Live Review: Iron Maiden + Lord of the Lost at Utilita Arena, Birmingham, July 4 2023
By BRIAN GIFFIN
THE birthplace of heavy metal was the setting for the indefatigable beast that is Iron Maiden to bring their current tour this evening, and Birmingham turned in a sold-out crowd for this leg of the Future Past Tour.
German Gothic industrial rockers Lord of the Lost kicked off the night with exuberance and high energy enthusiasm. Their hosts allowed them the largesse to utilise the entire stage area including a huge backdrop and flame pots for their near-hour long set of catchy, Teutonic heavy rock, vocalist Chris Harms constantly on the move. The drums were a bit echoey and the synths overpowered the guitars from time to time but Lord of the Lost provided plenty of spectacle, their ridiculously pop-heavy Eurovision entry “Blood & Glitter” helping to rouse the crowd ahead of the main attraction.
With very few songs from their most celebrated albums – a deep cut from Number, one each from Piece of Mind and Seventh Son, nothing from Powerslave – the setlist for this tour may have given some a reason for pause. But that would be a severe underestimation of the might of Iron Maiden.
The crowd pumped by the traditional warm-up tune from UFO, the opening notes of “Caught Somewhere in Time” fill the arena and the lights go up to reveal a stage all but bare. Only a huge interchangeable backdrop hints at the theatrical productions of years gone by, but there’s plenty of that familiar Maiden. There’s Janick Gers, already doing his rubberman thing, there’s Adrian Smith and Dave Murray shoulder to shoulder, combining riffs and melodies. Bruce Dickinson bursts onto the stage and the song doesn’t even get to the first chorus before he wails “Scream for me, Birmingham!” – and Birmingham responds with a huge roar.
Their stage show might be pared right down to basics now and Dickinson no longer bothers with props, silly costume changes or over-sized flags, but Iron Maiden has never really needed them. Where other bands fall back on increasing levels of cheatery as they age, Maiden have gone back to basics – 100% performance. Some of these songs have rarely or never featured on tours before, but each one comes to life like an old friend. Clunky and tepid on record, “Alexander the Great” takes on a new vitality and rhythm with a sparkling performance from Smith. Number’s sole representative “The Prisoner” shines.
The Senjutsu songs dominate the show, and each justifies its inclusion. “Days of Future Past” whizzes by, Smith plays some slinky acoustic guitar during “The Writing on the Wall”, “Death of the Celts” is outstanding. There’s a couple of flubs – Dickinson stumbles over the lyrics in “Stranger in a Strange Land” and almost introduces the wrong song until Harris sets him straight – but the band just rolls on. Due to the selection of songs, it often seems like the Adrian Smith/Dave Murray show, almost to the point where Gers appears relegated to just dancing away by himself on the other side of the stage. That is until “Fear of the Dark” where he leads the charge, the entire stadium raising their voice with its irresistible melody.
Eddie finally makes an appearance in their signature tune, engaging in a battle against a fireball cannon manned by Dickinson, but it isn’t overdone, sticking to this tour’s apparent focus on keeping things lean. There’s a few explosions and a backdrop, but otherwise the stage is bare. There’s no inflatable drum risers or things coming up out of the stage. There isn’t even any extended crowd singalongs or band intros but, to be fair, no one needs those anymore from Iron Maiden. There’s just Iron Maiden, showing once again why they are, as they have been for a generation, a true force majeure in the world of live music.
