There are few bands in the history of the universe that even the inhabitants of yet-to-be discovered civilisations have heard of. The Beatles… Metallica… Huey Lewis and the News… absolute unicorns that have carved their own faces into the Mount Rushmore of music and haven’t been touched since. Creators of genres. Tonight, we see one of these bands that is undeniably part of this group. Iron Maiden.
I first saw Iron Maiden at the Leeds festival in 2005. I was never a super fan – that was very much my flatmate’s title as I lost him to the crowd. Standing on the periphery of the pit, I watched and enjoyed myself. I could see how Iron Maiden have such a cross generational following that goes beyond the norms of “dedicated”. The theatrics were incredible and seeing Eddie on the stage felt like seeing a R2D2 or a Xenomorph in the flesh.
It’s the strange feeling of being starstruck by someone that does exist, but not really, but really. The one thing that dampened the experience was that as I was standing on the outskirts of the crowd, on a cold, blustery night, the energy and sound seemed to get blown away by the moderate gusts. All that production and effort was now about 20 nautical miles away as I stood, freezing and stuck in the cusp of “not quite drunk enough” for a festival.
I also met a guy who claimed he once saw a pre-signed Maiden play a show in a pub where their van broke down, so he gave them a lift to the next venue. That next venue was where they were spotted by a scout and signed. As a result, he gets to go to every Iron Maiden show for free. Do I believe him? Do you?
Tonight, I get to make up for the energy that was lost to the wind. The bubble of the Hydro – no matter your opinion of the venue – is poised to trap that energy and force it through every fan in the room. And that’s quite exciting.
The support for this tour is The Raven Age. I hadn’t come across them before but can absolutely see why they’re here. Not only because founding guitarist George Harris is the offspring of Maiden bassist Steve, but because they sound like Maiden if they were formed in this era. It’s dramatic and the vocals are incredible. Definitely a bit of Dickinson in there! The overall sound is more modern, though.
The guitars chug more and miss out on what could be called metal clichés (even though Maiden probably invented most of them), and there’s some screaming as backing vocals which is a newer sound in the grand scheme of things. The classic sounds are there though, and I defy any metalhead – old or new school – to not be into these guys.
It goes without saying that Iron Maiden are walking onto the stage to the kind of roars that are reserved for God tier bands. A crowd warmed to the point of boiling over with ‘Doctor, Doctor’ playing prior to the house lights going out. Maiden run on with the energy of teenagers who have scored their first big stage. Where I need to psych myself up to take the dog for a long walk, these men – who are a quarter century older than me – have energy ripping out of them. You immediately wonder if they’ll keep the pace up for what is indicated to be a two-hour set. I can say that Bruce Dickinson is obviously running off a thermonuclear reactor of some description as this man is moving across the stage like the devil is hot on his heels. I’ve seen some energetic performances in my life, but Bruce is shaming kids a third of his age.
Should have mentioned that the point of the Run for Your Lives tour is a celebration of 50… yes… FIFTY… years of Iron Maiden material. Most bands get bored playing the same tracks after an album cycle… but Iron Maiden are playing songs that are older than me with the gusto of a band who have just penned the hits and are eager to showcase them. The extensive set makes going through bit by bit for the purposes of this laborious and unnecessary but trust me when I say the highlights were: ‘Phantom Of The Opera’, ‘Killers’, ‘Powerslave and ‘FearOf The Dark.
Will we mention the production, then? It’s kinda inevitable when dealing with this band. They’ve always been on the cusp of Spinal Tap territory where one fault could send the whole show into parody. It’s that balance of the impressive with the simple that allows Iron Maiden to pull it off every time. We do have the painted backdrops replaced by video walls for the first time, but you can’t tell the difference other than the slick animation at the start of the show.
The overall look and feel of the set is still timeless and classic. The pyro is minimalistic but accents all the right points. The highlight is obviously mascot Eddie making his various appearances throughout the show, with my personal favourite being ‘Trooper’ Eddie in full military uniform. Towering at what I’d say is easily ten feet, striding across the stage with a sword in hand… it’s a sight to behold. Even if you’re not a fan of the music, the majesty of Eddie is worth seeing.
By the end of the show, there’s electricity in the air. A buzz that’s keeping the euphoria of the show alive as we bask in the afterglow of what just happened. I spoke to one mega fan, battle jacket et al, who declared “of the six times I’ve seen Maiden, this was without a doubt the best”. If that doesn’t tell you that you should catch the tour, I don’t know what will.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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