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Review and Photos by:Brandon Marshall
As Maiden fans young and old eagerly awaited for one of the top premier touring acts and metal band that have achieved icon status to take the stage, “Doctor Doctor” by UFO provided the opening intro for the mighty Maiden to take entrance. “Seven deadly sins, seven ways to win, seven holy paths to hellllll, and your trip begins” was the call the audience had been waiting for, and the trip truly had begun for fans on the Maiden freight train. Iron Maiden charged onto the stage in an explosive way, while Dickenson made his entrance in grand fashion and took control for nearly two hours. Designed to resemble Iron Maidens 1988 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son tour, the stage set looked as if Iron Maiden was playing on the Ross ice-shelf in Antarctica. With a u-shaped podium at the back of the stage, the massive platform was designed like an ice-burg along with various art-work from the Seventh Son era that incased legendary mascot Eddie in a frozen tomb. Maiden displayed a nostalgic show with a selection of songs that have not been performed in-front of a live audience in over two decades. A good portion of the set-list contained nearly half of the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album that included "The Clairvoyant", “ The Evil that Men Do”, “Can I Play With Madness, “Moon Child” and the title track “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, a point in the show that featured the first of several appearances ’from Eddie. With heart in hand, Eddie rose from behind Nikos drum-kit, and seeing the album cover come alive was spectacular, one of the many points in the set that displayed stellar production and set the stunning arctic atmosphere and feel for what this particular tour was about. The only post Seventh Son of a Sevenths Son material that was played had been “Fear of the Dark” and “Afraid to Shoot Strangers”.
Iron Maiden is a band that doesn’t need to rely on their “hits” to bring in a crowd, and I for one would be pleased to hear some of the modern Maiden era material, but between the 2008-2009 Somewhere Back in Time Tour and Maiden England Tour, it is refreshing to hear songs that many Maiden fans have not heard in decades. While tour dates yet to be announced across the globe, Iron Maiden will bring this unique tour around the world and Maiden England Tour is not to be missed by any fan. For myself, I was far more impressed with this current tour then I was with Somewhere Back in Time Tour. After the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son tour was completed in 1988, Iron Maiden scaled back production and showcased stripped down live shows for a number of years, so this raises the question, what will Iron Maiden do next if this will be the last tour based off of older albums? Whatever they have planned, it will be spectacular in the true Iron Maiden fashion.
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