Iron Maiden Voyage

Why ain't Eddie here for the picture?

Captains at the helm of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden were perhaps the biggest in the true metal (for example, compared to Def Leppard) camp back at the height of that scene. Some might argue against that, but for this music fan, Maiden were the heaviest and coolest in the early-to-mid 80's. Sure, Sabbath, Priest, and Ozzy boasted even heavier sounds, but they were not of the same generation of metal; they were, in fact, the main influences for Maiden. 

Anyway, I was totally on board with Maiden when I discovered them. I am pretty sure it was in '82, when Number of the Beast was on its way to store shelves and was getting advance radio play, that I first heard these purveyors of prog-metal. It was around that time that I also heard the odd other tune from earlier Maiden albums over the airwaves on the mighty Q107. This was my cue to hunt down the albums on cassette tape (my medium of choice at the time - pre-CD or MP3 era). After adding their self-titled first album, Maiden Japan (live), and Killers to my collection, I became deeply involved in the band's lyrics and history. Naturally, the rock magazines were plastered with articles about them, so it only made sense that I accumulated piles of those mags for future reference. 

 I'd recorded a handful of Number of the Beast songs off the radio and onto tape, but upon the album's release, it was a no-brainer that I would buy it. From then on, at least until the end of the 1980's, I always eagerly anticipated each subsequent Maiden album. My Number of the Beast half-sleeve T-shirt saw plenty of wear and tear, and it was the tear that ended its residency in my clothes closet. 

It wasn't until 1988, the year Maiden toured in support of their Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album, that I had the chance to see the band in concert. Or more like I finally had some new friends who were actually interested in seeing this sort of metal show. Previously, I had to twist arms in order to get even just one friend to go to such concerts, but after moving to a new city and making new friends who were more metal-minded, this was no longer an issue. 

Sadly, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son didn't grab me like previous Maiden efforts. I think only one song, Can I Play With Madness, stood out on the set. As a result, the concert experience was all about hearing the material prior to SSOASS, and Maiden did not disappoint. I can't recall what songs from the first two albums were played, but I think it would be a good guess to say Maiden performed fan faves Running Free, Wrathchild, and maybe Killers. Then the band cranked out all the later hits and the epics that both newcomers and die-hards craved. 

While the stage design is all very hazy to me after all these years, I am certain the visual show was impressive. Maiden was, and is still, famed for their creatively imagined stage spectacles. I believe they were among the first to use massive banks of multi-coloured lighting rigs that added excitement and mood to their fantasy-oriented music. The actual stage construction is always based upon the album cover and song themes, and only some web searches reminded me of what this tour's stage looked like. A sort of ice landscape with a giant Eddie (the Maiden mascot - but you knew that) at centre-rear stage. And of course, Eddie himself lurched out onto the stage in all his rotting corpse glory for a cameo appearance. Huge applause and a roar of approval. Great guy, that Eddie.