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Editorials

IRON MAIDEN’S CURRENT TOUR SETLIST CONSISTS OF MOSTLY NEW MATERIAL. MEH.

 Thursday, June 10th, 2010 at 3:00pm by

bruce dickinsonJust a few hours ago my pal Axl declared that of the re-Bruced era of Iron Maiden, all of their output since the highly excellent Brave New World should be re-monikered Iron Mehden, and I’d have to agree. Dance of Death and A Matter of Life and Death aren’t bad albums, but they also aren’t that good — I don’t think I’ve listened to either one since they came out. And I’m certainly not alone in these sentiments; when Maiden toured the States on A Matter of Life and Death in 2006 and played the album in its entirety, fans were mighty pissed.

Get ready to be pissed again, because Metal Insider is reporting that the band’s forthcoming U.S. Tour with Dream Theater — which kicked off last night in Dallas — features mostly songs from the band’s past four albums (including the new, as yet unreleased The Final Frontier). Here’s the setlist:

01. The Wicker Man
02. The Ghost Of The Navigator
03. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
04. El Dorado
05. Paschendale
06. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
07. These Colours Don’t Run
08. Blood Brothers
09. Wildest Dreams
10. No More Lies
11. Brave New World
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden

Encore:

14. The Number Of the Beast
15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
16. Running Free

Look, I can certainly understand any band’s desire to write and play new material; it must get so boring playing the same old shit over and over. If there’s any band that’s earned a license to play new shit live, it’s certainly Maiden. And I can understand how Maiden might think they did good by their fans as far as classics go with the Somewhere Back in Time Tour in 2008, which housed a gigantic Powerslave stage and consisted of nothing but material from Seventh Son and prior.

At least this time around we get to hear four awesome songs from Brave New World, an album I love love love love. But why can’t the band just mix and match old stuff with new stuff? A Piece of Mind song here, a Dance of Death song there, a Brave New World song here, a Powerslave song there, a brand new song here. Is that too much to ask? Why’s it gotta be one or the other, [almost] all old or all new? I’d think that mixing in a few new songs with mostly old ones would be a great way to enthuse the audience about new material rather than beating us over the head with it.

I think that no one’s really that interested in hearing songs from Dance of Death or A Matter of Life and Death; they’re too recent and they were never well-received to begin with. It’s been 10 years since Brave New World, and I think I’m not alone in really liking that album — so it’s definitely time to trot those songs back out. But the other two re-Bruce albums? Nah.

Anyway, I’m still pretty psyched to see Maiden. I just wish they’d mix up their setlists a little better. Of course, it’s possible that they aren’t playing the same set night after night on this tour… but I doubt it.

-VN

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  • Pat

    Uh oh – here’s come the Mehden tribute bands.

  • Jackie Treehorn

    metalsetlists.com is way ahead of you. Since it’s a site consisting of 2/3 Maiden butt boys, the consensus is in favor of the set but I’m on Vince’s side here.

    • Ozmeth

      I understand Vince’s view but they have over 3 decades of releases.

      Their back catalogue outsells Beatles and Elvis back catalogues in Europe. While they are out to please fans, they are also in the business of selling music and this setlist will, without a doubt, help sell that weaker back catalogue for them.

      22 Accacia Avenue and 2 Minutes to Midnight have to be left out someitme, no matter how much I want every tour to be just like the World Slavery Tour of 1984.

      Up The Irons \m/\m/

    • http://www.metalsucks.net Scott

      ‘Maiden butt boys”? You should probably get back to learning how to wipe your ass and not play with your feces instead of posting idiocy on mom’s computer.

  • Kuranes

    I saw Maiden do this on (I think) the Virtual XI album (Blaze was singing). They played most songs from X Factor and Vitual XI to the exclusion of ALL previous albums. The audience started booing after song #3 and didn’t stop, even when they finally played some classics in the encore.

    • the hate machine

      I saw that tour with Dio co headlining. The crowd was yelling play some fucking Iron Maiden through the whole set. Blayze should have never gotten involved with such a high profile band. Dio had that sad excuse for a guitar player Tracy G playing with him and butchering all the solos. I got to meet Dio that night and get onstage behind Steve Harris and sing backing vocs on Heaven can wait.

  • sYgnal

    Unless Dream Theater plans on playing nothing but material from “Images & Words” and “Metropolis Pt.2″ then you shouldn’t rag on Maiden’s setlist. At least their last 4 albums have been true to their roots, which, in all fairness, might not be living up to the times. Granted, I don’t think those albums were fantastic but for fucks sake these guys are easily in their 50s and are still rocking the way want to. But, I love their classic shit just like the rest of you,so, I understand the frustration. I’m just happy that they were still together to put together another tour never mind the killer DVD (Flight 666) that they released which let’s me hear their classics whenever I want in Blu-Ray fashion!

    *This wasn’t to be so long winded*

    • Picard345

      I completely agree. While newer albums might not be “classic”, I think they are all – with possible exception of Virtual XI – outlandishly awesome.

  • Death to bro metal

    Damn, that is really disappointing. I was expecting it to be like a greatest hits tour.

    That fucking sucks.

