IRON MAIDEN – Live After Death (USA) 12" Vinyl LP Album

- USA Release 2LP + Booklet Edition

Album Front Cover Photo of IRON MAIDEN – Live After Death (USA) Visit: https://vinyl-records.nl/

“Live After Death” isn’t just a souvenir from the road — it’s a lightning strike pressed into vinyl. Recorded across roaring arenas, the album captures Iron Maiden at full throttle, a touring machine lined with sweat, denim, and too-much-fog-machine.

Table of Contents

"Live After Death" (1985) Album Description:

Lead / Overall Summary

“Live After Death” isn’t just a souvenir from the road — it’s Iron Maiden freezing a lightning bolt in vinyl form. Recorded at the height of the World Slavery Tour, it captures a band running at full throttle, pushing heavy metal into stadium territory without losing an ounce of grit. Even now, dropping the needle feels like stepping into a time machine lined with sweat, denim, and too-much-fog-machine.

Historical & Cultural Context

Mid-80s metal was a glorious mess: glam on MTV, thrash breaking out of garages, and the old guard refusing to slow down. Maiden sat somewhere above the chaos, riding an impossible wave of ambition that fused theatrical staging with razor-sharp musicianship. This album arrived right when the genre was exploding globally, and it proved that metal could be both larger-than-life and brutally human.

How the Band Came to Record It

After months of punishing travel on the World Slavery Tour, the band decided to bottle the insanity. They set up at Long Beach Arena — a venue they practically turned into a second home — and later at Hammersmith Odeon for the UK shows. Producer Martin Birch followed them like a sixth band member, capturing the chaos without sanding off the rough edges. The goal was simple: document what their fans were living night after night.

The Sound, Songs & Musical Direction

The album roars with a mix of precision and danger, the kind of energy you only hear when a band is teetering between exhaustion and transcendence. Bruce Dickinson sounds utterly possessed, the twin-guitar lines weave like duelling serpents, and Steve Harris drives everything forward with his trademark gallop. Long epics like “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” hit with cinematic force, while crowd-pleasers like “The Trooper” feel even rowdier than their studio counterparts.

Comparison to Albums of the Same Era

While 1984–85 gave us live albums from Scorpions, Priest, and plenty of arena rockers, none delivered this level of sheer theatre. “Live After Death” sits somewhere between a battlefield report and an opera. Compared to Metallica’s raw bootleg-like live tapes or AC/DC’s straight-ahead stomp, Maiden brought a sense of scale — a metal blockbuster before the term even existed.

Controversies & Public Reactions

Some critics claimed the sound was “too perfect,” accusing the band of cleaning things up in the mix. Others insisted it was too raw and chaotic. That’s metal fandom for you — two camps arguing from opposite cliffs while the rest of us just blasted “Aces High” until the walls shook. The artwork also stirred debate, because of course Eddie crawling out of a graveyard always does.

Band Dynamics & Creative Tensions

Behind the scenes, the tour had battered them. Months of travel, punishing setlists, and almost theatrical production demands pushed everyone to their limits. But the strain also forged a strange kind of chemistry — you hear a band leaning on instinct, running on fumes, yet performing with supernatural precision. This wasn’t a laid-back live record; it was five men proving they could survive their own ambition.

Critical Reception & Legacy

Upon release, fans devoured the album — especially the U.S. edition with its hefty booklet of color photos. Critics eventually came around, praising its scope and unapologetically epic sound. Four decades later, it remains the standard by which metal live albums are judged. Even listeners who weren’t born in ’85 treat it like scripture.

Closing Reflection

Spinning “Live After Death” today is like opening a sealed jar of vintage stage air: scorched amps, screaming crowds, and the warm hum of a band at the height of its powers. It’s loud, it’s grand, it’s excessive — exactly what heavy metal was meant to be. And somewhere under all that noise, you can still feel the heartbeat of five tired musicians who refused to take a night off.

