Review: Greg Phillips Photos: Jason Rosewarne
Most international bands will tell you that their followers are the most fanatical on the planet. However, Iron Maiden know without fear of contradiction that fans of their music are some of the most devoted in heavy rock history. The amount of pre-gig get-togethers that occur and their thirst for merch in the metal world is unmatched. In Melbourne, Cherry Bar and Young & Jackson’s pub were just two of many premises holding pre-gig events. And if you needed confirmation of the fans’ commitment to the band, just look out at the throng of ‘uniformed’ devotees gathered at Rod Laver Arena tonight, some of whom have travelled from the other side of the world to be here. The energy and heavy metal love coming off the stage is reciprocated tenfold by the audience.
Internally it’s the same for the band. In 2018 drummer Nicko McBrain told us. “I love everyone in this band to death, I’ll take a bullet for them. When I joined the band, the principle was … we’re a band of guys that play music because we love to play music the way we do together… The fact that I am playing with five of the greatest musicians in the world, that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Starved Iron Maiden fans haven’t seen the band in Australia since 2016 as part of The Book of Souls World Tour. The covid lockdowns meant we couldn’t see them sooner but finally they’re here on the downunder leg of their global The Future Past jaunt. Support act Killswitch Engage did a great job testing the crowd’s fist pumping prowess and activating their sweat glands, with their brutal brand of metal. Together, guitarists Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel build a fabulously fat sound. Ending their set with Holy Diver, dedicated to the great Ronnie James Dio was much appreciated by the classic rock loving crowd.
Due to the lighting and staging regime of an arena production such as Iron Maiden’s The Future Past tour, their setlist has pretty much stayed the same for the whole world, concentrating on Maiden’s iconic 1986 album Somewhere in Time and their most recent release Senjutsu. Staying with the classic rock theme, UFO’s Doctor Doctor pumped out of the PA system, signalling that the Irons weren’t too far away. The house lights dimmed, and green flouro lighting bars flickered above the stage as the theme from Blade Runner added to the drama. Suddenly, stage tarps were removed and the curtain was drawn to reveal a colourful Asian street scene, cueing the band to run on stage, welcomed by a fair degree of noise from the Melbourne horde. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson followed, twirling a microphone stand with authority.
If you’re going to kick off a gig in an impressive manner, you may as well unload with Caught Somewhere in Time and Stranger in a Strange Land from the Somewhere In Time album, slaying the audience from the get-go. In doing so, they also allowed our gig photographer Jason Rosewarne a good fifteen minutes to capture some great shots before being escorted out of the pit after the 2 song limit.
The delicate acoustic guitar intro to The Writing on the Wall from Senjutsu gave us a moment to catch our breath but not for long as the song kicked into the song’s riff-laden verses. Days of Future Past off the new album returned the band to classic, epic Maiden territory, then The Prisoner from the much-loved The Number of the Beast album took the house energy up a notch. Urged on by Steve Harris’ sprinting bass lines and Nicko McBrain’s thumping drums (although sadly you couldn’t see Nicko inside his enclosed drum compound unless you were directly in front of view), the band showed how match-fit they are after touring several countries before hitting our shores.
It wasn’t too far into the show that we got our first glimpse of the imposing figure of Eddie, the band’s monster mascot, this time in a cowboy trench coat, casually leaning against a wall, gun in hand, basically making a brief cameo and alerting us to his presence.
Introducing Death of the Celts off Senjutsu, frontman Bruce Dickinson began a rant on unnecessary ’rules’ and asked the crowd to think about a time when the only concern in life was ‘survival’. He went on to tell us that there’s been a long history of genocide in the world and that it’s still happening to this day. “As long as you have your language, your family, your culture, they can’t ever fucking erase you from history,” he said as the crowd erupted into applause. As a mist flowed over the stage, the band launched into the epic celtic flavoured tune, allowing the triple guitar attack of Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers to display their diversity of licks.
Dickinson again held court front of stage and rambled a story about an Australian girl named Agnes and how they were sailing together on Sydney Harbour, until he spied an inflatable row boat and decided to give that a whirl instead. It was short-lived expedition however, as Agnes informed Bruce that the harbour was full of man-eating sharks! Long story short, the spirit of Agnes’ was allegedly embedded into an Iron Maiden song … they couldn’t call it Can I Play with Agnes, so it became Can I Play With Madness. Truth or fiction? Who knows but the song, from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son went down a treat with the crowd, who needed little encouragement to singalong.
As Dickinson scaled to the top of the stage above Nicko’s drum enclosure and launched into Heaven Can Wait, the lighting guys forgot their cue and left the lead singer in darkness for a moment until the spotlight finally kicked in. I have to point out that Bruce’s powerful voice is still in top nick too. The song also gave Eddie another chance to emerge, ominously carrying a large gun before Bruce ran to the other side of the stage to unveil a huge ray gun, as a pyrotechnic gun battle ensued between the two.
The night’s version of Alexander the Great was heroic, Fear of the Dark had the sold out Rod Laver Arena pogoing energetically and Iron Maiden, the self-titled track from their 1980 debut album was savoured by the die-hard fans, as the band left the stage to end the main set. Nicko emerged to throw a drum head and some sticks into the audience and received the huge applause he deserved, having survived a stroke just over a year ago.
The band returned to the backdrop of Eddie’s face implanted on the Statue of Liberty in a post-apocalyptic scene, as the dramatic guitar build up to Hell on Earth from Senjutsu began. As the band jammed through the grandeur of the song, flame bolts surged toward the roof. Dickinson coaxed the crowd to sway with their hands in the air, adding to the theatrics of the moment.
Always a fan favourite, The Trooper from Piece of Mind had the slam dancers close to the stage increasing their efforts to be carried above the crowds heads towards the well-guarded stage barrier. Wasted Years from Somewhere In Time gave the band one last chance to execute some ripping guitar solos and rockin’ riffs, leaving the Rod Laver crowd both exhilarated and content, especially hearing the promise that we’ll see the band back in Australia again one day.
Melbourne fans can catch the band agin tonight before they head to Brisbane and Sydney
Set List:
Caught Somewhere in Time (Somewhere In Time)
Stranger in a Strange Land ( Somewhere In Time)
The Writing on the Wall (Senjutsu)
Days of Future Past (Senjutsu)
The Time Machine (Senjutsu)
The Prisoner (The Number of the Beast)
Death of the Celts (Senjutsu)
Can I Play With Madness (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son)
Heaven Can Wait (Somewhere In Time)
Alexander the Great (Somewhere In Time)
Fear of the Dark (Fear of the Dark)
Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden)
Encore:
Hell on Earth (Senjutsu)
The Trooper (Piece of Mind)
Wasted Years (Somewhere In Time)
IRON MAIDEN AUSTRALIAN DATES
Saturday 7 September: MELBOURNE, Rod Laver Arena
Tuesday 10 September: BRISBANE, Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Thursday 12 September: SYDNEY, Qudos Bank Arena
Friday 13 September: SYDNEY, Qudos Bank Arena (NEW SHOW)
Support on all shows comes from American metallers Killswitch Engage.
Visit: www.ironmaiden.com or www.tegdainty.com for further information