    • pat

      they’ve done two of those (3 if you count the give me ed tour) I’m sotked to see the newer stuff because I’ve seen the older stuff.
      It’s not their fault you missed the shows.
      It could be worse Maiden could just not. tour or only play in Europe .

      • pat

        *stoked

  • jackattack

    Real, hardcore Maiden fans love this setlist. I am so fucking excited. All these songs except for Wildest Dreams are the best songs of their recent history. Sure, it’s not that old stuff that everyone loves, but as Bruce said in 2000, they’re not a “vaudeville fucking cabaret act”.

    And for the record, Maiden haven’t switched up a setlist during a tour over a decade, so this’ll definitely be the one every sees on this tour.

    If you don’t like the set, fine, but there’s a lot of Maiden freaks who do.

    • stu1

      They actually ARE a vaudeville cabaret act. An incredibly small portion of the crowd goes to see songs newer than 15 years old.

      • jackattack

        Really? Than explain to me why Death on the Road and the AMOLAD tours were so succesful.

        • Isaac

          Because it’s fucking Maiden.

          • jackattack

            Well, yes. But my point is that the recent tours where they played newer tracks have been just as successful as tours where they played classics. I’m not denying that there are more people want to see classics than those that want to see new stuff, but the fact that they’ve been releasing solid albums over the past decade with songs that a good amount of people like pretty much shit’s on Stu1′s comment.

        • stu1

          Well Jack, one of the last tours where they played mostly new material (think they played the entire new album) played in venues about a third as big as they “normally” do. The tour got a SHITLOAD of criticism from fans which forced management and the band to make statements to the fans. Seems that MANY fans didn’t know they wouldn’t be getting “the hits.”

          And the fact they’ve been releasing solid albums for a decade does nothing to shit on my comment. I love Brave New World, but that’s not the point. I’m not talking about quality. I’m talking about the fact a HUGE majority of their base goes to see “the hits.” If they were to do a very well publicized “we’re only doing stuff from our last 4 records” they’d be hard pressed to do 6000 tickets a night.

          • jackattack

            I don’t really agree with you about not selling tickets, but I see what you’re saying. AMOLAD did get criticized, but that was mainly in the States. It got a lot of support in South America and in Europe, if my memory serves me correctly. To be honest, I didn’t like what they did on that tour with playing the whole album, but it was ballsy of them and I appreciated that a lot.

            You can’t deny, however, that their new albums ARE quality. Sure, not as good as the classics. But at the times when Metallica and Slayer were releasing critically panned albums in the early 2000s, Maiden was kicking ass and taking names. The same still goes today, I would say.

          • stu1

            And you can’t really argue about the tickets since they booked themselves in 6000 cap rooms to do the tour where they played the whole record.

          • me

            If you want to see maiden classics then there are plenty of cover bands who are doing them. Just remember their somewhere back in time tour was only classics so this balances it out. I think dance of death, brave new world and A matter of life and death were amazing albums and still do.

          • me

            Also I think their old stuff is a bit boring because they play them too much.

    • Chip Northcutt

      They are a legacy act whether or not they accept it. It is not for them to decide, it is the opinion of the consumers/fans/world. The lack of acceptance simply causes conflict as seen here. If they really think this is what people want to see then maybe tay should call it the “Nothing you are familiar with” tour. Nothing at all from their best sellers: Powerslave, Piece of Mind. Not Icarus, Die with your boots on, Still Life, Aces High, 2 MInutes, etc. They don’t have to play the same old shit over and over, They have a very deep catalog of fan favorites they never play.

      • jackattack

        You seem to forget that they just finished a year and half long tour where they played a good amount of the older songs you’re referring to. Is it so wrong for them to want to play new material that some fans actually do like?

        While I would agree that most people perceive of them as a legacy act, they really are not because they’re pumping out material with a very tenured line up and doing it 30 years into their career. Sure, the newer albums are not classic like Piece of Mind, Powerslave of Seventh Son, but they are all quite solid.

        And I think you’re kind of contradicting yourself. They aren’t playing the same shit over and over… 12 of these songs weren’t played on the last tour.

        • stu1

          They are a legacy act, and the fact they still pump out new material doesn’t change that. So does Def Lep, so do a huge portion of other “legacy acts.”

          • jackattack

            So does that make any band who’ve been around since the 80′s a legacy act?? I would argue “hell no”. Metallica and Anthrax are much more of legacy act kind of bands than Maiden ever have been.

          • stu1

            Actually, I’d say Metallica would be the example of a band who AREN’T a legacy act.

          • stu1

            Also Slayer, whom I don’t like, I wouldn’t consider “Legacy” either.

          • jackattack

            Metallica not a legacy act??? So you’re saying Garage Inc. and St. Anger were succesful albums in their career that didn’t deviate from their successful and amazing thrash formula from the 80′s?

            Sorry, but I’m calling bullshit on that one. Especially when they played medleys of their old stuff for years.

      • http://lordsofmetal.nl/index.php?lang=en Kavorka

        I agree with Chip, of course it doesn’t have vto be the same old classics, but they could also use the other less known classics: Caught Somewhere In Time, Still Life, Purgatory, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’s title track…However, their Somewhere Bakc In Time tour had lots of cool songs!

