Live After Death is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in 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 on CD and by Universal Music Group/Sony BMG Music Entertainment on DVD). It was recorded at Long Beach Arena, California and Hammersmith Odeon, London during the band's World Slavery Tour.

The video version of the concert only contains footage from the Long Beach shows. It was initially released through Sony as a "Video LP" on VHS hi-fi stereo and Beta hi-fi stereo with 14 songs and no special features and was reissued on DVD on 4 February 2008, which coincided with the start of the band's Somewhere Back in Time World Tour. In addition to the complete concert, the DVD features Part 2 of The History of Iron Maiden documentary series, which began with 2004's The Early Days and continued with 2013's Maiden England '88, documenting the recording of the Powerslave album and the following World Slavery Tour.

Background

Iron Maiden's World Slavery Tour began in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984 and lasted 331 days, during which 187 concerts were performed To tie in with their 1984 album, Powerslave, the tour's stage show adhered to an ancient Egyptian theme, which was decorated with sarcophagi and Egyptian hieroglyphs, and mummified representations of the band's mascot, Eddie, in addition to numerous pyrotechnic effects. The theatricality of the stage show meant that it would become one of the band's most acclaimed tours, making it the perfect backdrop to their first live double album and concert video.

For the Live After Death video, the band hired director Jim Yukich to film two shows of their four-night run at Long Beach Arena, California from 14 to 17 March 1985.

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The double LP was also recorded at Long Beach, although side four contains tracks recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, London on 8, 9, 10 and 12 October 1984. Bassist Steve Harris has stated that, even if they had had the time, they would not have added any studio overdubbing to the soundtrack: "We were really anti all that, anyway. We were very much, like, 'This has got to be totally live,' you know?" However, during "Running Free" on the audio version, vocalist Bruce Dickinson refers to it being the fourth concert at the venue, which should mean that the audio version was recorded on Sunday, 17 March. On the video version, after "2 Minutes to Midnight", Dickinson refers to it being "night number two" (Friday, 15 March), while on the documentary 12 Wasted Years, "The Trooper" and "The Number of the Beast" are said to have been recorded on Saturday, 16 March.

Cover art

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

The original Lovecraft text has an "and" instead of a "yet".

Also engraved on 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 depiction of Eddie follows continuity from previous artworks. His long hair is restored and he sports the metal screw cartouche from his Piece of Mind lobotomy, which is being struck by lightning.

The back cover depicts the rest of the graveyard and a city being destroyed by lightning, which Riggs states was inspired by John Martin's painting, The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Near Eddie's grave is a black cat with a halo, which also features in the Somewhere in Time and "Twilight Zone" artworks. This, said Riggs, was "not about anything really" and was added "to get people's attention".

The poster appears in the season 10 episode 22 episode of The Walking Dead, "Here's Negan". It can be seen above Lucille and Negan's bed.

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. (Churchill re-recorded the speech – the original speech in the House of Commons was not recorded.):

It was later used for their Ed Hunter Tour, Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, Maiden England World Tour, and the Legacy of the Beast World Tour.

Critical reception

Live After Death has been highly rated by critics since its release; Kerrang! and Sputnikmusic both agree that it is "possibly the greatest live album of all time", while AllMusic describes it as "easily one of heavy metal's best live albums".

The album's video counterpart received similar critical acclaim, with AllMusic stating that "Live After Death is a visual pleasure as much as a sonic one. The elaborate staging and lighting effects are excellent. The editing is superb as well [with] very few rapid-fire, seizure-inducing camera cuts".

Track listing

  • The first 13 tracks were recorded at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, from 14 to 17 March 1985.
  • The 1998 and 2020 remastered CD reissues include the full concert in its original length, plus the additional tracks from side four on a second CD.
  • The video releases contain the 13 tracks included with the audio releases and closes with "Sanctuary". The DVD version features a bonus disc that includes The History of Iron Maiden – Part 2: Live After Death, the second part of an ongoing documentary series about the history of the band, Behind the Iron Curtain feature, promo videos and additional footage from various concerts, as well as a gallery of artwork and photos.

Personnel

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album, VHS and DVD liner notes.

Iron Maiden

  • Bruce Dickinson – vocals, guitar on "Revelations"
  • Dave Murray – guitar
  • Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
  • Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Nicko McBrain – drums

Production

  • Martin "Live Animal" 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 – sleeve concept
  • Simon Heyworth – remastering (1998 edition)
  • Jim Yukich – director (video)
  • Matthew Amos – director ("The History of Iron Maiden" documentary)
  • Joe Abercrombie – editor ("The History of Iron Maiden" documentary)
  • Dave Pattenden – producer (DVD)

Charts

Album

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! Chart (1985–1986)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)

| align="center"| 31

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)

| align="center"| 8

|-

!scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| align="center"| 18

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| align="center"| 7

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! Chart (2005)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! Chart (2008–2009)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)

| align="center"| 67

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! Chart (2013)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! Chart (2020–2025)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

! scope="row"| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 12

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

1985 VHS

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! Chart (1985)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

! scope="row"| United States (Billboard Charts)

| align="center"| 2

|}

2008 DVD

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|-

! Chart (2008)

! Peak<br/>position

|-

! scope="row"|Australia (ARIA Charts)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

|align="center"|3

|-

! scope="row"|Belgium (Flanders) (Ultratop)

|align="center"|2

|-

! scope="row"|Belgium (Wallonia) (Ultratop)

|align="center"|9

|-

! scope="row"|Denmark ( Tracklisten)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|France (SNEP)

|align="center"|3

|-

! scope="row"|Italy (FIMI)

|align="center"|6

|-

! scope="row"|Norway (VG-lista)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Portugal (AFP)

|align="center"| 2

|-

! scope="row"|Spain (PROMUSICAE)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|United Kingdom (UK Music Video Charts)

|align="center"| 1

|-

! scope="row"|United States (Billboard Charts)

|align="center"| 2

|}

Certifications

;Audio

;1985 VHS

;2008 DVD

References

pl:Live After Death#Film