The Summary Judgment Reviews:
Title: Rock in Rio (DVD)
Artist: Iron Maiden
Label: Sony Music
Release Date: 2002

Rating: 5 Skulls
  • Read the Reviews of A Tribute to the Beast
  • Official Web Site for This Artist
  • Discuss on the Metal Judgment Web Board
  • Submit/Read Reader Reviews of this Album

    • Death's Review:
    I must admit I'm a touch skeptical about the claim that this is Iron Maiden's "first-ever" DVD release, seeing as how I have Raising Hell and The Number of the Beast Classic Albums DVDs sitting on my shelf right now. But Rock in Rio might as well be the band's first DVD release (and to be fair, probably is their first "official" one), as unlike with those other discs, with Rock in Rio the experience of bringing it home, tearing off the packaging and popping it into the player (hmmm . . . that sounds strangely sexually metaphoric) just feels right. It feels like I just got something new from Iron Maiden. It feels like an eveloping experience.

    Are any of you old of enough to have been a metalhead when Maiden was in its prime? Bringing home albums like Powerslave, Live After Death or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son were experiences which combined the rush of a great comic book, video game, and grand aural experience all into one. New Maiden albums were exciting, and so is this DVD. The packaging is totally cool, coming in an efficient little slip-case that shows Eddie's profile in the clouds when you slide out the inner sleeve. The whole thing folds out to reveal Eddie's head on a Brazilian flag and a pop-up of the Rock in Rio stage set. The two discs are painted as part of the 250,000+ crowd that was assembled to witness the minature cardboard proceedings.

    The disc itself plays out in the grand tradition of concert movies by bands like U2. The excitement builds throughout the day as Maiden culminates its Brave New World tour with a headlining stint at this massive South American rock festival. Try heading over to disc 2 first. Start with the band member profiles, showing each on a "day off." You can hang with Steve Harris at a "football" match, or watch the Iron Maiden team take on a local club in a real match (Harris has skills!). You can go fishing with Adrian Smith, fencing with Bruce Dickinson or golfing with Dave Murray and Nicko McBrain. Janick just goes shopping.

    Then watch the bonus movie, A Day in the Life, which takes you through the day of the show right up until the time they take the stage, skips the gig itself and then picks back up as soon as the show is over through the end of the night. Perhaps pause at gig time and move to disc 1 to watch the awesome Maiden performance. Highlights include a ferocious "Sign of the Cross" (Bruce sounds awesome on this and "The Clansman" as well, causing me to rethink the Blaze era a bit), the haunting "Dream of Mirrors" (reminds me of like a modern "Still Life" or something), or the back-to-back power of "The Evil That Men Do" and the always great live "Fear of the Dark". Anyone who saw the tour knows that "2 Minutes to Midnight" kicked ass live as well, and "Sanctuary" was a fun, old-school selection to include in the set. Everything is filmed with high-quality, multi-angled precision and clarity. My only complaint? Sometimes the edits come a bit quick for my tastes; I'd often prefer that the camera stay with one particular member for longer.

    All in all, this is the DVD Maiden fans have been waiting for. It is of course far from perfect or complete, there is more than enough room for another essential Iron Maiden DVD to surface, an elaborately packaged, Eddie-centric collection of all the Maiden videos and historical interviews and live footage, etc. That would compliment the current DVD perfectly. Until then, this one is a hell of a lot of fun and should definitely tide you over for a while. It is absolutely essential for any Iron Maiden completist and at least shows that the Maiden camp has an understanding of what a band with the positioning and fanbase like Iron Maiden can achieve while working with the medium. If you have a DVD player and like Iron Maiden you really should buy this DVD.
    5 out of 5
    DEATH  Email Death

    [- Metal Judgment Home -]    [- Email Metal Judgment -]
    ©1999 Metal Judgment. All rights reserved.