Beast in the Garden isn’t just another rogue slab of Maiden lore—it’s a defiant pulse from the 2016 Madison Square Garden blitz, where Iron Maiden hammered the air with “If Eternity Should Fail,” “Speed of Light,” and a gut-punch run through “The Red and the Black.” Pressed by Cult Legend and wrapped in that shameless “Japanese-style” OBI, it radiates the grime, sweat, and unfiltered voltage of a night too alive to stay confined to bootleg mythology, daring you to relive it needle-first.
"Beast in the Garden (Incl. OBI)" is an unofficial live vinyl release sourced from Iron Maiden’s performance on March 30th, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City during The Book of Souls World Tour. This title has never been issued by the band or their label and appears only in collector and bootleg circles.
Live Recordings From the 2016 Tour
The audio originates from a fan-made recording, capturing the energy and atmosphere of the 2016 show. As with most unofficial recordings, sound quality varies depending on the source, but the performance reflects the band’s power on The Book of Souls tour.
OBI Strip for Collector Appeal
The included OBI strip does not indicate a Japanese pressing; instead, it is a decorative element often used by modern bootleg labels to emulate Japanese-style packaging. These “faux OBIs” are common on unofficial releases and mainly serve collector aesthetics.
For Iron Maiden Completionists
As an unauthorized release, this LP is primarily aimed at collectors of unusual or rare Maiden vinyl rather than listeners seeking official live material. Its appeal lies in its underground nature and the physical memento it provides of the 2016 Madison Square Garden performance.
This release captures Iron Maiden’s performance on 30 March 2016 at Madison Square Garden during The Book of Souls World Tour. The recording is sourced from an audience tape and is not part of the band’s official discography.
Although the LP includes a “Japanese-style” OBI strip, this is a European bootleg pressing. The OBI is purely decorative and used by modern bootleg labels to mimic Japanese packaging aesthetics.
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NWOBHM, British Heavy Metal
Cult Legend Recordings – Cat#: CLR 056
Standard sleeve.
Record Format: 12" Vinyl Stereo
Total Weight: 230 gram
2016 – Europe
Disclaimer: Track durations shown are approximate and may vary slightly between different country editions or reissues. Variations can result from alternate masterings, pressing plant differences, or regional production adjustments.
This album cover presents a brutal and hyper-detailed interpretation of Eddie, Iron Maiden’s iconic mascot. He stands center frame, rendered as a feral warrior coated in streaks of dried blood, dirt, and torn flesh. White handprint-style markings stain his chest and abdomen, while sharp bone-like fangs protrude from his jaw, giving him a predatory snarl. One arm hangs low, gripping a freshly severed hand dripping red; the other holds a jagged blade, its edge chipped and stained.
Behind Eddie rises the wreckage of a crashed airplane, its wing painted with another monstrous Eddie face that watches the viewer with a sinister grin. Overgrown foliage creeps up the debris, mixing with ruined city structures fading into the hazy background. A rundown yellow taxi sits half-swallowed by the greenery, hinting at a world reclaimed by chaos. Flocks of birds sweep across a fiery sky streaked in oranges, pinks, and yellows, amplifying the apocalyptic energy.
Running vertically along the left side is a bold blue Japanese-style OBI strip, displaying white Japanese characters, a ¥3,200 price, and the “CLR 056” catalog code. The OBI amplifies the illusion of a Japanese release, despite this being a European bootleg. At the bottom, stylized lettering spells out “The Beast in the Garden Vol. 1,” tying the artwork to Iron Maiden’s raw, explosive live presence.
The Japanese text on this OBI uses real Japanese characters, but the phrasing is not how a native Japanese writer would express these ideas. It reads like a direct machine translation, understandable but awkward and clearly not produced by an actual Japanese label.
The literal meaning of the printed OBI text, kept exactly as written, is: “Iron Maiden / Beast in Garden Volume 1 / 30th, 2016, World Tour / Stereo / Cult Legend Recordings / CLR 056 ¥3,200.” This reflects the band name and intended context, but the structure is unnatural.