Album Key Details: Genre, Label, Format & Release Info

Music Genre:

NWOBHM Heavy Metal

Rising from late-70s Britain, NWOBHM fused speed, melody, and raw energy into a new heavy-metal movement. By 1985 the genre had reached a global peak, with Iron Maiden leading the charge through epic songwriting, soaring vocals, and a theatrical live presence that reshaped metal’s identity.

Label & Catalognr:

Capitol Records – Cat#: SBBA-12441

Album Packaging

Gatefold/FOC (Fold-Open Cover) with artwork and photos printed across the inside cover panels.

Includes custom inner sleeves with album details, lyrics, artwork/photos, and the original 12" colour booklet (USA edition).

Media Format:

Record Format: Double LP 12" Vinyl Stereo
Total Weight: 480g

Year & Country:

1985 – USA

Production & Recording Information:

Producers:
  • Martin "Live Animal" Birch – Producer, Engineer, Mixer
  • Martin Birch – Producer, Sound Engineer

    I first noticed Martin Birch on those early Iron Maiden sleeves—the ones with the typography that felt like a threat. At twelve, I didn’t care about "production value"; I just liked that the guitars didn't sound like mud. He was the man behind the sound mixer, the one who made the snare snap like a dry branch in a cold forest. He was "The Headmaster," and we were all just students of his high-voltage curriculum.

    Birch didn’t just record noise; he organized aggression. By 1972, he was already wrangling the messy brilliance of Deep Purple’s Machine Head, turning Ian Gillan’s banshee wails into something that didn't just clip the tape but lived inside it. In 1980, he pulled off the ultimate renovation, giving Black Sabbath a much-needed shower and a new spine. Heaven and Hell shouldn't have worked, but Martin polished that Birmingham sludge into something operatic and gleaming. It was a pivot that felt like fate, mostly because he refused to let the mid-range get lazy.

    Then came the long, obsessive stretch with Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1992. It was a twelve-year marriage to the fader. From the moment Killers (EMC 3357, for those who care) hit the shelves, the sound was physical. He knew how to let Steve Harris’s bass clatter like a machine gun without drowning out the melody—a sonic miracle that still feels fresh. You can almost smell the ozone and the dust on the Marshall stacks when the needle drops on The Number of the Beast. He stayed until Fear of the Dark, then simply walked away. No victory lap, no bloated memoir. He preferred the hum of the desk to the noise of the crowd, leaving us with nothing but the records and a slight sense of abandonment. But then, when you’ve already captured lightning on tape for twenty years, why bother hanging around for the rain?

    Martin Birch Wiki
Sound & Recording Engineers:
  • Mick McKenna – Assistant Engineer (Hammersmith)
    Mick McKenna acted as assistant engineer during the Hammersmith Odeon sessions in London late 1984, supporting the technical team capturing side four of the LP. His role would have included setting up mics, managing signal flow and helping ensure the live room sound and crowd ambiance were properly recorded in the UK leg of the live album.
  • Charlie McPherson – Assistant Engineer (Hammersmith)
    Charlie McPherson is credited as an assistant engineer for the Hammersmith recordings which form part of this live double album. His contribution supported the main engineering team under Birch, helping with monitoring, recording consistency, and capturing live performances in a high-pressure touring environment.
  • Ricky Delena – Engineer (Long Beach)
    Ricky Delena handled engineering for the Long Beach Arena recordings — which comprise sides one through three of the album. His task was to manage the mobile recording unit, ensure clear instrument and crowd capture under live conditions, and support the transition from concert to vinyl-ready live tracks.
  • Nick "Beemer" Basich – Second Engineer (Long Beach), Second Mixing Engineer
    Nick Basich (aka “Beemer”) is credited as second engineer in the Long Beach sessions and also as second mixing engineer. His role involved supporting the primary engineer Delena and producer Birch during mixing: managing secondary signal paths, edits, mixing assist duties and aiding in polishing the live performance for album release.
Recording Location:

