Oct 06, 2022 admin_bitlc Features, Reviews 0
By Christopher David
“Fight to the last, they can never own us,” sings Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson near the end of “Senjutsu,” the title track to Maiden’s sprawling 2021 album, and as a samurai Eddie stalked the stage wielding a sword and teasing guitarist Dave Murray, Dickinson might as well have been singing about the band itself. In a career that has now spanned over forty years, Iron Maiden have virtually nothing left to prove, but they continue hacking away at the live stage and rolling out epic records as if practically daring any detractors to say something.
Senjutsu came out in the midst of the band’s years-long, 40th anniversary Legacy of the Beast tour, mind you, so while Tuesday’s show at the United Center was similar in many ways to their last appearance in Chicago just a couple of years ago, there were new tunes and new visuals to make the show feel fresh. This was most notable at the start, with the band going all in on the first twenty minutes of Senjutsu before the stage shifted to stained glass depictions of Eddie through the years for a crowd-rousing “Revelations,” and even the Blaze Bailey years got some attention with an ominous version of “Sign of the Cross” that saw Dickinson through another costume change, an aspect of Maiden’s shows that not every band could pull off; the band’s total investment in the concepts and imagery of even individual songs has led it to a point where every tune in a setlist becomes a showpiece.
“Fear of the Dark” saw Dickinson stalking a Whitechapel-esque stage in period dress, while “The Trooper” saw the classic ‘British soldier’ version of Eddie dueling with the band members. A massive, imposing demon rose to prominence behind the band during “Iron Maiden,” and the return of the dive-bomber—a show-stopping bit of set design if ever there was one—brought the show to a close with “Aces High.” The band was, predictably, in top form—bassist Steve Harris hasn’t aged a day in at least twenty years, and the triple guitar attack of Murray, Jannick Gers, and Adrian Smith remains the best in all of heavy metal, finding a sweet spot in the middle of ‘70s hard rock, ‘80s power metal, and prog.
This far down the line, one wonders what tricks Maiden can still have up its sleeve—but given the announcement that the band is embarking on a NEW tour in 2023 revisiting 1986’s Somewhere in Time, it seems that there are still quite a few Eddies lurking in that Pandora’s box of a discography. If their UC show was an indication of what’s to come, we’ll be looking at a 50th anniversary tour before we know it.
For more on Iron Maiden and the current tour, click here
For photos from the show, click here
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Iron Maiden – United Center, Chicago, IL – October 5, 2022 (setlist)
Senjutsu
Stratego
The Writing on the Wall
Revelations
Blood Brothers
Sign of the Cross
Flight of Icarus
Fear of the Dark
Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
The Trooper
The Clansman
Run to the Hills
Aces High
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