LIVE REVIEW: Iron Maiden @ Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Aberdeen
Last summer saw the conclusion of IRON MAIDEN‘s mammoth world tour in support of their most recent studio album, The Book Of Souls. Not content to rest for too long, the legendary sextet were back in Aberdeen last weekend for one of the final shows on the European leg of the Legacy Of The Beast tour. Armed with a brand new setlist that sees some tracks breaking out of the vault for the first time in decades, their biggest stage show yet and the energy of men a third of their age, IRON MAIDEN brought American metalcore front-runners KILLSWITCH ENGAGE along for the ride.
With doors opening at 18:00, and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE not due on until 19:30, there was plenty of time for early punters to grab themselves a few outrageously priced beers and a pretty reasonably priced tour t-shirt, and for stragglers to make their way to the AECC. At half-seven on the dot, the PA system began to blast out the BEASTIE BOYS hit (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) while the band took to the stage.
Diving straight into Strength of the Mind from their newest record, Incarnate, KILLSWITCH ENEGAGE wasted no time in showing the Aberdeen crowd that they can deliver heaviness in spades. It was surprising to see how much material from before frontman Jesse Leach re-joined the band in 2012 was included in the setlist. Alive Or Just Breathing bruisers Life To Lifeless and My Last Serenade delivered a raw, scathing heaviness and went down particularly well, while tracks from Leach’s reunion record Disarm The Descent brought some typically hardcore positivity to the crowd.
Another surprise for those that have either never seen KILLSWITCH ENGAGE live, or haven’t seen them since Leach’s reunion with the band, is how well he performed tracks from the Howard Jones era of the band’s history. The punishing A Bid Farewell near-levelled the crowd, while smash-hits The End Of Heartache and My Curse summoned a fairly large sing-a-long from the crowd. However, the highlight of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE‘s set was doubtlessly their esteemed cover of DIO’s Holy Diver, performed to perfection.
Opening for IRON MAIDEN is no easy task. The band are famous for both the fanatical devotion of their fans and the insanely high quality of their live show – to take the stage before them must be daunting, to say the least. However, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE held their own and may have converted a few of even the staunchest of the old-guard. An impressive set from one of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal’s biggest names, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE couldn’t have started the festivities in a better way.
Rating: 8/10
After a half-hour long break, IRON MAIDEN wasted no time in showing exactly why they are the best in the business. Opening with a thundering rendition of Aces High, complete with Bruce Dickinson dressed in a fighter pilot’s uniform and a near life-size replica of a Spitfire hovering over the stage. Weaving back and forth, and at one point seemingly making its way above those in the front few rows, this is a jaw dropping moment. Note perfect and explosive, opening your set in such a fashion is ballsy to say the least – but this is just the beginning of what IRON MAIDEN have in store. Continuing with the theme of warfare from Aces High after a quick wardrobe change for Dickinson, IRON MAIDEN drive into Where Eagles Dare – included in the setlist for the first time since 2005 – with a snowy mountaintop backdrop, and the irresistibly catchy fan favourite 2 Minutes To Midnight.
As the warfare themed third of the set is drawing to a close IRON MAIDEN unleash the first of two of the Blaze Bayley era songs included in the setlist tonight; The Clansman. Taking a relatively minimalistic turn in terms of stage production, Dickinson gives a moving speech about freedom before Steve Harris plays the atmospheric intro. Even for the most unpatriotic in attendance, there is something quite special about 8000 Scots screaming “Freedom!” while Dickinson charges around the stage, brandishing a sword and telling tales of medieval Scotland in front of one of the most epic backdrops of the night. Although the Legacy Of The Beast tour is packed with rarities, it wouldn’t be an IRON MAIDEN show without The Trooper. Finishing the opening third of the set, the band and the crowd charge through the stone-cold classic together, while a behemoth-sized Trooper Eddie engages Dickinson in a sword fight spanning the entirety of the stage. Dickinson raises a Scottish flag, to the delight of the crowd, and fires a shot, ending the song as The Trooper trudges off-stage.
In only a moment, the stage is transformed into a church, with various incarnations of Eddie adorning the stained-glass windows of the backdrop. IRON MAIDEN dive into the Piece Of Mind epic Revelations as Dickinson dons a ragged black robe and gets some good, old-fashioned crowd participation going. With the much more mellow For The Greater Good Of God, the crowd gets a moment to catch their breath as the stage is bathed in green light. Always a favourite, The Wicker Man allows for a few more singalongs and the night’s only taste of 2000s Brave New World. IRON MAIDEN bring this sermon-like middle section of the set to a close with the second Bayley track, The X Factor’s Sign Of The Cross, complete with a shoulder-high crucifix. The Bayley era is often unfairly criticised, so it is fantastic to hear some of those tracks brought out from the vaults and, despite not being the recording vocalist, Dickinson performs them spectacularly.
Moving onto the final third of the night, with a general theme of death, destruction and darkness, IRON MAIDEN treat the crowd to one of the night’s highlights. Flight Of Icarus has been missing from the setlist since 1986, so it is a special moment indeed to see the band break out this rare classic – the event made somewhat more special by Dickinson charging around the stage with RAMMSTIEN-esque flamethrowers strapped to his arms as a huge angel statue hovers above the stage. Fear Of The Dark, The Number Of The Beast and Iron Maiden are all tracks every IRON MAIDEN fan has heard hundreds of times, and have been mainstays in the band’s setlist for decades. Donning a plague doctor style mascaraed mask and a green lantern, Dickinson again leads the crowd in the fan favourite of Fear Of The Dark, before driving into the classic The Number Of The Beast with the stage illuminated by gothic flaming chandeliers and burning torches. Closing the set with their eponymous song, a gargantuan, perfectly detailed inflatable bust of the satanic looking Eddie that adorns the Legacy Of The Beast tour artwork rises at the back of the stage.
After a moment of darkness, IRON MAIDEN return for the encore, kicking off the three-track burst with The Evil That Men Do from the criminally unrepresented Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. Taken from one of IRON MAIDEN‘s most polished albums, The Evil That Men Do has a bit of a rawer, more gritty sound live that works perfectly. Finishing the evening with a one-two punch taken from Number Of The Beast, the band deliver a perfect rendition of Hallowed Be Thy Name as a noose falls from the ceiling, before ending on a thunderous version of Run To The Hills.
For the entirety of the set, Harris sprints around the stage with a menacing charisma and youthful exuberance, silently singing every lyric alongside the ever-energetic Dickinson, who has the unrestrained excitement and boundless vigour of a toddler on speed. Janick Gers is still dancing around the stage, manhandling his guitar like a ragdoll, and Nicko McBrain dominates the kit, keeping the excitement nice and tight. In perfect juxtaposition, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray are the epitome of cool, maintaining a restrained air of nonchalance while the simply beautiful tone of their solos touches the soul of every person in attendance. Energy, excitement and pure joy oozed from the stage for every second of IRON MAIDEN’s set, and its clear that they have no intention of slowing down. This is not a band past their prime, doing an annual tour of old-hits to top up the pension. In 2018, 43 years after being founded by Harris, IRON MAIDEN are more alive and relevant than ever.
Rating: 10/10