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Iron Maiden

March 12th, 2010 · Posted by Skuds in Life/Music · 2 Comments · Life, Music

I watched the Iron Maiden concert that I recorded on BBC Four’s Heavy Metal Britannia night yesterday.  I understand it is a cut-down version of the Flight 666 film of theirs.  I don’t know what it is about Iron Maiden but I just can’t warm to them as much as I probably should.It isn’t that I dislike the music, just that I never got into it enough to really be able to distinguish between the tracks – except for the ones on the Number of the Beast album.  It doesn’t help that all their albums have such similar artwork it is hard to tell them apart.

Another thing is that I still think of them as a new band…  and it is scary to realise that they have actually been going for about 30 years now.

They do put on a good show though, and at the heart of it all Steve Harris is a world-class bass player, one of the very best in the genre.  I am not just saying that because he is a die-hard Hammer – he really is that good, and seems to be a genuine ‘diamond geezer’ too.  On paper I should really be into Iron Maiden, but such is the subjective nature of music appreciation that I just like them without being too interested.

Not sure why they have three guitarists though. When you consider how much noise Metallica put out with two guitars or Black Sabbath, the Who and countless others do with just one, there does seem a tad excessive.  I could never understand the appeal of those all-star concerts where the stage fills up with special guests and you end up with a dozen guitarists either. Apart from anything it introduces a tendency to let the songs go on too long so you can fit three solos in.

But there are obviously millions who disagree with me, right across the world – and fair play to Maiden for playing in India, Chile, Mexico and other places that don’t always feature on world tours.  Seeing the packed venues made me wonder a bit if Iron Maiden aren’t heading towards the sort of position in the UK’s export economy that Abba used to have in Sweden.

I don’t think I will be rushing out to get the full-length DVD, but I’m glad I watched the version on TV.

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2 Comments so far ↓

  • skud's sister

    I was so impressed that the audiences in Japan, India etc knew all the words. I don’t know why but I was….. I also remember listening to the first Iron Maiden album with cousin Caroline way back in the day – she was into Iron Maiden, Girlschool, Dave Edmunds and Abba.

  • Skuds

    It is a bit impressive.
    When I saw Les Negresses Vertes several times I only knew a fraction of the words.