Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden stopped by The Honda Center in Anaheim, California with Trivium on September 21st with their Legacy of the Beast World Tour and gave a sold out crowd a concert that was topnotch and will be remembered for years to come. Iron Maiden are known for their massive stage productions and mind-blowing theatrics and they’ve one up themselves this time with new huge backdrops and set pieces for this tour, with everything from their mascot Eddie clutching a samurai sword to Bruce Dickinson shooting fire from his hands (so it seems). Witnessing an Iron Maiden show is truly an experience that you’ll take with you and cherish always.
Trivium, who are from Orlando, Florida, opened the night and got the early birds ready with a setlist that delivers songs from 5 of their 10 studio albums. Opening the setlist was “Snøfall” that lead into “Silence in the Snow”, which both are off of, and opens the album Silence in the Snow. “Silence in the Snow” shows off lead singer/guitarist Matt Heafy’s vocal range and his clean singing capability which is truly amazing to hear live. Next track was “Into the Mouth of Hell We March”, which is off of their fourth studio album Shogun that got a lot of well deserved praise. Guitarist Corey Beaulieu lends his backing vocals to this track that is as heavy as can be and plays his six sting with ease as he sings. “The Sin and the Sentence” was next, which is off of the same titled album, and they kept the intensity high while the audience moshed and gave the same energy back.
“The Phalanx” was next, off their latest release In The Court Of The Dragon, and gave fans a taste of their new album live which they loved. Bassist Paolo Gregoletto made playing the 5 string look easy as he gave the crowd some love while not missing a single note. Drummer Alex Bent kept it real as he played the skins flawlessly and made the next track “The Heart from Your Hate” the highlight of the night. “Strife” from the album Vengeance Falls was next followed by the final track of the night “The Shadow Of The Abattoir” which is also off their latest release. These four made the most opening for Iron Maiden and you can tell they love what they do. Matt sticking his tongue out and putting his metal horns in the air is always fun to see because you know he’s having the time of his life. Too bad they didn’t play their cover of “Iron Maiden” for this tour but we might hear it on their next tour which starts very soon.
Living legends Iron Maiden was the reason why 18,000 plus fans showed up to witness history in the making. Whenever Iron Maiden tours you make sure to go see them because it’s an experience. For some it’s a once in a lifetime experience and Iron Maiden makes sure that they give 110% every time they play so that it’s an unforgettable one. Many fans from around the world showed up to this show looking for that Iron Maiden experience that is heard about around the world. The people in the front row had flags of their country and Iron Maiden graphics on it showing their support for their favorite band. It’s amazing that a band like this brings people from all over the world together to enjoy some badass live music. The set started out with two recordings played before the live music, first was the instrumental track “Iron Maiden” off the same titled album followed by the song “Doctor Doctor” by UFO, which got the crowd singing along and anxious for the headliner.
The first three tracks that the band played were off their latest release, Senjutsu: “Senjutsu”, “Stratego”, and the first single off the album “The Writing On The Wall”. Their backdrop consist of ancient Japanese architecture and it looked amazing. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson’s voice is like no other and he showed that he still has it and sounds amazing at the young age of 64 while “Senjutsu”. You can tell that everyone in the hand is happy to be back on the road after a three year hiatus because of obvious reasons. The energy that Steve Harris protrudes gets the crowd moving while the other members of the band match that energy. Janick Robert Gers running back and forth across the stage while strumming his guitar is a sight to watch as he performs the songs perfectly. David Michael Murray and Adrain Fredrick “H” Smith show their talent by their immaculate performance and guitar playing that the crowd just can’t get enough of. Iron Maiden fans are some of the most devoted and die hard fans that have graced this earth and we know why since Iron Maiden proves it night after night with their stellar performances. Samurai Eddie made an appearance during the first track and showed off his impressive sword skills as he walked back and forth on the stage. He was in full samurai gear and he looked ready for anything to come at him, very cool.
In between “Stratego” and “The Writing On The Wall” Bruce said hello to Anaheim, which he said is somewhere south of Los Angeles and North of Mexico, which he is absolutely right, and then introduced Adrain properly as Adrain started playing an acoustic guitar for the beginning of “The Writing On The Wall”. To say that it sounded amazing would be an understatement and seeing Iron Maiden play their latest material is always a treat. Drummer Nicko McBrain was hidden behind his impressive drum set and would pop his head over it at the end of each song so that the fans could see his contagious smile. If he’s difficult so see it’s really no problem because you can hear every hit and rhythm that he produces and it couldn’t be more impressive. These guys are having fun with what they are doing and not a single soul in the audience was sitting down. Everyone was singing along and knew every lyric Bruce was singing, it was a sight to see. The 4th and 7th song were off the same album Piece of Mind, “Revelations” and “Flight of Icarus”, which were crowd favorites. During “Revelations” a new backdrop was revealed and it looked like an Iron Maiden church with all the stained glass. In the middle was a huge circular design while the 4 panels, 2 on each side, was stained glass of 4 different albums. Eddie from Maiden England ’88, which they use a lot, was on the far left while Eddie from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, The Number of the Beast, and Powerslave was on the remaining 3.
