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)		 A Real Live One
(1993)
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.

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, "Head") 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 be 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.

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] Somewhere Back in Time World Tour,[3] and Maiden England World Tour.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [5]
Kerrang! [6]

Live After Death was well received by the music press, with Kerrang! describing it as "possibly the greatest live album of all time."[7] AllMusic shared this sentiment, describing Live After Death as "easily one of heavy metal's best live albums."[5]

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) featured 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. 
Sides 1–3/CD 1 – Recorded at Long Beach Arena, Los Angeles: 14–17 March 1985
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Intro: Churchill's Speech"  Winston Churchill 0:49
2. "Aces High"    4:39
3. "2 Minutes to Midnight"  Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson 6:03
4. "The Trooper"    4:31
5. "Revelations"  Dickinson 6:11
6. "Flight of Icarus"  Smith, Dickinson 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"  Harris, Paul Di'Anno 8:43
Side 4/CD 2 (1998) – Recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, London: 8–12 October 1984
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Wrathchild"    3:07
2. "22 Acacia Avenue"  Harris, Smith 6:19
3. "Children of the Damned"    4:37
4. "Die with Your Boots On"  Smith, Dickinson, Harris 5:13
5. "Phantom of the Opera"    7:23
Bonus CD (1995 release) [I]
No. TitleWriter(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)Harris, Dave Murray, Di'Anno 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.

Companion Video

The Live After Death video was also recorded at Long Beach Arena, but on different nights.[8] 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.

A 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.

Personnel

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[9][10]

Iron Maiden
Production
  • Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Mick McKenna – assistant engineer (Hammersmith)
  • Charlie McPherson – assistant engineer (Hammersmith)
  • Ricky Delena – engineer (Long Beach)
  • Nick Basich – second engineer (Long Beach), second mixing engineer
  • Wally Traugott – mastering
  • Derek Riggs – sleeve illustration, sleeve concept
  • Ross Halfin – photography
  • Steve Joule – sleeve design
  • Rod Smallwood – management, sleeve concept
  • Andy Taylor – management
  • Simon Heyworth – remastering (1998 edition)

Chart performance

Album

Country Chart (1985) Peak
position
Netherlands MegaCharts 8[11]
New Zealand RIANZ 16[12]
Norway VG-lista 13[13]
Sweden Sverigetopplistan 8[14]
Switzerland Swiss Hitparade 26[15]
United Kingdom Official Albums Chart 2[16]
United States Billboard 200 19[17]
Country Chart (1986) Peak
position
Netherlands MegaCharts 54[11]
New Zealand RIANZ 38[12]
Country Chart (2005) Peak
position
Norway VG-lista 38[13]
Country Chart (2008) Peak
position
Norway VG-lista 36[13]
Sweden Sverigetopplistan 41[14]
Country Chart (2009) Peak
position
Mexico Top 100 Mexico 67[18]
Country Chart (2013) Peak
position
Finland The Official Finnish Charts 28[19]
Germany Media Control Charts 93[20]
Norway VG-lista 23[13]
Sweden Sverigetopplistan 28[14]

Singles

Single Chart (1985) Peak
position
"Running Free (Live)" Irish Singles Chart 12[21]
UK Singles Chart 19[22]
"Run to the Hills (Live)" Irish Singles Chart 18[21]
UK Singles Chart 26[23]
Single Chart (1990) Peak
position
"Running Free (Live) / Run to the Hills (Live)" UK Albums Chart[note 1] 9[24]

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.

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] Gold 25,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Sweden (GLF)[27] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

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 (7 July 2008). "Team colours out in force for an Iron Maiden home victory". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
  4. ↑ Grow, Kory (5 July 1012). "Live Review: Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper, Live in Newark, New Jersey". Revolver. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Prato, Greg. Iron Maiden – Live After Death at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Wall, Mick (3 October 1985). "Total Death!". Kerrang! 104. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 13. 
  7. ↑ "Kerrang! Review Live After Death DVD". Kerrang!. Ironmaiden.com. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
  8. ↑ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  9. ↑ Iron Maiden (14 October 1985). "Album credits". Live After Death Booklet. EMI. 
  10. ↑ Iron Maiden (1998). "Album credits". Live After Death (remastered) Booklet. EMI. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Iron Maiden – Live After Death (album)". MegaCharts (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 April 2013. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Iron Maiden – Live After Death (album)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Charts.org.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Iron Maiden – Live After Death (album)". VG-lista. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2013. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Iron Maiden – Live After Death (album)". Sverigetopplistan. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Discography Iron Maiden". Swiss Hitparade. Retrieved 7 July 2008. 
  16. ↑ "1985 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive 26 October 1985". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 March 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Artist Chart History – Iron Maiden". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 7 July 2008. 
  18. ↑ "Iron Maiden – Live After Death". Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Mexicancharts.com. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
  19. ↑ "Iron Maiden – Live After Death (album)". The Official Finnish Charts. Finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 1 April 2013. 
  20. ↑ "Iron Maiden > Longplay-Chartverfolgung". Musicline (in German). PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Irish Singles database". Irish Recorded Music Association. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 13 October 2011. 
  22. ↑ "Official UK Singles Archive- 12 October 1985". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011. 
  23. ↑ "UK Singles Archive- 21 December 1985". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011. 
  24. ↑ "Official UK Albums Archive- 7 April 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
  25. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Iron Maiden – Live After Death" (in German). IFPI Austria. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2013.  Enter Iron Maiden in the field Interpret. Enter Live After Death in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  26. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Iron Maiden – Live After Death". Music Canada. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  27. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. 26 November 1996. Retrieved 27 April 2013. 
  28. ↑ "British album certifications – Iron Maiden – Live After Death". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 April 2013.  Enter Live After Death in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  29. ↑ "American album certifications – Iron Maiden – Live After Death". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 27 April 2013.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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