyed it you have the chance to hear a good selection of the cd in the live format. There is also a nice surprise with the inclusion of the X Factor track, Lord of the Flies as performed by Bruce. Other than these seven particular songs the rest of the album has been available many times over in the form of the six other live albums and EP’s put out by the band. The Trooper, Run to the Hills, Fear of the Dark, Hallowed be thy Name, Wrathchild, Number of the Beast, all your old friends are here again. As far as the performances go with this one it’s a mixed bag. Bruce is obviously not at his best here he strains badly during the songs Dance of Death and Lord of the Flies and during some passages it is so obvious it made me cringe. The classics go down pretty smoothly, while listening to Can I Play With Madness I was almost transported back in time to my youth when this song was new to me and hearing Bruce bellow the verses to The Trooper still brings a smirk to my face every time I hear it.

Yes I know this is a fairly short review but what else can I say about Death on the Road? Instead of hearing more live albums I want to be able to listen to some new studio material and as nice as the classics sound in front of an audience, I already have much better recordings than this one in my collection. Death on the Road exemplifies the saying “for purists and die hards only.”

Killing Songs :
The Trooper, Hallowed be thy Name, No More Lies
Ben quoted no quote
Other albums by Iron Maiden that we have reviewed:
Iron Maiden - Senjutsu reviewed by Goat and quoted 60 / 100
Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls reviewed by Goat and quoted 73 / 100
Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier reviewed by Goat and quoted 83 / 100
Iron Maiden - Flight 666 DVD reviewed by Goat and quoted no quote
Iron Maiden - Killers reviewed by Thomas and quoted CLASSIC
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