Following hot on the heels from last year’s Book Of Souls Tour, Iron Maiden fulfilled their promise for a swift return and tonight was the opening night of their Legacy of the Beast UK tour which has been rampaging through Europe over the preceding weeks.
While last year’s tour focussed mainly on material from their Book of Souls release the Legacy of the Beast tour promised to be crammed to the rafters with hits and vintage classics.
As the traditional strains of Doctor Doctor whipped the crowd into a pre-show frenzy, further heightened by Churchill’s Speech, the night was off to a frantic start with Ace’s High complete with a huge scale model of a Spitfire flying overhead and Bruce Dickinson in matching flying hat launching himself through the air. What an entrance.
Where Eagles Dare, from ’83’s Piece of Mind followed hot on its heels with Dickinson decked out in Bavarian Alps gear in front of a snow covered, mountainous backdrop and burning cable car.
Returning to Powerslave with 2 Minutes To Midnight, Maiden were at their most direct, built around a catchy riff and a cracking hook as the moshpits started swirling into life.
There was so much happening on stage; whether Steve Harris machine gunning the crowd with his bass or Dave Murray and Adrian Smith trading solos together or Janick Gers hurling his guitar around or standing on it like some Fender inspired surfboard there was always something to see.
Dickinson’s vocals were on absolute top form all night, made all the more impressive as he was never still for a moment, hurtling around the stage, up ramps and leaping off platforms and for someone who hits 60 in a few days’ time his energy levels put many a younger man to shame.
What was so great about this show was that all eras of Maiden were explored from Dickinson’s tenure, the Di’Anno years and the Blaze Bayley era too where Dickinson breathed new life into the epic The Clansman and Sign of the Cross.
Of course, the old favourites that they simply can’t leave out were all present and correct. The Trooper, complete with Dickenson sword fencing with a towering red coat wearing Eddie never fails to get the blood racing and the fists pumping the air.
Fear of the Dark may get played on most of their tours but there’s a good reason for that, it’s an absolutely tour de force live and being in the middle of the crowd as they sing along is an absolutely unmissable moment made even better by Dickinson’s sinister plague doctor costume.
Maiden dug deep into their back catalogue in keeping with their pledge for a set crammed full of vintage cuts with Piece of Mind plundered for a dramatic Revelations and a stunning Flight of Icarus featuring Dickinson blowing huge jets of flames from his hands.
With The Wicker Man and the bombastic For The Greater Good of God being the only post millennium songs in the set, Maiden’s faithful lapped up classic after classic as Number of The Beast backed by towering columns of fire and the Di’Anno era Iron Maiden closing the main set.
All was not over however as The Evil That Men Do, another punchy Rocker kicked off a three-song encore that saw the welcome return of the evergreen Hallowed Be Thy Name with Dickinson singing from behind a cage clutching a hangman’s noose before Run To The Hills brought the night to a galloping, thrilling close.
After over four decades at the top, Maiden show no signs of slowing down. Few bands can match them in the live arena and their Legacy of the Beast tour might well be one of the best of their career.
Review and Photos By Mick Burgess
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