Iron Maiden - Flight 666 The Film (Universal Music Enterprises)

There are only a few bands out there that make the fans feel like part of the family; a sense of belonging. Bands like Dream Theater, Metallica, KISS (although Gene’s wallet is the main beneficiary), and Iron Maiden always seem to put out product that the true fan would want. Let’s face it, Iron Maiden have always given fans their money’s worth when it came to product. If they released a single, they always made sure to put something unreleased on the b-side. Their video/DVD releases have been no different starting with The History of Iron Maiden Part 1: The Early Years. They always seem to make each release special even if you have been a long time fan. There is always something you didn’t have before (or at least in pristine quality).

For this release, Iron Maiden really went out of their way in giving us a fly on the way experience on their groundbreaking “Somewhere Back In Time World Tour ‘08”. Instead of going into the vaults and uncovering some older gems, they decided to film the newest tour but not just as a concert film. Scott McFadyen and Sam Dunn were the two gentlemen that brought us Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey a few years back and they were brought back to film this documentary/concert. Like I said, this is really more that just a concert video. We get to see a lot of backstage footage, airport shots (more on that in a bit), and a great deal of fan interviews/reactions from around the world. The reason for capturing this particular trek is the historical value that this little tour possesses. It is the first time that a band has toured and performed 23 concerts on 5 continents in just 45 days. What makes this even more historic is that Bruce Dickinson piloted “Ed Force One” for this tour.

The film follows a chronological order of the shows/countries that were done on this part of the tour. What you get is a cockpit view of the flight, then backstage/hotel footage, interviews with fans, and then the concert performance. Although on paper it would seem very monotonous, the different location, fans, and general shots make this a very enjoyable film to watch. I have watched this DVD about 5 times all the way through and not only does it never get boring, you catch new things with each view. It is one of those films that goes by so quickly; you wish it was longer even though it is almost 2 hours long. For those of you like me who have to have everything the band puts out, I recommend the 2-DVD set which contains a second disk of just concert footage. It runs in order of the show but each song is filmed in a different location with each city flashed on the screen before each cut. If you are a Maiden fan, this will already be on your list of things to purchase but for other people out there that are looking for something more than just a concert film, then I recommend Flight 666; The Film. I believe it can be enjoyed by metal and non-metal fans alike. My respect goes to Scott McFadyen and Sam Dunn on a job well done. Let’s hope this isn’t their last foray in Metal films.

Greg Olma