Paul Di’anno’s Battlezone / Live Madness 1988 / 2CDR / Shades
Rock ‘N Roll Heaven, Toronto ON, Canada 19th January 1988
BATTLEZONE, a famous band where Paul Di’Anno returned to righteous heavy metal. A live set that allows you to experience the precious live on site is now available.
This work contains two performances. It is a powerful audience recording set with DISC 1 for “Toronto performance on January 19, 1988” and DISC 2 for “Minneapolis performance on February 10, 1988”. After leaving IRON MAIDEN, Diano continued to do pop projects, but it was BATTLEZONE that wiped out that. They roared with aggressive and sharp orthodox heavy metal, and made the fans who were itching to drink less. However, their activities are also shrouded in mystery. The studio works “FIGHTING BACK” and “CHILDREN OF MADNESS” were also released in Japan, but when it came to live performances, not even the set list was transmitted, let alone the visit to Japan. The situation hasn’t changed much even today, but even so, information has been accumulating little by little. It’s also a good opportunity, so let’s start with an overview of our activities at the time.
● 1985
《GOGMAGOG EP “I Will Be There” released》
・ October 11th + December 6th: London (2 performances)
● 1986
・ April 2nd / June 9th / August 15th: UK (3 performances)
《『FIGHTING BACK』Release》
・September 7: Appearance at Dynamo Open Air
・December 18th + 19th: North America #1a (2 performances)
● 1987
・ January 10-February 27: North America #1b (8 performances)
《“CHILDREN OF MADNESS” released in September》
・ October 9-November 20: Europe # 1 (4 performances)
● 1988
・January 19-March 2: North America #2 (5 performances) ← Coco
● 1989
・December 2-10: Europe #2 (3 performances)
This is Paul Di’Anno from 1985-1989. I just gathered fragmentary information, so I can’t assert that it’s all in the above. However, you can understand that BATTLEZONE has continued for four years, and that it has made a small landing in North America. The two performances of this work are records of such “North America # 2”. It was a concert about four months after the release of the 2nd album “CHILDREN OF MADNESS”.
This work, which conveys such a scene, is a recently discovered new master. Originally, it would be nice to just be able to listen, but the sound quality is also wonderful. First of all, the Toronto recording (DISC 1), this is a branded product that was directly digitized from the original cassette, and has a pleasant power sound with aggressive thrash metal. It feels a little chatty at the beginning, but if you listen carefully, the sound output itself is aggressive rather than overpeaking. It will be arranged little by little as the show progresses.
Another surprise is the Minneapolis recording (DISC 2). Although this is the 1st Gene Master, the sound transcends the Toronto performance. The thick core and fine details are enormous, and the close contact with zero sense of distance is like a sound board. As expected, BATTLEZONE cannot be pressed, but the sound quality itself is a magnificent permanent preservation class. Such two performances differ not only in sound but also in set. Let’s organize the two performances together here.
Children of Madness (8 songs, 15 takes)
・Overloaded/The Promise/I Don’t Wanna Know/Rip It Up/Nuclear Breakdown/Take It To The Limit/Children Of Madness/It’s Love (DISC 1 only)
● Others (5 songs, 9 takes)
・Fighting Back: Feel The Rock (DISC 2 only) / Welfare Warriors / In The Darkness
・MAIDEN Number: Remember Tomorrow/Running Free
… and it looks like this. When it comes to Diano’s live, IRON MAIDEN self-cover rain hail … no. The Maiden songs are just a medley of “Remember Tomorrow” and “Running Free”, and the rest are all masterpieces of BATTLEZONE. Since I did only “Overloaded” and “Children Of Madness” in later KILLERS and solo performances, its value is de-class. No way, the day will come when I can listen to “Welfare Warriors” live … (I also wanted to listen to Warchild and Whispered Rage!).
The aggressive and wide Toronto recording (DISC 1) from the original master, and the Minneapolis recording (DISC 2) with an on-the-fly, direct feeling. It is a decision board set that you can experience 2 performances of BATTLEZONE full show with extremely rare treasure recordings. A miraculous live album that should be touched by those who despise “Diano’s live is all about MAIDEN covers”. This is Paul Di’Anno!
★ Strong audience recording of “January 19, 1988 Toronto performance / February 10 Minneapolis performance”. The Toronto recording (DISC 1) is a signature product that was directly digitized from the original cassette, and has a pleasant power sound with aggressive thrash metal. The Minneapolis recording (DISC 2) is a great soundboard-class recording with a thick core and fine details. You can experience the full show with plenty of rare BATTLEZONE masterpieces for 2 performances. This is Paul Di’Anno!
Shades 1784