        • jackattack

          Believe it or not, they haven’t played CSIT since the early 90s. I hope to whatever god there is that it gets played sometime before one of them kicks the bucket.

          • cougar party

            That’s one song i’d really, really, love to see live. I wonder why they never play it. I think it’s one of their very best songs.

          • jackattack

            My guess would be because it’s extremely hard to sing. Bruce could probably still handle it live, but it would take quite a toll on him.

    • Jay

      This is the greatest setlist I could imagine. Dance of Death is my FAVORITE Maiden album (followed closely by Brave New World). I have been a fan since ’85. While some bands become moldy oldies shows, Maiden stays relevant. Some critics of sell-out bands might just describe this setlist as having “INTEGRITY”.

      • jackattack

        This.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Sara-Petrocelli/519197405 Sara Petrocelli

        Word.

    • bretton

      actually, I saw wrathchild and dance of death, but no paschendale… so they did change it up a little

  • http://www.411mania.com/politics Enrique

    I’ve always liked the fact Maiden doesn’t just play the same 25-year-old songs every tour. I mean, we’ve heard The Trooper enough at this point. I have a hard time taking bands seriously that only play songs from their decades past heyday. Maiden doesn’t have anything to prove, so good for them only playing newer stuff. And thanks to the internet, anyone who doesn’t want to see these tunes played live doesn’t have to go. I’ll be going.

    • The Mistress of Metal

      Fuck yes Enrique, jesus christ —HEY! Maiden, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE! hahaha

  • http://heavystreet.com Sat

    Maiden has a back catalogue of over a 120 sings, and this is the best result??? Come on! Yes, they are not a vaudeville act, but you have to strike a good balance on playing new material, as well as old material. Oh well, think Ill just sit out for this tour, and watch my Live In Rio DVD.

    • stu1

      Correct.

    • jackattack

      Brave New World was released 10 years ago… I don’t see how that’s “new”.

      • stu1

        When you’ve been around 30 years and you have as much material as they did predating (double), yes, I could see BNW being considered “new.”

  • brian roach

    I’m totally down with the newer stuff. If you wanted to hear the classics, um, they played them last year, and on the Early Days tour. As an above poster noted, they very much don’t want to (just) be a nostalgia act, and the best way to do that is to play current material. I for one love the 3 most recent albums (I think ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ is a masterpiece) and would rather hear ‘…Benjamin Bragg’ for the 2nd time than ‘The Trooper’ for the 15th time, ie, every friggin’ time i’ve seen them. So kudos to Maiden for playing whatever the hell they want, and if the haters don’t want to see the new stuff, wait until the next time they do a nostalgia tour!

  • Chip Northcutt

    I saw them do this after Blaze left and Bruce returned. He said something like ” We are going to play our new album, if you don’t like it, fuck you.” That was the last Maiden show I saw and the first I ever left early. I like Maiden, but that stuff really screws up the feeling of solidarity one can get from a metal show. The best maiden show I saw was the Killers tour with DiAnno, the second was number of the beast. I have watched the decline into mediocrity over the following decade. What good is Maiden without the fire and aggression? Very little.

  • SourDeez

    I saw them at Continental Arena on the Matter of Life and Death tour, and I had VIP tickets in the front row. The album sucks ass, but that sure didn’t stop the concert from being one of the best I’ve ever seen. I mean, come on, it’s fucking Maiden. They could play nothing but disco songs and still put on the best live show ever.

  • ferocious_fetus

    I’m diggin this setlist.
    They’ve done two “Old School” tours since 05′ and even re-did their Live After Death show w/ Flight 666. Now they can play all their killer “new” material from the last decade.

    • http://www.omimetal.wordpress.com The Greys

      I agree. They’ve already done more than one “greatest hits” tour and now they want to focus on the new material. You can’t really blame them for not wanting to play “Run to the Hills” for the 14 millionth time.

      Vince’s post seems to indicate he thinks Maiden should be a nostalgia act (he suggests that no one wants to hear songs off “Dance of Death” and “AMOLAD” and mentions “Brave New World” is 10 years old). Well, Vince, I guess the members of the band don’t want to relegate themselves to the nostalgia column, so they’re just gonna play new songs. Sorry that burns you. If you want the nostalgia set, can’t you get something like “Rock in Rio” or “Flight 666″?

      • stu1

        They could easily do a balanced set of old and new, and don’t have to do the BIG old songs; there’s plenty of quality old tracks they don’t play all that much.

        • http://www.omimetal.wordpress.com The Greys

          That’s a good point. I’d like to see the band do old classics that don’t get played live like “The Prisoner” or even “To Tame A Land.” But overall, I like the setlist for the current tour. I’d be really happy to hear “Brighter Than A Thousand Suns” live.

          • Jovan

            I agree that they could balance their setlist with older and newer material. Im seeing them in Detroit this summer and its my first maiden show. They did like what, 5 or 6 US dates on the Somwhere back in time? I am gonna be happy seeing them Finally no matter what but i was pissed that they did’nt do a full NA tour last time. Damn it i just want to hear Ancient Mariner!! But i like their newer shit too so it is still gonna rock!

