The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[Tomislav95]

...climb like a monkey
damn why I missed them a week ago I'm screaming with Bruce in my room

[MirrorMask]

...climb like a monkey

As far as I'm concerned, that's the dance of summer, it was glorious to see the whole Wacken doing it bwhahahaha!!!! 

What an epic concert, it felt good to relive the memories of my own I attended two weeks ago. Long live the mighty Maiden! and let's hope for another chance to see them next year, since Bruce talked about germans and UK shows it's likely they will play Europe again and possibly Italy.

[Imaginos]

I also thought the powerslave mask looked like a Mexican wrestler mask. Not sure what Bruce was going for with that. The climb like a monkey dance is legendary. The random Nicko speech at the end was nice as well. "Merry Christmas" 

[cramx3]

What an epic concert, it felt good to relive the memories of my own I attended two weeks ago. Long live the mighty Maiden! and let's hope for another chance to see them next year, since Bruce talked about germans and UK shows it's likely they will play Europe again and possibly Italy.

I stopped watching halfway through since I had to get some work done before leaving, but it was really awesome to see again since seeing it myself 4 months ago.  And of course I would love for them to come back to the US.

[adace]

Just watched the broadcast and it was fantastic

[home]

I was at the festival, it was great indeed  I keep being amazed by the energy they still have. Seeing all the people around you enjoying the show so much is just great too.

...climb like a monkey

As far as I'm concerned, that's the dance of summer, it was glorious to see the whole Wacken doing it bwhahahaha!!!! 

That was a great moment  Someone started a mosh pit were stood during that song, but even in the mosh pit we were doing the monkey dance   

[MirrorMask]

Anyway, 10 years later the release of A Matter of Life and Death.... just a most probably unanswered question..

The hell was all that Benjamin Breeg stuff about?

The idea was even clever, to have a fake character updating info about the research for his lost... cousin? or it was brother? and there were hints on the website to details that were mirroring Iron Maiden's carrer, but nothing really came out of it. Was it ever revealed who actully Benjaming Breeg was, and therefore what his reincarnation was about? it was a viral campaign that was basically left there, like the Publius Enigma with Pink Floyd.

[cramx3]

Anyway, 10 years later the release of A Matter of Life and Death.... just a most probably unanswered question..

The hell was all that Benjamin Breeg stuff about?

The idea was even clever, to have a fake character updating info about the research for his lost... cousin? or it was brother? and there were hints on the website to details that were mirroring Iron Maiden's carrer, but nothing really came out of it. Was it ever revealed who actully Benjaming Breeg was, and therefore what his reincarnation was about? it was a viral campaign that was basically left there, like the Publius Enigma with Pink Floyd.

Good question, I forgot about this

[krands85]

Iron Maiden continue The Book Of Souls World Tour into 2017 with a 16 date European Tour and the first UK Tour since 2011.

APR 22 BELGIUM ANTWERP SPORTPALEIS
APR 24 GERMANY OBERHAUSEN KÖNIG-PILSENER-ARENA
APR 28 GERMANY FRANKFURT FESTHALLE
MAY 02 GERMANY HAMBURG BARCLAYCARD ARENA
MAY 04 ENGLAND NOTTINGHAM MOTORPOINT ARENA
MAY 06 IRELAND DUBLIN 3ARENA
MAY 08 ENGLAND MANCHESTER ARENA
MAY 10 ENGLAND SHEFFIELD ARENA
MAY 11 ENGLAND LEEDS FIRST DIRECT ARENA
MAY 14 ENGLAND NEWCASTLE METRO RADIO ARENA
MAY 16 SCOTLAND GLASGOW SSE HYDRO ARENA
MAY 17 SCOTLAND ABERDEEN AECC GE OIL & GAS ARENA
MAY 20 ENGLAND LIVERPOOL ECHO ARENA
MAY 21 ENGLAND BIRMINGHAM BARCLAYCARD ARENA
MAY 24 WALES CARDIFF MOTORPOINT ARENA
MAY 27 ENGLAND LONDON O2 ARENA

Tickets go on-sale Friday 30th September at 9am.

Fan Club pre-sale starts Monday.

Special guests on all the shows will be Shinedown.

About time! Hopefully I finally get to see them live now

[Phoenix87x]

They need to announce an East coast US tour 

And by east coast tour, I mean come to Philadelphia. Somehow that was missed as they hit florida and New york, but not anything in the middle 

[Logain Ablar]

MAY 06 IRELAND DUBLIN 3ARENA

Excellent! It's a Saturday too! 

[MirrorMask]

No more european dates after that, as stated on their website. Damn! wouldn't have minded a second go at this.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Do you think they will continue with "The History of Iron Maiden – Part 4" and it's coexisting tour? I would enjoy a 90s tour for sure.

[MirrorMask]

Do you think they will continue with "The History of Iron Maiden – Part 4" and it's coexisting tour? I would enjoy a 90s tour for sure.

