IRON MAIDEN - Rock in Rio DVD ... A Review ... (1 Viewer)

[Aurel Savin]

"Scream for me Brazil !!! "
When I first came to the US in 1984 as a teenager in Junior High School the first friend I made had me listening to 2 bands. One was TWISTED SISTER and the other was IRON MAIDEN.
While Twisted was fun and heavy, it was MAIDEN that I really loved and remember wearing my ACES HIGH T-Shirt to school 2-3 days in a row. This is when I found out that in the US there is this custom of wearing something different everyday Hey, I was "fresh off the boat" as they say.
But I loved IRON MAIDEN!
They were also the first band I saw in concert for the first time at Madison Square Garden on the SOMEWHERE IN TIME tour sometime in the mid-80's. What a show!!! It has become something I would compare other concerts by ... even to this day. It was truely a "rock show"!!! Stage, lighting, it was Broadway with guitars and potheads in the audience
Having said that, I must admit that I have not bought anything MAIDEN in the last 10 years. About 2 months ago, a friend had me listen to the new ROCK IN RIO cd and I could not believe that they still had that power and youthful intensity live!!! So knowing the DVD was in the works I was looking forward to pick it up.
Well, it is worth every penny!!! The DVD contains 2 discs. The first is the full Rock in Rio Concert recorded on 18 cameras in January, 2001. The second is a behind the scenes DVD with interviews and other tidbits.
THE CONCERT
From the first kick drum of the WICKER MAN, I was blown away. The DTS track (DD 5.1 Track is also present) is the best I have heard and truely gives you an "in your face ... you are there" experience. Nicko McBrain's drums gave my sub a real workout and I felt as the walls were sweating. I am not familiar with the newer songs like the WICKER MAN and GHOST OF THE NAVIGATOR but they sounded amazing live. It is the old tracks however that had the crowd in Brazil going nuts (and myself). The song IRON MIDEN is the best of the bunch here, real headbanging power that sounds as fresh today as it did 20 years ago. The MAIDEN "galloping" rythms of HALLOWED BE THY NAME and RUN TO THE HILLS sounded amazing.
The video is sharp and clean, although I must complain about STEVE HARRIS' editing, as he likes to cut to a different band member every 3-4 seconds and it is a little MTV style. Dizzying at first but you get used to it as the 125 minute show progresses. Oddly enough he is the member that is least featured in the edits. Maybe he is shy ...
THE EXTRAS
The second DVD contains brief 4-5 minute interviews with each band member as they go about everyday things ... mostly their hobbies.
I will let you watch this and not give away any surprises. This is the first time I have heard any of the band members talk (besides Dickinson) and thought Nicko McBrain is a complete hoot, but the whole band seems very down to earth and "together" considering the years they have been on the road. There are some DVD Easter Eggs dispersed in this section as well, which while fun to hunt for, do not contain anything special.
The next section contains a DAY IN THE LIFE of MAIDEN, a short 7 minute documentary as we see them the day before the concert ... and after.
The last section contains a 50 photo collection from the South American tour narrated by longtime band photographer Ross Halfin. Some cool pictures and informative insight!!!
Overall it is the concert you should buy this DVD for and this will sure not dissapoint. The DTS track just crushes everyhting and it is crystal clear!!! I missed numerous phone calls for the 2 hours I was watching this as I could not hear the rings
I have seen many concert videos and I can honestly say that this is the first one that will make you feel as if you were part of the show and in the front row. An amazing feat achieved by great camerawork and fantastic sound reproduction.
Pick this up if you are a long time fan ... UP THE IRONS!!!

 

[Todd Stout]

I just picked up the Rock In Rio DVD last weekend myself. I have only watched the first couple of tracks so far but the DTS track definately kicks.

I am a longtime Iron Maiden fan too. I first discovered them in 1983 when the Piece of Mind album was released. The first "real" concert I attended was the "Somewhere on Tour" tour back in 1987. IM immediatly became my favorite band after that show.

 

[Richard Harvey]

Quick q: what is the level of profanity on this disc? I'm a Maiden nut, but I learned early with Metallica DVD's that I'm forced to watch them on a rare basis when my kids aren't home due to the constant F-bombs. I don't expect them to be kid friendly, but when I can find discs I can crank even with the family at home it's a definite bonus.

