Author: Rok Klemše
Location: Dutchforum / Milan / Italy
Concert date: 01.12.2006
Attendance: 15
Ticket price: 9.000 SIT
When? Saturday, December 2, eight in the morning. Where? The parking lot in front of Tivoli Hall. Why? Departure for the concert highlight of the year. All it takes is two words… IRON MAIDEN!
Once again, big thanks go to Tadej and his Concert Freak for organizing it all. We filled two buses on Saturday and two more on Sunday. That’s around two hundred fanatical Slovenian fans!
After a sleepless Friday night, thanks to nerves and anticipation of course, we started gathering in the parking lot a bit before eight. You could feel the tension in the air, since only about 12 hours separated us from meeting the Maidens. Once we were loaded up and settled on the bus, the driver surprised us with the sweet sounds of Atomic Harmonics and other such peaks of the Slovenian music industry, and at this point I thank from the bottom of my heart the one and only passenger who brought CDs along and saved the passengers of both buses from eight hours of suffering. THANKS!
Right after that, the riffs of the new album A Matter of Life and Death blasted out of the speakers, and the bus woke up in an instant and joined in with Bruce Dickinson. After a minor hiccup – we had to switch buses – our pilgrimage to Milan finally got going. A few beers later… and around five o’clock we’re already standing in front of the mastodon of a hall that is DatchForum (formerly FillaForum).
There was nothing left to do but get in line, which was already snaking around like a serpent, and wait to get in. Around six we finally managed to push our way into the hall and grabbed a couple of seats in the stands, which offered an excellent view of the stage and the whole, truly enormous hall. The stage was almost completely wrapped in black, hiding whatever the Maidens had prepared for us. Then a quick look at the merch with its sky-high prices (short-sleeve shirts ran from 35 all the way up to 45 euros), and the obligatory beer before showtime at a usurious five euros.
Around half past six the hall went dark and Lauren Harris, Steve’s offspring, flew onto the stage 🙂 The sexy young lady, in skin-tight leather pants and accompanied by three gentlemen, played a half-hour set. What can I say, she warmed up the crowd well and the Italians responded fanatically to all her calls, but she personally left me cold. With the Harris genes, the genes of a metal legend, I honestly expected a bit more. Maybe that’s unfair, but the girl could still have moved a bit further away from the guidelines of syrupy American pop rock à la Avril Lavigne and into more distinctive waters. The only thing separating her from the aforementioned Canadian is that her backing band is technically better schooled… even if the guitarist is already overdoing his Zakk Wylde impersonation a little. She proved to be quite energetic on stage, ran back and forth, and made a genuine connection with the crowd, although there was plenty of laughter whenever she awkwardly bellowed “Grazi”. Her vocals aren’t even bad, but they deserved better sound, because her singing was rather indistinct. The drums were mixed sloppily too: the bass drums shook the whole hall while the cymbals were barely audible. Despite a perfectly decent performance, the question everyone is thinking still arises at the end – would Lauren have won a spot as Iron Maiden’s opener if her last name wasn’t Harris? I think the answer is plain as day…
After 5 songs and 35 minutes it was time for Lauren to say her goodbyes and hand the stage over to Trivium. After about 10 minutes of soundcheck work, the hall went dark again and the logo of the Americans unfurled behind the stage, the band that critics consider to be at the very least the successors of cult bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. If I may be a bit rude here, I sincerely apologize to all the fans, but I think Trivium are (still) far from such big names. A bit before seven an epic symphonic intro blasted out of the speakers and got the blood pumping. If I may be a bit nasty… the best part of the Trivium set, hehe. Trivium most likely earned the opening slot thanks to the support they showed Maiden after the fiasco at last year’s Ozzfest. As a tribute to the legends, they played The Trooper every night and got the crowd chanting “Maiden, Maiden”. Certainly a commendable gesture from the young Americans. The boys from Florida proved to be a very energetic band on stage, which of course comes with the genre they play. The melodic metalcore guys are technically superbly schooled, the double solos and duels between guitarists Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu really rip, and the rhythm section is nothing to sneeze at either. But that’s all Trivium have to offer us. The music is completely unoriginal: the guys shine at writing crazy supersonic solos, but when it comes to straying from the thrash guidelines set by Metallica and the melodics Iron Maiden stand for, they don’t deviate much, they just wrap it all in a more modern outfit. On the vocal side, too, Trivium could forget about today’s metal trends. Alternating growls and clean-sung choruses has been heard and chewed over a hundred times. The sound for Trivium wasn’t optimal either, though still better than for Lauren. The solos up front were of course clearly audible, but the bass and drums were only there for show. As tends to happen in metal, we got to see tons of posing with guitars of the most impossible shapes, which Matt and Corey swapped almost every song. Even though the 15-thousand-strong crowd came for just one reason, Maiden of course, Trivium warmed up especially the front rows, where most of their fans had gathered, quite well. It’s true, though, that at every opportunity we got, the chanting for Maiden started right away. After three quarters of an hour Trivium said goodbye and the tension grew with every second.