  • bubbles

    disagree generally with the post. this is a gutsy, creative and rocking list. to each his own i suppose.

    there’s some terrific stuff here, though ill pass most days on ‘no more lies’ and blood brothers. AMOLAD is my favorite since SIT.

    I do wish, however, that for the classic stuff we had songs like still life and children of the damned, and of course the prisoner.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Long/100000144612811 Mike Long

    Looks like I HAVE to check out Brave New World now. I think that it’s great that they are also playing songs from Dance of Death; Paschendale is my all-time favorite Maiden song. However, I think that they should not play so many songs from AMOLAD, and play more classic songs

  • Hot Donut

    Vince, I agree with your point about mixing old and new songs in the setlist. But, since Iron Maiden are (for some reason) not doing that, I am totally in favor of this setlist. In fact, I’m really fucking excited to see it!

    If they are gonna do shit like this though, it would be nice if they let everyone know BEFORE tickets went on sale. Then the people who don’t like the newer albums (WHY?!) could choose to stay home.

    • stu1

      Which is what happened to them a few years ago and they got MAJOR flack for it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Horton/1074905683 Tom Horton

    I’ve been a diehard Maiden fan since 83 and I have to say while this setlist is not awesome, it certainly could be better . I wish bands like AC/DC and Maiden would do a revolving setlist so you could go to mulitiple shows ( not that they come close to Buffalo these days ). Say what you want about a band like Pearl jam , but that is what keeps them fresh, and I gotta belive it would be more fun for the band as well.
    Play 4 new songs if you must, that gives you 12 other spots to play “22 Acaicia Ave’. The Duelists” hell even “Remeber Tomorrow” ….Having said that, I’d still go to this show if it came here >

  • Admiral Bastardo!

    Damnit, no Mariner on the list!? Might as well play Wicker Man and Brave New World 5 times in a row then board the Ed Force One.

    • Timothy

      ‘Mariner’ is TOOOOOO long for a live show. Great, but long.

      • cougar party

        are your kidding me?! that last time i saw them in ’08 the Rime of the Ancient Mariner was the highlight of the show. I’ll really never forget how epic that was.

    • jackattack

      Mariner will never be played live again. You can take that to the bank.

      • bretton

        NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i’ll fuckin’ rob that bank

  • http://runningthevoodoodown.blogspot.com pdf

    COMPLETELY disagree with this post. I’ve seen Maiden four times since 2003, including a general “greatest hits” set in 2004, the Ozzfest “first four albums” set and the 2008 “Somewhere Back in Time” show. So yeah, I have absolutely heard “The Trooper,” “Aces High,” and all their other classics enough. Plus, I really like the recent albums. I think this is a great set, proving to anybody willing to really listen that Maiden is still making phenomenal music.

    When I saw this set list this morning, I created an iPod playlist featuring all these songs and listened to it this afternoon. It flows really, really well, and the songs are all great. I’m absolutely looking forward to catching this set at MSG.

    • jackattack

      +1. I’m doing that right now

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Glenn-Pillsbury/641369365 Glenn Pillsbury

        +1 Same here.

        • El Peras

          That playlist really works for me too…

  • TXHellbilly

    I was at the show last night and the crowd was still VERY into the show. The crowd noise alone was deafening, such a badass show. Though about midway through, it would have been nice to hear some older more “standard” Maiden, the guys look as if they havent lost a step and still put on an incredible show. If you want to hear the same 15 fucking songs, download them and listen to them in your moms basement.

    • jackattack

      This is such a relief to hear. Some people on the MaidenFans board were saying that the crowd looked very timid in the videos, but I was hoping that was just cause of the shitty footage.

      +10 to this dude.

    • genfranco

      I totally agree with you here TXHillbilly. I’ve been a fan since Seventh Son in 1988 and if anyone wants the classics buy Live After Death or Flight 666. True Maiden fans have evolved with the band(I even bought the Blaze Bayley stuff and went to the shows) and will love the new material pumped out live – I will anyway!!

  • James M.

    Am I the only one who though AMOLAD kicked major ass? Probably. But anyway, I think this is a pretty cool setlist. Too bad I’ll have to miss this.

    • Brian Roach

      No, it kicked MAJOR ass. Brilliant album!

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Udayan-Saha/1001019150 Udayan Saha

        nope, it is my #2 favorite maiden album of all times.

  • Jordan Lunsford

    No you aren’t James! A Matter of Life and Death was one of their bests in my opinion! I agree they could have done a better job at mixing more old and new. But for a real fan, this set list kicks ass! Im so excited! :D

  • wha?

    I’ve no problem with Maiden wanting to play new(er) songs, but given that they have greatly pulled back on touring the US extensively (last time in my neck of the woods was 6+ years ago), combined with the increasing possibility that each tour could be their last (they are a bit long in the tooth), I want more than this. I grew up on Maiden and would like to get one last great memory from them, since I fear that they may not pass this way again anytime soon, if at all.

  • http://abegrand.pitas.com Adrien

    This setlist is terrific. It’s great to see a band like Maiden is unwilling to become like all the other “legacy” metal bands out there, they still want to challenge their listeners and themselves. Besides, I’d much rather hear “Paschendale” and “Wicker Man” than endure “Run to the Hills” and “The Trooper” for the umpteenth time.

