Paul DiAnno – Hell Over Waltrop – Live In Germany – Album Review

Recorded at a festival in the German town of – you guessed it – Waltrop in 2006 but only seeing the light of day now, this release ties in with Paul DiAnno‘s announcement that he has to stop touring due to long time health issues.

So the big question is, is Hell Over Waltrop worth the fourteen year wait?

The answer to that is a resounding, NO!!

DiAnno always portrayed himself more as a punk than a heavy metal guy and here in the live setting his backing band tear through the Maiden tracks at a slightly higher tempo. To be honest, this just robs the songs of the subtleties and nuances that helped make them so interesting in the first place.

However, even that would have been bearable if the vocals were halfway decent….which they’re not. Ultimately ‘being punk’ is no excuse for not being able to perform your songs to a high standard. DiAnno’s vocals throughout this release are at best sloppy and half arsed and at their worst more akin to the call of a distressed and wounded animal. The likes of “Remember Tomorrow” and “Phantom of the Opera” aren’t easy songs to sing at the best of times but here, DiAnno’s performance is to put it kindly, just not very good.

Hell over Waltrop is aptly named and the question must be asked as to what the poor unfortunate residents of the town had done to have this fresh hell put upon them all those years ago? To many, DiAnno is always going to be the best Maiden vocalist so, avoid Hell Over Waltrop if possible and stick to blasting out the self titled debut and Killers instead! 4/10