Iron Maiden - Anaheim, CA - 9/21/22
When people bring up heavy metal bands, one of the first, if not the first band brought up is the legendary English heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. With 17 studio albums and performed over 2,500 shows, they are without a doubt one of the greatest bands of all time. Only a handful of bands can say they've reached the same legacy as Iron Maiden. A lot of bands that came after them can say they were influenced or look up to Iron Maiden in some way. In 2021, they released their seventeenth album, Senjutsu. Iron Maiden haven't been back to the USA since before Covid, so fans were more than ready to see these living legends again. Iron Maiden announced their North American tour called Legacy of the Beast. One of the stops for this tour was the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. To no surprise, the show almost sold out quickly not too long after tickets went on sale. They ended up adding another date the next day. The day finally came and fans from all over came to the show. Even before doors opened, lines formed at all the entrances to the venue. Trivium was the opening act for the first half of the tour, and they did a decent warmup for the show.
The lights dimmed down as the song Doctor Doctor by UFO played over the speakers. Fans who are familiar with Iron Maiden know that this song is always played just before the band is set to start their show. Iron Maiden came out and started their show with the first song from the newest album, Senjutsu. You can see the stage takes inspiration from Japan just like the theme on the album cover which depicts their mascot Eddie as a samurai. The next two songs were also from the new album which were Stratego and The Writing on the Wall. Now that a few new songs were played, it was time for the classics to be played. Some of those classics played were Blood Brothers, Flight of Icarus and Revelations. Iron Maiden further proved why they put on one of the best live metal shows. Lots of props were used in the forms of flamethrowers, crosses and flags. Even their mascot Eddie made multiple appearances in the forms of a samurai, trooper and an inflatable background. The highlights of the show were obviously when they played their biggest hits starting with Fear of the Dark. Fans always chant along with the guitar intro. Hallowed Be Thy Name and The Number of the Beast followed and drove the fans wild as they sang along. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson announced the end of the show and ended the show with their usual ending song, Iron Maiden. An explosive finish to an explosive show. Iron Maiden left the stage, and all seemed quiet. After a few minutes, the lights went out once again and Iron Maiden came back out to play one of their best songs, The Trooper. Two more encores were played which were The Clansman and ended again with another one of their best songs, Run to the Hills. Iron Maiden left the stage again and the show seemed to be over. They still weren't ready to call it a night. Their screen lit up and started to play Winston Churchill's speech. Fans knew what was coming and so Iron Maiden came back out to play the final song of the night, Aces High. The show sadly came to an end for real and fans of all ages were seen smiling and ecstatic to have just witnessed one of heavy metal's greatest bands. Hopefully Iron Maiden come back soon again.
Photos and review by Misael Ruiz
