Iron Maiden Hits No. 1 For The First Time With A Decades-Old Album

Iron Maiden’s Live After Death returns to multiple charts after an anniversary vinyl reissue, hitting No. 1 on the rock ranking for the first time decades after its release. UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: BARNYARD STUDIOS Photo of Steve HARRIS and Dave MURRAY and Janick GERS and Nicko McBRAIN and IRON MAIDEN and Blaze BAYLEY, Posed group portrait in the recording studio at Steve Harris’s house L-R Nicko McBrain, Steve Harris, Blaze Bayley, Dave Murray and Janick Gers (Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)

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Iron Maiden has been rocking crowds and recording face-melting material for half a century. At this point, multiple full-lengths stand out in the group’s storied discography, but when it comes to live sets, there is one that is regarded as the most important in the outfit’s catalog – and a must-own for any lover of live music.

Iron Maiden’s Live After Death recently turned 40, and thanks to a special vinyl reissue, the album returns to multiple charts in the United Kingdom, the country where the group got its start. Live After Death reaches the highest tier on several rosters and even earns Iron Maiden a brand new No. 1.

Iron Maiden Scores a New No. 1 Album

Live After Death finds its way back to the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart, and for the first time ever, appears at No. 1. Just over 20 years ago, the Iron Maiden classic debuted at No. 31, and in the two decades since, it has spent just 16 weeks on the U.K.’s list of the bestselling rock and metal albums.

Live After Death has only managed two frames between Nos. 1 and 10 – doubling that number as it returns – and it appears on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart for the first time in more than half a decade as it conquers the ranking.

How Many No. 1 Albums Has Iron Maiden Charted?

As Live After Death breaks back onto the Official Rock & Metal Albums list, Iron Maiden scores its fourteenth No. 1. All told, the band claims 32 top 10 successes on the genre-specific roster.

Iron Maiden’s Live After Death Launches Inside the Top 10

The same live collection reaches the Official Vinyl Albums chart for the first time and manages to become one of the top-selling releases on the format in the U.K. Live After Death opens at No. 5, standing out as the eighteenth top 10 for Iron Maiden.

The group scores the loftiest debut of the week, beating new efforts from names like Madonna and Jessie J, as well as returning bestsellers from artists like Wolf Alice and Ed Sheeran, among others.

Live After Death Returns to Multiple Charts

Live After Death appears on both the Official Album Sales and Official Physical Albums charts for only the second time. The beloved live set launched beneath the top 10 in the summer of 2020 and fell away almost immediately. Iron Maiden scores a sixth career placement inside the top 10 on the general sales tally as Live After Death returns, and the group is up to almost twice as many — 11 in total — appearances between Nos. 1 and 10 on the Official Physical Albums list.

Iron Maiden Finds Its Way Back to the Albums Chart

Live After Death enjoys a special return or debut on four of the five U.K.-based rankings on which it currently appears. The live project also rebounds onto the Official Albums chart, the 100-space ranking of the most consumed full-lengths and EPs in the U.K., where both sales and streams factor into where a title lands.

Live After Death breaks back in at No. 81, far from No. 2, where it debuted and peaked in the fall of 1985. Live After Death has not managed to carve out space on the most competitive albums list in the U.K. since early 1986, when it spent two weeks falling and then vanished completely.

Iron Maiden’s Live After Death Was Recently Issued on Vinyl

Back in October, Iron Maiden announced the fortieth anniversary vinyl reissue of Live After Death, and fans in the U.K. could not wait to get their hands on a copy. The two-LP set — one in bright blue, the other an intense yellow — was pressed using a 2015 remastering of the album, and the product comes with a number of other must-haves for diehard followers, such as an updated booklet, the original 12-page book, and a replica tour pass so fans can feel like they were there back in 1985 at one of the shows where Live After Death was recorded.