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Events and Reports - Iron Maiden - Live At Godsbanepladsen, Horsens - July 27th, 2008
Welcome to a parking lot in Denmark!
Iron Maiden had just finished the first two tracks of their Powerslave album and Bruce Dickinson's opening greeting to the screaming audience rang out crystal clear, year of date 1985... sorry 2008.
So how did the bands attempt to revisit past days of glory turn out?
Well, my first thought when Aces High exploded and the pyros soared towards the sky was something like Wow, this comes of sounding unbelievably cool, 2 Minutes To Midnight was equally satisfying and I could barely find time to catch my breath before Revelations came blasting out, followed by a change in the big sliding back curtain, reflecting different Maiden imagery of covers, singles and other cool stuff matching the songs in motion. Revelations has always been a personal favourite and its magic was kept intact, Nicko is always good for some extra fills and Bruce nailed the lyrics as he had been touched by something divine.
The main idea with this Somewhere Back In Time Tour was to put out a show evolving around the albums Powerslave, Somewhere Back In Time and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son now that the band previously had been playing stuff from the first line of albums. The positive thing is that these three albums are some of their absolute best and that that they had chosen some cool tracks to air live, but a whole seven songs coming from different albums... sorry guys, that's just too much and where the hell was Caught Somewhere In Time, that one in particular seemed essential.
Anyways, Bruce did well as a showman without overdoing it, pointing out that on this Sunday we had all been enjoying plenty of beers, sun and some churchgoing... well, two out of three ain't that bad.
The Trooper was solid and had some vivid shifting two guitar lead action, but oddly it was also a bit blurred and not quite as rocking as it should have been.
If they hadn't played Wasted Years I don't know just how disappointed I had been, this song is just a main pillar in the overall Maiden construction, taken from an album where Adrian Smith really shined and it was quite nostalgic seeing him start it off with his delicate way of doing strings. With massive help from the crowd the powerful chorus section sent shivers down my spine.
Some birds flying over the area was made into albatrosses and everyone with the proper Maiden upbringing new that Rime Of The Ancient Mariner was about to embark onto a nearly 14 minute voyage. I love this song and it did hold up well live, not every part of it equally captivating, but the rhythm section remained mostly tight and the passage where the song slowly gains momentum second time around was unforgettable.
Having three guitarists on stage wasn't used as imaginarily as it could have, but the guitarists made up for it by playing immensely precise and integrated. With Powerslave it reached heavily dimensions as every lead move just fitted the epic framed brilliantly. I simply stood in amazement as a wall of spellbinding sounds hit with profound force.
Other highlights of the evening included a thrilling version of Can I Play With Madness, an excellent execution of the exacting guitar solo in The Number Of The Best and a fun monster "ooohhoooooHHHHH" sing along in Heaven Can Wait with fans invading the stage to scream and jump up and down as high as possible, fun stuff.
Also worth mentioning is Steve Harris, I would have liked his bass even higher in the mix but there was no problem hearing him, what amazing playing this Metal icon still presents, incredible.
The song I was most impressed with was The Clairvoyant, I have seldom experienced such high intensity through a whole song, everything just clicked and out of the air you could actually cut out thick pieces of mystery as the moist wind coming from the stage touched you face.
After about 1 hour and 40 minutes Hallowed Be Thy Name was introduced and people of course sang loudly along to the chilling beginning. As the song progressed it became clear that Bruce did struggle with the demanding fast parts, too much mumbling and not hitting the really high notes, looking back on how well he handled pretty much everything else this remains a triviality.
If this show comes somewhere near your town, here's my full-hearted recommendation, this was a night to remember tomorrow... and the day after.
Review in brief:
Highly intensive gig, magnificent sound, Cyborg Eddie was great fun, few surprises with too many songs off the concept, could have played additional 20 minutes, immensely tight band performance, cool contact to the fans, The Clairvoyant, Wasted Years, Powerslave and Revelations were four earth-shattering highlights.
Setlist:
Aces High
2 Minutes To Midnight
Revelations
The Trooper
Wasted Years
The Number Of The Beast
Can I Play With Madness
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Powerslave
Heaven Can Wait
Run To The Hills
Fear Of The Dark
Moonchild
Iron Maiden
The Clairvoyant
Hallowed Be Thy Name
| | Written by Tommy
Thursday, August 14, 2008 |
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