September 13, 2002 -- "Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio" looks to be a real treat for fans of this vintage heavy metal group. Not only does it give the viewer a high-energy concert performance, it provides a behind-the-scenes look at what they do before and after the performance and what these rock stars do on a rare day off from touring. It turns out they have interests as diverse as flying jets, fencing, fishing and golf.

The concert was filmed in 2001 at the "Rock in Rio" music festival. Playing on a stage as big as an aircraft carrier deck before a quarter of a million fans, even the members of this veteran band were nervous before going on stage. They have been playing together for over 20 years, and this is the biggest audience they had ever played for. It is probably one of the biggest audiences anyone has ever played for. The show starts out with an impressive light show and ominous music that sounds like it comes from a black mass, followed by an explosion of light, pyrotechnics and rock music when the band takes the stage.

The band is very energetic, especially lead singer Bruce Dickinson, who runs and leaps all over the stage. It didn't seem possible they could keep this up for two hours, but they do. The band is unusual in that they have three guitarists who play lead and rhythm, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith, while band founder Steve Harris plays bass and Nicko McBrain is the drummer. Michael Kenney is credited with live keyboards on the DVD. Murray and Gers seem especially adept at high-speed solo licks. Gers also demonstrates a lot of showmanship, at times whirling his guitar around him on its strap, like a hula hoop. Dickinson can be seen riding a camera trolly in front of the stage, leering into the camera at close range.

The live concert begins with the band's arrival in Rio and at the stadium and the above-mentioned introduction (the stage is lit up like the inside of the mother ship in the movie "Independence Day." The musical set is as follows: The Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, Brave New World, Wrathchild, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Blood Brothers, Sign of the Cross, The Mercenary, The Trooper, Dream of Mirrors, The Clansman, The Evil That Men Do, Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Sanctuary and Run to the Hills.

The concert was broadcast on television, but the DVD has been recut by band member Steve Harris. A total of 18 cameras were used to capture the performance. Two soundtracks are available on the DVD, 5.1 and DTS surround. Both sounded good, but DTS has the better bit rate of the two. My audiophile consultant, Lynn Hamblin, said he heard no distortion in the sound recording of the concert. The images were also sharp. The sound is in English, with no subtitles. Other languages and subtitles are only available on disc two, which has all the interviews and other special features. Disk one has the concert. It is 125 minutes long. Disc two is 50 minutes.

Disk two has interviews with all of the members of the band and it follows them on their day off. Adrian Smith went fishing on his day off. He said he grew up in the same neighborhood as Dave Murray did. The two became friends because of their common interest in music. Murray was inspired to play the guitar when he heard Jimi Hendrix (recently named by a guitar magazine as the greatest guitar player of all time) play "Voodoo Child." McBrain said the drummers who influenced him included rock drummers Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, Keith Moon, John Bonham and jazz drummer John Morello.

Bruce Dickinson went fencing and flew a passenger jet simulator on his day off. Fencing is a physically demanding sport. Maybe that's how he stays in good physical condition for all that running around he does on stage. Steve Harris went to a soccer match in Brazil on his day off. He said Iron Maiden has its own soccer team and they win most of their games. Footage of one of the games, featuring band members playing soccer, is shown on the DVD. Gers said Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Jeff Beck, Free, Deep Purple and Led Zepplin helped shape his guitar playing (he also demonstrates a mean Peter Towsend-style windmill lick during the concert).

During the interviews and the during the "day in the life" featurette on the DVD, members of the band are often seen signing autographs. They seem to genuinely appreciate their fans. Their willingness to meet with fans and sign autographs is one of the reasons the band has been as popular as it has been for so long and why its fans are so loyal, band members said. Band members also argue that another reason for their continued popularity is that their musical style has remained consistent (some would say stagnant) over the years. They defend their level of musical creativity against the nay sayers on the DVD. In that regard, the DVD reminded me of the movie "Rock Star." The "day in the life" feature would not be complete without some hotel furniture trashing, so Dickinson obliges, in a fairly reserved way, and there is also a glimpse of a wild after-the-concert party. Another feature on the DVD is a photo diary of the band's tour with commentary by the band's official photographer, Ross Halfin. During the concert, Halfin is seen taking the band's portrait with the crowd behind them. This photo is seen in the photo diary.

For fans of the band, this is a DVD with a lot of good features. Since I am not familiar with the band's music, I would have like to have seen subtitles for the concert footage because I couldn't understand some of the lyrics on some songs. What lyrics I could understand were repeated often. The "f" word is thrown around for show in between songs. I'm sure the band's lyrics are out there somewhere on the Internet. The main thing I was impressed with in the concert footage was the impressive guitar work by the three lead guitarists and the overall showmanship of the entire production, including the animations and other rear screen projections and the overall lighting design. It is really quite a show. The packaging of the disk is first-rate. It comes in a box-within-a-box with a pop-up display of the stage and an overhead shot of the crowd in Rio. There are also 13 other photos of the band and the tour in the packaging. This DVD rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on Iron Maiden, click on this link to the official Iron Maiden web site.