8 Iron Maiden Songs That Are Far Better Live
3. Futureal
The period between 1994 and 1999 was not good to Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson had left the band to be replaced by former Wolfsbane singer Blaze Bayley, and the two albums released, The X Factor and Virtual XI, were not received as well as fans hoped.
Without a doubt the best song to come out of the Bayley era was Futureal, though the only real competition was from Man on the Edge.
Though rarely included in the Maiden set list any more, a live version of the song, recorded with Bruce Dickinson, was featured on the compilation album Best of the B Sides, and is infinitely better than the Bayley version.
A huge part of this is obviously Dickinson, however the improvements didn't stop there. The band had since welcomed Adrian Smith back, which had a huge influence on the sound of the song. The guitar solo evolves into a dual, being played simultaneously between the two guitars, allowing for an even better sound than before.
The reception for this song can be gauged by the fact that this is when the giant mechanical Eddie hit the stage to fight with Janick Gers and the boys. This is an honour held for only the best the band has to offer.