By: Graham "Gruhamed" Hartmann
After playing to over 2 million people during the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in 2008/2009, IRON MAIDEN, their crew and many tons of equipment, will once again be boarding Ed Force One in February 2011 to fly 50,000 miles round the globe on their Final Frontier World Tour. Maiden will be playing 29 shows and visiting 26 cities in thirteen countries across 5 continents with Bruce again in the pilot's seat, and heading into more new Frontiers of uncharted Maiden territory. Metal God/Pilot Bruce Dickinson spoke about the upcoming global raid:
"We were taken aback by the fantastic reaction from everyone to Ed Force One during the 2008/09 World Tour. As our fans all know from the "Flight 666" film, which documented the trials and tribulations we underwent in order to get the whole project literally off the ground, the end result was well worth all the effort and complex logistics we had to deal with! The band and crew enjoyed themselves so much travelling that way, it seemed only logical to set up this part of The Final Frontier tour in the same way so we could get to see as many fans as possible all over the World, only this time we're pushing the boundaries even further and going to more places Maiden has never been before… in true Frontier style!! We very much look forward to playing in Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea for the first time, as well as revisiting our fans everywhere else."
Bruce also spoke about the set list Maiden will be playing:
"The set list will be different to this year's tour. Of course we will play more songs from the new album and some other recent material, but we will include a healthy dose of older fan favourites as we will be playing to so many new faces who we know will want to hear those songs live for the first time. We will cram into the plane as much of the production we used this year as is physically possible, including of course Eddie, and intend to replicate the spectacular light show in as many places as we are able. All in all it promises to be a fantastic trip for everyone!! So see you all soon."
Iron Maiden's fifteenth studio album, The Final Frontier was released in August of this year, packing a huge punch both creatively and sonically. I personally wouldn't mind if Maiden played the entire new album, much like they did after the release of A Matter of Life and Death, but it's great to hear that they won't be ignoring their classic arena anthems. Although there have been no North American dates announced besides two shows in Florida, there is a two month gap in their touring schedule, which you can see below. Cross your fingers everyone, and hope we'll be graced once again with the presence of perhaps the greatest live band on the planet.
FEBRUARY 
Fri 11 Moscow, RUSSIA Olympiski
Tue 15 Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium
Thu 17 Jakarta, INDONESIA Stadium Utama Gelaro Bung Karno Senayan
Sun 20 Bali, INDONESIA Garuda Wisnu Kencana
Wed 23 Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Hisense Arena
Thu 24 Sydney, AUSTRALIA Entertainment Centre
Sat 26 Brisbane, AUSTRALIA Showgrounds (SOUNDWAVE FEST)
Sun 27 Sydney, AUSTRALIA Eastern Creek Raceway (SOUNDWAVE FEST)
MARCH
Fri 4 Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Showgrounds (SOUNDWAVE FEST)
Sat 5 Adelaide, AUSTRALIA Bonython Park (SOUNDWAVE FEST)
Mon 7 Perth, AUSTRALIA Steel Blue Oval (SOUNDWAVE FEST)
Thu 10 Seoul, KOREA Chamsil Gymnasium
Sat 12 Tokyo, JAPAN Super Arena
Sun 13 Tokyo, JAPAN Super Arena
Thu 17 Monterrey, MEXICO Banamex Theatre
Fri 18 Mexico City, MEXICO Foro Sol
Sun 20 Bogota, COLOMBIA CC Sapo
Wed 23 Lima, PERU Estadio San Marcos
Sat 26 Sao Paulo, BRAZIL Morumbi Stadium
Sun 27 Rio De Janeiro, BRAZIL HSBC Arena
Wed 30 Brasilia, BRAZIL Nilson Nelson Parking Lot
APRIL
Fri 1 Belem, BRAZIL Parque De Exposicoes
Sun 3 Recife, BRAZIL Parque De Exposicoes
Tue 5 Curitiba, BRAZIL Expotrade
Fri 8 Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA Velez Sarsfield
Sun 10 Santiago, CHILE Estadio Nacional
Wed 14 San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA Coliseo De Puerto Rico
Sat 16 Sunrise, Florida, USA Bank Atlantic Center
Sun 17 Tampa, Florida USA St Pete Times Forum
JULY
June 30- July 3 Roskilde, DENMARK Roskilde Festival
Fri 1 Gothenburg, SWEDEN Ullevi Stadium
Wed 6 Oslo, NORWAY Telenor
Fri 8 Helsinki, FINLAND Olympic Stadium
Sun 10 St Petersburg, RUSSIA SKK Peterburgskiy
