Description
Reduced price due to one bent corner
Still sealed triple vinyl on blue, gold and white vinyls with insert. Limited 500 numbered copies
Iron Maiden and Ghost performed at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Usa on the 19th of July 2017 so it definitely was no ordinary Wednesday night. Not only was two major heavy metal acts coming to town there was also an oppressive heat, humid with no breeze at all and it such brutal conditions the band still managed to play for nearly two hours. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson was in a sweatshirt, cargo pants, and boots for most of the show too, looking like he was playing Minnesota in February instead of the 90-some degrees the audience and the band were sweating in. It didn’t stop him from running and jumping all over the place either. If you’ve been to one of their shows before, you know that when you hear UFO’s Doctor Doctor blaring through the house, Iron Maiden will hit the stage next. The crowd roars and surges forward with the first notes. They opened with Bruce bowed over a roiling cauldron and launched into If Eternity Should Fail from their latest album, The Book Of Souls. That’s one of the many things I have always admired about Iron Maiden – when they have a new album, you’re going to hear a lot of it when they tour and they did play quite a bit last night. In addition to the opener, we got Speed Of Light, Death Or Glory, The Red And The Black, The Great Unknown, The Book Of Souls and in the encore, Blood Brothers. Never fear though, the boys did not leave out the crowd pleasers such as the iconic The Trooper. This is a fun one indeed with Bruce in his red coat Charge of the Light Brigade uniform waving a Union Jack flag. With Steve Harris singing along and his signature galloping bass driving the song home, it’s classic Maiden at its best. The fans love it and it’s pretty well the band’s anthem. Bruce covers guitarist Janick Gers with the flag and Roman-emperor style works the crowd into a thumbs-up or down frenzy. Maiden changes their elaborate stage set and backdrops to match the era or song all with Eddie, their enduring undead mascot, decked out in various themes. The big songs of past albums, such as Powerslave, Wrathchild, Children of the Damned (Bruce jokingly said could maybe have been the only song by Maiden some younger audience members could possibly have been conceived to at least the very beginning smooshy bits) the soccer stadium chant-inducing Fear of the Dark, and not to be left out, The Number of the Beast all had the crowd singing along and screaming for Bruce on command. Eddie, of course, appeared and harassed poor Janick too during The Book of Souls. Bruce yanked his heart out and tossed it ceremoniously into the audience. There’s never a dull moment at a Maiden show. A bit of a bummer element was the absence of Hallowed Be Thy Name, a song they did play on the last leg of this tour and one that is so loved by fans. There’s apparently a lawsuit going on regarding this tune. I’m sure other fans are in the same camp as I am on that one. This song was released in 1982. It took 35 years to decide to sue the band? The initials BS come to mind. I get why the band left it out for now, but it was very much missed. Bruce Dickinson is one of the best rock vocalists by far and he’s still hitting all those notes with the biggest voice around. Steve Harris on bass rules the Iron Maiden roost for sure. You hear his playing and you know instantly it’s Maiden. Calling his style signature doesn’t do it justice by any means. Iron Maiden also has three guitarists, original member (along with Steve Harris,) Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and the aforementioned Janick Gers. All three are terrific and often look like a three-headed beast wailing away on stage. Dave and Adrian, with their unmistakable dual octaves, are seamless and classic. Let’s not forget Nicko McBrain on drums either! You never see Nicko though, barricaded as he is behind his wall of cymbals, but he’s a monster up there thundering bare-footed through the set. I heard a rumor that he is suffering from a wrist or arm injury and, if true, you’d never know from his drumming. Bruce said there were 20,000 people in Xfinity last night and despite all the obstacles, mainly heat, it was a fantastic show.
Track list:
1. Doctor, Doctor
2. If Eternity Should Fall
3. Speed Of Light
4. Wrathchild
5. Children Of The Damned
6. Death Or Glory
7. The Red And The Black
8. The Trooper
9. Powerslave
10. The Great Unknown
11. The Book Of Souls
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden
14. The Number Of The Beast
15. Blood Brothers
16. Wasted Years