At this moment Bruce kindly asked the audience if they were going to smoke pot to do it outside because it effects the band and their performance. As soon as the audience agreed Bruce told everyone that “we are blood brothers” and went right into their song off of Brave New World “Blood Brothers”. Because there are so many different people from different countries at this concert, including the UK, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, just to name a few, this song was dedicated to the fans across the globe and boy did Iron Maiden perform a gem. Bruce got the crowd involved by making them raise their hands at certain points of the songs and chant “blood brothers” as the chorus was delivered superbly. Everyone was a part of one big family.
“Sign of the Cross” was next and Bruce started out the song in a cloak that covered his whole body. The backdrop looked like a frame out of The Lord Of The Rings movies. Bruce held a huge cross with lights on it so it shined brighter than anything else on stage. What a powerful performance of a song that was released in 1995 and watching Bruce run around the stage with a lit cross made everything okay for that moment. “Flight of Icarus” was another backdrop change and this time it had Icarus himself with his wings spread across the entire back of the stage and clouds in the background. Bruce had a backpack on that had flame throwers connected to his arms so that it looked like he was shooting fire from his hands while he sang. What a sight to see. There was so much pyro at the end of this song that audience members in the front row had to check if their eyebrows were still there. The huge Icarus prop dropped abruptly as the song ended and fire was shooting from everywhere on the stage, it was truly eye opening to witness.
“Fear of the Dark” was next and Bruce came out with a top hat and mask that resembles the “plague doctor bird mask” but he had an all silver mask. As he walked out on his platform holding a bright green light that rest in a lantern it was aware that the audience was having an out of body experience. The backdrop turned into clouds as the song began. This song was the loudest song of the night and the crowd made sure of that by singing along to every word and having the time of their lives. The climax of the night might of been when Bruce yelled “scream for me Anaheim” and the crowd yelled back with a deafening scream! What a sight to see 18,000 plus people singing and enjoying every minute of it. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, the last song off of their iconic album Number of the Beast was performed perfectly. Bruce’s vocals (behind bars), Steve’s bass lines, with Dave, Adrian, and Nicko’s touch, this song washed over everyone and had the audience living the dream that is an Iron Maiden Concert. What came next was a fan favorite “Number of the Beast” which had its share of pyro! Their backdrop looked like they were on the surface of the sun and having the time of their lives. Janick was running around as usual as Dave shredded his solo to perfection. Adrain took over the solo duties and didn’t disappoint at all. This band is so impressive that it’s amazing, and at the same time not surprising at all, that they’re still going strong and better than ever.
As Bruce asks Anaheim to scream for him they start the iconic song “Iron Maiden” off their self titled album Iron Maiden. Eddie returned and was holding a British flag as a huge Eddie head with horns popped out of the back drop and made sure that everyone saw. As soon as the song ended they made sure to put another epic backdrop over the back of the stage so that everyone in the crowd knew what they were going to play. Bruce was also clothed up for the song as he waved the British flag across the entire stage. “The Clansman” off of Virtual XI, and their biggest hit in the US “Run To The Hills” off of The Number of the Beast was the next two songs played. Just before “Run To The Hills” started a new back drop was reveled and the main art for “The Legacy of the Beast Tour” was center. As you would expect, the crowd went nuts for these songs and the energy in the Honda Center was electric. If that wasn’t enough for you the very last song they played was “Aces High” off their most popular album Powerslave. Just before it they played a snippet of Winston Churchill’s famous speech and then proceeded to blow the minds off of 18,000 plus people with the live version of “Aces High” with a full blown plane coming out of nowhere and Bruce in control as always. What an amazing sight to witness. What a night is a total understatement. Please, for the love of music, go see Iron Maiden. They are living legends that are still performing at the highest level and give it their all each and every night they play. Go see Iron Maiden live!!! Here’s a list of their upcoming shows in the U.S….
w/ Trivium
9/27 Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
9/29 Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
9/30 Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
w/ Within Temtation
10/03 Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
10/05 Chicago, IL @ United Center
10/07 Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
10/09 Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
10/11 Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Centre
10/12 Hamilton, ON @ Firstontario Centre
10/15 Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
10/17 Worcester, MA @ Dcu Center
10/19 Belmont Park, NY @ Ubs Arena
10/21 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
10/23 Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
10/25 Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
10/27 Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
Trivium
Setlist:
Snøfall (From tape)
Silence in the Snow
Into the Mouth of Hell We March
The Sin and the Sentence
The Phalanx
The Heart From Your Hate
Strife
The Shadow of the Abattoir
Iron Maiden
Setlist:
Transylvania (From Tape)
Doctor Doctor (From Tape, UFO Cover)
Senjutsu
Stratego
The Writing on the Wall
Revelations
Blood Brothers
Sign of the Cross
Flight of Icarus
Fear of the Dark
Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
The Trooper
The Clansman
Run to the Hills
Churchill’s Speech (From Tape)
Aces High
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python cover, From Tape)
