Iron Maiden
Royal Arena, Copenhagen - 2025
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Iron Maiden. 50th anniversary. 50th, my friends. Try and keep that in mind, for a while, as we go through this together…
“Hello, Copenhagen! Denmark, it’s been 15 years!”
- Bruce Dickinson (vocals)
Wait, what? Did I hear that right? Did he mean it? It was only three years ago that Iron Maiden visited Copenhell, but maybe he meant with a real tour? That was actually also right here, at the Royal Arena, but it was back in 2018 for the Legacy Of The Beast tour, so that ticks in at seven years. Did he say seven, and I misheard him? Who knows? Why are we even discussing it at this length?
Look, we’re talking about Iron Maiden here. The King of Kings of heavy metal, as far as I’m concerned. The seminal band to get me into the genre, handed down by my uncle and later my older brother. Iron Maiden is generational, is DNA. My first owned album? Iron Maiden - Live At Donington. My first major arena show? Well, ok, that was Metallica, but the next one - Iron Maiden! You can’t mess with that. Do I think they’re infallible? No. Are they always golden when they play live? Not that either.
But they’re at the very least pretty darned good, and I’m always up for seeing them. And now they were celebrating 50 years as a band, and I was not going to miss it.
Iron Maiden wasn’t celebrating all of their 50 years though, not musically anyway. No, for this tour they were sticking to a classic best of setlist from what I’ve heard coined their golden era, starting at the beginning with Iron Maiden (1980) going up to and including Fear Of The Dark (1992), no further. And for some unknown reason, they completely skipped No Prayer For The Dying - why? There are a lot of good songs on this album that I would have loved to hear.
Still, with the albums they did include, there was plenty of material to pull from, so we didn’t need to go wanting in that respect.
Halestorm had come along on the tour and had done a splendid job of opening up the show, but of course when UFO began playing Doctor Doctor over the speakers, the crowd was filled and the sing along almost outdid the actual song. This was what people had come out for, this was the capital m main event.
After this, the lights went out, and after a short moment of darkness, the large video screen backdrop blinked to life, and began roaming through the seedy backstreets of Iron Maiden’s London. The Ides Of March was the soundtrack of this trek that ended in going down a tunnel where we ended in an underground brick room with a graffiti Eddie adorning the opposite wall. As we rose up, a dark and crimson sky was revealed, showing that we were now in some sinister version of Paris, and the band that had come out on stage opened the actual show with Murders In The Rue Morgue at full speed. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith to our left, Steve Harris and Janick Gers to our right, and right down the middle was Bruce Dickinson and new boy behind the drums, Simon Dawson (British Lion). Well, boy may be a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean. Nicko McBrain is an institution and an integral part of Iron Maiden’s history, so seeing him step down was naturally quite a blow, but as replacements go, Dawson was a damned good choice. He’s an excellent musician, and he fit well with the band. Already having played with Harris for a good 13 years already certainly helps of course.
The production was, not surprisingly, top notch. I’ve mentioned the all encompassing video backdrop, that even though Iron Maiden’s CGI quality control isn’t always top of the game, it was mostly good to great with only a few ‘blemishes’, if you’ll excuse the expression. The backdrop was complemented with video screens on the inside of the side walkways and back podium/walkway, and these were used to great effect to enhance or build out the scene set on the backdrop. For instance, during Powerslave, where the back was the Eddie pyramid, the smaller screens featured the grounds before the pyramid. During Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, where the back was showing a most excellent video production of the story of the song, the smaller screens made the stage itself look like we were inside of the ship. In Wasted Years, where the back looked like we were looking out of the windshield of a spaceship, the smaller screens were covered with panels, buttons and control screens. Each and every song had its own theme, so these are only a few of the examples I could give.
Actually, there’s one more I’d love to point out, as it married life on stage and screen more than any other. During Hallowed Be Thy Name, Dickinson started off locked in a barred cage and the background showed a courtyard with a gallow in it. During the solo section towards the end of the song however, the courtyard was replaced by a dimly lit narrow path snaking its way up to a noose. Suddenly, a flame burst up in front of the cage, and when it went out, Dickinson was no longer in the cage; he was now standing as a figure on the path on the screen! Screen Dickinson was chased along the path by a deathlike figure, until he was forced to don the noose and throw himself off the ledge - a puff of smoke, and real life Dickinson was back on the stage with a noose around his neck! C’mon, that’s a cool effing trick if ever I saw one!
“Scream for me, Copenhagen! Scream for me, Denmark!”
