The greatest heavy metal band that the world has ever known, Iron Maiden, are getting ready to fly Down Under (more than likely onboard a private jet piloted by frontman Bruce Dickinson during his time off from rescuing endangered turtles) for the Aussie leg of their Book Of Souls world tour.
The NWOBHM gods are headed our way this May for an all-out assault on our country’s arenas, so we thought we’d start amping up your excitement by taking a look at some of the secrets that their 2016 live extravaganza might hold in store.
The band’s world tour has just kicked off in America’s Fort Lauderdale, bringing with it a big revelation in the form of Maiden’s official tour intro video.
The epic 3D animated clip (naturally) features Eddie The Head alongside the crashed ghost plane Ed Force One.
And thanks to some ledgehammer Maiden fans in Fort Lauderdale, we also have some footage of the band’s first Book Of Souls concert, which features the tail-end of the tour clip followed by frontman Bruce Dickinson appearing on a massive stage that’s been decked out to look like a haunted jungle, and kicking off the show with a rendition of Maiden’s 2015 Book Of Souls track, If Eternity Should Fail.
In the video, Dickinson, like the boss he is, stands atop a podium surrounded by tribal-looking flame barrels to perform the monster track’s haunting intro, before his bandmates storm the stage and start ripping into the main riff.
This seriously looks like some Maiden meets Indiana Jones style shit.
And never fear, metalheads. It sounds like we’re in for plenty of Eddie on this tour as well. Reviewers have described multiple cameos from the Maiden mascot during the show, with footage of a super-sized, loincloth-wearing Book Of Souls-style Ed wreaking havoc onstage during one of many epic guitar solos.
The band’s full setlist from the show has also been posted online for those of you who want the full spoilers
Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll be getting the exact same serving here in Aus (Maiden have released 16 studio albums after all and the Book Of Souls is a double, meaning they have pretty much endless setlist fodder) but it may still hold a few major hints about what we can expect.
Check out Maiden’s official tour opening video, as well as footage and a full setlist from their first show on the Book Of Souls tour, alongside a full list of their Aussie tour dates, below.
Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls World Tour introDebuted tonight in Fort Lauderdale, here's the epic new tour intro featuring Eddie and Ed Force One... Posted by Iron Maiden on Wednesday, February 24, 2016