Long Beach Arena – Long Beach, USA
Hammersmith Odeon – London, UK

Mastering Engineer & Location:
  • Wally Traugott – Mastering
    Wally Traugott is credited as the mastering engineer for the album, responsible for taking the mixed live recordings and preparing them for vinyl pressing. His work ensured optimal groove spacing, volume, clarity and dynamic consistency across the four LP sides — especially important for a high-energy live double LP.
Mastering Studio & Location:

Capitol Records – USA

Album Cover Design & Artwork:
  • Derek Riggs – Sleeve Illustration, Sleeve Concept
  • Derek Riggs – Illustrator, Cover Artist Derek Riggs is the artist who gave Iron Maiden its visual soul by creating Eddie, one of the most recognizable mascots in heavy metal history. Since the band’s 1980 debut, his artwork fused sci-fi, horror, and dark fantasy into covers that were as confrontational and imaginative as the music itself. Riggs’ paintings didn’t just decorate records, they built a world that became inseparable from Maiden’s identity.
    Derek Riggs Wiki
  • Steve Joule – Sleeve Design
  • Steve Joule – Album Artwork Artist

    Sleeve-surgery specialist: freelance from 1976, Kerrang! art director from 1982, and never shy with ink.

    Steve Joule, Steve Joule is the sleeve-art mechanic who knows a record needs a face before it needs a slogan. Working freelance in the music industry since 1976, he moved through late-’70s and early-’80s rock with sleeves and layouts for names like AC/DC, Deep Purple, Motorhead, Hawkwind, Uriah Heep, Robert Plant, Gary Moore, Blondie, Japan, Magnum, Praying Mantis, Anthrax, Sammy Hagar, Girlschool, and even the Sex Pistols. In 1982 he stepped into the hotter seat as Art Director at Kerrang!, shaping that whole era’s loud visual language. Best-known flashpoint sits in 1983 with Black Sabbath’s "Born Again" cover—proof he could make a band’s mood visible, even when it made people wince.

Photography:
  • Ross Halfin – Photography
  • Ross Halfin – Photographer

    The guy who made hard rock look like it smelled: sweat, flash powder, and backstage neon.

    Ross Halfin is the British lens-slinger who turned loud music into evidence, not decoration. Late 1970s had him cutting his teeth for Sounds, stalking the punk spill—The Clash, The Jam, the Sex Pistols—fast, close, no mercy. From 1980 onward he became Kerrang!’s chief photographer and stayed in that trench for about two decades, which says plenty about stamina. The 1980s pushed him deeper into heavy metal: Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath—tour buses, arenas, and the occasional glamour that still looked slightly dangerous. Since then the circle widened and hardened: Metallica and the big hard-rock orbit, shot with the same blunt honesty. Trust the timing, trust the grin, distrust the posing.

    Ross Halfin Wiki
Management:
  • Rod Smallwood – Management, Sleeve Concept
    Rod Smallwood, as the band’s long-term manager, coordinated the album’s production schedule, live-recording logistics and packaging concept alongside the visual team. His oversight ensured that the live album captured both audio and visual components of the tour in one cohesive release.
  • Andy Taylor – Management
    Andy Taylor is credited for management on the album, supporting the business side of the release — handling promotional, touring and release aspects during the band’s intensive World Slavery Tour period, which the album documents.

Band Members / Musicians:

Band Line-up:
  • Bruce Dickinson – Vocals
  • Bruce Dickinson – Singer

    Samson forged the roar; Iron Maiden turned it into a global alarm system.

    Bruce Dickinson, Bruce Dickinson is the rare frontman who can sound like a human air-raid siren and still tell a story. Before the arenas, I track him in Samson (1979–1981) , where the voice sharpened into steel. He joined Iron Maiden in 1981 and powered their classic run through 1993, then returned in 1999 and has stayed ever since. Between the big chapters he kept moving: a solo career from 1990 onward, plus the short, sharp Skunkworks detour in 1996. On stage he’s theatrical without slipping into pantomime—commanding, precise, and oddly disciplined for heavy metal. Timeline: Samson ’79–’81; Maiden ’81–’93 and ’99–now; solo from ’90; Skunkworks ’96. And yeah, never boring.

