On the 16th of October, the mighty Iron Maiden arrived at Tacoma Dome for their 7th show of their North American leg of The Future Past Tour 2024, with acclaimed Mongolian heavy metal band The Hu opening. With the theme of the tour being recalling the past and future into one, the band has based their setlist around their most recent album “Senjutsu” and the legendary 1986 “Somewhere in Time”.
Formed on the 25th of December, 1975 by legendary bassist Steve Harris, Iron Maiden is considered one of the most influential and important heavy metal bands of all time, alongside Metallica and Black Sabbath. They released their self-titled debut album in 1980 and have since released 17 studio albums with high acclaim. Since Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith’s return in 1999, the 6-piece iteration of the band has been the most consistent and successful to date. The band is famous for their signature “galloping” bass, vocals from “The Air Raid Siren” Bruce Dickinson, the twin guitar harmonies of Dave and Adrian being amplified by Janick’s, and of course, the band mascot Eddie. He is featured on all of their album’s artwork and stage settings in one way or another, making him an iconic figure in the music industry and is synonymous with the name Iron Maiden.
Years ago, my dad played me a CD that had a very unusual cover to it, a lobotomized zombie/skeleton (who I now know is Eddie) wearing a straitjacket in a padded cell. This of course was the acclaimed Piece of Mind album, which contained iconic tracks such as Where Eagles Dare, Revelations, and of course, The Trooper. After 9 years, I am still obsessed with their music, so this concert was a big deal for me. I was afraid that the band’s live performance might not live up to my expectations, as Bruce battled throat cancer and Nicko suffered a stroke in recent years. But as I type out this article, all I can think of was how great the concert was.
The commute to Tacoma was very nerve-racking, I barely made the last train there. Upon arrival, I noticed how many people were flocking towards the stadium’s merchandise section, and of course, I succumbed to the power of Maiden (Bad Powerslave pun, sorry) and bought a T-shirt too. The Hu opened for them at 7:30, which was a pleasant surprise, since I have Mongolian heritage. That being said, even I, a person who lived in Mongolia for 10 years, couldn’t hear or understand some of the words they were singing. I enjoyed The Hu, with their traditional instruments and distorted guitars, they set up the main act wonderfully and I’d highly recommend checking out some of their songs.
Current lineup of Iron Maiden: Steve Harris (bass, backing vocals), Bruce Dickinson (vocals and theatricals), Adrian Smith (guitar), Dave Murray (guitar), Janick Gers (guitar), Nicko McBrain (drums and percussion).
Tour Setlist:
Intro:
Doctor Doctor (Live version from Strangers in the Night, 1979) (Song by UFO)
Blade Runner – End Titles (Blade Runner Soundtrack, 1994) (Song by Vangelis)
Caught Somewhere in Time (Somewhere in Time, 1986)
Stranger in a Strange Land (Somewhere in Time, 1986)
The Writing on the Wall (Senjutsu, 2021)
Days of Future Past (Senjutsu, 2021)
The Time Machine (Senjutsu, 2021)
The Prisoner (The Number of the Beast, 1982)
Death of the Celts (Senjutsu, 2021)
Can I Play With Madness (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
Heaven Can Wait (Somewhere in Time, 1986)
Alexander the Great (Somewhere in Time, 1986)
Fear of the Dark (Fear of the Dark, 1991)
Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden, 1980)
Encore:
Hell on Earth (Senjutsu, 2021)
The Trooper (Peace of Mind, 1982)
Wasted Years (Somewhere in Time, 1986)
Doctor Doctor. This song is by one of Iron Maiden’s biggest influences, UFO, and this particular song has been a concert staple for them for over 20 years. They have used the live version of the song to notify the crowd that they’re playing in 5 minutes. Though it is now considered a fairly obscure song, the album that it was originally released from (Phenomenon, 1974) is considered to be one of the most influential rock albums of the time, giving way to bands such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, just to name a few. I did not expect the speakers to be that loud, I thought something had exploded on the stage. The live version that the band chose to play is superior to the studio version, with a beautiful extended intro by guitar hero Michael Schenker, beefier rhythm guitars, and arguably better production
End Titles – Blade Runner. The light show was stunning during the futuristic prelude of “Blade Runner”. The band had played this piece from Vangelis way back in 1987, during the Somewhere on Tour concert tour, and it hadn’t been played until 2023, the year The Future Past tour started. The sci-fi undertones perfectly immersed the audience in the world of the future and set the tone for the first track of the evening perfectly.
