Iron Maiden tour: Heavy metal legends rock Brisbane

REVIEW: For a band whose brand of heavy metal transcends the ages, it was fitting how Iron Maiden opened their Brisbane gig.

FOR a band whose brand of heavy metal transcends the ages, it was fitting that Iron Maiden opened their Brisbane gig – the first of the Australian tour - with If Eternity Should Fail, from the latest album The Book of Souls:

Reef in a sail at the edge of the world

If eternity should fail

Waiting in line for the ending of time

If eternity should fail

For the heaving sea of black T-shirts and raised arms with devil horns gestures Maiden didn’t disappoint.

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Soaring guitar solos from Janick Gers, Steve Harris and Adrian Smith backed by the ribcage pounding bass of founder Steve Harris, and all underlaid by the brilliance of drummer Nicko McBrain, had the crowd roaring from the start, with Speed of Light bookending the opening pair from the new album.

Then back into classic territory for Children of the Damned, a song lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson – who has bounced back from a tongue cancer scare last year in searing form – suggested some of the crowd may have been conceived to.

It had all the ingredients of the epic performances that Maiden are renowned for: not one but two giant Eddie mascots, a dazzling light show with trademark pyrotechnics all spread over two hours of high octane light and noise.

Iron Maiden’s Brisbane concert. Picture: Paul Syvret

Dickinson – who in addition to fronting one of the biggest metal bands in the world, is also a licensed commercial jet pilot and world-class fencer – displayed an energy that belies his 57 years, leaping and pirouetting across the stage like a man possessed.

And the crowd lapped it up, and in an evening where not a bum riff was struck, it was hard to single out a highlight.

From the power chords of The Trooper to the raw drive of Powerslave and theatrics of Number of the Beast and on through the marathon The Red And The Black, Maiden just lit the joint up, surpassing what had been a stellar performance in Auckland just three nights previously.

Aside from the five tracks from Book of Souls it was all from the vaults, with the band leaving alone more recent material from albums such as Final Frontier and Dance of Death.

They came and they conquered.

See the blood begin to flow as it falls upon the floor.

Iron Maiden can’t be fought, Iron Maiden can’t be sought.

Iron Maiden play Sydney on Friday night, followed by gigs in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth the following week

Iron Maiden in Brisbane