    • jackattack

      No kidding. I still love listening to/watching live tracks of RTTH, but it gets old rather fast. Paschendale is going to be absolutely amazing.

  • Polaris

    what a bummer, im seeing them in AZ, i was hoping they’d bust out moonchild

  • http://bloodandthumbsticks.blogspot.com/ The Overmatt

    I’m okay with this actually. Saw the Somewhere Back In Time tour and got my fill of the old material then. Looking forward to new songs and stuff off Brave New World.

  • Fufkin

    My sentiments exactly Vince.

    That main set is going to drag with that kind of pacing.
    A group of us are paying a fair whack of money to see them in Dublin. It was the dram bill of Sabbath and Maiden. No one is asking Maiden to become a legacy act but there’s easy ways of keeping band and fans very happy.

    No More Lies… the song that never ends. We get that and no Out Of The Silent Planet?! It’s a sea of madness I tell you.

  • http://thatdevilmusic.blogspot.com Rob Liz

    This will be my 3rd show since 2000. Brave New World was a mix of old and new. Somewhere Back in Time was alot of old. This will be mostly new. Nice balance. To all of you saying they’re a nostalgia act, why? Because you didn’t bother to follow them after Fear of the Dark? That’s not Maiden’s fault. They apparently still love what they’re doing and continue to release quality albums and after satisfying the masses with a greatest hits package for over a year, they want to play their new stuff again. Otherwise why bother releasing new material? Why continue on as a band?

    So in other words stop pretending you’re a stage or tour manager and either be a fan that goes to the show or a fan that decides to stay home. Either way Maiden has built up such a following that they can pretty much do what they want whether you or I like it or not. Just be glad they’re still trying to please somebody after all these years and not just collecting money based purely on a legacy like another band I can think of.

    • stu1

      Well, a huge portion of their fanbase lost track of them when they switched singers. That’s NOT the fans’ fault. You blame people for not keeping up w/ Blaze and then after??
      And we didn’t say “nostalgia,” we said “legacy.”

      • http://thatdevilmusic.blogspot.com Rob Liz

        Your lips may have said legacy but your eyes say nostalgia. I’m “criticising” not “blaming” the people that lost track during Blaze’s tenure for not being tolerant enough to allow a band like Iron Maiden to introduce new songs and albums into their lives on stage or anywhere else.

        Look, your home is not a restaurant and Iron Maiden are not waiters. They’re not going to call each and every person or come to their home and say “Hello sir/ma’am we’re going on tour this year, which songs would you like to order for the setlist? Our special this year is post 2000 songs with 3 classics on the side.” Or if you prefer you can order the Iron Maiden class complete with “The Trooper” and “Run to the Hills”.

  • jackattack

    In case you guys haven’t noticed, I’m what some may call a “fan boy”.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Weston-Gregory-Jr/20102096 David Weston Gregory Jr.

    No Angel and the Gambler?!?! C’MON! but seriously, killer set!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alejandro-Aldana/683878171 Alejandro Aldana

    i want to see maiden play the old stuff, i’ve never seen them live =O and just when i get the chance at msg it’s sold out -_-

  • American Hatred

    this is a solid set. for the past ten ears, maiden tours with a greatest hits package, then next tour with new stuf and on and on. Im qute happy with this set list and im mighty stoked for the concert. any poser who wants to bitch and moan they arent playing the trooper for the 10th millionth time can suck it.

    • jackattack

      This, too.

  • ArbySKULLsplit

    I think you guys at Metal Sucks (and no offense cause i love this site) should just shut the fuck up and just be glad that these guys ARE STILL TOURING. bitch , bitch , bitch…

  • msv81

    Am I the only metal head who doesn’t like Iron Maiden? I’m really not trying to talk shit or stir up a bunch of haterade. I give Maiden all the respect in the world, they’re obviously adored for a reason; still recording new albums and touring after, what, 30+ years is nothing short of impressive. Their music, however, has never done anything for me.

    Gotta admit, I’m relatively unfamiliar with essentially all of their output. I’ve heard the ‘hits’ and maybe a handful of other tracks but beyond that I’ve had no interest in hearing more. I suppose it might have to do with me standing firmly against power metal; falsetto vocals turn me off in the worst way and musically/lyrically speaking it’s not something I can get into. What’s the appeal of this band? They seem to be loved by mostly every metal head I know, save for a few. In a genre that invokes endless amounts of hate and shit talking, these guys somehow transcend it and I can’t pinpoint why.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tyler-Hanson/1621933375 Tyler Hanson

      I think the appeal of Maiden is the immense influence they’ve had on metal as a whole… pretty much every remotely melodic metal band has something to owe to them.

  • Octillus

    Well, as a guy who only saw the early days tour at Ozzfest 2005 and the somewhere back in time tour, I’m pumped, but I do get everyone else’s complaints if you haven’t seen the classics live.

    Could be worse, they literally could be doing the same Number of the Beast tour over and over and over.

    Besides, I’m sure there’ll be a real farewell tour with a little of everything.

    • Octillus

      I am, however, extremely saddened by a lack of Rainmaker, since that is by FAR my favorite newer era Maiden song.

