8 Iron Maiden Songs That Are Far Better Live

There are a lot of bands whose live performances simply aren't as good as listening to a CD. This could be because the albums are so over-produced that the band can't compete on stage, the endless touring takes its toll, or even that father time is getting the better of them.

Iron Maiden are not one of these bands.

The boys have battled through dozens of line-up changes, countless miles travelled and Bruce Dickinson's inspirational battle with cancer, becoming stronger for it.

Maiden's current line-up of Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Steve Harris, and Nicko McBrain has been constant since their 2000 album Brave New World. These seventeen years have allowed the boys to build a chemistry like no other, and with sixteen studio albums worth of songs to choose from, their live shows are better than ever before.

Naturally, there are certain songs in the band's catalogue that are better, or at least more popular, than others. The same goes for live performances. With the band seemingly ageless, there are very few songs, if any at all, that are made worse by the band on the stage, but there are a certain few that Iron Maiden have managed to make greater than ever.

Once you have heard these eight Maiden songs live, you'll never go back to the studio album again.

The title track on the band's self-titled debut album. It's fair to say that the boys put a lot of stock into this song, and with good reason. Iron Maiden is one of their greatest tracks and is played at almost every live show.

Dave Murray and then-guitarist Dennis Stratton's dual playing immediately created a trademark sound for Maiden that has stood the test of time and can still be heard through every single studio album the band has put out.

Yet, as good as the song was originally, it is far better when played live today.

Dennis Stratton has since been replaced with not one, but two guitarists in Smith and Gers. So while two of them are duelling, the third is used for the rhythm work, giving the song a deeper, fuller sound that was absent on the original recording.

There is no denying that Bruce Dickinson is the best singer Maiden have ever had, and his incredible, larger than life stage presence is felt throughout this entire song. Nothing gets a crowd pumped more than Bruce wailing the infamous "scream for me" line to let them know what's coming. This is something that is simply impossible to capture in a recording studio.