Customer Reviews

Iron Maiden - Raising Hell [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First the positives:

1.) Iron Maiden, lets face it even on a bad day they blow the roof off the venue. 2.) Iron Maiden on DVD (very cool) 3.) Bruce's farewell concert (a cool nostalgia trip) 4.) Creative set design and "concept" of combining "horror Illusions" in-between the songs.

Unless you have seen this it does seem a bit lame combining both a live concert with "illusions/comedy". But, Simon Drake blends his very believable illusions in-between such classics as The Trooper, Number of the Beast, Hallowed be Thy Name amongst other classics.

Now the negatives:

1) The audio mix; I have to agree with the other reviewers Bruces' voice level is way too low on the 5.1 setting. However, if you choose the stereo option the voice level goes up but Dave Murray's guitar level goes down and Janick guitar is too loud (ya just can't win). 2.) Janick Gers 3.) Janick Gers

Prior to Adrian Smith's departure Iron Maiden had two guitarists with very different styles. One (Murray) was a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guitarists (i.e. solo's made up on the spot) the other (Smith) would play well thought out melodic solo's. Both styles would add a very unique dimension to the music. Unfortunately, Janick Gers is like having two Murrays (and he's even more off the cuff then Dave). Janick butchers many of Adrians solo's so bad I actually cringed when I heard them. Thank god that Adrian is back with Maiden now.

So in summary, If you have a DVD player this is well worth the small investment. But, this is certainly no "Live after Death". Up the Irons

Don't get me wrong I am a huge Iron Maiden Fan.. and Have been since the killers album. "Yes album", but this concert video lacks the spirit of a true maiden concert. The vibe just is not there, with the weak cut backs to simon drake. With the reformation of maiden with Bruce, after 10 years I hope that they put on dvd the videos and Live After Death concert.. The 5.1 is good and the menus are cool.. but the its the vibe that lacks, with this being the last tour for Bruce he is in great vocal form, but lacks the energy, of previous works.. I hope the New album ROCKS!

LONG LIVE MAIDEN!

Plus with this being the only Maiden on DVD, it is still the best rocking dvd out!

I wasn't really a fan of this show even when it was on VHS - the fake studio setting just never seemed right. And the song selection is debatable, although there are some good surprises ("Transylvania", f'rinstance). Anyway, I figured I had to get the DVD just because it would be cool to have a Maiden DVD. Not a great move, it turns out.

The one positive thing I can say is that the picture quality is impressive. This thing looks cool. But then you have to listen to it, and it falls apart. Whoever did the mix should be embarassed. This was the first concert in 5.1 that I've purchased, and it about turned me off to any future purchases. Horrible, muddy sound with Bruce's vocals buried waaaayyy back. The stereo mix is fair. But why buy a DVD to have a regular stereo mix? Well, it gets two stars just because it's Iron Maiden, but this release doesn't deserve to have the Maiden name on it.

This is a really good video. Bruce was in great form (better than on "Live After Death", where he struggled to hit some of the high notes) in this his last concert with Iron Maiden (until 1999 that is). Harry and Nicko were also great. But, maybe it's just my crappy tv, but Davey's guitar is too soft, and Jan's is overly loud. Which is a pity, because Davey's solos are nothing short of mind-boggling. You can hear him, but he's really soft. Simon Drake's tricks make an interesting side-show, and some of them are pretty good, but others are crappy. Buy the video to see Maiden, not Simon Drake. They do a killer rendition of "The Evil That Men Do", with Jan filling in Adrian Smith's parts surprisingly well, but for the rest of it, you can tell that Jan and Davey don't click as well as Davey did with Adrian. In the end, while not as good overall as "Live After Death", it is a must for any Maiden fan.

Not strictly a concert video, Iron Maiden's "Raising Hell" combines a live concert with a theatrical show. Interspersed between the heavy metal barrage that is Iron Maiden, are theatrical productions and magic tricks, with a "horror" theme. These interludes, performed by illusionist Simon Drake, do get a bit gory at times, and break up the continuity of a "normal" concert. This style of presentation may not appeal to everyone.

The performance taped in 1993 at Pinewood Studios in London, features Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain and Janick Gers, performing material up to the "Fear Of The Dark" release. This was apparently Bruce's last performance with Maiden in the 90's, before splitting, at least temporarily, for a solo career. Unfortunately, the quality of sound mix is uneven, and on some songs, Dickinson's vocals can barely be made out over the sound of the guitars. One wonders how this could have happened. As this is his final performance, Bruce doesn't save his voice when singing a number like "The Trooper". The trouble is we can't always hear him. The guitar sound is cranked up right in front, and Harris's bass and McBrain's drums are also overpowered at times in the mix. Overall the video presentation is not bad, we do get to see the band from various angles, but it could have been better. We see too much of the audience, especially on some of the shots of the front of the stage, the angle is low and the heads and upraised arms of the members of the audience fill the bottom of the screen.

The song selection is a good mix of newer songs and classic favorites. As expected songs from the most recent release are prominent. "Be Quick Or Be Dead", "Fear of the Dark" and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" are welcome additions to the set which includes staples like "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "Wrathchild" and "Iron Maiden". Also included are songs from the later Adrian Smith period, "The Evil That Men Do", "Heaven Can Wait" and "The Clairvoyant". A nice blend of songs from the band's entire history.

This is also an opportunity to see "new" guitarist Janick Gers, who is definitely more active on stage than Adrian Smith. He has the material down and has no problems with the harmony guitar parts. On some songs he show himself capable of a pretty good imitation of Smith's original solos. His own soloing style is less melodic and relies more on speed and flash.