You, certainly me and then... who else? 10 or 20 people? the History DVD is probably a given, but I can't see them selling a tour that will revolved around Bring your Daughter to the Slaughter, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Man on the Edge and The Clansman.

Also, they said they were done with history tours.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea it's a bit dry on the hit tunes list for the 90s era that's for sure.  Then again since were talking Maiden their setlist is usually 90-95% the same songs they played on the last tour and the previous one with 2-4 new ones so no big diffrence anyway.

[Art]

A 90´s tour would be awesome!

[cramx3]

Do you think they will continue with "The History of Iron Maiden – Part 4" and it's coexisting tour? I would enjoy a 90s tour for sure.

I very much doubt it.  The 90s were not a kind era to IM.  I would love to see them do Blaze songs, but since they included Afraid to Shoot Strangers on the last history tour, that to me, was a sign that they likely weren't going to do a dedicated 90s tour. 

On another note, I do hope they come back to the states because I'd love to see them again.  Hell, maybe a Euro trip next year to catch them could be a possibility.

[Mosh]

I think it's more likely they integrate some 90s songs into whatever their current tour is when that DVD comes out.

[kaos2900]

I just want to see them at least one more time before they hang it up.

[Architeuthis]

A 90's tour, NOOO!  A post 2000 tour, YESSS!!!

[cramx3]

A 90's tour, NOOO!  A post 2000 tour, YESSS!!!

We practically got that in the US for TFF tour.

[Phoenix87x]

My ideal tour is 60% percent 80's and 40% 2000's onward. It wouldn't bother me a bit if they left out the 90's material

[bosk1]

My ideal tour is 60% percent 80's and 40% 2000's onward TFF. It wouldn't bother me a bit if they left out the 90's material

FTFM

[cramx3]

My ideal tour is 60% percent 80's and 40% 2000's onward. It wouldn't bother me a bit if they left out the 90's material

My ideal tour is them playing songs they haven't played before.  I don't care to see any of the classics anymore besides HBTN.

[425]

My ideal tour is TFF played in its entirety, the last three songs on AMOLAD, Iron Maiden and Hallowed.

[ozzy554]

Id love to see a 90s tour. Man on the edge, sign of the cross, Judgement of heaven, 2AM, educated fool, clansman, Como Estais Amigos.

Though I know not everyone loves the blaze era as much as I do lol.

[wolfking]

Id love to see a 90s tour. Man on the edge, sign of the cross, Judgement of heaven, 2AM, educated fool, clansman, Como Estais Amigos.

Though I know not everyone loves the blaze era as much as I do lol.

Quoted this just to back you up.

A 90's tour would be interesting but would never happen.  It sure would be interesting to see what the band's setlist would be for it.

[Mladen]

I'm actually leaning towards a tour based on the famous Rock In Rio show, which will have its 15th anniversary or so. A lot of people consider Brave new world a classic, and so does the band, so it might as well get a tour. The set list will also feature The Clansman and maybe even Sign of the cross. Calling it now. 

[Mosh]

I don't think Maiden will ever touch the Blaze era again.

I like the X Factor a lot, Virtual XI is solid but ruined by a lifeless performance (particularly from Nicko and Blaze) and some lazy songwriting choices.

[ozzy554]

I don't think Maiden will ever touch the Blaze era again.

I like the X Factor a lot, Virtual XI is solid but ruined by a lifeless performance (particularly from Nicko and Blaze) and some lazy songwriting choices.

I think that was due to the production. I love Both X factor and Virtual XI but blaze sounded kinda flat on both though more so on Virtual XI. 

[MirrorMask]

All these talks about setlists made me think about the history tour, which were beyond awesome but could have been more representive of their specific eras.

The way I understood it is that the Somewhere Back in Time tour was a celebration of the '80s, then it became so insanely successful that, aside from doubling the tour the year after, they realized how huge the Maiden England tour would be.

With some more pre-planning, the tours could have been more diversified, here's what happened and some realistic changes I offer..


THE EARLY DAYS TOUR, ACTUAL SETLIST:

The Ides of March
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Another Life
Prowler
The Trooper
Remember Tomorrow
Where Eagles Dare
Revelations
Run to the Hills
Wrathchild
Die With Your Boots On
Phantom of the Opera
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden
=================
Running Free
Drifter
Sanctuary


No real complaints here. Early days it was, early days it has been. Sure, every song off the first four album bar 2-3 tops (Quest for Fire, I'm looking at you) deserve to be played and we could discuss at lenght about which songs are missing, but this is an excellent compromise. Killers is the most glaring omission here but with foresight it could have been spared for the Maiden England tour.




SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME TOUR, ACTUAL SETLIST:

Aces High
2 Minutes to Midnight
Revelations
The Trooper
Wasted Years
The Number of the Beast
Can I Play With Madness
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Powerslave
Heaven Can Wait
Run to the Hills
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
=============
Moonchild
The Clairvoyant
Hallowed Be Thy Name


Well, for starters this is a massively awesome setlist, one of the best concerts I've ever seen and a dream come true for any Maiden fan. Still, the foresight for Maiden England could have left some more room for extra cuts, and I still remember being so ready for Hallowed when I was hearing near the end of the set four slow counts, and then FOTD started. The hell Fear of the Dark is doing here? shoo, shoo, away! let people miss it and then enjoy it more next time around.

