''Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City'' is a live album by English heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, released on 20 November 2020. It was recorded on 27, 29 and 30 September 2019 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, during the

Legacy of the Beast World Tour The Legacy of the Beast World Tour was a concert tour by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, named after the comic and mobile game released by the band in 2017. Described as a "history/hits tour", Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood has revealed ...

Background

On 5 July 2016,

released ''Legacy of the Beast'', a

role playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

, in collaboration with Nodding Frog, 50cc Games and Roadhouse Interactive. The game is set in a fictional world inspired by Iron Maiden album covers and songs, and follows the band's mascot,

Eddie the Head Eddie (also known as Eddie the Head) is the mascot for the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is a perennial fixture of the group's artwork, appearing in all of their album covers (as well as most of their singles) and in their merchandise, ...

, as he goes on a quest to find and reclaim the shards of his shattered soul. It later became a comic book series, first released on 31 October 2017. Two weeks later, on 13 November, the band announced the

, which started in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

on 26 May 2018 and had its concept and stage set design loosely inspired by the game's "different but interlocking 'worlds'". Described as a "history/hits" tour by manager

Rod Smallwood Roderick Charles Smallwood (born 17 February 1950) is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Ca ...

, the setlist included several songs that hadn't been played live by the band in many years, most notably "

Flight of Icarus "Flight of Icarus" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was their eighth single, the first from their fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983), and their first in the United States, where it was one of their few with sub ...

", which had been absent from the band's setlists since the

Somewhere on Tour Somewhere on Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 10 September 1986 to 21 May 1987, supporting their album '' Somewhere in Time''. The band performed across the globe, in countries including Poland, Italy, the United S ...

in 1986–87. It was the first tour since the

Brave New World Tour The Brave New World Tour by Iron Maiden began on 2 June 2000 and ended on 19 January 2001. It supported their 2000 album ''Brave New World'' that marked the return of vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith. In Europe, the tour was ...

in 2000–01 to include two

Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...

-era songs ("Sign of the Cross" and "The Clansman") in the setlist, and the first to include any song from that period since the

Dance of Death World Tour The Dance of Death World Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their thirteenth studio album, ''Dance of Death''. The group's eighth live record, '' Death on the Road'', was recorded in Dortmund. The tour was s ...

in 2003–04, when "

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes i ...

" was played. ''Nights of the Dead'' marks the first official wide release of a live recording of a song ("For the Greater Good of God") from the 2006 album '' A Matter of Life and Death''. When " Different World" was released as a single in 2006, live recordings of that and "

The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg is a song by Iron Maiden, released as the lead single from their fourteenth studio album, '' A Matter of Life and Death''. The song was released as a single on 14 August 2006, preceding the release of ''A Matte ...

" were included as B-sides on the digital and DVD singles, respectively.

Track listing

Personnel

;Iron Maiden *

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

– vocals * Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals * Dave Murray – guitars *

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...

– guitars *

Adrian Smith Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio. Smith grew up in London ...

– guitars, backing vocals *

Nicko McBrain Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...

– drums

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 live albums Iron Maiden live albums