To say that "Iron Maiden: Flight 666" simply follows Iron Maiden on the road would be a grievous, grievous understatement. This is a tour documentary, yes, but this is no ordinary tour - Iron Maiden played 23 concerts in 45 days, to over 500,000 fans in 11 countries. For such a tall order, the band chartered its own plane (a Boeing 757 called Ed Force One, flight number 666), piloted by the band's own vocalist, Bruce Dickinson. Not content having a Boeing 757 all to themselves, the band redesigned the plane to accommodate its six members, 70 crew members and approximately 12 tons of gear.

Can I play with madness, indeed.

Sam Dunn and Scott McFadyen, the same duo who brought us "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" and "Global Metal" accompany Iron Maiden in the air, on the road, through hotels and airports, on golf courses and underneath pyramids, and present a front-row, bird's eye view on what goes into putting such an ambitious tour together. The access they were granted is spectacular; among interviews with the band, crew and fans, Dunn and McFadyen capture the energy of Iron Maiden performing to tens of thousands of fans at every show. Maiden are in their thirty-fifth year of existence, but the athletic bounding of Dickinson, Steve Harris (bass) and Janick Gers (guitars), and the pulsing, engulfing adulation of their fans suggests a figure infinitely more youthful and timeless.

The real story in this documentary isn't the band, or the plane, or their iconic mascot Eddie - it's the fans, the half a million of them who saw Iron Maiden play almost two dozen world cities six weeks. Some of those fans hadn't seen Maiden in decades; some were familiar faces at shows; others were seeing Maiden for the first time, hearing songs that were written before they were born. Some brought their kids, others came with their parents. 

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