Caught Somewhere in Time. The opening track of their acclaimed 1986 “Somewhere in Time” album had not been played since 1987 until this tour, which is a shame, really. As a fan favorite, it definitely riled up the crowd with the melodic intro into the famous galloping tempo change of the song. Bruce Dickinson came running out with goggles and a trench coat, evoking the spirit of Harrison Ford in the original Blade Runner. The solos in particular were amazing, the modifications on the original studio track, though slower, fit perfectly. The three guitars of Dave, Adrian, and Janick really enhanced the whole experience, my ears were caught off guard when the pyro blast introduced the band in full. This is my personal favorite song from Somewhere in Time and it did not disappoint one bit.
Stranger in a Strange Land. They segue into another classic from the aforementioned album and the sinister undertones of ice and snow had such an impact. The lyrics are about an Arctic explorer who dies and is frozen in ice. After a hundred years later his body is found by other people exploring there, hence the title. Somewhere in Time is often considered to be a transitional record, between the hard-hitting Powerslave and progressive Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The atmospheric prelude to the solo, the solo by Adrian, and Bruce belting out the chorus all hit me so hard that I realized why they still are considered a premier live act after all these years. One of the few songs Iron Maiden faded out in the studio recording, it was so satisfying to finally hear it have a tight and cohesive coda.
The Writing on the Wall. A very bleak song, it tells about a world in which past glories and great nations are reduced to ruin and we scrabble to hide in their remnants. This is my favorite from the first side of the 戦術 (Senjutsu meaning “tactics” in English) album, and as it was dropped as a single during quarantine, I have had a lot of time to appreciate the composition and message of the track.
Days of Future Past. This is such a great track to segue into from The Writing on the Wall. I think it’s one of their best short rockers post-reunion (1999 onwards) along with Wicker Man and Rainmaker. I was surprised that the song wasn’t connected to the X-Men comic with the same name, but rather the movie version of “Constantine” starring Keanu Reeves. The chorus especially was a joy to sing along with, I was surprised so many people knew the lyrics.
The Time Machine. I do like this song, but mainly because it is plagiarized from “The Edge of Darkness”, a fantastic song Steve Harris had written 26 years prior. The lyrics are a tad confusing, the narrator (Bruce) tells us he’s going to tell us a story but he never really does. I love the moody acoustic intro and the song translated beautifully into a live setting. I noticed that all Senjutsu songs sounded better live, I think it was either because of the stadium’s acoustics or the visuals to support the music, maybe even both.
The Prisoner. Inspired by the 1960s British television series “The Prisoner”, it begins with an excerpt from the source material telling the audience “I am not a number, I am a free man!”. It is the third track of the legendary “The Number of the Beast” album, and it has been brought back to life this tour. I absolutely adore this song and never thought I’d see it played live since other tracks from the aforementioned album have reached legendary status decades ago (The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Hallowed Be Thy Name). This is one of the reasons why this particular tour’s setlist is so appealing to me, it doesn’t have a bad song on it!
Death of the Celts. Before this song, Bruce talked about how seemingly all the Americans he meets have either Irish names or are of Irish descent, and that this song is about how legacies never truly die out if the descendants remember and cherish their ancestors and culture. I did not care much for the song when I first listened to it, I thought it was a weaker imitation of “The Clansman”, a truly great song from their underlooked eleventh album Virtual XI. But the intro with the three guitars harmonizing, reverberating through the stadium made me appreciate the 10-minute epic a lot more.
Can I Play With Madness? One of the better-known tracks off of their seventh album, the entire stadium sang the acapella intro and outro perfectly in sync with Bruce. As the record it is from is a loosely defined concept album, I really wished another song from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was played that evening. Maybe Moonchild or The Evil That Men Do, but I imagine it’s pretty hard compiling 15 songs from 17 albums to please the crowd. I actually consider Can I Play With Madness to be the weakest track on the aforementioned album, which is saying something, as it isn’t a bad song at all.
