Iron Maiden
Rock In Rio DVD
Review by Gary Hill
The year 2001 marked the triumphant return of the classic Iron Maiden lineup. The band undertook a tour to promote the critically acclaimed Brave New World album. A powerhouse show, the tour was similarly touted. Rock In Rio the DVD presents the show that was the ultimate culmination of that tour - a massive concert in front of over 200,00 enthusiastic fans. The video itself is quite a strong tribute to that show, capturing the impressive stage presentation and the band's musical wizardry. The fact that it also shows a large crowd of people singing and moving in unison to the music simply adds to the power of this video. The only real complaint regarding the concert film is the fact that many of the cuts are a bit too quick at times. You just get to where you want to see what the camera is focused in on, and suddenly they switch to a different camera.
Still, the concert film is only part of the picture. The 2-disc set also includes some bonuses. The main thing present in those supplements are intriguing interview clips with the members of the band. Those are quite worthy of having, and a welcome addition. Also, the packaging itself, harkening back to the pop-up books of childhood, is quite cool. The only real complaint here is that the copy I have has some definite clipping in the audio track. I am assuming that something went wrong when they burned my copy. I also assume that this is the exception rather than the rule because of the many people I have spoken with about this video, no one has mentioned having a similar problem.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2003 Year Book Volume 2 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2003-and-2004/.
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