Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:40:59 minutes | 1,29 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK
“The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter” is a live double-album comprises 15 songs captured during ‘The Book Of Souls World Tour’, which covered 39 countries across six continents during 2016 and 2017, and was seen by over two million fans. Produced by Tony Newton and Iron Maiden founder member and bass player Steve Harris, the album is based on this year’s set list and is a faithful record of the epic show, including six songs from “The Book Of Souls”, the band’s most recent studio album, along with many other classics and fan favourites.
More than half of the material here is made up of performances of Book of Souls material with the songs usually appearing in pairs. Uncharacteristically, the two opening tracks on each disc, “If Eternity Should Fail” and “Speed of Light” pale in comparison to their studio counterparts – the former due to the inclusion of way too much reverb on Dickinson’s vocals, the latter because it feels like a sound check run-through as opposed to an actual concert track. “Wrathchild,” from Killers, delivers the chugging Maiden magic with its three guitarists – Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers – on stun. Likewise, “Death or Glory,” from a Polish gig, is raw, stomp-and-swing metal boogie with Dickinson exhorting the ecstatic crowd to “climb like a monkey.” The Book of Souls’ material gets a reboot with a 13-minute read of “The Red and the Black” that erases the memory of the opening numbers. “Powerslave,” which closes disc one, just smokes, thanks in no small part to drummer Nicko McBrain’s virtuosity. Disc two commences with another pair of Book of Souls tunes: “The Great Unknown,” captured in Newcastle, and a nearly 11-minute version of the title track from Castle Donington. Its thundering, doom-laden vibe is more intense and menacing than its studio counterpart. “Fear of the Dark,” from the 1992 album of the same name, is as much a showcase for the audience at Fortaleza as for the band. They are, for better and worse, part and parcel of the song’s performance. It’s great the first time through, but tiresome upon repeated listens. It’s followed by “Iron Maiden” from Buenos Aires, and “Number of the Beast” from Wacken. Neither song can be performed too many times and this album is no exception. These may not have been the most proficient performances of the tour, but they are raw and inspired, and this is also true for new readings of “Blood Brothers” (also from Donington, and worth the price for Dickinson’s spoken intro alone), and set-closer “Wasted Years,” captured in Rio de Janeiro with its anthemic choruses and swinging drums. Those curious about Dickinson’s voice after treatment needn’t worry – he’s in excellent form throughout. As captivating as much of The Book of Souls: The Live Chapter is, it is still primarily designed to appeal to the core of the band’s most dedicated fans.
Tracklist:
1-1. Iron Maiden – If Eternity Should Fail (Live at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia – Friday 6th May 2016) (07:46)
1-2. Iron Maiden – Speed of Light (Live at Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town, South Africa – Wednesday 18th May 2016) (05:08)
1-3. Iron Maiden – Wrathchild (Live at 3 Arena, Dublin, Ireland – Saturday 6th May 2017) (02:59)
1-4. Iron Maiden – Children of the Damned (Live at Bell Center, Montreal, Canada – Friday 1st April 2016) (05:14)
1-5. Iron Maiden – Death or Glory (Live at Wroclaw Stadium, Wroclaw, Poland – Sunday 3rd July 2016) (05:15)
1-6. Iron Maiden – The Red and the Black (Live at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan – Thursday 21st April 2016) (13:17)
1-7. Iron Maiden – The Trooper (Live at Estadio Jorge Magico Gonzalez, San Salvador, El Salvador – Sunday 6th March 2016) (04:05)
1-8. Iron Maiden – Powerslave (Live at Plaza Dell’Unita D’Italia, Trieste, Italy – Tuesday 26th July 2016) (07:31)
2-9. Iron Maiden – The Great Unknown (Live at MRA Arena, Newcastle, England – Sunday 14th May 2017) (06:50)
2-10. Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls (Live at Download Festival, Donington, England – Sunday 12th June 2016) (10:49)
2-11. Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark (Live at Arena Castelao, Fortaleza, Brazil – Thursday 24th March 2016) (07:34)
2-12. Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (Live at Estadio Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Tuesday 15th March 2016) (06:05)
2-13. Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (Live at Open Air Festival, Wacken, Germany – Thursday 4th August 2016) (05:06)
2-14. Iron Maiden – Blood Brothers (Live at Download Festival, Donington, England – Sunday 12th June 2016) (07:35)
2-15. Iron Maiden – Wasted Years (Live at HSBC Arena, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – Thursday 17th March 2016) (05:38)
