Live After Death

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Live After Death
Live album by Iron Maiden
Released 14 October 1985
Recorded 8, 9, 10 and 12 October 1984, and 14–17 March 1985
Genre Heavy metal
Length 1:42:01 (LP), 1:11:57 (CD)
Label EMI
Iron Maiden live albums chronology
Live After Death
(1985)		 Maiden England
(1989)
Singles from Live After Death
  1. "Running Free (live)"
    Released: 13 September 1985
  2. "Run to the Hills (live)"
    Released: 2 December 1985

Live After Death is a live album by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 14 October 1985 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 2002). It was recorded during the band's World Slavery Tour.

Contents

[edit] Cover art

The cover art was done by Derek Riggs, and pictures the band's mascot, Eddie, rising from a grave. Engraved on his tombstone is a quote from fantasy and horror fiction author H. P. Lovecraft's The Nameless City:

"That is not dead which can eternal lie
Yet with strange aeons even death may die."

The correct quote is actually "And with strange..." instead of "Yet with strange...". A similar version of this phrase is used in Metallica's song "The Thing That Should Not Be" from the Master of Puppets album. (See also: the Necronomicon.)

Also engraved onto the headstone is what appears to be Eddie's full name, "Edward T H--", the remainder of which (his supposed surname) is obscured by a clump of sod.

The cover depicts Eddie as he is seen on covers before and including Number of the Beast (with long hair) though he is also bound by metal cuffs connected by an electrical surge, as seen in the Powerslave merchandise, and also the metal screws from his Piece of Mind lobotomy.

The back cover also shows Death in the clouds above the destroyed city. This is the fourth cover where its figure can be seen (the first being "Twilight Zone", the second being "The Trooper" and the third being the back of Powerslave. The fifth time is the back of Somewhere in Time, however, the reaper would also portrayed by Eddie himself on Dance of Death and Death on the Road). Near Eddie's grave is a black cat with a halo, which also features in the Somewhere in Time and Twilight Zone artwork. To the cat's left, there is a tombstone engraved with "Here lies Derek Riggs".

In 2007 The National Entertainment Collectibles Association released an action figure diorama of the album cover. It is the third in the series, along with other available figurines based on Somewhere in Time, Phantom of the Opera and Piece of Mind.

[edit] Intro

The intro before "Aces High" is a part of the We shall fight on the beaches speech made by Winston Churchill in the House of Commons on 4 June 1940.[1] (Churchill re-recorded the speech – the original speech in the House of Commons was not recorded.):

"... We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender ..."

It was later used for their Ed Hunter Tour[2] and Somewhere Back In Time World Tour.[3]

[edit] Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[4]
Kerrang! 5/5 stars[5]

Live After Death was well received by the music press, with Kerrang! describing it as "possibly the greatest live album of all time."[6] Allmusic shared this sentiment, describing Live After Death as "easily one of heavy metal's best live albums."[4]

[edit] Track listing

The first 13 tracks (12 songs and the intro) were recorded at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California on 14–17 March 1985. The last 5 songs were recorded earlier on the same tour, at the Hammersmith Odeon (now known as the Hammersmith Apollo) in London on 8, 9, 10 and 12 October 1984. On the original double LP version, the songs from Long Beach are on the first three sides, whereas the songs recorded in London ("Wrathchild", "Children of the Damned", "22 Acacia Avenue", "Die With Your Boots On" and "Phantom of the Opera") were on side four.

The initial CD version (released in December 1985) the first three sides of the LP version; the fourth side wasn't included due to capacity problems. Also, "Running Free" is shortened from 8:43 on vinyl to 3:16 on the CD by eliminating the crowd interaction and the intro and first song, "Aces High," are included in the same track. The 1998 remastered re-release has the unedited version as well as a second CD with the missing tracks from the fourth side of the original LP. The 1995 re-release (which wasn't remastered) also has an extra CD, but which instead contained the b-sides from the Live After Death singles releases.

All songs written and composed by Steve Harris, except where noted. 

