LIVE AFTER DEATH

One of Iron Maiden's greatest moments of popularity came with the release of "Powerslave" in 1984 and reached its peak with their subsequent marathon support tour 'World Slavery Tour'. And nothing better than the live double album "Live After Death" (1985) to capture the vital onstage energy of a band in a state of grace. An unbeatable setlist in which the Englishmen play the most representative songs of those golden years (first half of the 80's), reaffirming their position as one of the flagship bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

From their impetuous opening section with the warlike and corrosive "Aces High", "2 Minutes to Midnight", and "The Tropper", the pieces flow revitalised by the adrenaline that the band transmits live, intensifying even more with the mythological and epic "Revelations", "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (impeccable Steve Harris with his attacking bass and the galloping guitars of the Dave Murray/Adrian Smith duo), "Powerslave", and "Phantom of the Opera" (again unbeatable Murray and Smith in a huge guitar duel giving a new life to the ghostly theme of their debut album), the demonic and controversial "The Number of the Beast", the damning "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (one of the best songs of the metal genre) and "Children of the Damned". And the powerful and operatic voice of Bruce Dickinson, as a colophon, proposes to participate to a subdued audience that accompanies euphorically in the direct "Iron Maiden" and the participative "Running Free".

"Live After Death", one of the best live albums in heavy metal, if not the best, marks a turning point in the band's career, after which they would begin a period with new textures and nuances added from the unthinkable contribution of synthesizers.

4/4.5 stars