Live: Iron Maiden reigns supreme

When I think back on the last few weeks, I am truly overwhelmed: 2025 is undoubtedly one of the best concert years of my life – when I consider the number of highlights, it is clearly at the top of the list.

So it was only fitting that Iron Maiden stopped off at my favourite open-air venue in Germany as part of their Run for your Lives World Tour. The Waldbühne Berlin is not only an impressive building, it also boasts excellent acoustics that would satisfy even the most critical sound fetishists.

Of course, the setlist was the same as last time in Herne-West: Steve and co. are so inflexible in this regard that you might think you were dealing with German civil servants. But never mind, when you serve up such a perfectly compiled, coherent barrage of hits, you're still doing everything right.

I was particularly impressed by Bruce and Dave in the capital: while the vocals on “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son“, for example, were kneel-worthy, Mr Murray enthralled the crowd with one sublime solo after another. Of the three guitarists, he was undoubtedly the centre of attention – if you weren't distracted by Janick's usual cult dance moves.

Unlike at my first Maiden gig this year, I now had the opportunity from my seat to concentrate more intensely on the video animations, which, in my opinion, accompanied the songs wonderfully – without distracting the audience's attention too much from the relevant events on stage. Whether you prefer the handmade backdrops is, as always in such cases, a matter of taste – the inflatable Eddie was definitely missing a little during the band's anthem.

The atmosphere was okay by Berlin standards, even if it was once again clear that the air in the Ruhr area or even in Hamburg is simply more electric. I noticed this last year during the Visigoth tour, for example, when I visited several venues in three federal states. I have no idea why this is – could it be the oversupply locally? Or is Berlin simply more of a punk than a metal city, as a mate suggested on the way back to the main station?

Anyway, the trip was definitely worth it – the two days of holiday were well spent. After this gig, I am 100% sure that we will be enjoying Iron Maiden live for several more years. The guys are enthusiastic and, with a set list like that, they remain the benchmark in the metal world as a live band in stadiums and larger venues. The choice of disastrous support acts remains a small fly in the ointment...