CD 1 - Recorded At Long Beach Arena, Los Angeles - 17 March 1985
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Intro: Churchill's Speech"   Winston Churchill 0:49
2. "Aces High"     4:39
3. "2 Minutes to Midnight"   Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith 6:03
4. "The Trooper"     4:31
5. "Revelations"   Dickinson 6:11
6. "Flight of Icarus"   Dickinson, Smith 3:27
7. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"     13:18
8. "Powerslave"   Dickinson 7:13
9. "The Number of the Beast"     4:53
10. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"     7:21
11. "Iron Maiden"     4:20
12. "Run to the Hills"     3:54
13. "Running Free"   Paul Di'Anno, Harris 8:43
CD 2 (1998 release)
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Wrathchild" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - 8 October 1984)   3:07
2. "22 Acacia Avenue" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - October 1984) Harris, Smith 6:19
3. "Children of the Damned" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - 10 October 1984)   4:37
4. "Die With Your Boots On" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - 10 October 1984) Dickinson, Smith, Harris 5:13
5. "Phantom of the Opera" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - October 1984)   7:23
Bonus CD (1995 release) [I]
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - October 1984)   4:14
2. "Sanctuary" (Recorded At Long Beach Arena, Los Angeles - 17 March 1985) Di'Anno, Harris, Dave Murray 4:40
3. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (Recorded At Hammersmith Odeon, London - 12 October 1984)   4:32

^ I Iron Maiden's entire discography from their self-titled debut album to 1992's Fear of the Dark was re-released as limited editions with a bonus CD in 1995.

[edit] Companion Video

The Live After Death video was also recorded at Long Beach Arena, but on different nights.[7] It contains the entire gig, complete with intro and encore, and closes with "Sanctuary", which is absent from the original LP, CD and remastered CD.

The live version of "Sanctuary" was included on a bonus disc packaged with the 1995 reissue, along "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue" from the Hammersmith shows.

[edit] Credits

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Album

Chart (1985) Position
Mexican Albums Chart 67[8]
New Zealand Albums Chart 16[8]
Norwegian Albums Chart 13[9]
Swedish Albums Chart 8[10]
Swiss Albums Chart 26[11]
UK Albums Chart 2[12]
US Billboard 200 19[13]

[edit] Singles

Single Chart (1985) Position
"Running Free (Live)" Irish Singles Chart 12[14]
UK Singles Chart 19[15]
"Run to the Hills (Live)" Irish Singles Chart 18[16]
UK Singles Chart 26[17]
Single Chart (1990) Position
"Running Free (Live) / Run to the Hills (Live)" UK Albums Chart[note 1] 9[18]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Re-release of both singles as part of "The First Ten Years" box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

[edit] Certifications

Country Certification Sales
Canada 2× Platinum[19] 200,000+
United Kingdom Gold[20] 100,000+
United States 2x Platinum[21] 2,000,000+

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brannigan, Paul (2002). "Rising Power". Kerrang! Legends (2): 88–89. 
  2. ^ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 338. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  3. ^ Burrows, Tim (2008-07-07). "Team colours out in force for an Iron Maiden home victory". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3555942/Team-colours-out-in-force-for-an-Iron-Maiden-home-victory.html. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
  4. ^ a b Prato, Greg. Live After Death at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
  5. ^ Wall, Mick (3 October 1985). "Total Death!". Kerrang!. 104. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. pp. 13. 
  6. ^ "Kerrang Review LAD DVD". http://www.ironmaiden.com/kerrang-review-lad-dvd.html. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
  7. ^ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  8. ^ a b "Live After Death- Mexican Charts". http://mexicancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Live+After+Death&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
  9. ^ "Discography Iron Maiden". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2008-07-07. 
  10. ^ "Discography Iron Maiden". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2008-07-07. 
  11. ^ "Discography Iron Maiden". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2008-07-07. 
  12. ^ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". everyHit.com. http://www.everyhit.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  13. ^ "Artist Chart History - Iron Maiden". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=4887&model.vnuAlbumId=792220. Retrieved 2008-07-07. 
  14. ^ "Irish Singles Archive". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  15. ^ "Official UK Singles Archive- 12th October 1985". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1985-10-12/. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  16. ^ "Search the charts". The Irish Charts. IRMA. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 3 October 2008. 
  17. ^ "UK Singles Archive- 21st December 1985". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1985-12-21/. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  18. ^ "Official UK Albums Archive- 7th April 1990". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1990-04-07/. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
  19. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for October 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
  20. ^ BPI certification search tool. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
  21. ^ RIAA certifications. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
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