Iron Maiden: Flight 666 Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Flight 666 documents the first leg of Iron Maiden's legendary Somewhere Back In Time world tour which took them 50,000 miles round the planet playing 23 concerts on 5 continents in just 45 days. Also included is the full live set with each track filmed in a different city.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 chronicles a historic event. In 2008, the legendary British heavy metal band played twenty three concerts in only forty five days. Flying around the world on their private Boeing 757, fittingly named Ed Force One, the Iron Maiden managed to perform on five different continents where thousands of excited fans flocked to see them.
This Blu-ray disc allows one to experience the tour in two different ways. One could choose to see footage from the band's performances at a number of different venues - from Mumbai, India to Toronto, Canada - and experience the type of excitement the band created amongst its fans. One could also see these performances enhanced with plenty of documentary footage, where Bruce, Janick, Nicko, Dave, Steve, and Adrian as well as members of the tech crew share their thoughts on the preparation and execution of the actual tour.
While informative, the documentary footage is hardly as enticing as the concert footage. The majority of it shows Ed Force One landing at different airports and then taking off, the local media covering the event, and fans sharing their excitement before and after the show. There are also a few goofy scenes with members of the tech crew.
The concert footage is what Iron Maiden fans will enjoy the most. Seeing Bruce, Janick, Nicko, Dave, Steve, and Adrian perform some of their greatest hits again "The Number Of The Beast", "Run To The Hills", "Aces High", "Powerslave", etc should warm the hearts of those fans who remember them from Donington, Reading, and Dynamo.
Technically, Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is an impressive achievement. Multiple cameras have been used to capture Iron Maiden on and off the stage, as well as the reactions of the thousands of excited fans who were lucky enough to see their idols perform live.
Welcome back Eddie!
Tracklisting:
ACES HIGH
Bandra Kurla Complex/Mumbai, India
February 1, 2008
2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
Rod Laver Arena/Melbourne, Australia
February 7, 2008
REVELATIONS
Acer Arena/Sydney, Australia
February 9, 2008
THE TROOPER
Makuhari Messe/Tokyo, Japan
February 16, 2008
WASTED YEARS
Arena Monterrey/Monterrey, Mexico
February 22, 2008
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
The Forum/Los Angeles, USA
February 19, 2008
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
Foro Sol/Mexico City, Mexico
February 24, 2008
RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER
Izod Center/New Jersey, USA
March 14, 2008
POWERSLAVE
Saprissa Stadium/San Jose, Costa Rica
February 26, 2008
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
Palmeiras Stadium/Sao Paulo, Brazil
March 2, 2008
RUN TO THE HILLS
Simon Bolivar Park/Bogota, Colombia
February 28, 2008
FEAR OF THE DARK
Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium/Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 7, 2008
IRON MAIDEN
Pista Atletica/Santiago, Chile
March 9, 2008
MOONCHILD
Coliseo de Puerto Rico/San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 12, 2008
THE CLAIRVOYANT
Pedreira Paulo Leminski/Curitiba, Brazil
March 4, 2008
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
Air Canada Centre/Toronto, Canada
March 16, 2008
Tour schedule:
February, 2008
Friday 1st - Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, India
Monday 4th - Burswood Dome, Perth, Australia
Wednesday 6th - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
Thursday 7th - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
Saturday 9th - Acer Arena Sydney, Australia
Sunday 10th - Acer Arena Sydney, Australia
Tuesday 12th - Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
Friday 15th - Pacifico, Yokohama, Japan
Saturday 16th - Messe, Tokyo, Japan
Tuesday 19th - The Forum, Los Angeles, USA
Thursday 21st - Auditoria Telmex, Guadalajara, Mexico
Friday 22nd - Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
Sunday 24th - Foro Sol, Mexico City, Mexico
Tuesday 26th - Saprisa Stadium, San Jose, Costa Rica
Thursday 28th - Simon Bolivar Park, Bogota, Colombia
March, 2008
Sunday 2nd - Palmieras Stadium, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tuesday 4th - Pedreira stadium, Curitiba, Brazil
Wednesday 5th - Gigantinho, Porto Allegre, Brazil
Friday 7th - Ferrocarrill Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sunday 9th - Pista Atletica, Santiago, Chile
Wednesday 12th - San Jose Coliseo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Friday 14th - Izod Centre, New Jersey, USA
Sunday 16th - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Iron Maiden Flight 666 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Music.
The film offers footage from a number of different shows. Therefore, there are some mild fluctuations in terms of contrast, clarity and detail. Generally speaking, the color-scheme is convincing. Reds, blues, yellows, greens, blacks and whites are well saturated. There are no distracting shadow issues. There aren't any macroblocking patterns that I could detect either. Occasionally, mild digital noise is noticeable (the Mexican show for example reveals quite a bit), but this isn't something that would affect negatively your viewing experience. Serious image deteriorations are not present. Overall, the Blu-ray transfer is quite pleasing and I do believe that many of you would enjoy it tremendously. (Note: Even though there were some early reports that this Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked", I can confirm that it is in fact Region-Free. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 5.1, and English Dolby Digital 2.0. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the other two tracks for the purpose of this review.
Once again, one must consider the fact that there is footage from a number of different shows when one evaluates the audio treatment Iron Maiden: Flight 666 has received. Generally speaking, the bass is potent, but there are a number of songs where it also feels somewhat weak. The high-frequencies are not overdone but, again, I also find them to be somewhat inconsistent. The rear channels are used intelligently. There are times, however, when the noise produced by the crowds becomes far too prominent for my taste. This being said, don't be discouraged by my comments above. What I've noted is always an issue of concern with live recordings of big rock concerts. With other words, considering the fact that in Iron Maiden: Flight 666 there is footage from a number of different shows, the dynamic fluctuations are more or less normal. With other words, the English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is not to be faulted.
The English LPCM 5.1 track conveys the same dynamic qualities the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has. I went through a number of different shows and, as far as I am concerned, there are no sizeable differences to report in this review. I did not encounter any mastering issues.
The English Dolby Digital 2.0 track is notably inferior. There are a number of songs that sound flat with it. I did not encounter any mastering issues here either.
For the record, Universal Music have supplied a number of different subtitles for the main
feature: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch, Swedish and Bengali.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 will not create legions of new Iron Maiden fans. It will, however, warm the hearts of those who never stopped listening to the British rockers' records. Simply put, Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is for the fans! The excellent price tag makes this one very easy to recommend.
A new documentary called 'Iron Maiden: Flight 666' will be released on Blu-ray May 25th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The film will document the legendary heavy metal band's "Somewhere Back In Time" 2008 world tour. The second disc will feature 16 different ...
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