- Dickinson (vocals)
Dickinson’s performance was, not surprisingly, filled with a lot of his classic theatrics, shifting costumes and the like - the simple trick of changing the Union Jack for the Dannebrog during The Trooper was a simple but effective win - but it was also filled with a lot of energy. The man can run around a stage like nobody’s business, and while he’s more than 20 years my senior, I’m not embarrassed to say that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him! His vocals were on top as well, and while the tone naturally isn’t exactly the same as it was on those early albums, the strength and quality hasn’t lessened in the least.
Murray and Smith were grooving and enjoying themselves on their side of the stage, stepping forward for leads, and otherwise just smiling and looking content, while on the other side, Harris and Gers were showing off a level of energy to rival that of Dickinson. Harris ran the length of and width of the stage, while Gers was non-stop with tricks and twirls with his guitar, throwing his leg up on the speakers, throwing his guitar around his neck and whatnot. After the show, he made a guard flinch as he pretended to throw his guitar towards him, only to jank it back at the last second with a firm grip on the guitar strap, earning him some good grins from the other guards.
Even good ol'e Eddie showed a remarkable level of vitality as he repeatedly visited the stage in various forms before ending the main part of the set by yanking out the cables from the speaker rack!
Musically and performance ways, Iron Maiden delivered far more highlights than standard sections (I wouldn't go as far as saying anything tonight was below average), but the one place that felt like it dragged a little was the ending of Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. It had a lot of things going for it, but I was ready to move on before the song was. On the other end of the scale, the most stand out part of the show was definitely Rime Of The Ancient Mariner - that whole song, the delivery, the production - it was pure magic from start to finish!
Iron Maiden may be an impressive 50 now, but British steel is as stainless as ever, and the group showed exactly why they’ve reached the heights of fame that they have, and that they after half a century as a band can still run circles around mostly everyone else in the business. Hell, they even outdid themselves, as this was the liveliest and strongest performance I’ve seen from them in years! Two plus hours, nearly wall to wall music, nearly wall to wall perfection - what more can you ask for, really? These years have most decidedly not been wasted!
Setlist:
Doctor Doctor (UFO song)
The Ides Of March
Murders In The Rue Morgue
Wrathchild
Killers
Phantom Of The Opera
The Number Of The Beast
The Clairvoyant
Powerslave
2 Minutes To Midnight
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Run To The Hills
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
The Trooper
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden
Aces High
Fear Of The Dark
Wasted Years
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (Monty Python song)
“Hello, Copenhagen! Denmark, it’s been 15 years!”
- Bruce Dickinson (vocals)
Wait, what? Did I hear that right? Did he mean it? It was only three years ago that Iron Maiden visited Copenhell, but maybe he meant with a real tour? That was actually also right here, at the Royal Arena, but it was back in 2018 for the Legacy Of The Beast tour, so that ticks in at seven years. Did he say seven, and I misheard him? Who knows? Why are we even discussing it at this length?
Look, we’re talking about Iron Maiden here. The King of Kings of heavy metal, as far as I’m concerned. The seminal band to get me into the genre, handed down by my uncle and later my older brother. Iron Maiden is generational, is DNA. My first owned album? Iron Maiden - Live At Donington. My first major arena show? Well, ok, that was Metallica, but the next one - Iron Maiden! You can’t mess with that. Do I think they’re infallible? No. Are they always golden when they play live? Not that either.
But they’re at the very least pretty darned good, and I’m always up for seeing them. And now they were celebrating 50 years as a band, and I was not going to miss it.
Iron Maiden wasn’t celebrating all of their 50 years though, not musically anyway. No, for this tour they were sticking to a classic best of setlist from what I’ve heard coined their golden era, starting at the beginning with Iron Maiden (1980) going up to and including Fear Of The Dark (1992), no further. And for some unknown reason, they completely skipped No Prayer For The Dying - why? There are a lot of good songs on this album that I would have loved to hear.
Still, with the albums they did include, there was plenty of material to pull from, so we didn’t need to go wanting in that respect.
Halestorm had come along on the tour and had done a splendid job of opening up the show, but of course when UFO began playing Doctor Doctor over the speakers, the crowd was filled and the sing along almost outdid the actual song. This was what people had come out for, this was the capital m main event.
