The rise, fall and return to the top of one of the biggest heavy metal bands in history is chronicled largely by fan PS in the documentary “Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition”. “We’ve always done everything for the fans,” say the Maiden band in the film dedicated to them. The stars of the documentary, it is proudly pointed out at the beginning, are the members of Maiden, the band’s zombie mascot Eddie and – the fans.
And there are fans of all nations and colors. Singer Bruce Dickinson says from the stage that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. “If you’re a Maiden fan, you’re part of a family, my friend,” says Dickinson. The fans are enthusiastic and come from everywhere, from Lebanon, Poland and Kosovo to North and South America.
We expected to see someone from Split, where Maiden often stay and feel at home, but we didn’t expect that. They are doctors, psychologists, journalists, bankers… People who with Maiden overcame war and other horrors, from the Lebanon War to September 11, 2001.
Through them, the film impressively develops a sense of heavy metal brotherhood and unity. Among the fans are also famous faces, such as the actor Javier Bardeman ardent lover of hard ‘n’ heavy music, Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrichthe bassist of Kiss Gene Simmons, Chuck D’s from Public Enemy, Simon Gallup (The Cure), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), Scott Ian (Anthrax)…
Some of it is due for a shred of context during Maiden’s rise (“The new wave of metal was a reflection of everything in Britain”, says Ulrich) in a film devoid of “deeper” social/pop culture approach and any critical detachment. Certainly, the fans, famous or “regular” people, give perspective to the documentary more than the band members.
Dickinson, bassist and founder Steve Harrisguitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janirck Gers and a drummer Nick McBrain they comment on events off camera in the so-called voiceover while archival images or recordings of their younger versions are played. Maybe the standard “talking heads” would be boring, but this is how you lose closeness with Maiden people.
The closeness is compensated by the fans and Eddie, unavoidable on the album covers from the first to the last as a mascot responsible for creating not only the band’s visual identity, but also its “own universe”. Maiden as a band has depth (lyrics can be a reflection of historical events, for example the injustices against Indians sung in “Run To The Hills”) and cinematic concert theatrics (parodied in “This Is Spinal Tap“, and perfectly used in the movie “28 years later 2“). Therefore, it’s a shame that “Burning Ambition” isn’t better and, um, more ambitious, like “Marianne Faithfull: Broken English“, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” and “EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert“.
It’s also a shame that the personal stories of the members were reduced to hyphens (Harris’s divorce was just mentioned), as well as mutual disagreements and conflicts, for example due to the departure of Dickinson in 1993 for a solo career (the rather solid album “Balls To Picasso” from 1994, with an emphasis on the song “Tears Of The Dragon”). However, as a basic fan film, it is skillfully made.
“Burning Ambition” is easy to watch and listen to, covering five decades of the band in just 105 minutes, from the first singer Paul Di’Anna through Blaze Bayley as replacements for Dickinson until Bruce’s “comeback” which brought the sunken Maiden from the clubs back to the halls and stadiums, but also revealing interesting things, such as playing at a local wedding in Poland, where they came by breaking the “iron curtain”. “Burning Ambition” raises a monument to Maiden as a band that managed to remain itself from punk to grunge, and even more to its fans. Both of them received a dedication from Dickinson in the song “Blood Brothers”. ***