Rich

 

[Chris Farmer]

Richard, on the CD the F bombs aren't particularly common. Off hand, I can think of less than 6 over the course of the concert, but the DVD may well contain more in the parts of Bruce talking to the audience that were cut out of the CD (the stuff between the songs). The CD is incredible, up there with Live After Death as one of my all time favorite live albums. I have the DVD, but haven't had a chance to watch much of it yet, but the thing that drops my jaw is the friggin CROWD. There were a quarter of a million people at that concert, and it's just incredible when the cameras show the audience, and it's just a sea of people, as far as you can see. And the Brazilians are great to, singing along with everything, screaming, yelling, they really add to the energy of the performance, and it really shows in the power that Maiden puts up.

Watch it with the volume turned down or on the computer at first just to find the profanity (there's nto much, but there is some), but definitely watch it. It's an absolutely incredible show, and I can't wait to get to watch it myself. The CD alone has been fun enough.

Oh, side note, anyone else think it's absolutely ridiculous I payed less for the DVD than the CD?

 

[Todd Schnell]

Thanks for the review!

I heard about the MTV style cuts, which I am not a fan of either.
I can't wait to hear that DTS track though!

My copy is on the way to me from B&N.com.
Btw it was only $15.99 + free shipping if you buy 2 items.
Some info on this in the coupons & bargains area.

I was/am a long time Maiden fan.
Got into the band with their debut record.
Saw them live somewhere between 1980-82.
The last IM recording I purchased was Somewhere In Time. While I think they are still a good band, their later releases got stale & repetitive around this time imo.

Anyway I still listen to some Maiden from time to time & can't wait to check out the DVD.

Todd

 

[Aurel Savin]

Oh, side note, anyone else think it's absolutely ridiculous I payed less for the DVD than the CD?

That is true .. I paid $9.99 for the DVD
That ROCK IN RIO was a weeklong festival and it included the likes of NSYNC and BRITNEY SPEARS alongside SEPULTURA< MAIDEN and HALFORD ... must have been a blast

 

[Paul Boyle]

I have this DVD & was a big fan back in the NOTB era
I was hoping there would be more "old stuff" whereas the DVD has only 3 or 4 such tracks (:frowning
Re the editing - it sucks like an industrial hoover :frowning:
Also at the start the stage looks amazing until five million watts of white light is poured onto the stage (presuambly as the show was broadcast live on TV) :frowning:
Fortunately as most people agree the DTS (full bitrate) is excellent but for the reasons outlined above I rarely "watch" the show & just listen to the music ...
Paul

 

[Marc_E]

Hey Aurel,
I saw Maiden at the the called Brenden Burne Arena during that same tour. Awesome show and they was a big riot with burning overturned cars!

I have the DVD and have yet to check it out. Maybe tonight.
I love Maiden and have seen them a few times. Love all their albums(except that Generation X stuff with blaze).
Marc

 

[Chris Purvis]

You kids missed the best show - the powerslave tour's stage show put the somewhere in time tour to shame (I attended both).
Todd - I am just like you - I stopped buying their albums after Seventh Son for the same reasons as you. You should really check out Brave New World, though. It's a throwback to their music from '84 - '87 and was a plesant surprise to me.

 

[Robert_eb]

I would say every 1-2 seconds. I don't know about you but watching this concert was frustrating because of the way it was edited. I could never set my sights on one scene because it was gone within a second or two.

 

[Todd Schnell]

Chris,
Those were great times.
NotB era was the tour I saw, must have been 1982 now that I think more about it.
Scorpions was also on the bill.
I have given Brave New World a few listens back when it was first released.
It is a solid record, but again we get the repetitive chorus thing ala the "Brave New World" chorus line repeated about 100 times it seems.
This annoys the hell out of me.
I may revisit it though.
What song really impressed me on the DVD was "Sign Of The Cross".
Awesome song, with lots of changes & cool instrumentation. I know this one was during the Blaze era which I skipped entirely.
May have to check that out.
Anyway I still listen to lots of metal, mostly into progressive rock/metal.
I watched the whole package, including finding 2 easter eggs on the extras disc.
One on the band members section I think it was highlight Bruce & push up.
The other I can't quite remember off hand, but both were real easy to find.
One includes somebody doing hand shadow puppets, & the other was Kevin Shirley at the mixing board during the BNW recordings.
Nothing too special & the extras were ok, but kinda skimpy imo.
I really like the way the photo diary was done especially with the narration.
This is turning into a review of sorts, so while I'm at it a few more thoughts.
The picture & sound quality (DTS full bit rate), are excellent.
It would have been nice if filmed in widescreen to truly capture that massive stage set.
The guitars & drums are up front, & bass a bit back surprisingly.
Vocals also sometimes more than others seemed just a hair back in the mix.
The quick edits have been mentioned, & after watching my thinking is that if the scenes were just a few seconds longer it would have been a vast improvement imo.
Still not quite as annoying as I expected honestly.
Some great close-ups!
The band sounds very tight, in fact too tight thus I'm thinking the sound is doctored.
Did anyone see this when it aired over pay per view?
How would you compare?
Also you can see the sound & video are not always in sync, though this could just be the fault of the editing.
I could be wrong here, but I think either the audio is taken from several shows, doctored in the studio, or perhaps a bit of both.
Still this is quite a enjoyable DVD, & it does a pretty good job of feeling live.
Todd

