Iron Median
Saturday, 19 April 2025
Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Iron-average? Not even close!
After a good three years, another chance to catch an Iron Median gig — the cleverly named reincarnation of Iron Maiden — at Orto Bar finally rolled around. True to old habits, I naively showed up just before eight in the evening and stared sadly into the empty concert hall. The show was, in fact, scheduled to start at 20:00.
Over the next half hour I thoroughly tested every possible position at the shelf ledge below the stage (where to park the beer, elbow placement, weight distribution between feet) and carefully mapped out every angle from which my ultra-high-quality €150 phone camera could produce stunning shots. Then the more seasoned regulars started trickling in — relatives, acquaintances, colleagues and friends — so the wait passed easily over cold beers and deep debates about emotions, the shortage of rare minerals, and how Iron Maiden‘s new drummer will manage Nicko‘s signature gallop on a single bass drum.
Jokes aside, the familiar doctor of British UFO fans rang out from the speakers and it was time to claim a spot at the front. The club had filled up nicely; pushing your way to the stage wasn’t exactly easy. The guys kicked things off with the one-two of Be Quick or Be Dead and Aces High, and the devastation, dear readers, did not let up until the very end when we ran to the hills. Yes, the song that’s been giving Dickinson grief for years sounded absolutely flawless in Iron Median‘s hands — as did the whole set. The energy was infectious; Alena (Steržaj, BFM) was practically flying around the entire stage on bass. Rok (Tomšič, Metalsteel) and Matjaž Tozon swapped suffering grimaces, blissed-out smiles, riffs and solos with fluid ease, while drummer Tine (Horvat, Dekadent) was all flying hair and teeth. Commanding the stage and reigning over it was the outstanding vocalist Jan (Leščanec, SkyEye), whose impressions and vocal acrobatics summoned the spirit of Dickinson in his prime. I won’t run through every song they played, but the highlights for me were The Wickerman, Can I Play With Madness with a beautifully executed opening vocal harmony (which Maiden absolutely butchered on one of their official live albums), and of course the galloping The Trooper, where Jan gleefully waved the Slovenian flag about. A proper moment for national pride!!! The DiAnno tracks Running Free and Iron Maiden also landed brilliantly. The guys had a surprise in store — a performance of Invaders, a song Iron Maiden have apparently never played live.
The sound was pure club: hard, slightly dirty, and seriously loud. Whoever was behind the desk did a perfect job — vocals thundered at the front of the mix, every instrument came through clearly and got its moment to shine.
Two-odd hours of pure metal madness flew by way too fast. Bodies overheated, vocal cords wrecked, metal adrenaline in the blood at full tilt. In a moment of rapture I thought to myself, “give these guys the resources the real Iron Maiden have and Jan and company would blow Bruce and the gang right off the stage!!!” Maybe an exaggeration, but not far off the truth. Iron Median are more than a cover band — they’re the ultimate metal machine, conjuring an escape into the youthful metalness we lived back in the day, with heart, sweat, joy and skill. Up the Irons!!!
One more idea for the band: get The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner rehearsed for the next gig and I won’t make it out from under the stage alive \m/.
Text and (insanely good) photos: Igorac