A real Japanese OBI would phrase the same information like this: “Iron Maiden – Beast in the Garden Vol.1 / March 30, 2016 / New York, Madison Square Garden / World Tour Live / Stereo / Cult Legend Recordings / CLR 056 ¥3,200.”
This back cover uses a minimalist yet dramatic layout, with a deep black background creating a strong contrast against the white lettering and graphics. Centered near the top is a small tribal-style depiction of Eddie, formed from a white handprint pressed above a snarling skeletal face. The simplicity of the icon gives it a ritualistic, almost primitive look, matching the aggressive visual theme of the album’s front cover.
Beneath this emblem, the tracklists for both sides of the album are arranged in a tall, narrow column. The text is printed in jagged, uneven characters that resemble hand-carved stone, evoking Iron Maiden’s classic fantasy–adventure aesthetic. Side A includes the tracks Intro, If Eternity Should Fail, Speed of Light, Children of the Damned, and Tears of a Clown. Side B lists The Red and the Black, The Trooper, Powerslave, and Death or Glory, all centered and evenly spaced for readability.
Below the song listings, crisp white text states the performance details: “30 March 2016 / The Book of Souls World Tour / Madison Square Garden, New York, USA.” This grounds the artwork in the live-tour context that the bootleg seeks to replicate. At the very bottom, the Cult Legend Recordings logo appears in rough, distressed lettering, reinforcing the unofficial and DIY nature of the release.
Along the right edge is a vertical white band containing a miniature version of the album’s front cover, accompanied by Japanese characters. This design element imitates the look of a Japanese OBI strip, even though the record is a European bootleg. The imitation adds collector appeal while making the artwork visually distinctive.
This image displays the A-side of the Beast in the Garden vinyl, pressed on a creamy off-white disc with subtle swirling variations created during manufacturing. The color is not uniform; light gray streaks and faint marbling patterns appear across the surface, giving the record a distinctive and slightly rugged aesthetic often associated with small-batch or unofficial pressings.
At the center lies a matte black label that creates a bold contrast against the pale vinyl. The familiar angular Iron Maiden logo dominates the upper part of the label, while the album title “The Beast in the Garden” appears below it in smaller, stylized lettering. The bottom of the label features the catalog number “CLR 056 A,” clearly identifying this as the first side of the record.
The vinyl’s edge appears clean, smooth, and evenly cut, and the circular grooves catch reflections that reveal its texture. Minor visual irregularities from the pressing process add character typical of unofficial or collector-oriented releases. The spindle hole is accurately centered, indicating a functional pressing even if the record is not sourced from a major label plant.
Overall, the record presents a minimalistic yet bold look thanks to the stark black-and-white contrast between the label and the vinyl. The marbled surface contributes to its individuality, aligning with the bootleg nature and collector appeal of this Cult Legend Recordings issue.
This image displays Side Two of the Beast in the Garden vinyl record, pressed on a creamy off-white disc with faint gray streaks and cloudy marbling. The subtle variations across the surface indicate the irregular color blending typical of small-run or unofficial pressings, giving the record a distinctive and individualized appearance.
The central label is entirely artistic, featuring a highly detailed black line illustration of Eddie. He appears as a skeletal figure with a fierce expression, framed by thick vertical ridges resembling bone armor across his forehead. His eyes are hollow and menacing, and his bared teeth emphasize Iron Maiden’s classic visual intensity.
Surrounding Eddie is an intricate, circular emblem filled with geometric patterns. The outer ring includes tightly arranged symbols, small icon-like drawings, and shapes reminiscent of both ancient Mesoamerican art and mechanical blueprints. These detailed lines radiate outward from the spindle hole, creating a symmetrical and decorative border that gives the label a ceremonial, almost ritualistic energy.
Unlike standard label layouts, this Side Two design contains no track information, catalog numbers, or text of any kind. This reinforces the bootleg nature of the release and shifts all visual focus to Eddie’s central portrait and the ornate emblem surrounding him. The stark contrast between the dark illustration and the pale vinyl surface gives the record a dramatic, collector-driven aesthetic.