The techs took over the stage again and the preparations for the gigantic and surely technically very complicated stage began. After a good half hour it finally kicked off… The song Doctor Doctor by yet another pair of legends, UFO, rang out, announcing that Steve and his band of metal warriors were coming onstage. The lights went out, thunder started rumbling, a symphonic intro roared, and the backdrop of a ruined, burned-out city appeared. After six months of waiting (since ordering the ticket) I finally got this moment… goosebumps all over my body and hair standing on end were guaranteed. After the intro the lights came on and the crowd roared a greeting to Nicko, who sat down behind his kit and yelled the famous “AI!”, announcing the start of the punchy opener Different World. It’s hard to put into words what incredible energy runs through Maiden after almost thirty years of performing and with all the members at an enviable age, already creeping up on fifty. The sight of the stage was stunning too: Nicko was dug into a World War II trench, while a giant backdrop had Eddie gaping out in full battle gear. For the first time in their career, Maiden decided to play an entire album, from A to Z. A truly commendable and brave move, and I stand by it as completely the right one. Even though this was only my second time seeing Maiden, I really didn’t want to hear a worn-out Run to the Hills, even if I’d have lost my mind hearing it live 🙂 By playing the whole excellent A Matter of Life and Death, they showed how much they truly believe in it and how proud they are of this record. Rightly so, because with it they proved they still have great ideas, which you could hardly claim for its predecessor Dance of Death, which caused fears that Maiden were slowly running dry. After Different World came These Colours Don’t Run, which Bruce announced with the words “We’re Iron Maiden, and these colours don’t run!”. A really hard-hitting song live, and it’s hard to believe how fresh every single second of A Matter of Life and Death sounds live. But the best was yet to come. Next up was surely one of the album’s best tracks, the atomic Brighter Than a Thousand Suns. Bruce Dickinson is simply dazzling, the “air raid” siren hasn’t broken yet, and his singing is as strong as in the golden eighties, if not even better, since Bruce opted for singing that’s a bit more in the style of his solo records. The rest of the crew deserve nothing less than one simple word: incredible. Nicko’s drumming is extremely dynamic, and he probably delivered the best drumming of his career. Harris’s bass rattles like in the good old days again. If the bass sat more in the background on the previous two records, it’s once again an indispensable part of the rhythm section, and Harris managed to write downright excellent bass lines. The holy trinity of Smith, Murray, and Gers finally proved that three guitars in Iron Maiden aren’t overkill. Adrian Smith especially only confirmed this time that his return to Maiden alongside Bruce was just as important as the singer’s. The riffs, guitar lines, and solos Smith wrote for the new record are brilliant. Not everyone can get that kind of melody onto paper and onto the guitar, but Smith is more than a master at it. Sadly, even with musical giants like Maiden, the Italians proved to be sloppy sound techs. It’s a real shame that Smith’s and Murray’s solos in particular were very indistinct and distorted. But the Iron Maidens are the epitome of professionalism, and even such problems turn into mere minor annoyances.