Heaven Can Wait. Quite possibly the most underappreciated song from Somewhere in Time, if you exclude Deja Vu. Futuristic Eddie appears on stage and duels with Bruce with ray guns, making the solos played even more enjoyable. The chorus and chanting sections of the songs were so incredibly catchy, that I think the guy sitting next to me got sick of my voice. Do check out the studio version for peak Bruce. Even though Nicko missed a drum fill here and there, to expect perfection at a live concert would be ridiculous, and I love that aspect of it.
Alexander the Great. Ah, what a song. Epics and Iron Maiden are synonymous with each other in the music world and this track definitely shows it. Bruce Dickinson sings about the quests and conquests (and demise) of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. This track had not been played live (ever!) for 37 years after its release until this tour, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll play it again. The live setting raised the song from an 8.5 out of 10 to a 9.5, the band was that good. I hope the band writes another song like Alexander the Great in the future, it is always a joy to read the lyrics while listening to the lengthy and composition-rich songs.
Fear of the Dark. What else can I say of Fear of the Dark, it’s an absolute classic. The crowd participation could never top Rock in Rio 2001’s version, but it was awesome hearing it live nonetheless. I have heard fans being bored of the song because the band plays it too often, and I have never understood that. Just because a song is overplayed doesn’t mean it isn’t good anymore. Of course, the band would play one of their best (not to mention famous) songs every night and have a blast doing it. The crowd certainly enjoyed it, hearing the famous anthem being sung all around me was like a religious experience.
Iron Maiden. The last track of the evening (The main set) has been the band’s closing number for the past 40 years, and it still hasn’t lost its magic. The mind-boggling riffs that could each be their own song and Bruce Dickinson singing about Eddie luring people to a room and killing them with a medieval torture device (Iron Maiden) was one of the highlights of the evening. Senjutsu Eddie also appeared and I will never forget the sight of a ten-foot-tall samurai prancing around the stage with the rest of the band. At the end of the song, Janick threw his guitar into the air and caught it in the nick of time, that was a surprise for sure.
The Trooper. The first music video I watched from Iron Maiden was “The Trooper”. I remember watching it on YouTube years ago, being amazed by the intensity of the song amplifying the old movie snippets. The iconic opening riff made the stadium erupt and it seemed like everyone near me knew every lyric of the song. It was inspired by the Charge of the Light Brigade from the Crimean War (Iron Maiden is famous for taking historical events and literature epics and turning them into metal classics (see The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Aces High, Run to the Hills, etc.), and the twin (nowadays triple!) guitar harmonies and Bruce Dickinson’s soaring vocals are quintessential Maiden.
Wasted Years. Final song of the evening, and the final chance to scream my heart out alongside Bruce and the crowd. One of the few complaints I have about this concert is that Adrian didn’t play the solo the same as the studio recording, which is one of my favorites. The emotional riff and chorus which made the track more melodic and less aggressive was the perfect closer, in my opinion, and I think a lot of Maiden fans think that as well.
This concert meant a lot to me. First of all, this was my first ever concert experience and the cherry on top is that it was by one of my top 3 bands (Behind Led Zeppelin and Genesis). I had heard of their ferocious live reputation, but I did not expect them to be that good. Every part of the band was like a well-oiled machine, they didn’t seem a day over 30. A particular highlight from the band was definitely Bruce singing his heart out, you don’t see a 66-year-old man singing and running around like a young man every day. I was surprised by how energetic Nicko still is behind the drumset, you could tell he loves playing for the fans and that is true for the whole band. Steve Harris founded the band in the 70s and still is stunning audiences with his stage presence and signature bass playing. I wish they had played Hallowed Be Thy Name from The Number of the Beast (one of the greatest songs ever by any artist), or Paschendale from Dance of Death (my favorite song from the post-reunion era), but I digress, it was a fantastic show and more than I could have ever asked for for my first ever concert. Make sure to check this amazing band out, I can guarantee you’ll become a Maiden fan in no time. Up the irons!
Image provided by:
Tacoma Dome, “Iron Maiden, The Future Past World Tour 2024.”,https://www.tacomadome.org/.