    Bruce Dickinson Wiki
  • Dave Murray – Guitar
  • Dave Murray – Guitar

    Maiden’s calm killer: smooth leads, twin-guitar harmony for days, and that melodic bite that makes the “gallop” feel cinematic instead of chaotic.

    Dave Murray (born 23 December 1956, Edmonton, Middlesex, England) is one of the defining lead guitar voices of heavy metal, and in my book he’s the melodic “second spine” of Iron Maiden. His timeline with the band starts early: joining in 1976, getting briefly pushed out in 1977, then returning in 1978 and staying locked in ever since—making him one of the longest-serving members in the whole Maiden saga. During that 1977 gap he spent around six months with Urchin (Adrian Smith’s band), which is a fun little historical glitch in the matrix if you like your Maiden lore messy and human. Beyond the main band, his most notable “outside the mothership” credit is the all-star charity metal project Hear ’n Aid (1985), because apparently even guitar lifers sometimes leave the bunker to do side quests. Dave Murray Wiki

  • Adrian Smith – Guitar
  • Adrian Smith – Guitarist, Songwriter

    The melodic blade behind Maiden’s heaviest hooks.

    Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith, he writes riffs the way old street poets throw punches: clean, sharp, and memorable. Before the Maiden machine, I hear him in Urchin (1973–1980), already mixing melody with bite. He joined Iron Maiden in November 1980, helped define their twin-guitar gold through 1990, then stepped away as the band’s direction shifted. In the wilderness years he tried A.S.A.P (1989–1990) and led Psycho Motel (1993–1999), plus a stint in Bruce Dickinson’s solo band (1997–1999). Since his return to Iron Maiden in 1999 he’s stayed a key songwriter, while still stretching out with projects like Smith/Kotzen (2020–present). He’s the guy who makes speed feel singable, not just fast for fast’s sake.

    Adrian Smith Wiki
  • Steve Harris – Bass
  • Steve Harris – Bass Guitar, Songwriter

    Iron Maiden’s engine room: galloping bass lines, history-nerd lyrics, and “captain of the ship” energy baked into every riff.

    Steve Harris (born 12 March 1956, Leytonstone, England) is the rare bassist who doesn’t just hold the floor—he draws the whole blueprint. In my book, he’s the founder and primary songwriter who’s kept Iron Maiden on its rails from 1975–present, with that instantly recognizable “gallop” driving huge chunks of the catalogue. The pre-Maiden grind matters too: first band days in Influence/Gypsy’s Kiss (1973–1974, including a documented gig run in 1974), then the older, blues-leaning Smiler period (1974–1975) where his more ambitious writing basically forced the next step: forming Maiden. Outside the mothership, he’s fronted his own hard-rock outlet British Lion (2012–present), a project that grew out of connections going back to the early 1990s and finally hit the world as his solo debut in 2012.

    Steve Harris Wiki
  • Nicko McBrain – Drums
  • Nicko McBrain – Drums Nicko McBrain, born 1952, is the powerhouse drummer who has driven Iron Maiden’s thunderous engine since joining in 1982. His playing combines brute force with swing and pinpoint timing, giving albums like The Number of the Beast and Powerslave their unstoppable momentum. Before Maiden, his work with Trust and the Pat Travers Band sharpened his style, culminating in a career that redefined metal drumming.
    Nicko McBrain Wiki

Complete Track-listing:

A double slab of live heavy metal, cut deep into four sides of vinyl. Drop the needle and the room shifts — crowd noise rising like warm static, stage lights flickering in your imagination. Old-school listening at its finest.