  • Moltanic

    You can call me an obsessive fanboy if you want (Hell your probably right) but it pisses me off to think that Maiden has spent the last eight years churning out phenomenal albums, and yet all people still wanna hear is Number of the Beast and Piece Of Mind on loop. Am I the only one here who thinks that Brave New World, Dance Of Death, AMOLAD are great (especially AMOLAD). Anyways I for one love this setlist and can’t wait to see them when they come to So. Cal

    • http://www.omimetal.wordpress.com The Greys

      I’m with you. I thought “AMOLAD” was an incredible album. In my opinion, that disc ranks up there with “Number of the Beast” and “Powerslave.”

  • http://piercingmetal.com/wordpress/ PiercingMetal KP

    Hey at least this time they posted the set list to warn off those fans that only want “Run To The Hills”, “Trooper” and the like. The band has clearly grown bored of playing the same old stuff again and again and while I also am one who has not played the newer tunes to death over here at PM.com HQ, I would like to see this show since the band always executes their show in incredible fashion.

  • jefff

    the last 3 maiden albums dance of death was my favorit. maiden is one of the best bands ever, and i am glad they will be playing a bunch of new songs, with out a doubt the new songs will be great. i can’t wait to hear them

  • Ryan Blackstock

    I was pissed they didnt come to Detroit on Somewhere In Time tour, I liked Brave New World, but Dance of Death and AMOLAD got about 2 plays in the CD before being permashelved. This setlist sucks even more. I’ll probably just leave after Fear of the Dark, as the remaining I have heard at every Maiden show.

  • JimC

    GREAT set-list. Fuck your asses.

  • DreadSpaniard

    Let’s see.

    16 songs.
    4 from the 1980s.
    5 from the 1990s.
    7 from the 2000s.

    This isn’t a mix of old and new?

    Nonsense.

    • Miles

      The album Brave New World came out in the year 2000, so the breakdown should actually be:

      16 songs.
      4 from the 1980s
      1 from the 1990s
      11 from the 2000s

      To me this is not a very good balance of old and new songs, especially since Bruce Dickinson stated that the setlist would cover the entire history of the band.

      • DreadSpaniard

        Ah, you’ve got me there, Miles. I could have sworn that BNW was released in 1999, but I looked it up, and you’re correct. Which, as you note, definitely shifts the landscape somewhat.

        Interesting to note that they switched Brighter Than A Thousand Suns with Wrathchild last night. Maybe a reaction to this sort of discussion?

        Either way, this year’s DC show will be my first time seeing them live (finally), so I’ll roar my lungs out regardless. Up the Irons, etc.

        • Miles

          I wouldn’t be surprised if another oldie or two gets thrown into the mix as the tour goes on, not because Maiden really cares about anyone’s opinion, but they might adjust the set slightly if the pacing is not quite right. Sometimes a setlist that looks great on paper doesn’t quite hit all the marks once you play it in front of a live audience and they might change a song here or there to compensate. I am hoping that is the case anyways! I haven’t seen them since ’84 and am really looking forward to the show as well despite my reservations about the setlist.

  • the opposition machine

    i dug out the millenial maiden stuff and gave it another spin simply becaise of this post…..dance of death is MUCH better than i remember it being and brave new world still holds up….AMOLD is alright but i noticed thats its an album you kinda have to sit down with and listen to it all the way thru to appreciate it…i think this tour is gonna be awesome and anyone who DIDNT expect them to shy away from their more classic stuff on this go around are just….well…..dumb?

  • Robotscythe

    I for one am gald to see Maiden shake up the setlist like this. I wish more bands had the balls Maiden has. Too many bands play it safe and play their Top 40 hits ad nauseum. Maiden have a broad and varied catalog and I’m looking forward to hearing this part of it live. If you all want to pretend it’s 1985 then buy the Live AFter Death DVD and stay the fuck home.

  • Anne

    I, like most of you, completely agree. They needed to mix it more, disappointed but they’ve done this for a long time and whatever their reason’s, I’m sure they made the best decision for THEM. They’re getting older and besides, this is a PRE-TOUR, as the rest follows over the next 1-2 years and who knows after that?! If you’re going to play songs off Dance of Death, why not play the actual song? And Brave New World..Out of the Silent Planet. Either way, let’s discuss all this AFTER the show. You never now, the songs flow well together…

  • Cokane

    I agree that it’s a bit boring set list.I couldn’t care less about seeing DOD and AMOLAD songs live.I hope they’ll be playing this set only on this tour and by the time they come to Brasil in 2011,there’ll be different songs on it…

  • Pete

    I got to see them twice on the “Somewhere Back In Time” Tour, and I loved the hell out of “A Matter Of Life An Death”, and I couldn’t afford tickets when they went on sale for this… I wouldn’t mind seeing a latter-day Maiden set…

    If anybody out there has reasonably priced tickets for NJ or Madison Square and doesn’t want to go, after reading that the set list is almost entirely 2000-forward Maiden songs, let me know in a reply, please.

