Last weekend saw England's biggest metal band return to their roots and perform the two final concerts of their latest European tour. The first date which was initially announced during the bands headline performance at Download 2013 was sold out in a matter of minutes following the release of the tickets on the morning of 28th June. A second date for the following day was added shortly after, which was to be the final date of the latest Maiden England tour at London's O2 Arena. The tour marks the 25th anniversary of the band's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album, and essentially feels like a follow up to 2008's Somewhere Back in Time tour.
Attending on the Sunday, the O2 swiftly filled up with a mass of black tshirts adorned with the bands signature artwork from a collective of historical albums, some 20,000 fans eagerly await the presence of metals greatest custodians who were about to perform another unforgettable concert in their 30 year plus career. A setlist filled with early fan favourites and Maiden epics alike, and the band being on razor sharp form, this was truly a performance not to disappoint.
Personal highlights included the 21st century rendition of the now triple guitar barrage of the 1980 hit Phantom of the Opera, the melodic/heavy/melodic war epic Afraid to Shoot Strangers and the masterful performance of the epic title track from 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
A couple of funny turn ups at the event, apparently Bruce Forsyth of all people was at Saturday's show in the crowd. Also, Bruce Dickinson had a dig at the New Musical Express, who are difficult to consider as a decent source of music journalism at the best of times! I wasnt aware (being a non-NME reader) that after Download festival one of NME's writers referred to the Spitfire flypast at the start of Maiden's set as "a replica of World War II Spitfire fighter jet", but Bruce summed up the writer in question perfectly, as "a fucking dickhead"
With a flawless performance from the band, Bruce's trademark stage antics brandishing a Union Jack flag and a Spitfire pilot in the audience, Iron Maiden once again prove that they are not only a genre defining band with a 30 year legacy, but part of our heritage.