After this, the lights went out, and after a short moment of darkness, the large video screen backdrop blinked to life, and began roaming through the seedy backstreets of Iron Maiden’s London. The Ides Of March was the soundtrack of this trek that ended in going down a tunnel where we ended in an underground brick room with a graffiti Eddie adorning the opposite wall. As we rose up, a dark and crimson sky was revealed, showing that we were now in some sinister version of Paris, and the band that had come out on stage opened the actual show with Murders In The Rue Morgue at full speed. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith to our left, Steve Harris and Janick Gers to our right, and right down the middle was Bruce Dickinson and new boy behind the drums, Simon Dawson (British Lion). Well, boy may be a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean. Nicko McBrain is an institution and an integral part of Iron Maiden’s history, so seeing him step down was naturally quite a blow, but as replacements go, Dawson was a damned good choice. He’s an excellent musician, and he fit well with the band. Already having played with Harris for a good 13 years already certainly helps of course.
The production was, not surprisingly, top notch. I’ve mentioned the all encompassing video backdrop, that even though Iron Maiden’s CGI quality control isn’t always top of the game, it was mostly good to great with only a few ‘blemishes’, if you’ll excuse the expression. The backdrop was complemented with video screens on the inside of the side walkways and back podium/walkway, and these were used to great effect to enhance or build out the scene set on the backdrop. For instance, during Powerslave, where the back was the Eddie pyramid, the smaller screens featured the grounds before the pyramid. During Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, where the back was showing a most excellent video production of the story of the song, the smaller screens made the stage itself look like we were inside of the ship. In Wasted Years, where the back looked like we were looking out of the windshield of a spaceship, the smaller screens were covered with panels, buttons and control screens. Each and every song had its own theme, so these are only a few of the examples I could give.
Actually, there’s one more I’d love to point out, as it married life on stage and screen more than any other. During Hallowed Be Thy Name, Dickinson started off locked in a barred cage and the background showed a courtyard with a gallow in it. During the solo section towards the end of the song however, the courtyard was replaced by a dimly lit narrow path snaking its way up to a noose. Suddenly, a flame burst up in front of the cage, and when it went out, Dickinson was no longer in the cage; he was now standing as a figure on the path on the screen! Screen Dickinson was chased along the path by a deathlike figure, until he was forced to don the noose and throw himself off the ledge - a puff of smoke, and real life Dickinson was back on the stage with a noose around his neck! C’mon, that’s a cool effing trick if ever I saw one!
“Scream for me, Copenhagen! Scream for me, Denmark!”
- Dickinson (vocals)
Dickinson’s performance was, not surprisingly, filled with a lot of his classic theatrics, shifting costumes and the like - the simple trick of changing the Union Jack for the Dannebrog during The Trooper was a simple but effective win - but it was also filled with a lot of energy. The man can run around a stage like nobody’s business, and while he’s more than 20 years my senior, I’m not embarrassed to say that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him! His vocals were on top as well, and while the tone naturally isn’t exactly the same as it was on those early albums, the strength and quality hasn’t lessened in the least.
Murray and Smith were grooving and enjoying themselves on their side of the stage, stepping forward for leads, and otherwise just smiling and looking content, while on the other side, Harris and Gers were showing off a level of energy to rival that of Dickinson. Harris ran the length of and width of the stage, while Gers was non-stop with tricks and twirls with his guitar, throwing his leg up on the speakers, throwing his guitar around his neck and whatnot. After the show, he made a guard flinch as he pretended to throw his guitar towards him, only to jank it back at the last second with a firm grip on the guitar strap, earning him some good grins from the other guards.
Even good ol'e Eddie showed a remarkable level of vitality as he repeatedly visited the stage in various forms before ending the main part of the set by yanking out the cables from the speaker rack!
Musically and performance ways, Iron Maiden delivered far more highlights than standard sections (I wouldn't go as far as saying anything tonight was below average), but the one place that felt like it dragged a little was the ending of Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. It had a lot of things going for it, but I was ready to move on before the song was. On the other end of the scale, the most stand out part of the show was definitely Rime Of The Ancient Mariner - that whole song, the delivery, the production - it was pure magic from start to finish!
Iron Maiden may be an impressive 50 now, but British steel is as stainless as ever, and the group showed exactly why they’ve reached the heights of fame that they have, and that they after half a century as a band can still run circles around mostly everyone else in the business. Hell, they even outdid themselves, as this was the liveliest and strongest performance I’ve seen from them in years! Two plus hours, nearly wall to wall music, nearly wall to wall perfection - what more can you ask for, really? These years have most decidedly not been wasted!
Setlist:
Doctor Doctor (UFO song)
The Ides Of March
Murders In The Rue Morgue
Wrathchild
Killers
Phantom Of The Opera
The Number Of The Beast
The Clairvoyant
Powerslave
2 Minutes To Midnight
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Run To The Hills
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
The Trooper
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden
Aces High
Fear Of The Dark
Wasted Years
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (Monty Python song)
Iron Maiden