  • Miles

    In the press release for the new tour Bruce Dickinson stated, “We’re still working on the set list for these summer shows, but this time it will cover the whole history of the band”. I bought tickets on the assumption that this would be a career retrospective based on these very words. In truth he should have said “we are going to be playing all newer stuff and then we’ll throw a few bones to the older fans at the very end of the show”. I expected to hear some newer material on this tour which I am okay with, but I didn’t expect them to ignore some of their best stuff ie. stuff from Piece Of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere Back In Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son etc. I am still going to enjoy the show, but in all honesty, if I had known that the setlist was going to concentrate on the last decade’s material I don’t think I would have dropped over $100 for a ticket.

    p.s. I am happy to hear that they played Wrathchild on the second date of the tour.

  • Chris

    This will be my first time seeing them and I have been a Maiden fan for 20yrs. I would not have bought tickets for this show, 3hrs away, had I known the setlist ahead of time. If I bought tickets to see the Yankees I wanna see ARod, Jeter, Posada, and Rivera. If one or two dont play that is OK..but none of them??? I guarantee ticket sales would be way down if the set list came out before ticket sales. I hope that I am not disappointed!

    • Lenman

      I am not afan of the setlist. They should have just mixed it up instead of all the old stuff at the end. In Denver you can’t even sell your tickets because of the stupid ticketless bull that did on the tickets. Without a real ticket you can’t sell it. The Live Nation sites suggest selling it and showing up at the show with your credit card to let the people you sell the ticket to get in. What kind of crap is that?

  • http://www.metalsucks.net Scott

    Most of these comments are pretty sad. First, Maiden does not have “hits”, understand? If you want “hits”, may I suggest Bon Jovi or Madonna? May I also suggest a dictionary for some of you. Vaudeville and cabaret performances are about as far removed from a Maiden gig as one could possible get. Please look up the word legacy while you are at it. Every song they have ever recorded is part of their legacy. Since the majority of folks commenting on this blog, and many others are not FANS, yes look that one up, derived from FANATIC, which means…..

    Why be so negative? Some of you act as if Maiden has ignored it’s “classic” material for the last decade. Hell, every other tour is a “classics” bonanaza and I like to think we shall see more. The newer material has yet to be allowed to age. In time, Maiden’s output from 2000 on will be judged accordingly. I am attending the show in Denver, and am absolutely psyched about this set list. Of course, I’m a FAN…..

    “…Open mind for a different view….”

    • Miles

      Everybody on this blog is a fan of Iron Maiden, if they weren’t they wouldn’t be bothered to care or take the time to comment. It doesn’t mean we have to agree with every decision the band makes and we don’t have to blindly like everything they do. I don’t think people here are being overtly negative either, they are just expressing their opinions just as you are. Iron Maiden is an artistic entity and therefore can do anything they want, that is their prerogative. Personally, I think they were just a bit misleading by saying in their press release that the setlist would cover the whole history of the band, when in fact they are actually concentrating on their post-2000 material. I like a lot of the songs that they’ve released in the last decade, but I personally think the show is going to suffer somewhat from the lack of more familiar material in the main set. Especially for a summer tour where they are playing a lot of outdoor amphitheaters, they are going to attract a huge amount of casual fans who don’t own any of their more recent output. The amount of casual fans is going to far outnumber the amount of “superfans” and most of them are going to be frequenting the beer tents while waiting to hear something they know. I commend Maiden for their artistic integrity and bravery in choosing this particular setlist, but I really think it should be balanced with some more of their popular material (notice I didn’t say hits!) to make for a better show for what I think will be a pretty broad audience.

  • chud

    I just came from the San Antonio show, and I can confirm that they played WRATHCHILD as the third or fourth song.

    • jackattack

      I’M A… WRATHCHILD.

  • Lenman

    Can’t even sell your tickets with the new ticketless bull crap. I don’t want ot here anything from the fan boys, I was seeing Maiden when I was boning your mom, I may even be yourt daddy.

  • matthew

    Hmm. I think this setlist should make for a pretty good show; however, many of you fans seem to think that everyone who goes to a Maiden show has seen them already on previous tours when they played older tunes. Personally, I recently got into Maiden, so next month will be the first time ever seeing Maiden. I’m excited as fuck, but my first love from Maiden was Phantom of the Opera, followed by The Trooper (sorry diehard Maiden fans…), and although I have delved into the more obscure (and newer) of the Maiden catalogue, its still a bit of a bummer that songs like the trooper and phantom of the opera aren’t as common on this list. I guess I should have gotten into them earlier…

  • UpTheIrons!

    Nice.

    Was totally gonna pass on Maiden this go around when they announced the tour figuring I’d vomit if I had to sit through Number of the Beast or Run to the Hills one more time.

    But after seeing this setlist, I’m fucking jacked!

    Up the FUCKING Irons!

  • clintj

    Fairly boring set list. not impressed. they should have mixed it up a little better with classics. I wont’ go to another Maiden show till they do.

