HISTORY OF IRON MAIDEN: BACK TO THE TOP II (1999 - 2007)

1999–2007: Back to the top

The musicians resumed their concert activities in May 2003, embarking on the "Give Me Ed... 'Til I'm Dead Tour", during which they proposed a set - a list of their greatest hits for all their career so far.
The tour through Europe and North America promoted the next DVD entitled Visions of the Beast - containing all previously produced music videos in digitally remastered formats and their alternative versions as the hidden easter eggs.
Both the music video compilation and the tour were a great commercial success. The DVD set was certified several times platinum in the UK, USA, Canada, Finland and other places around the world.
All 56 concerts attracted a total of approximately 1.3 million people in Europe and North America where Iron Maiden headlining shows with Motorhead and Dio. Since 2003 popularity of the new incarnation of the band started growing.

Traditionally, the band visited Poland (June 3, Spodek in Katowice breaking venue's former attendance records) and the concert schedule included large festivals such as Roskilde Festival, Rock am Ring / Rock im Park, where 150,000 tickets were sold in total, Graspop Metal Meeting, Heineken Jamming Festival (100,000 people in attendance) and Download Festival, reactivated in Donington Park, where the audience was almost 50,000 people.
Only in Europe Iron Maiden played for 750.000 fans, almost every show was sold out or very close to.

At that time, the group had already prepared another studio album, from which the song "Wildest Dreams" was presented during summer concerts.
Produced by Kevin Shirley, the thirteenth album Dance of Death was released in September and was a commercial success, debuting at the top of the bestseller charts in six countries and reaching number 2 on the bestseller lists in England and number 18 on the US Billboard 200.
Years later, the album is remembered for the orchestral, grand title track, the dramatic story "Paschendale", the acoustic ballad "Journeyman", dedicated to the cruel fate of the Montségur Cathar sect, and two hit singles: "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker", which were ranked British Top 10 bestsellers, making Iron Maiden's great comeback to the top in their own country.

To promote the album, the band went on the "Dance of Death World Tour 2003/04", which included 52 concerts in European, American and Japanese sports arenas and also reached fifty-thousand-seat stadiums in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
The concert in Dortmund, in the Westfalenhalle, was broadcast by the Viva music television and recorded for the next concert album and DVD.
In November, Iron Maiden performed at the Hala Ludowa in Wrocław, where they were supported by the Polish band Kat. The recording of their concert was published on the album Somewhere in Poland and on DVD. It was the very last Maiden's 'intimate show' in Poland at an indoor arena of 10K capacity. The route was distinguished by its theatrical scope and the use of many naturalistic effects.

In addition to recording one of the concerts, the process of composing the album and preparing the stage was also recorded, as well as numerous interviews with the group's management, technical staff and fans. All this and the concert in two audio versions were included in the triple DVD and 2 CD release Death on the Road, which premiered only in 2005. Earlier, in 2004, the single "No More Lies" and a special DVD version - Audio Dance of Death were released.

The whole tour was almost completely sold out, the concerts and the “SoccerSix” events attracted almost 1.2 million fans. The extra three July charity events from the “SoccerSix Music & Game” series were held to raise funds to help children affected by cancer. The games were attended by, among others, the band’s musicians and other artists from the industry and famous footballers. The sports competitions were enriched by the band’s music. The meetings attracted a total of 230,000 fans combined. 

 

The broadcast of the individual games was broadcast in the PPV system using digital television and the Internet. Around 500,000 viewers took advantage of the offer. The “Dance of Death Tour” was the second part of the “Death on the Road World Tour” concert series, associated with the promotion of the thirteenth studio album. In 2023/24, Iron Maiden performed 109 times on four continents, gathering an estimated audience of 2.55 million viewers, which includes "SoccerSix Music & Game" participants and PPV subscribers. The group also received the prestigious Nordoff Robbins Silver Clef award for outstanding achievements in the field of charity. In addition to high positions in the year's summaries published by industry magazines, Iron Maiden received the MPMA Best in Metal award from the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association UK, for the best packaged release - Eddie's Archive Anniversary Casket.

In November, the band also published the first in a series of historical DVDs summarizing the subsequent stages of their career, History of Iron Maiden Part 1: Early Days .
The two discs contained a total of 280 minutes of material, which included an amateur recording of a concert at the Ruskin Arms club in April 1980, an almost complete concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1982, the first professionally made concert film Live at the Rainbow, a fragment of Iron Maiden's performances at "Rock & Pop Festival 1983" in Westfalenhalle and archival material from 1979–1983.