Review and photos by Rodrigo Terco. View our entire Iron Maiden at MSG photo gallery here.
Last night, outside of the Madison Square Garden, you could feel the excitement of the thousands of fans that arrived to the venue to experience what was one of the most extraordinary metal shows to date. Within the crowd of people trying to find last minute tickets to the show, all you could hear was “Maiden, Maiden!!” on the streets around venue.
Around 8:40, an already-packed Madison Square Garden checked out openers, The Raven Age, who are led by the son of Maiden bassist Steve Harris, George. The band's sound reminds me of metalcore acts like Killswitch Engage and All That Remains. The Raven Age definitely won over some Maiden fans and captivated the audience for more than 30 minutes.
At 9pm, the sweet sounds of UFO's "Doctor, Doctor" blasted to through the world's most famous arena, indicating that the band was about hit the stage. The first chords of “If Eternity Should Fail” kicked off the set followed by the first single from their most recent album, The Book of Souls, “Speed Of Light.”
Other cuts from the new album played live were “The Red And The Black”, “Death Or Glory”, “The Book Of Souls” and “Tears Of A Clown,” the song dedicated to Robin Williams.
An hour into the band's scorching set, they launched into a set of classic songs that had the crowd in the palm of Maiden's hands. Everybody sang along loudly to classics such as “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Fear Of The Dark” and "Iron Maiden,” which featured an appearance by an oversized Eddie, followed by “The Number of the Beast”, “Blood Brothers” and "Wasted Years.”
When the dust was settled, the beer was drinked, and the show was over, Iron Maiden confirmed something I knew all along, they are the best live band in heavy metal history.
Set List:
1- If Eternity Should Fail
2 – Speed Of Light
3 – Children Of The Dammed
4 – Tears Of A Clown
5 – The Red And The Black
6 – The Trooper
7 – Powerslave
8 – Death Or Glory
9 – The Book Of Souls
10 – Hallowed Be Thy Name
11 – Fear Of The Dark
12 – Iron Maiden
Encore
13 – The Number Of The beast
14 – Blood Brothers
15 – Wasted Years
View our entire Iron Maiden at MSG photo gallery here
