Review – ‘Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition’ Documentary Puts Fans First

How do you completely cover a band's 50-year career in less than two hours? The answer, at least in the case of Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition, is to tell the story, in part, through the lens of their legion of fans.

The metal giants have always made the fans their top priority, and Burning Ambition is no different. The hour-and-46-minute documentary, directed by Malcolm Venville, is once again for and about the millions of adoring fans that have made Iron Maiden one of the biggest metal bands in history.

Make no mistake, the film does extensively cover the band's lineup change-driven eras, complete with an eye-watering amount of vintage photos and video clips so captivating you won't even want to risk a blink. Of course, the further we go back in Iron Maiden's timeline, the more valuable each visual piece becomes as we peer half a century into the past, watching a young, determined and fresh-faced Steve Harris embark on a journey to unknown destinations with his early revolving door of bandmates.

Who Is in the Documentary?

In Burning Ambition, we hear from the members of Iron Maiden, but we never see their current selves. They color their career narrative with some honest confessions (including one in particular from Nicko McBrain, which we'll touch on later) as archival visuals help fill in the gaps in our imagination.

It's a deliberate decision in the edit that, again, puts less emphasis on the individuals and this global behemoth of a metal band and its pop culture-infused skeletal mascot and more on the other component of the story being told. Yup, the fans!

READ MORE: The Best Song on Every Iron Maiden Album

Fans are represented by a well-rounded cast of Iron Maiden devotees, including iconic musicians (KISS' Gene Simmons, Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Public Enemy's Chuck D, The Cure's Simon Gallup, Hirax's Katon de Pena), esteemed actors (Javier Bardem), lawyers, doctors and a handful of salt-of-the-earth fans (British journalist Dom Lawson and Capn Harris, the creator of so many adorable custom Eddie dolls, to name two).

Underscoring just how fan-driven Burning Ambition is, even the rockers are credited as "Fan / [Band Name]" on-screen.

Most importantly, all of these fans represent a diverse group of people from all walks of life and parts of the planet. This worldwide notion of community is also supported by video clips of Dickinson onstage telling a crowd, as he so often does, that (paraphrasing) whatever your personal makeup and background is, none of them are barriers when it comes to being part of the Iron Maiden fandom.

Simply, what is a band without its fans? And how far can a dedicated fanbase take a band that has not had the benefit of commercial radio play or airplay? That story unfolds across 50 years of history and counting.

Telling the Story of Iron Maiden

Diehard fans are unlikely to uncover any part of the band's history they haven't already mined the internet for. That highly detailed version of Iron Maiden has already played out across a three-part series fully in the band's control and there's an endless trove of easily accessible content to bridge the gap from where that final installment left off.

Iron Maiden's arc as band, in the broadest sense, is similar to countless others — the rise, the fall, the redemption. How each band gets to each of the three points, however, is very different.

We're treated to endearing moments as Harris tirelessly turns over musicians in search of the exact lineup he'd need to conquer the world with Iron Maiden. It immediately creates a sense of youthful exuberance, allowing viewers to take the ride with the band through it all.

The supreme highs are well-known — the exhaustive but rewarding World Slavery tour, pretty much every Rock in Rio performance, Dickinson piloting the band's own plane to better chart tour routings (to get to those fans in hard-to-reach places), etc.

It's the low points bands are always most protective of — understandably so, as they were difficult, emotional and don't conjure up the best memories. Some of those are on display in Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition.

Adrian Smith's depression as the band continued to reach new heights examines the sheer toll that success, and the drive necessary to achieve it, takes on our beloved musicians.

Blaze Bayley is, fortunately, alleviated of much of the blame for Maiden's downturn during his time fronting the group. It's fairly acknowledged that numerous other factors contributed to the circumstances. And now, as we know, his place is reaffirmed as a Rock and Hall of Fame member when Iron Maiden are inducted later this year.

Bruce Dickinson's waning interest in Iron Maiden before his '90s exit is actually shaded by what comes off as the most confrontational moment of Burning Ambition. McBrain bluntly resented the way the singer handled the end of his first tenure with the group, arguing that performing while being disinterested in continuing with Iron Maiden showed a lack of respect for the fans.

There it is again. The fans.

Even when Dickinson returned (alongside Smith), the drummer's stance remained the same. He spoke directly to Dickinson about it, to which the frontman replied that he loved McBrain because of what that sentiment stands for. Of course, that tension dissolved a long time ago as the reunion era — now longer than the pre-1999 era — has climbed to unfathomable new heights.

Is Burning Ambition Worth the Watch?

Iron Maiden fan or not, absolutely.

For those who are even, at best, on the peripheral edge of this band's music and history, you'll find a familiar arc to pull you in and a unique story told about a heavy metal band that defies preconceived stereotypes.

And for those counted among the "all of you" Iron Maiden promise to get in their eponymous song, duh. It's mandatory viewing. You won't get everything you need about this band's half-century run, but that's never going to be all in one place (the 50th anniversary coffee table book does the mightiest job of all).

Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition is an essential addition to the rich Maiden experience we've already had. The addendum in the title easily applies just as much to this tenacious band as it does all of us. It's part of the history you can't get anywhere else.

Catch the documentary at your nearest participating theater for a limited time, starting May 7.

Below, see how many songs each member of Iron Maiden has written.