Live Review : Iron Maiden + Lord Of The Lost @ AO Arena, Manchester on June 30th 2023

You are unlikely to find “Somewhere in Time" in any list of the greatest albums of all time, in fact it would struggle to make any best heavy metal records countdown. However, it manages to hold a very special place in the hearts of Iron Maiden fans across the globe. For many of a certain age (including myself) it was our entry point, it was where we came in. 

"Number of the Beast" may well have been the album that plunged them into the public perception and "Powerslave” may well have cemented them as an international commodity, but it was with "Somewhere in Time” that they became a household name. Smash hit spreads, top-of-the-pop stints, and, a now eradicated, appearance on Jim’ll Fix It thrust them into the mainstream like never before. This meant that plenty of younglings, including myself, were caught by their gravitational pull. An orbit that most of us are yet to break out of.

The other reason why this return to the 1986 semi-masterpiece has been greeted with such furore and reverence is that they very rarely over the years have delved into it. Whilst we have had retrospective tours for the vast majority of their bygone eras, “Somewhere in Time“ has stood there like some sealed tomb, inexplicably untouched. That is until now. Manchester Arena is beyond sold out, as Bruce states during the show "We couldn't get another person in here if we tried”. There is a feverish excitement here that I have not felt at a Maiden show for a long time. Once again, and I say this after a Download appearance that I personally felt laboured and dreary, this feels special and like an event.

It's safe to say that Lord of the Lost’s Eurovision adventure probably didn't end as they hoped. Whilst they avoided the dreaded "nil point”, their paltry 18 points meant they were firmly at the bottom of the leaderboard. It is therefore rather obvious that they are quite glad to get back to their day job of spouting their unique hybrid of glam and industrial metals. As ever Chris Harms (known as The Lord to his grandmother) is a hyperactive dynamo of pent-up energy sprinting around the stage as if it was his own personal running track. In ‘The Curtain Falls’ they have created a wonderfully preposterous and apt opening number that will surely keep its position in their sets for potentially decades to come.

Lord of the Lost may already be a household name over on the continent, but they attack this opening slot with vim and vigour. It is obvious that they see it as an opportunity to build on the visibility that Eurovision gave them, and they are more than happy to do the warmup act dance as long as it means that many more people will then turn up for the headline shows (which Chris heavily promotes any chance he gets). What they potentially lack in heft and heaviness they more than make up for in with their sense of fun and frivolity. Every chorus is designed to be sung along with and there is more syrupy goodness than an explosion in a Mars bar factory.

‘Blood & Glitter’ does make an appearance in the twilight of the set, but, it is slid out in a slightly embarrassed manner as opposed to being lauded as a big moment. That is left to ‘Drag Me to Hell’ which is as overstated as ‘Blood & Glitter’ was understated. Chris goes walkabout traversing the entire of front row and then making an impressive attempt to join the masses congregating at the front. The track seems to be a never-ending crescendo, building wall upon wall of neon splendour. And then just as you think it is caught in an infinite loop it explodes in majestic pomp.

Maiden's fanbase has become multi-generational. The standing area is littered with family units, all bedecked in supermarket bought T-shirts. I myself am accompanied by my rather overexcited eight-year-old son who has been counting down the sleeps to this particular show since last month. Iron Maiden capture and fuel the imagination like no other band. There is a majestic imperialism to their approach which means that as fans we happily forgive the odd misstep (I still hold that last year's Download appearance was spectacularly misconceived) and studiously await the next appearance.

As the Ying to Download’s Yang, tonight they get pacing and set structure spectacularly right.  It might be show 17 out of a 37 date run but feels it eminently and extraordinarily special. There is no feeling of going through the motion. They have not just brought their A-game, they brought their A-game, especially for us. The rapture in my young companion’s eyes is inconceivable, not only is he watching his favourite band play live but in his head his favourite band are playing live especially for him. The rapture is then replaced with a look of utter glee as Eddie makes his first appearance during the second track ‘Stranger in Strange Land’. He may do no more than lean on the stage side and tip his hat at us but for my son it is equivalent to him coming on and doing some somersaults across the stage.

Whilst everything is immaculately stage-managed there is still an overarching feeling of uniqueness and spontaneity about tonight’s show. Yes, they have already done it 17 times, but it doesn't feel stale and it doesn't feel workmanlike. Every "Scream for the Manchester!” feels heartfelt and genuine and the twirling acrobatic Janick Gers still looks, 33 years later, unequivocally overjoyed that he got the Iron Maiden gig. 

The set flows beautifully. The new material has improved with age, with ‘Days of Future Past’ and ‘The Time Machine’ jarring much less than ‘Senjutsu’ and ‘Stratego’ did last summer. Plus a three song salvo of new material is instantly forgiven by the immaculate return of fan favourite ‘The Prisoner’. The arena literally rocks in its foundations as a 20,000 strong choir scream along in Unison “I'm not a Prisoner, I’m a Free man”.

The same level of fevered interaction is afforded to ‘Heaven can Wait’. Absent for 15 years, I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it as mainstay of their repertoire until it booms out of the speakers in all its majestic glory. It also heralds Eddie's return, this time with mischief very much on their mind. However Bruce is very much on the offensive. “That's not a gun, this is a gun” he quips, whipping out his very own laser cannon. The gasps of wonder and exclamation from the little man to my side are audible above the music. He is very much having the time of his life and he doesn't care who knows it. He howls with adulation as Eddie gets the upper hand and blow Bruce’s weapon to smithereens.

My son manages to sum up the entire spectacle by exclaiming excitedly on the way home that “we got more than songs”. That short and pithy statement encapsulates the grandeur of Iron Maiden. Yes, ‘Fear of The Dark’ and ‘Alexander the Great’ are sumptuous epics, but the unique selling point will always be the opulent theatrics and the interaction between the band and audience. Bruce as ever jabbers on like a toddler on the tartrazine rush. It feels like he is freestyling in a stream of consciousness cascade to his mates down The Dog and Duck as opposed to an arena of 20,000 people. It's that honesty, geniality and down-to-earthiness that puts them very firmly in a field of one.

If my Padawan was impressed before, his level of awestruck memorisation goes through the roof as we get not one but two Eddies during the now customary airing of Iron Maiden. There is a look of wonder in his eyes as the massive inflatable samurai Eddie fills the back of the stage, flanked on either side by a rogue's gallery of infinite Eddies from across the years. I'd forgotten just how impressive their closing gambit was and the enthralled looks on my offspring reminds me yet again how Iron Maiden just do this far far better than anybody else.

We get an encore because we were always going to get an encore no matter how hoarse we make ourselves screaming for more. ‘Hell on Earth’  is very much one of their latter-day prog metal trips but is made infinitely bearable by the gigantic amounts of pyrotechnics that it unleashes. The arena then manages to find a hitherto unimaginable additional level of energy as the final one-two of ‘Trooper’ and ‘Wasted Years’ rips through the place.  

I don't think I've ever felt so much pride as I do watching my young son scream word for word along with the latter number, lost in a unique level of ecstasy reserved only for watching your favourite band play your favourite song. Then with a promise that they will return in it is over, simultaneously a heartbeat and two hours after it started.

I have loved Iron Maiden with a passion for coming up to 40 years. But being able to share this with my son and revelling in his unadulterated enjoyment of the evening has taken my relationship with the band to another level. I will see the band again and I am now convinced so will he, but what I will never get again is that look on his face when he first realized what he was watching. That look was utter unrefined love and a love that I hope, like I do, he will carry the rest of his life.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Iron Maiden, Lord Of The Lost