MAIDEN JAPAN

The all-time IRON MAIDEN's favourite band is DEEP PURPLE, as guys confessed once. They learned a lot about dynamics, tempo and arranging by them, but they also learned what happens when band goes too far.

Of course, it was unavoidable to include at least some reference about DEEP PURPLE somewhere in band's long career, and they mad a brilliant pun in the title. Made in Japan, geddit?

Needless to say, this live EP is hardly comparable to legendary Purple's live record, but that was not the intention anyway. We have here five very good live tracks ("Running Free" and "Remember Tomorrow" from the debut and "Wrathchild", "Killers" and "Innocent Exile" from the second album). All the songs are, as I said, very good, but they are nothing special in Maiden's catalogue - or your personal collection - whether you are IRON MAIDEN fan or not. In my opinion, it deserves two and a half stars, but I won't round them to three - this live document is above average, but not excellent, and it's way too brief. The reason for the publishing of this brief record was, I think, insisting of Japanese fans to see 1981's performances from Nagoya and Tokyo. The band was reluctant to do so, but Maiden Japan EP (aka "Heavy Metal Army") was released at last.

All the performances are of high quality, and Paul is singing much more furious than on studio albums. "Wrathchild" is much more energetic (it sounds somewhat monotonous and recited on studio version, at least to my ears) and "Innocent Exile" is also worth mentioning. When I heard Paul's "eee-yo-wee-yo-yo-yo" chanting I had a strange feeling that I've heard it somewhere before, and indeed, you can hear the same thing in THE POLICE's "Walking On The Moon". Hah! The mighty 1981!

Anyway, this live EP is the last document of Paul DiAnno's singing in the band, and after this one, the band will abandon their occasional punkish (?) attitude.

I'm just regretting a missed opportunity to see the so-called "Venezuela version" of this EP, where Eddie is holding Paul's head on the front cover (the same will be done with Bruce's head on their farewell concert before Blaze took place). Awesome.

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