As the name of their current tour of North America, Future Past, suggests, the legendary British heavy metal band Iron Maiden played the old favorites and newer material at an extremely packed Barclays Arena in Brooklyn, New York. For the throngs of fans inside the venue, from the floor area up to the rafters, Saturday night’s show was nothing short of headbanging excitement.
Featuring the longtime band lineup of singer Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith, Iron Maiden devoted their two-hour set consisting mostly of music from the 2021 record Senjutsu and the 1986 album Somewhere in Time. Thus, the ‘future’ and the ‘past’ from both works seamlessly collided through such performances of “The Writing on the Wall,” “Caught Somewhere in Time,” “Alexander the Great,” “Hell on Earth” and “Wasted Years.”
While the focus of the evening was Somewhere in Time and Senjutsu, the classic dark and apocalyptic songs from Iron Maiden’s career were not forgotten—among them were “Can I Play With Madness,” “Fear of the Dark,” “The Prisoner,” “Iron Maiden” and “The Trooper.”
The sextet’s energy was palpable inside the Barclays from beginning to end, as the excited crowd with arms waving saw Dickinson roam the stage and twirl the mike stand; the intensity in his wicked singing had not diminished over the decades. The six-stringed tandem of Murray, Gers and Smith sounded like an orchestra together as each guitarist delivered virtuosic lyrical solos — with Harris and McBrain providing muscular rhythmic support.
In addition to the performances, the stage presentation knocked out from the Blade Runner-like backdrop at the show’s beginning to flames shooting up in the air during “Hell on the Earth.” Of course, “Eddie” made a couple of sinister cameos as a giant version of the beloved infamous band mascot walked through stage wearing his samurai outfit (as seen on the Senjutsu cover) and interacted with Dickinson and Gers.
Next year, Iron Maiden will mark their 50th anniversary with the Run for Your Lives world tour starting in Europe and covering the band’s nine studio albums from Iron Maiden to Fear of the Dark. The Barclays show appeared to be a promising harbinger of that golden celebration if and when it comes to America.
Setlist:
Caught Somewhere in Time
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Writing on the Wall
Days of Future Past
The Time Machine
The Prisoner
Death of the Celts
Can I Play With Madness
Heaven Can Wait
Alexander the Great
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore:
Hell on Earth
The Trooper
Wasted Years
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