 

[HankM]

I have the RIR DVD but I also received my Brazillian DVD of Live After Death. This is an official release in Brazil only. It is an all-code DVD. The picture is very good, way better than VHS. The DVD was transfered from the laserdisc. The sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1, the 5.1 sound is a little out of sync. I listen to the 2.0. This is a pleasure having on DVD becaus when I sold my LD player I sold 12 Wasted Years (available on DVD from Brazil), Live After Death and Maiden England. IMO Live After Death is there best live show on video. Hopefully we can get an official U.S. Live After Death DVD remastered as long as Steve Harris doesn't mess around with new editing.

 

[Robert_eb]

I was under the impression that this was a bootleg.

 

[Chris Purvis]

Beware of things that look like official releases from countries like Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore... Ever seen the 'official' asian star wars dvd's? They look 100% official. Have THX & 20th century Fox logos on the box in the right places, trademarks, copyrights, etc. They are just clever forgeries ripped from the laserdiscs, I suspect this Live after Death Brazil Only Edition is the same.

Ask yourself from a business perspective, does Brazil as a market for Iron Maiden REALLY warrant it's own exclusive to Brazil DVD of this concert?

 

[Mike Broadman]

What song really impressed me on the DVD was "Sign Of The Cross".

I saw them do this one live on their last tour. At the time, my Iron Maiden collection was relegated to the "classic" stuff and the new album. This song impressed me so much I picked up the two Blaze albums.

X Factor is underrated, IMO. Sign of the Cross is a great song and there a bunch of others on that album that are pretty strong. There are some dull moments as they try to over-dramatise it a little and lose the sense of cheesy fun they used to have, but it's good music. Virtual XI, however, is just abysmal.

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

Powerslave... *droooool*
[COMICBOOKGUY] Greatest...... album.... ever! [/COMICBOOKGUY]
Great tour, too. Saw them at the Hollywood Sportatorium back in January 1985, with Twisted Sister opening. 8th row center. *sigh* THOSE were the days of metal.
You guys have sold me. I'm off to order. No food for me this week!

 

[Dharmesh C]

Wish they'd perform Rime of the Ancient Mariner again

 

[HankM]

Virtual XI, however, is just abysmal

The Clansman rocks though. When they perform it live with Dickenson it is incredible, you feel the energy

 

[Todd Stout]

I liked the music on the X Factor album myself but I just couldn't get into Blaze's voice. It almost seemed as though he was trying to hit the high notes like Bruce but just couldn't do it. I think he sounds fine when he keeps away from the high notes and stays within his range though.

 

[Chris Farmer]

X Factor is definite underrated, IMESHO. Blaze obviously isn't a fraction of the vocalist Bruce is, but the music itself is good. Sign of the Cross especially is an incredible work. Virtual Xi, on the other hand, is bunk. Lousy songs, and the "highlight" was the atrociously repetitious Angel and the Gambler. However, Clansman is definitely a great song, and Bruce takes both it and Sign to an entirely new level.

For those of you who haven't tried it, Brave New World is a terrific album. My only complaint is 3 of the songs have somewhat repetitious choruses (although not too bad, but it does annoy some people), but overall the album rocks. It's easily the best album they've put out since Adrian left the band, and even then stacks up admirably against anything done with him.

No doubt about it, Maiden is back (although I'm to young to remember when they were first big), and I can't wait to see what comes from their next album (sometime next year).