Live Review: Iron Maiden

As the black curtains drop to reveal Iron Maiden's set it's like we've been thrown into the middle of a Game Of Thrones shoot. This band's opening sequence, which features their very own jumbo jet Ed Force One, is next-level and Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie always brings the terror. Given the name of this tour, we expect a generous amount of songs from the band's latest and 16th album, The Book Of Souls (a double album containing 11 songs in total), and they open with the suitably ominous disc one opener, If Eternity Should Fail. Energetic frontman Bruce Dickinson, who kinda resembles Tony Hawk fronting a metal band in his beige pants and active wear, leaps around the stage like a video game character. Unlike their fearless band leader, the rest of Iron Maiden strive to maintain long tresses, even if concealing hairlines under bandannas or adopting the half-up-half-down look favoured by dynamic drummer Nicko McBrain - does any drummer need that many drums? 

Dickinson sure loves dropping c-bombs. "Legacy-type people - I can't say, 'You're an old cunt like me'," he jokes, somehow tying it all in to become the longest segue ever into classic track Children Of The Damned. Iron Maiden's movements are perfectly blocked so that each band member knows exactly which turret to solo in front of. There are some awesome around-the-world guitar tricks - where axes are propelled around necks on their straps - and these old rock dogs needn't learn new tricks. Iron Maiden can afford to be a bit cheesy, it's part and parcel of metal theatrics in an arena this size, and, boy do they sound epic!?

Striking, menacing backdrops are peeled back to reveal the next scene throughout the show. After a series of impressive solos during The Red And The Black, the song's arrangement folds back on itself and we return to belting out the "woah-oh-oh-oh-oh"s Dickinson taught us earlier. For The Trooper, Dickinson brandishes a Union Jack flag, which comes off more Les Miserables (although with a different flag) than metal. Dickinson's operatic voice - particularly during effortlessly flowing vibrato - holds firm. Crowd members "Doh-doh" along with Fear Of The Dark's guitar part and then Dickinson is in full parkour mode, negotiating the obstacle course of Iron Maiden's complex set. Punters pogo in GA like they probably haven't done since they first discovered this very band 40-odd years ago. The quality of visuals and overall production value (those giant inflatables!) of an Iron Maiden show these days take away from the wow factor of various Eddie appearances. And we're still spewing we didn't get to see Eddie coming out in an actual tank (as he did at the UK's Download Festival in 2007)!   

Fan favourite The Number Of The Beast opens this evening's encore and those riffs simply devastate. Pyros detonate next to inflatables, but somehow these don't melt or burn. And we all wish we could take tomorrow off to go camp in a field near Tullamarine airport and see off Ed Force One as these legends travel to the next (lucky) destination.