Side One
  1. Intro:
    The calm before the storm — that familiar vinyl hush that makes your fingers tingle.
  2. Churchill's Speech
    History meets distortion; the grooves crackle like old radio static.
  3. Aces High
    The needle barely touches down before the adrenaline jumps straight out of the speakers.
  4. 2 Minutes to Midnight
    The kind of track that makes the stylus feel like it’s sprinting across the vinyl.
  5. The Trooper
    Old-school live energy — sweat, denim, and a crowd roaring like an angry sea.
  6. Revelations
    Slow-burn atmosphere drifting through the room like stage fog that refuses to settle.
  7. Flight of Icarus
    Vinyl warmth meets soaring ambition — a perfect match for late-night spins.
Side Two
  1. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
    A full-on voyage across churning grooves — the kind that makes the tonearm work overtime.
  2. Powerslave
    Heavy, hypnotic, and carved deep into the vinyl like ancient script.
  3. The Number of the Beast
    A live crowd exploding so loudly you can almost see the needle shiver.
Side Three
  1. Hallowed by thy Name
    A slow-build atmosphere that fills the room like candlelight on old concert posters.
  2. Iron Maiden
    Pure live chaos — the soundtrack of sweaty arenas and ringing ears.
  3. Run to the Hills
    Fast, bright, and pushing the limits of what a live groove can hold.
  4. Running Free
    The crowd chants bleed into the vinyl — rough edges and all.
Side Four
  1. Wrathchild
    Short, sharp, and the kind of track that smacks the dust off your speakers.
  2. 22 Acacia Avenue
    A gritty streetlamp glow of a performance — worn-in and well-travelled.
  3. Children of the Damned
    Warm, moody textures that seep into the room like slow-burning incense.
  4. Die with your boots on
    Spirited, rough-edged, the kind of track that makes you check your stylus alignment.
  5. Phantom of the Opera
    A live whirlwind — swirling riffs and the unmistakable feeling of a crowd losing its mind.

Note: Live energy varies by pressing — a little static, a little crowd noise, and a whole lot of magic.

Album Front Cover Photo
Front cover of Iron Maiden’s Live After Death USA release showing Eddie clawing his way out of a cracked grave, illuminated by electric-blue lightning. His skeletal body is wrapped in torn shreds of fabric, glowing with yellow energy as chains hang from his wrist. Behind him, storm clouds swirl in deep blue tones while tombstones scatter across the ground, and a cracked gravestone engraved with a quote attributed to H.P. Lovecraft stands nearby. The album title glows in bright yellow lettering above the scene, matching the band’s iconic angular logo.

This USA front-cover artwork for Live After Death bursts with electric chaos, capturing Iron Maiden’s undead mascot Eddie erupting from a shattered grave. His skeletal form is lit from within by streaks of neon-yellow energy, as if lightning is reanimating him straight from the underworld. His hair streams upward in a storm-blown halo, catching the bright white flash at the center of the image.

Eddie’s left wrist drags a broken chain, hinting at imprisonment or a violent resurrection, while his right arm rises defiantly. The cracked gravestone beside him carries a quote attributed to H.P. Lovecraft and an inscription marking Edward T.’s resting place, grounding the scene in dark, pulpy horror. Vivid green flames lick across the graveyard floor, mixing with cold blue shadows.

The background shows a storm-ridden sky carved in deep blues and blacks, crackling with lightning that frames the band’s bright yellow, sharp-edged logo. The album title, painted in distressed yellow script, hovers just below it. Trees, tombstones, and the uneven cemetery earth fade into darkness, amplifying the supernatural charge of the moment. The entire composition is classic Derek Riggs: dramatic, comic-book bold, and brimming with occult energy.

Album Back Cover Photo
Back cover of Iron Maiden’s Live After Death USA release showing a moonlit cemetery stretching toward a glowing city skyline. The entire scene is painted in eerie blue tones: crooked tombstones leaning in all directions, tall grass bending in the wind, and lightning splitting the sky in jagged white streaks. A towering grim-reaper silhouette stands against the bright full moon, holding a long scythe that cuts sharply across the night. Below, the city’s yellow-lit windows flicker like distant fireflies. Several gravestones contain hidden inscriptions, including one reading Here Lies Derek Riggs R.I.P., nodding to the artist. Near the top, yellow text lists all tracks across the four sides of the album, while production credits for Martin Birch appear beneath. The overall atmosphere blends gothic horror with comic-book intensity, matching the album’s explosive live energy.

