Last night's Maiden gig was pretty damned spectacular by any standards. By Maiden's standards, it was glorious! If not the for the immensity of Celtic Frost's comeback, this would clearly be Maiden's year, IMO.
Bruce sang with more fire/passion that I ever recall hearing from him in any of the 7 prior Maiden gigs I've seen. He was a man possessed with the idea of Maiden being at the forefront of the metal scene and with contributing to the overall legacy of the band. His vocals were perfect, only faltering slightly towards the end of The Legacy. The famous "scream for me...." was said over a dozen times, and the crowd responded in kind!
I must say, I was NOT expecting the show to be as good as it was!!
As you've probably heard, they start the show by playing A Matter Of Life and Death in it's entirety. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it was received. There were but a smattering of boos; most of the fans really dug it.
Of the new songs, Breeg and Greater Good of God garnered the most appluase - and rightfully so. The tunes came off sounding much heavier than on record!!! Surprisingly, the Pilgrim may have benefitted the most from the live setting. That song slayed the audience. Awesome stuff!
When the Legacy concluded, and the band jumped in to the now clasisc Fear Of the Dark, the place went mad!
Each encore was better than the last....with the night capped by a heavier-than-f*ck rendition of the classic Hallowed Be Thy Name.
I'm not a fan of the various Eddies the band feels compelled to drag out on stage every tour, but this tour's versions of the mascot were less cheesy than tours of years past. Eddie commanding a tank (the huge, backdrop Eddie) and Eddie decked out in, what appeared to be, WWI British soldier garb. Both fit the theme of the new album quite well.
With this said, I can't wait for next year's tour in support of "The Early Years Part II", which is suppodedly going to focus ONLY on tracks from Powerslave, Seventh Son, and my fav Maiden record, the mighty Somewhere In Time.
After last night's gig, it's apparent to me that Maiden are more than just a great band, they're an institution.
Bruce sang with more fire/passion that I ever recall hearing from him in any of the 7 prior Maiden gigs I've seen. He was a man possessed with the idea of Maiden being at the forefront of the metal scene and with contributing to the overall legacy of the band. His vocals were perfect, only faltering slightly towards the end of The Legacy. The famous "scream for me...." was said over a dozen times, and the crowd responded in kind!
I must say, I was NOT expecting the show to be as good as it was!!
As you've probably heard, they start the show by playing A Matter Of Life and Death in it's entirety. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it was received. There were but a smattering of boos; most of the fans really dug it.
Of the new songs, Breeg and Greater Good of God garnered the most appluase - and rightfully so. The tunes came off sounding much heavier than on record!!! Surprisingly, the Pilgrim may have benefitted the most from the live setting. That song slayed the audience. Awesome stuff!
When the Legacy concluded, and the band jumped in to the now clasisc Fear Of the Dark, the place went mad!
Each encore was better than the last....with the night capped by a heavier-than-f*ck rendition of the classic Hallowed Be Thy Name.
I'm not a fan of the various Eddies the band feels compelled to drag out on stage every tour, but this tour's versions of the mascot were less cheesy than tours of years past. Eddie commanding a tank (the huge, backdrop Eddie) and Eddie decked out in, what appeared to be, WWI British soldier garb. Both fit the theme of the new album quite well.
With this said, I can't wait for next year's tour in support of "The Early Years Part II", which is suppodedly going to focus ONLY on tracks from Powerslave, Seventh Son, and my fav Maiden record, the mighty Somewhere In Time.
After last night's gig, it's apparent to me that Maiden are more than just a great band, they're an institution.
