IRON MAIDEN
Date: 22nd July, 2022
Venue: Ullevi Stadium
Ticket Price: -
Promoter: Live Nation
The massive Ullevi venue is never really fun. The logistics and capacity of all facilities doesn't really cover the need for a sold-out place. But all of that is forgotten with the first few notes of the UFO classic "Doctor Doctor" which has been the trademark intro for IRON MAIDEN shows for decades. And when the massive stage set was lit up and the band came out, the excitement was total.
The Forbidden City type stage props illustrated the theme from most recent album "Senjutsu" just perfect. And it is damn cool that a band can pull three songs from the most recent release as a starter of a gig and still get a massive reaction. Ok, IRON MAIDEN is no ordinary band, but at a place like Ullevi (posts after the show said it was 61.000+ in the crowd) will draw all sorts of people, not necessarily die-hard IRON MAIDEN fans. Many just know a song or two, but both "Senjutsu" and "Stratego" went down well this cloudy evening.
That IRON MAIDEN are received well in Sweden is a fact; Ullevi have been sold out each and every time they've played here, so it is a familiar venue. In the welcome to the show speech after "Stratego", Bruce Dickinson took advantage of this and mentioned using the same crappy toilet each time. The fun thing about it though was it rather the writings on the toilet wall that was the point and a very witty introduction to that "The Writing On The Wall" song. Bruce has a fabulous ability to make what seems to be a complete nonsense gibberish, but is nicely tied up in the end and makes sense. There was a similar thing with "Blood Brothers" where the conclusion was that all were a part of the IRON MAIDEN family, no matter who you are.
And that is also quite special at IRON MAIDEN shows; the atmosphere is great and very friendly. Ok, with an event the size of this, there will always be someone to annoy, but in general everything is very neat and friendly.
It's impossible to get away from when the set was changed into more old school material, and the crowd was boosted as well. "Revelations" was first out; a fantastic track that has stood the test of time and it still surprises me how smooth the band manages all the time-changes in this song. Then, the classics were lined up all the way to the end. Already mentioned "Blood Brothers", followed by "Sign Of The Cross" and "Flight Of Icarus". For each song, the backdrop or settings were changed and adapted to the music. Even though it is cool, I don't think it is necessary. Although it was damn cool when Icarus himself showed up in the set piece.
There are still a few songs that stand out that really everyone knows, and the first of those out were "Fear Of The Dark"; it sure gave goosebumps to hear the entire crowd brawl out the title in the intro of the song. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" got the same response and I must say that Bruce sounded better than ever in this song. Ok, the rest of the band had of course a part in this too, and I liked it that the tempo wasn't pushed up the same way as it has been on a few occasions.
IRON MAIDEN were doing what they always do, which is put on a great show. They sound fantastic and offer an energetic performance. And this doesn't only go for Dickinson who normally runs around; the rest of the band seemed utterly pleased to be back onstage. So, even if there weren't any real surprises when it comes to material in the set, there’s absolutely nothing to complain about. I wouldn't have minded some tracks from "Somewhere In Time" or "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" of course, but I'm still really happy with what IRON MAIDEN delivered. I mean, how can you possibly end a party in a better way than with "The Trooper", "The Clansman" (almost as massive sing-a-long as in "Fear Of The Dark" and Bruce's comment with now in Swedish when moving in to the oooh-ooh-ooh part sure was funny), "Run To The Hills" and the absolute finale with "Aces High"?
I wasn't alone walking out of the venue with a smile from ear to ear after this set. Everyone seemed pleased, even people who only recognized a few songs if the internet posts are to be believed. From my perspective, IRON MAIDEN showed once again that still they are the greatest band out there.
IRON MAIDEN setlist:
01. Intro - "Doctor Doctor" (UFO song)
02. “Senjutsu”
03. “Stratego”
04. “The Writing On The Wall”
05. “Revelations”
06. “Blood Brothers”
07. “Sign Of The Cross”
08. “Flight Of Icarus”
09. “Fear Of The Dark”
10. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
11. “The Number Of The Beast”
12. “Iron Maiden”
13. “The Trooper”
14. “The Clansman”
15. “Run To The Hills”
16. Intro - Churchill's Speech / “Aces High”
17. Outro - "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” (MONTY PYTHON song)