The USA back cover of Live After Death plunges the viewer into a vast, storm-charged cemetery washed in deep blue moonlight. Hundreds of gravestones scatter unevenly across the sloping ground, some cracked, others leaning, all partly swallowed by long, wind-torn grass that sweeps toward a distant glowing city. Each stone is rendered with gritty detail, some carrying playful inscriptions and hidden nods to longtime fans.

A massive full moon dominates the sky, casting harsh silver highlights over the graveyard and revealing the dark silhouette of a towering reaper figure holding an enormous scythe. Lightning forks through the clouds in sharp white branches, illuminating the skyline and giving the entire scene a theatrical, supernatural pulse. The city’s yellow-lit windows shimmer like heat, contrasting fiercely with the cold blue graveyard.

At the top, the entire tracklist for all four album sides is printed in bright yellow text, standing out like neon against the night sky. Beneath it, the production credit for Martin Birch marks his role in shaping the album’s sound. Down at ground level, a tombstone engraved with Here Lies Derek Riggs R.I.P. adds a cheeky signature from the artwork’s creator. The composition blends gothic menace, comic-book energy, and a sense of cinematic scale—perfectly mirroring the album’s legendary live performance captured on vinyl.

Photo One of Inside Page Gatefold Cover
Inside gatefold photo of Iron Maiden’s Live After Death USA release, showing a blazing collage of live concert shots from the World Slavery Tour. Multiple rectangular frames bordered in electric blue capture different moments onstage: Bruce Dickinson wielding a massive Union Jack, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray playing under a canopy of lights and smoke, and the band surrounded by explosions and pyrotechnics. The dominant color palette glows with reds, oranges, and hot yellows, as if the entire stage is alive with fire and motion. A giant mummy-like Eddie prop looms on the right, its wrappings lit by harsh spotlights while Steve Harris charges forward with his bass. Smaller images show band members performing in armor-like costumes, engulfed in smoke, or bathed in dramatic lighting. The composition radiates relentless energy, theatrical staging, and Iron Maiden’s signature mix of heavy metal power and over-the-top spectacle.

This inside gatefold panel explodes with heat, color, and sheer adrenaline, capturing Iron Maiden at full power during the World Slavery Tour. The collage is arranged in vivid blue-bordered frames, each one freezing a different moment of chaos: soaring flames, clouds of smoke, pounding lights, and musicians sprinting across the stage as if the set itself were a living creature.

Bruce Dickinson appears in one highlight shot, dramatically lifting a massive Union Jack as though leading an army into battle. In another, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray stand beneath a grid of stadium lights, their guitars slicing through thick smoke while the crowd below dissolves into silhouettes. Every image glows with molten reds and golds, giving the entire panel a furnace-like intensity.

To the right, a towering mummy version of Eddie dominates the scene, its bandaged arm stretching outward under blinding spotlights, reinforcing the album’s Egyptian-themed stage motif. Steve Harris lunges forward in several frames, bass in hand, his movement blurred by the speed and energy of the moment. Smaller photos reveal armor-like costumes, synchronized lighting bursts, and pyrotechnics erupting behind the musicians.

The whole composition feels like standing in the front row of a metal inferno—alive with noise, motion, and theatrical spectacle. It perfectly encapsulates Iron Maiden’s reputation for turning every stage into a mythological battlefield powered by lights, fire, and unstoppable musicianship.

