The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[425]

It is interesting though how much they've changed up their end-of-show.  In the reunion era, haven't they almost always done Iron Maiden and a combo of at least two of: NOTB, RTTH, Hallowed, Running Free, and Sanctuary to end their shows?

I know they've done other tours where they've rested each of those (maybe not FotD or IM).   I know they rested Hallowed when there was that legal kerfluffle, about plagiarism.   

They've rested HBTN a couple of times since 2012. It was not played for the first time on the Maiden England tour, which was before the legal kerfuffle, and also not played on TBoS tour, which I think was the time of the kerfuffle.

To my knowledge, FotD has only rested in the reunion era on The Early Days Tour, when the whole setlist was from the first four albums. And it's almost always played right before Iron Maiden.

Iron Maiden has never and will never rest. It has always been and will always be the last song of the main set. At this point I think of it more as an event than as a piece of music in a concert setlist.

[Stadler]

^^^

To your previous post:

- The Blood Brothers encore was EPIC.  I saw that in Brooklyn and it gave me a new appreciation for that song.

- The DT connection; it IS somewhere in between, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the DT thread here is rife with discussion about declining ticket sales.    They may not play PMU, but they're also not replacing it with something consistent.  There's a LOT of discussion about the setlist, and it's not all positive.

[cramx3]

IM's encores have definitely gotten a nice mix up.  Blood Brothers did work surprisingly well. 

[Grappler]

And then on TBoS tour you get Blood Brothers in the encore—unexpected but cool. For LotB '19, it was back to an expected encore: TETMD, HBTN, RttH. But in 2022, suddenly Clansman is in the encore? And now, of course, HoE.

The Legacy tour was built on "themes" going along with the stage dress.  The initial tour legs had the war-themed songs together at the start (Aces High, Where Eagles Dare, 2 Minutes, Clansman, Trooper).

In 2022, the Senjutsu songs opened the show, so the war themed songs were moved to the encore, which is why Clansman appeared there. 

[bosk1]

It is interesting though how much they've changed up their end-of-show.  In the reunion era, haven't they almost always done Iron Maiden and a combo of at least two of: NOTB, RTTH, Hallowed, Running Free, and Sanctuary to end their shows?

I know they've done other tours where they've rested each of those (maybe not FotD or IM).   I know they rested Hallowed when there was that legal kerfluffle, about plagiarism.

Oh, I know each of them has gotten a rest.  But my point is that they usually have a block of IM+2-4 of the remaining group in rotation, and it is now IM+1, which is different.

[pg1067]

I saw a question on Reddit earlier today that intrigued me...has Iron Maiden ever not played the song Iron Maiden?  Setlist.fm lists about 2,500 concerts for the band and indicates that the song has been played about 2,300 times.  However, there are tons of pre-1980 shows that have no set list, so that accounts for most of the non-plays (and set lists from those days are notoriously unreliable - especially for club bands, which is what Maiden was in the '70s).  I'm guessing the answer is, ultimately, unknowable, but maybe Steve has said something about it in a bio that I've never read.

[Mosh]

We have bootlegs of a lot of those pre-1980 shows and it seems Iron Maiden is always played. The question is when was that song written, we have bootlegs going back to about 1978 but not much earlier. I would guess since the first show that song was ever played at, it was played every time after. We also know that the theatrics around Eddie that Iron Maiden is a showcase for happened around Dennis Wilcox's time in the band, which began in 1976, so it's possible the song originates around the same time.

[Pappy]

Even though they are a band who tends to overdo it on the live releases, I think they just made the next live release a must buy by including it.

I agree that tend to overdo them but at least each release is has such a unique setlist/tour it doesn't feel like you are buying the same concert over and over.

[cramx3]

Even though they are a band who tends to overdo it on the live releases, I think they just made the next live release a must buy by including it.

I agree that tend to overdo them but at least each release is has such a unique setlist/tour it doesn't feel like you are buying the same concert over and over.

They definitely make a lot of live albums, but for the most part, I think they are worthy other than the last two which were audio only and neither really stood out.  They needed a video release for the Legacy of the Beast Tour because it was a visual spectacle. 

[Dream Team]

It occurred to me today that all the people saying "give Senjutsu multiple chances to sink in, it's amazing" are some of the same people who dismiss a DT album after 1 listen (or no listens in the case of The Astonishing). But after revisiting it a few times I do like about half of it. It's Maiden so I WANT to like it . . .

[ozzy554]

A message from Blaze Bayley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRS80U23x6Q

He's looking good and it sounds like he's aiming to be back on stage by the end of the year.

[425]

He definitely looks like he's been through it, but also seems like he's getting his strength back. Good to hear it.

[faizoff]

Love the guy's energy in that clip. Can't imagine how the recovery must be going after that major heart surgery.

[RodrigoAltaf]

I loved that video...he lost a lot of weight, which will definitely help with his recovery.

[wolfking]

Wow, he's shed a ton of weight, fantastic stuff!

[WardySI]

A message from Blaze Bayley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRS80U23x6Q

He's looking good and it sounds like he's aiming to be back on stage by the end of the year.

🤘

[TAC]

Finally got around to watching the video message.

That was tremendous!

[nobloodyname]

Wow, he's shed a ton of weight, fantastic stuff!

Indeed. I hope part of it is down to life choices, just for the sake of his wellbeing and longevity. He tours on such a tiny budget, I have found myself wondering what his touring life is like.

[Zydar]

https://www.loudersound.com/news/steve-harris-reveals-the-iron-maiden-deep-cut-hed-like-them-to-play-more-live

That song has always been a big favourite of mine. I'm glad he likes it too.

[wolfking]

Yeah nice call.  Underrated deep cut for sure.

[425]

I really like that one as well. It was surprisingly high on my list when we did the ranking last year.

[WardySI]

I really like that one as well. It was surprisingly high on my list when we did the ranking last year.

Had it at number 4 on that list. 

Second favourite song off Seventh Son behind Infinite Dreams.  Would love for it to come back to the setlist 

[cramx3]

I'm a bit more surprised that he said they played it live before? Awesome song though, I'd love for them to play it

[Mladen]

They didn't. It's just that Steve doesn't remember. 

[cramx3]

They didn't. It's just that Steve doesn't remember. 

Was wondering if this is misremembering or if they did play it at like some small show that's not documented somewhere.

[Pappy]

Maybe it was rehearsed for a tour?

[Setlist Scotty]

Would love to see them play that track. And Prodigal Son, too. In fact, I'd love to see them resurrect several of the more rare tracks on Killers which I think is a very underrated album. In particular, I would love to see them break out Genghis Khan, which I think would work really well with 3 guitarists (for those harmonies and underlying rhythm) and give Bruce a mid-show break.

[wolfking]

Judas Be My Guide thanks 'Arry!

[RodrigoAltaf]

I'd love yo see Invaders or Back in the Village live, but I know it won't happen.

[WardySI]

Judas Be My Guide thanks 'Arry!

+1

[Stadler]

Maybe it was rehearsed for a tour?

That was my thought, as well.

[TAC]

They played it on the album.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Maybe it was rehearsed for a tour?

That was my thought, as well.

Hmm didn't they admit rehearsing ATG at one point for a previous tour but scrapped it for some reason?

[DoctorAction]

Love OTGDY and Invaders.

[RodrigoAltaf]

I remember that before the Legacy of the Beast tour started, there wa rumor that they would play Deja Vu. That would be great as well!!! Maybe they tried it and decided not to play. Rush rehearsed Fly by Night and A Farewell to Kings several times in preparation for their last few tours, but eventually they thought both would be too taxing fpr Geddy to sing.