After The Pilgrim came the excellent ballad Out of the Shadows, which could sooner have ended up on a Bruce Dickinson solo record than on an Iron Maiden album. The song sounds truly incredible live, and an excellent light show with a rich palette of colors rounded it off perfectly. Even Maiden’s official photographer, Ross Halfin, said the light show of the A Matter of Life and Death tour is the best the Maidens have ever treated themselves to. Next came the Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, whom we’re still asking ourselves who the hell he is. I have a growing feeling that Steve is really pulling our leg this time. The first single of the new record is downright killer live, and it even proved to be one of the highlights of the show. After For the Greater Good of God and Lord of Light with its fantastically sung intro came Gers’s 10-minute masterpiece The Legacy, with which he did more than just prove he isn’t the weakest link of the crew, as many consider him. Even though Bruce’s vocals acted up a little at moments, the song was played at a high level. During the instrumental parts Bruce ran between two spotlights set up on each side of the stage, and as soon as he pointed them at a section of the crowd, it went completely wild. The reaction of the 15-thousand-strong crowd was truly incredible, and it was a real pleasure to look around the hall: horns in the air, jumping, clapping. In Dickinson’s hands we were like a marionette; he only had to pull one of the strings (call for clapping) and the whole hall joined in instantly.
After The Legacy ended came what the crowd had probably been waiting for, judging by the reaction anyway. Next up was Fear of the Dark. Let me just say that nobody was sitting anymore. Of course the title track of the Iron Maidens, Iron Maiden, wasn’t missing either, and during it Eddie showed up in all his spectacularity. A giant tank rose up behind Nicko in the middle of the song and the stage turned into its tracks. A hatch opened… and Eddie rose out of it, watching us through binoculars. The reaction to the classics was of course expected, but the European crowd also proved themselves with the new songs, since most of the choruses were sung along with Dickinson. Truly commendable, because the footage from the American tour concerts was exactly the opposite. At one of those shows Bruce even got a sign onstage reading “We want the classics”, which he vehemently and entirely justifiably ripped up. After Iron Maiden finished, the guys left the stage, and just as Nicko, the last one, walked off, the group chant started: “Ole, ole, ole, ole. Maideeen, Maideeen”.
Of course they came back out, and the first thing Bruce asked was what time it actually is. Someone in the crowd told him around eleven. Bruce’s answer: “Wrong. It’s Two Minutes to Midnight!” Maiden then served up The Evil That Men Do, played for the first time since the 2001 tour, and our old acquaintance Eddie came back onto the stage. This time dressed in a World War II soldier’s uniform. Of course the obligatory Gers-and-Eddie playfighting followed, during which Janick pulled off his crazy guitar antics. Bruce then let us in on the fact that we’ll see each other again in the summer of 2008, when they return to the stages with the “Golden Years” tour, on which they’ll play exclusively songs from the cult foursome Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and No Prayer For the Dying. He added, a bit mysteriously, that they’d meet some of us even sooner. What on earth could he have meant… Additional tour dates were of course, and totally unofficially (I stress UNOFFICIALLY, so nobody gets too euphoric), published, dates and places included, by some English radio station that had already announced Bruce’s departure from the band and, consequently, his return… and among them, on 15.6. 2007, Slovenia is supposed to be listed. Fingers crossed. The finale was the metal classic Hallowed Be Thy Name, and the concert ended truly spectacularly. After almost two hours (an hour and 50 minutes) with Maiden, I was left speechless. A perfect concert and a truly fitting end to this year’s concert season.
If not sooner, see you in the summer of 2008. Until then: UP THE IRONS!!!
Setlist
Lauren Harris:
1. Your Turn
2. Let Us Be
3. Steal Your Fire
4. Come On Over
5. Hurry Up
Trivium:
1. Entrance of the Conflagration
2. Detonation
3. Like Light To The Flies
4. A Gunshsot To The Head Of Trepidation
5. To The Rats
6. Unrepentant
7. Anthem (We’re The Fire)
8. Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr
Iron Maiden:
1. Different World
2. These Colours Don’t Run
3. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
4. Pilgrim
5. Longest Day
6. Out of the Shadows
7. Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
8. For the Greater Good of God
9. Lord of Light
10. Legacy
11. Fear of the Dark
12. Iron Maiden
– encore –
13. 2 Minutes to Midnight
14. The Evil that Men Do
15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
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