Photo Two of Inside Page Gatefold Cover
Second inside gatefold photo from Iron Maiden’s Live After Death USA release, presenting a fiery collage of World Slavery Tour concert scenes. Dominating the left side is a towering mummy-like Eddie prop with bandaged arms stretching outward and flames blasting from the top of its head. Beneath Eddie, the drum kit glows under harsh golden lights while the stage is wrapped in Egyptian-themed set pieces. Framed images bordered in blue show snapshots of the band in motion: Nicko McBrain attacking the drums, guitarists performing under massive lighting rigs, and explosive pyrotechnics illuminating the stage. One central frame captures a monstrous creature costume leaning over a guitarist bathed in orange fog. Additional smaller frames show fire bursts, crowd silhouettes, and the enormous stage architecture. The entire composition radiates heat, chaos, and theatrical spectacle, amplifying the tour’s mythic, larger-than-life energy.

This second inside gatefold panel turns the heat up even further, plunging the viewer into the blazing spectacle of Iron Maiden’s World Slavery Tour. A massive mummy version of Eddie dominates the left half of the composition, towering above the stage with outstretched arms and a jet of flame shooting from his head, casting fiery light across the scene.

Near Eddie’s feet, the drum kit erupts in bright gold illumination as Nicko McBrain hammers through the set. Egyptian-inspired stage structures rise behind the musicians, carved with hieroglyphic patterns that reinforce the tour’s grand mythological theme. The orange-and-yellow lighting palette makes the entire stage feel like a metal ritual unfolding inside a furnace.

In the collage of blue-bordered frames, each image captures a different burst of intensity: guitarists tearing through riffs beneath a geometric lighting grid, walls of fire igniting behind the band, and a monstrous creature costume looming menacingly over a guitarist engulfed in smoke. The contrast between vivid firelight and the cold blue borders gives the panel a kinetic, comic-book punch.

The bottom section widens out to show the whole stage bathed in blinding white beams as the crowd raises fists and hands in silhouette. Every detail pulses with motion, heat, and that unmistakable Iron Maiden theatricality—turning the inside of the gatefold into a living snapshot of one of metal’s most legendary tours.

First Photo of Custom Inner Sleeve
This image shows a dynamic live-performance scene from Iron Maiden’s "Live After Death" era, presented in a vivid collage style. At the top, the bold yellow Iron Maiden logo dominates against a dark background. Beneath it, a large central photograph framed in electric blue captures the band performing on their massive Powerslave-era stage set, built around towering Egyptian motifs and warm orange lighting. The musicians are spread across the stage—drummer centered deep in the monumental structure, guitarists flanking the sides, and the vocalist at the front in mid-action. Overhead lighting rigs cast diagonal beams, adding tension and energy to the concert atmosphere. Below the stage image, a tightly packed crowd of fans fills the bottom half of the composition, their raised fists, ecstatic faces, and chaotic movement forming a wall of raw enthusiasm. The entire composition evokes the intensity, spectacle, and communal euphoria of Iron Maiden’s mid-1980s live shows, capturing both the grandeur of the production and the electricity of the audience.

This photograph presents an electrifying moment from Iron Maiden’s Live After Death era, arranged as a striking montage that fuses stage grandeur with fan-driven energy. The top section features the instantly recognizable Iron Maiden logo in sharp yellow lettering, glowing like a banner above the chaos and spectacle below.

At the center, bordered by a bright blue frame, the band performs on the colossal Egyptian-themed set of the Powerslave tour. Warm orange lights flood the sculpted backdrop, where a massive carved Pharaoh head looms over the drummer’s riser. Guitarists stand wide at stage left and right, frozen mid-stride, while the vocalist commands the spotlight from the front. Overhead trusses packed with lighting fixtures angle dramatically into the scene, adding weight and atmosphere.

The lower half erupts with a sea of fans pressed tightly together, cheering, reaching upward, and feeding off the music’s intensity. Faces glow with adrenaline and excitement, giving the composition a human counterbalance to the epic stage machinery above. The image captures not just a performance, but the shared surge of a band at its peak and a crowd fully alive in the moment.