No one plays guitar like Dave Murray. His trill filled soloing style is unique, and has become a signature of the Iron Maiden sound. The man is outstanding here, as his fingers blaze across the fretboard like lightning. He appears a more confident musician than in the past, with more of a stage presence than before. Very nice to see him step forward this way. In the mix, his solos always seem louder than Janick's.

While the presentation may not be to everyone's liking, and the sound mix could have certainly been better, "Raising Hell" does have its good points. Bruce and the boys do give an energetic performance. Iron Maiden are one of the pioneers of British metal, and you get some of their best songs in the DVD format. Both Bruce Dickinson, and Adrian Smith have since rejoined Maiden, and a DVD release of concert material is supposed to be forthcoming. Until then, this will have to suffice.

I am a huge Iron Maiden, and know everything there is to know about maiden, and I was so excited to get this dvd. The concert was amazing although Bruce's vocals were hard to hear. But what was with the magic show. Simon doesn't have any talent. On the track "from here to eternity" simon attempts to cut off daveys hands, and replace them with his. Simon then acts like he's playing the guitar solo with dave's hands. It's very cheesy. As well with all the other cheep magic tricks he attempts to perform. It might have been a good show if they chose a beter magician. Other than that the concert was awesome. As always displaying their amazing stage performance. And even adding some older song to the playlist.

Starting off with "be quick or be dead" just shows you how great Iron Maiden is live. Then "The Trooper" another Iron Maiden classic. "The Evil That Men Do" arising from maiden's "synthy" era. Then "The clairovant", also arising from seventh son...Then "Hallowed Be Thy Name" another maiden classic which gives metal, a good name. Then going back to the beginning to "Wrathchild". Then to "Transylvania". A classic instrumental. "From here to eternity" one off of FOTD. Then to "Fear of the Dark" one of maiden's best songs to date. Then to "Number of the Beast", always the show stopper. Then "Bring Your Daughter...To the slaughter" a mid tempo song off NPFTD. Then to "Two Minutes to Midnight" always a great song. Then to one of my favorites, "Afraid to Shoot Strangers". "Heaven can wait" is next, one of maiden's sing a long songs. Then to another classic "Sanctuary". Then of course you gotta have "Run to the Hills" one maiden's self proclaimed best songs ever. Then nothing makes an Iron Maiden concert without their seftitled track "Iron Maiden", another classic starting back to their first album. So if you're a huge maiden fan, and don't already own this...THen get it! just don't mind the magic show.

Iron Maiden joins Simon Drake for a joint exhibition of heavy metal and horror show. Iron Maiden plays in presence of a rather small audience (I think the tickets must have gone for a whole lot of money). But for the same reason the perfomance seems more intimate with close contacts between the band and the audience and Simon Drake. In many cases the audience are involved. Bruce Dickinson seems to be at his fittest as he goes skillfully over his heart-stirring vocals (specially the one at the end of "Hollowed be thy name"). Adrian Smith is missing in this concert and Janick Jers is in his place.

Simon Drake does his shows mostly in between music pieces. His shows are really nice and sometimes funny (don't worry, they won't give you nightmare). Sometimes you can say that what he does is stun and sometimes it is difficult to figure out how he did it. Altogether, I think, he puts up a good show.

This is a DVD with a lot of different elements of music and showmanship in it. I think you won't regret buying it, specially if you are an Irona Maiden fan.

The minute I saw this on DVD I grabbed it. It wasn't expensive and the idea of a digital 5.1 remix was appealing. So, I opened the case and looked at the underside of the disc: dual-layered. "This isn't just going to sound great, it'll look great, too.", I thought. Let the concert begin!

Right away I noticed the 5.1 mix was a bit off. What happened to Bruce? Switched to the 2.0 stereo track and suddenly I could hear the lyrics. After watching the whole concert in 2.0 I went back to make sure the 5.1 mix wasn't just bad at the beginning. Nope. This thing was terrible all the way through. If this is "remastered", give me a good, old-fashioned, two channel PCM track anyday. Of course, they didn't include a PCM track, opting instead for a tolerable, but unimpressive 192kb/s DD track.

As this is a concert, video quality should take a backseat to audio. However, with the audio is such poor condition, there's really nothing left but the video. Surprise of surprises, it doesn't fare much better than the 5.1 remix. I know the quick editing, constantly changing lighting, and rapid movement make compression a hard task, but there's no excuse for this level of artifacting. On a dual-layer disc, a 113 minute running time and a total of only 576kb/s dedicated to audio there's a great deal of room for a higher video bitrate. I don't care how foggy the stage is or how quickly the camera passes over the crowd, this is sloppy work, plain and simple.

If you're a die hard Iron Maiden fan, you may enjoy this, as the concert itself is entertaining. However, a casual viewer looking for a good concert video to show off their sound system with will want to look elsewhere.

I love this DVD. From some of the other reviews i've seen I can tell they don't get it. The sound on Bruce's vocals do suck in the begining but it does get better. As for the magician , you have to realize that this concert was billed as " The last concert with Bruce Dickinson". It well was known he was leaving the band. The Magic tricks are a build up to the finale. Just before the ending credits roll , you'll see why Eddie has the magician killed!!!!

I just don't get all the 1 or 2 star reviews here. You'd think these previous reviewers are assessing a 'bootleg' video or something. To give this quality DVD anything less than 4 stars is shortsighted. OK, granted: the 5.1 mix may not sound great, but it sounds good, and the 2.0 mix is just fine. The whole concept of weaving metal and macabre magic is ingenious and a propos, and in this DVD, it works phenomenally well! The actual concert shots are very professional, with great closeups and various shots of the band, and the performance is classic Maiden knock-your-socks-off tour-de-force all the way! This is a great production, and a MUST if you are a fan of quality teutonic metal!!