Sunday, April 26, 2009

Spoiler-free thoughts on Iron Maiden: Flight 666



1. Maiden fans are insane. Of course they're passionate, devoted and knowledgeable, but I'd never truly realized that metal fandom reaches the kind of fervor usually associated with boy bands, Deadheads and juggalos.

2. Unless you've never experienced Iron Maiden in the flesh, you're not going to leave the theater knowing much more than you knew coming in. There's nothing in Flight 666 to gossip over, and Bruce Dickinson's famous assertion that "Everything you need to know about Iron Maiden is onstage" holds true. Anyone with at least a passing interest in metal should see this, but anyone hoping for Spinal Tap, Some Kind of Monster or Behind the Music will be disappointed.

3. 2008's "Somewhere Back in Time" tour, as documented in Flight 666, was not a nostalgia tour. This isn't KISS performing their hits exactly as they sound on record, with the same stage show they had in the Love Gun era. Iron Maiden sound even stronger, tighter and heavier today than they did in the '80s. Now that they're dedicating their peak showmanship to their prime songwriting years, Flight 666 captures perhaps the greatest Maiden tour to date.

4. Seeing Iron Maiden perform live is as thrilling as anything you can do inside an arena, and if you never get such a privilege, watching Flight 666 on a big screen is as close as you'll get. Sam Dunn, Scott McFadyen (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey) have created the concert movie to beat this year, and what will likely stand as the best-ever movie on one of the most extraordinary bands in rock history.

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