Second Photo of Custom Inner Sleeve
This image shows an open inner sleeve from Iron Maiden’s 1985 Capitol Records release of "Live After Death." The left page features a dramatic concert photo framed in electric blue: the band performs on their towering Egyptian Powerslave stage set, engulfed in warm amber lighting. A massive carved Pharaoh head rises behind the drummer, while guitarists flank both sides of the stage and the vocalist stands mid-action. Below them, a tightly packed crowd fills the lower half with raised fists, intense faces, and chaotic movement. On the right page, a tall column of yellow text lists tour dates and locations, bordered by a grid of bright international flags—Portugal, Denmark, Australia, Canada, United States, Switzerland, and more—presented on bold red, blue, yellow, and green backgrounds. The open-sleeve layout blends energetic live photography with global tour documentation, capturing the ambition and worldwide reach of Iron Maiden at their 1980s peak.

This inner-sleeve photograph from Iron Maiden’s 1985 Capitol release of Live After Death captures the album’s dual spirit: high-energy spectacle on one side, and global touring ambition on the other. The left page explodes with a dramatic live shot framed in vivid blue, showing the band performing beneath the monumental Egyptian architecture of the Powerslave tour.

Warm orange lights pour over the carved Pharaoh mask towering behind the drummer. Guitarists anchor the stage edges, and the vocalist drives forward at the center, surrounded by intense beams of overhead light. A sea of fans crowds the bottom of the page, their expressions a mix of exhilaration, awe, and pure adrenaline.

The right page contrasts the chaos of live performance with strict, organized detail: a vertical block of yellow text lists the extensive tour itinerary, bordered by a colorful mosaic of flags from the many countries Iron Maiden visited. The bold reds, blues, greens, and whites form a visual map of the band’s international reach, reinforcing the scale of the tour behind this legendary 2LP live album.

Close-up of Side One record’s label
This image shows a detailed close-up of the Side One record label from Iron Maiden’s 1985 USA Capitol Records release of "Live After Death." The label features a vertical split composition: on the left, Eddie’s skeletal hand bursts upward from a grave with lightning crackling around the wrist shackle; on the right, a blue-toned section frames the album credits and technical details. At the top, the Iron Maiden logo appears in golden yellow, followed by the handwritten-style album title. Below it, the tracklist for Side One is presented in clear capital letters: Churchill’s Speech, Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Trooper, Revelations, and Flight of Icarus. Production credits name Martin “Live Animal” Birch, alongside copyright lines for EMI Records and Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd. The bottom portion includes the Capitol Records logo in pale blue, with "Side One" printed beneath it. The black vinyl surrounding the label reflects faint highlights, and rim text runs around the edge, warning against unauthorized copying and noting manufacturing details. The entire label blends illustrated fantasy imagery with precise album data, creating a distinctive mid-1980s Iron Maiden aesthetic.

This close-up photograph captures the Side One label from Iron Maiden’s 1985 USA Live After Death release on Capitol Records. The label is split between illustrated fantasy artwork and formal album text, creating a dramatic yet informative composition typical of Iron Maiden’s mid-1980s visual style.

On the left, Eddie’s chained skeletal arm erupts from the ground with lightning cutting through the artwork, merging seamlessly into the parchment-like panel on which the track titles are printed. The warm browns of the illustration contrast with the cooler blue textures that frame the right side of the label.

At the top, the Iron Maiden logo glows in yellow, followed by the album title in stylized lettering. Beneath it, the full Side One tracklist appears: Churchill’s Speech, Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Trooper, Revelations, and Flight of Icarus. Production credits acknowledge Martin “Live Animal” Birch, along with 1985 copyright lines for EMI and Iron Maiden Holdings. The Capitol Records logo sits at the bottom above the “Side One” marking.

The surrounding black vinyl provides a sharp reflective border, while rim text wraps around the circumference, indicating manufacturing and legal notices. The label’s combination of vivid illustration, detailed credits, and bold typography encapsulates the look and feel of the original US pressing.

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