Midnight Dynamos

Description

In 1993, Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden to pursue his solo career, playing his farewell show on 28 August 1993. The remaining members listened to hundreds of tapes sent in by vocalists before convincing Blaze Bayley, formerly of Wolfsbane, to audition for them. Bayley had a different vocal style from his predecessor and ultimately received a mixed reception among fans. After a three-year hiatus Iron Maiden released their next studio album, The X Factor. The band had their lowest chart position since 1981 for an album in the UK. In 1998, Maiden released Virtual XI, whose chart scores were the band’s lowest to date. Bayley’s tenure in Iron Maiden ended in January 1999 when he was asked to leave during a band meeting. The band then entered into renewed talks with Bruce Dickinson, who agreed to rejoin during a meeting in January 1999. Maiden then embarked on a hugely successful reunion tour. Dubbed ‘The Ed Hunter Tour’, it tied in with the band’s newly released greatest hits collection. Brave New World, Iron Maiden’s twelfth studio album, was released on 29 May 2000. With both Dickinson and Adrian Smith – who had left in 1990 – now back in the group, it was Maiden’s first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers (who had replaced Smith in 1990) remained with the band. The reunion world tour that followed played over 100 dates, beginning on 2nd June 2000 in Strasbourg, France, and culminating six months later on 19 January 2001 in a show at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil. The second show of the tour was performed on 3rd June in the Netherlands at the Dynamo Open Air Festival, and remains perhaps the finest gig Maiden played during this reunion jaunt. Recorded for live FM radio broadcast and synched live across Europe, the performance was magical with many fans commenting, “…it’s like they’ve never been away.” Previously unreleased, this new 2CD set contains this remarkable concert in full. Bonus cuts come from a concert a month before by Dio, during which, on the final three numbers, Bruce and Nicko join Ronnie James and his group for a trio of old Rainbow tunes, plus an interview Bruce gave to Swedish TV the same year. Tracks: DISC ONE 1 The Wicker Man 5:24 2 Ghost Of The Navigator 6:39 3 Brave New World 6:02 4 Wrathchild 2:46 5 2 Minutes to Midnight 5:42 6 Blood Brothers 8:00 7 Sign Of The Cross 10:46 8 The Mercenary 4:35 9 The Trooper 6:01 10 Dream Of Mirrors 9:14 11 The Clansman 9:01 DISC TWO 1 The Evil That Men Do 4:11 2 Fear Of The Dark 7:20 3 Iron Maiden 6:05 4 The Number Of The Beast 4:54 5 Hallowed Be Thy Name 7:20 6 Sanctuary 6:51 7 Rainbow In The Dark 5:43 8 The Last In Line 6:59 9 Man On the Silver Mountain/Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll 7:28 10 Bruce Dickinson Interview 2000 8:02