EN VIVO!

Not being myself a "real fan" of Heavy Metal music, I sometimes like to listen to this kind of music. And apart from previously listening to a few of songs from IRON MAIDEN in the radio in the eighties ("Run To the Hills", "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "The Flight of Icarus") this was the first time that I listened to and watched to a full concert video from this band . It was recorded at the "Estadio Nacional" in Santiago de Chile in April 10th, 2011.

IRON MAIDEN could have been initially influenced as a band in their music and in their image by BLACK SABBATH. There are still some similarities in some points in both bands. But clearly, IRON MAIDEN has found a very clear identity for themselves as a band and a very clear market for their music and image. Led by founder bassist Steve Harris, who also is one of the main songwriters in this band, they have a long history in Heavy Metal music, with Harris being all the time in the band (a bit like late bassist Chris Squire in YES). Harris has been the leader in the band since it was started. And they as a band really look like working very well and happy together after all these years. At least, this is the image that I have from them after watching to this concert video. Apparently there are not "egos and personality clashes" among the members of the band (like in other bands), and they look like being really working together very well as a team, with the band having three guitarists (Janick Gers, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith) who give to each other enough space to shine, sharing lead guitat parts among them or leaving some lead guitar parts to each other in some songs. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson is a very good singer, singing very high notes in most parts of the concert, jumping, dancing, communicating with the audience with words, gestures, smiling, laughing. He moves around the stage with a lot of energy, in a stage design which even has an additional platform above the drum kit. Dickinson sings several songs from that platform, leaving the rest of the stage to the other members. The band uses some lights and other effects, and there are some appearances on stage from their legendary mascot called "Eddie", personified by someone or in some animations. Despite the fact that like other Heavy Metal bands IRON MAIDEN has a "dark" image and music and lyrics which apparently very often speak of "dark" and "apocalyptic" themes, some of their songs are really like social commentaries about politics and power. They even give a time to a bit of good communication with the audience (in the English language, with the audience apparently understanding the messages very well) in some songs like "Blood Brothers" which talk about "human brotherhood", because before they play this song, they leave the audience sing a bit alone (like they were singing at some soccer matches) and Dickinson later introduces the song to the audience giving a good message about humanity. So, IRON MAIDEN is not a "very dark" band as other bands in Heavy Metal music. In fact, it seems to me that being themselves very experienced musicians they really don't take very seriously the "dark" nature of their lyrics and music. They appear on stage smiling and really enjoying playing their music to the audience in a very professional way. After all, as a band they have more than 35 years playing this kind of music together. So they know how to manage their musical careers very well. Their interact with each other smiling, laughing, making funny gestures and jokes to each other. Nicko McBrain is a very good drummer, and I thought that he used a double bass drum kit or a double bass drum pedal, but I was wrong. He makes his drum kit sound that way without using those devices, using very good technique with his hands and feet!

The video has very good images and sound, with the sound being very well mixed. The images are shown most of the time in split screens, giving some very good camera angles at the same time. And there are also a lot of camera takes from the audience point of view and also looking to the audience. So, one can watch to the audience (with most of them being very young people: teenagers and twenty-somethings) really enjoying the concert very much (and also apparently not taking very seriously the "dark" things from the music and lyrics, with most of them smiling, singing, dancing, and apparently not being violent to each other). It is also interesting to watch to some very experienced musicians in their mid to late fifties playing an energetic concert to an energetic young audience.

A very good concert video.