  • nutless_neo

    You know – I’m so sick and tired of hearing people bitch about what Maiden plays – you’re either a fan or you’re not, if you’re a true fan then you’re not going to give a flying fuck what they play – period – end of story – ciao! If you don’t like what they are playing, then don’t go see them live, the only one crying about it will be you. I’ve been a Maiden fan for 25 years and I could listen to their shit all day, every day and actually DO! They’ve earned the right to play whatever friggin songs they want – even if it’s fucking “Chopsticks”

  • erik

    a real maiden fan would enjoy both recent and older songs/albums, anyone who doesn’t should probably just download the songs they like and put them on their ipod or someshit. back in the day, Iron Maiden had no “hits” or “classics”, and still managed to draw a huge as fuck fanbase.

  • Tim

    I wont go see that lame setlist. They wonder why tickets are not selling well? Thats why. Also Dream Theater? Most boring band ever.

  • Spino

    My first time ever seeing Maiden live (PNC Center on Sun 7/11) and THIS is the setlist I have to deal with? I was so psyched to see them, especially after missing the Somewhere Back in Time tour (documentary was awesome). I’m a huge fan of all their albums up to Seventh Son and while Brave New World is ok the rest of their new stuff is just meh. I mean, I expected they would play some of the new songs from the last 10-15 but 2/3rds of the entire f’ing set devoted to that stuff?!? Do these guys pay attention to their album sales? Sounds like Maiden is pulling a Bowie by begrudging the fans for insisting on the classics. I hate to say it but a part of me wishes they had released the setlist BEFORE I dropped a several hundred on tickets for me and my friends.

    /disappointed Gen X headbanger

  • Chris

    Your are a idiot, to say the least. MOLAD, is ranked with Number, and Piece of Mind as their best work. Nickos drumming on MOLAD is his best work ever, and the sound of his kit is best since Powerslave. I been listening to this band since 82″, and they still rock.

  • JB

    I,ve been reading the comments and have been waiting to see the show before posting my own comment. My recommendation, SEE THE SHOW!!!!!! I have been a Maiden fan since the beginning. Probably the best metal band live. i understand the need to see the classics and was looking forward to rocking to all the Maiden memories but the last three albums our actually very good and on the same level of all Maiden albums. All that said, the show kicked ass. It was actually nice to see a band that has such a large classic following be able to rock the hell out of the building not relying on the same 10 songs. See the show, not one weak song and Maiden kicks ass from beginning to end.

  • Ed

    Agreed it sucks ass. Saw it last night, I will be sure to check the setlist before ever seeing them again.

    • Adam

      What the fans who are defending their current setlist don’t seem to understand is that the classics MADE MAIDEN WHAT THEY ARE.
      They are not only screwing the fans this tour IMO but they are wasting their talent not playing the songs that made them legendary.
      In extreme cases I actually hear some fans saying, “Thank god they aren’t playing the classics this tour-enough is enough.”
      Oh ok-so just throw Wasted Years, Can I Play with Madness, Heaven Can wait, Aces High, Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner into the garbage like they mean nothing, hm?
      Ok, so the band gets tired of playing Run to the Hills-understandable. Ok, so instead of replacing it with Dance of Death how about replacing it with Sea of Madness, the Prisoner or Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner?
      Vince Neilstein nailed it. I agree with every word he wrote.
      Remember-the classics made them what they are and before I ever go see them again I’m gonna check out the setlist before I go.

  • anthony

    Love Iron Maiden. Love the concert they were bad. Love their music. This is their # 1 fan forever.

  • John

    Saw them last night in Chicago. They played Dance of Death in among their set instead of Paschendale. It was a great, great show. Of course there’s a lot of songs I would have loved to see live that they didn’t play. But you know what? That would still be the case if they had played for 4 hours instead of 2. Such is the peril of having so many great songs over a 30-year career.

  • Tim

    I saw this show in Detroit. It was boring. Really really boring. I saw the Scorpions in the same venue a few weeks before and although the corwd was even older – it was a way better show with more enthusiasm.

    I have never seen guys all leave in a group of 5-6 to get beers before. Usually turns are taken to do the run. But at Maiden the row I was in emptied more than a few times as people did this.

    I myself was contiplating just leaving many times. Dance of Death with its irish jog mid section and Gers dancing like a total homo to it is the most un-rock thing …. Culture Club would be more metal than that.

    I have never been their #1 fan I admit. But they have some great material and are good musicians. WHy they shose to bore me to tears I dunno.

  • Mauricio Zolezzi

    They gotta come to Argentina, it is probably the only time im gonna see them. But I cant beliave that they are not gonna play The Trooper, 2 Minutes to Midnight and Run to the Hills! these songs are most important clasics such as Fear of the Dark, The Number of the Beast, The Wicker Man, Hallowed by the name and The Ghost of Navigator

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-Griffith/100000055133736 Jason Griffith

    You guys need to stop pissing and moaning. I saw maiden in 85 in mn they kicked ass then and i would love the opportunity to see them againbut they dont come here.One thing i have learned is that in order to appreciate an album, any album, the best thing to do is put on the headphones and listen to it in its entirety.Give the music a chance.

  • Tim

    I saw this show and it was boring. I get the fact they cant do the same tour every year but the albums represented do nothing for me.

    Unlike some total losers – I do not have time to look for the setlist. I have a life of my own. Most people seemed to be in the same boat. Lots of empty seats as people got beer etc.

    BTW – what is the third wheel still doing in the band? He prances like a total fairy. I was embarassed for him.