Here's my suggestion for a still '80s oriented set, but more focused on the early part of it:

Aces High
2 Minutes to Midnight
Revelations
The Trooper
22 Acacia Avenue
Flight of Icarus
Can I Play With Madness
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Powerslave
Heaven Can Wait
Run to the Hills
Phantom of the Opera
Iron Maiden
=============
The Number of the Beast
Wrathchild
Hallowed Be Thy Name


SIT and Seventh Son get a song each, Acacia and Flight who were missing on the Early Days tour and were played in the World Slavery tour came back, and replacing Moonchild made me go back to Number of the Beast as the usual encore opener. Wrathchild is there to honor Killers, so that every album up until Seventh Son is honored, and screw Fear of the Dark.


****NOTE: There's been a second leg of the SIT tour with more changes, but since I'm doing revision history, it makes little sense to offer an alternative setlist of what is already an alternative setlist (Children of the Damned was brought back, and also Phantom that I included here in place of Fear of the Dark for example).




MAIDEN ENGLAND TOUR, ACTUAL SETLIST:

Moonchild
Can I Play With Madness
The Prisoner
2 Minutes to Midnight
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
The Trooper
The Number of the Beast
Phantom of the Opera
Run to the Hills
Wasted Years
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The Clairvoyant
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
==================
Aces High
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free



Knowing that some songs were saved last time around, this was the occasion to go full throttle on the latter part of the '80s, so here's my suggestion, one is very obvious:


Moonchild
Can I Play With Madness
The Prisoner
2 Minutes to Midnight
Infinite Dreams
The Trooper
The Number of the Beast
Killers
Run to the Hills
Wasted Years
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The Clairvoyant
Heaven Can Wait
Iron Maiden
==================
Aces High
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free


Infinite Dreams takes his intended place in the set, Killers finds a way in, and screw Fear of the Dark again. An alternative would be to sack 23:58 for Killers, rather than Phantom, but both got ice-themed backdrops so it was a pity to renounce both of them. This way more of the original setlist is honored, and I guess we could go really hardcore and replace The Trooper with Still Life since we're at it.

Also next year the setlist was changed slightly, that was maybe the occasion to make the final "nostalgic" tour more comprehensive of the '80s and maybe, just maybe, sneak in Fear of the Dark, but even though these tours were some of the best concerts I've ever seen, they could have dared with the set just a little more.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Great write up!

I just remembered how awesome opener Moonchild was, never been so into it but for some reason the song grew alot live for me.

[MirrorMask]

Having Moonchild as encore opener also gave us a wonderful live intro of the song, starting with the acoustic guitar. I've enjoyed it greatly in both ways!

[cramx3]

Having Moonchild as encore opener also gave us a wonderful live intro of the song, starting with the acoustic guitar. I've enjoyed it greatly in both ways!

Yea I was going to add that Moonchild as the encore with the actual live intro was something special.  That was truly a surprise when they did that.

[Mosh]

Re history tours: The best setlist of them all was The Early Days. I vividly remember going to the show not knowing anything about the setlist except that they were only doing stuff from the first four albums. When the Ides of March intro tape started I naturally assumed Wrathchild would follow, I was floored when they went into Murders. That was a song I really didn't expect. Lots of other surprises in the setlist too like Another Life and Where Eagles Dare.

The other two were good but there were a lot of missed opportunities. SBIT was the one that fell the most short IMO. It was a very predictable setlist (with the exception of Moonchild which was indeed very cool as an encore) when they could've done something really unexpected. They could've brought back Losfer Words or really taken advantage of the three guitar lineup by playing Flash Of the Blade for the first time. I wasn't a huge fan of them doing stuff post Powerslave but since they did that would've been the prime opportunity to do something from SIT other than Wasted Years and Heaven Can Wait. I can see Bruce really nailing songs like Sea of Madness today.

Maiden England was much better but I was bummed they didn't do Infinite Dreams or Still Life. Other than that I thought the setlist was solid. Afraid To Shoot Strangers was an awesome and unexpected addition. I agree with whoever said that including it was a sign that they're not going to do a 90s centered tour.

I don't think Maiden will ever touch the Blaze era again.

I like the X Factor a lot, Virtual XI is solid but ruined by a lifeless performance (particularly from Nicko and Blaze) and some lazy songwriting choices.

I think that was due to the production. I love Both X factor and Virtual XI but blaze sounded kinda flat on both though more so on Virtual XI.

Production really highlights it, but the performances still aren't good. Blaze sounds flat on so many songs and there are moments that could've been really powerful emotionally but he just sounds bored. Nicko only seems there to keep the beat.