Live: Iron Maiden

When Iron Maiden announced the theme of their current tour, I was frankly a little torn: listening to classics from the golden 80s is always a highlight. However, I'm also a big fan of the “reunion“ albums, so I would inevitably miss several tunes from the last quarter of a century.

So even though I'm not part of the core target audience for this year's focus, I was naturally very excited about the Iron Maiden gig in Herne-West. Since we treated ourselves to the luxury of watching the spectacle from seats for once, we were able to miss almost the entire terrible opening act – instead, we chatted with other maniacs in front of the arena. As a reward, we also got to see Adrian Smith being chauffeured to his workplace.

When the first notes of “Doctor, Doctor“ rang out, almost everyone in the audience probably got their first goose bumps. Fortunately, we were sitting among numerous fan club members, so the atmosphere in the stands was excellent from the very first moment.

I already knew the set list beforehand: focusing on the debut album and Killers makes perfect sense when celebrating the band's 50th anniversary (and ignoring half of its history...). Sure, “Murders in the Rue Morgue“, “Wrathchild“ and “Killers“ are excellent songs that work great live. For me, however, things really got going with “Phantom of the Opera“ and the first Dickinson song, “The Number of the Beast“.

What followed was an incredible barrage of hits, which was fortunately enhanced by the two epic long tracks “Rime of the Ancient Mariner“ and the divine “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son“. There is no question that these two songs were the highlight of the evening!

I would like to mention one point of criticism: when you announce a tour from Iron Maiden to Fear of the Dark, it would actually be appropriate to include all of the first nine albums. In my opinion, completely omitting No Prayer for the Dying was a missed opportunity – “Tailgunner“ or “Run Silent Run Deep“ would have been fantastic. And there's no question that “Afraid to Shoot Strangers“ from the second 90s album Fear of the Dark would have been lyrically perfect at this time.

Nevertheless, when the last notes of “Wasted Years“ faded away, I was simply overjoyed – of course, I know what to expect at an Iron Maiden gig. However, it's not a given that Eddie and the boys are still such an incredibly strong live band even at an advanced age. Sure, Nicko McBrain is missing as a drummer and, above all, as a personality, but Steve Harris continues to field a world-class troupe. Bruce Dickinson was also in such good form that I'm convinced I'll see one or two more Iron Maiden tours in the next five years.

My next stop is Berlin – and I'm a bit upset that, due to scheduling conflicts, it wasn't possible to catch more dates on this Run for your Lives tour this year. No matter how many terrific concerts you see in your life, no matter how many magical moments you experience with other bands, Iron Maiden will always be something very special, something that, for me, is unique in the world of metal. Up the Irons!