Like Cheap Trick's At Budokan (1979) and the Who's Live at Leeds (1970), Iron Maiden's seminal Live After Death (1985) successfully established its creators as rock & roll legends from pole to pole. Little has changed for the band in the nearly 25 years between that album and 2009's Flight 666, a two-disc set recorded in 16 different cities (and nearly as many countries) during the group's first leg of their 2008 "Somewhere Back in Time" world tour. Even the set lists are similar, with "Churchill's Speech" serving as the launch pad for the quadruple threat of "Aces High,""Two Minutes to Midnight,""Revelations," and "The Trooper." That the band still sounds as tight and engaged as ever may be the primary reason behind its enduring legacy, but it's the fans who number in the millions and sing every word that makes the disc so special. Also, the fact that ageless frontman Bruce Dickinson piloted the band's customized (as in longtime mascot "Eddie" looking out from the rudder") Boeing 757 during the jaunt is pretty f*cking cool. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
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