Description
Double album on blue vinyls with gatefold cover, postcard and a 4-page insert
The 90s were something of a lost decade for heavy metal, as countless major names from the genre’s glory years were killed off by grunge. Even the ones who survived were hobbled by dwindling sales or key personnel defections. In 1998, Iron Maiden released Virtual XI, whose chart scores were the band’s lowest to date, failing to score one million worldwide sales for the first time in the band’s history. Bayley’s tenure in Iron Maiden ended in January 1999 when he was asked to leave during a band meeting. The dismissal took place due to issues Bayley had experienced with his voice during the Virtual XI World Tour, although Janick Gers stated that this was partly the band’s fault for forcing him to perform songs pitched outside the natural range of his voice. While the group were considering a replacement for Bayley, Rod Smallwood convinced Steve Harris to invite Bruce Dickinson back into the band. Although Harris admitted that he “wasn’t really into it” at first, he then thought, “‘Well, if the change happens, who should we get?’ The thing is, we know Bruce and we know what he’s capable of, and you think, ‘Well, better the devil you know.’ I mean, we got on well professionally for, like, eleven years, and so … after I thought about it, I didn’t really have a problem with it.” The band entered into talks with Dickinson, who agreed to rejoin during a meeting in Brighton in January 1999, along with guitarist Adrian Smith, who was telephoned a few hours later. With Gers, Smith’s replacement, remaining, Iron Maiden now had a three-guitar line-up, and embarked on a hugely successful reunion tour. Dubbed The Ed Hunter Tour, it tied in with the band’s newly released greatest hits collection, Ed Hunter, whose track listing was decided by a poll on the group’s website, and also contained a computer game of the same name starring the band’s mascot. This album was recorded during that Ed Hunter tour at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburgh on the 12th of September 1999.
Track list:
1. Intro – Transylvania
2. Churchill’s Speech
3. Aces High
4. Wrathchild
5. The Trooper
6. 2 Minutes To Midnight
7. The Clansman
8. Wasted Years
9. Killers
10. Futureal
11. Man On The Edge
12. Powerslave
13. Phantom Of The Opera
14. The Evil That Men Do
15. Fear Of The Dark
16. Iron Maiden
17. The Number Of The Beast
18. Hallowed Be Thy Name
19. Run To The Hills