After the release of the Dance Of Death album in 2003, Iron Maiden set out on tour using one of the most theatrical stage presentations that they had ever used since the tour for Powerslave back in the 80's. The "re-united" mini-tour in 1999-2000 with Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returning as well as the tour for the Brave New World album were much more "stripped down" affairs as far as stage props and theatrics. Focussing mainly on the European audience with limited shows in North America, Maiden chose to film their performance in Dortmund Germany on November 24th 2003 during the Dance Of Death tour for a future DVD release. The whole stage has a gothic look to it with massive grim reapers on either side of the stage. Of course, the biggest and best grim reaper to appear is Eddie himself! The audio version of Death On The Road was released worldwide a couple of years back with the DVD version limited to Europe. The NTSC version that was initially released in North America was plagued with audio problems, resulting in a halt in production. Resolving the issues with the NTSC version suddenly took a back seat as Maiden was preparing to write and record A Matter Of Life And Death. Finally, almost two years after it's initial release, the audio and other issues with the North American version of Death On The Road have been fixed and the whole package is set for official re-release on Jan. 30th.

With a set list that contains more than half of the songs that were also released with the Rock In Rio DVD, it would seem to be a tough sell for Maiden fans to put out the cash for this DVD as well. The audio version was very substandard for a Maiden live album and I thought that it wasn't one of Bruce's best vocal performances either. In watching this DVD though, the sound is much better and any imperfections in the performances seem to go largely unnoticed as you watch the huge spectacle that is any Iron Maiden show. Wildest Dreams kicks things off and although it's not one of their better opening songs, it comes off really well here. Wrathchild kicks serious ass but then there's the slight misstep with Can I Play With Madness. I like the song but it never sounds good live as Bruce always has trouble singing it and the backing vocals always sound a bit off. Things get back on track with The Trooper and this version is even better than the one on Rock In Rio. Since this was the tour for the Dance Of Death album, a fair chunk of material from the album is included in their set list. Bruce dons several Venetian masks and cloaks in this eerie presentation of the title track about a spooky encounter in the Florida everglades. Bruce's theatrics are a bit over the top but in a live setting, this song sounds even better. Other tracks from Dance Of Death include a stunning version of Paschendale complete with barbed wire backdrops with bodies strewn everywhere and with Bruce wearing an army cloak and helmet for the entire song. The way that the lighting effects are choreographed with the gunfire and bombs for the intro works incredibly well leading into the haunting pull-off intro by Adrian Smith. The sheer power and stark imagery of this track is brought to life in such a way that it really does convey the sheer horrors that those brave men of the legendary World War 1 battle must have endured. More Dance Of Death material includes Rainmaker, No More Lies and the acoustic flavored The Journeyman. For one of the first Maiden tracks since Prodigal Son from the Killers album to be largely acoustic guitar based, it is a bit of a surprise that they would do it live let alone as the first song of the encore. No worries here though, everyone sings along and enjoys it very much. Brave New World is the only track played from that album and there's also the surprise inclusion of the Blaze Bayley era track Lord Of The Flies from the X-Factor album. Of course, old favorites like Number Of The Beast, Fear Of The Dark, Iron Maiden, Hallowed be Thy Name and Run To The Hills are all played as well.

Much like the Rock In Rio DVD, this one (also edited by Steve "strobe light" Harris) also features lightning fast video edits with no single band member on camera for more than a few seconds aside for solos. It does add to the excitement of watching a Maiden performance but it does get a little much. I guess the usual disclaimer on the back of any concert DVD about warning people that the flashing and strobe effects may cause people with epilepsy to have seizures really applies this time! Maiden's performance is a solid as ever and overall, it is a great concert to watch. Extras include both a standard and Dolby 5.1 surround sound version as well as a special features disc that includes lots of interviews not only with the band but with the crew/guitar techs etc. and you get a great first hand look at behind the scenes of setting up the production that every Maiden show is. Studio footage also shows the band in the studio during the recording of the Dance Of Death album and as well, there's extensive photo galleries, full screen artwork of albums and singles and the videos for Wildest Dreams and Rainmaker complete with behind the scenes footage shot during the filming. Although it might seem a bit premature to release another concert DVD so soon after Rock In Rio, this is another awesome Maiden performance to add to your collection and the added features and behind the scenes material (almost 3 hours worth) alone is worth the price of the package.