Iron Maiden, Coop Live. 22nd June 2025

I’ve only seen Iron Maiden once before, almost two years to the day. I was quietly impressed, impressed enough to come back for round two. Tonight in Coop Live, they’re promising a set covering the first 12 years, 9 albums, arguably their heyday. I feel, as a fair weather fan this might suit me quite well. I’m in the minority not wearing a Maiden shirt, but I’m tempted by the pricey merch for the chance to where something dry! The storm that’s been threatening all weekend has finally broke and the heavens give me a good soaking on the way in. I’m almost as wet as I was for LCD Soundsystem a couple of nights ago. There’s a distinct smell of wet people as I walk into the floor space and it occurs to me this is my first time standing in Coop Live, as a tape bangs out UFO’s ‘Doctor Doctor’ to warm up the crowd. It’s a full house, but having been here only a few days ago for NIN, it’s hard not to compare and the NIN crowd were certainly a lot more charged at this point. ‘The Ides of March’ plays as some very nice 3D animated visuals lead us through some band origin touch points before the pyro goes off and they rip into ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’. It’s fast and fun, but the sound is only… okay. It’s a rock gig and songs like ‘Wraithchild’ are meant to be loud live, but it’s muddy. They had the same issue at the Arena across the city, but I put that down to the venue, but with the production values from Tuesday night still ringing in my ears, I know this should be better. As ‘Killers’ gets despatched, I’m already thinking this needs some theatrics. Enter the infamous stillt-walker this time as a leather-clad cyber punk. After introducing drummer Nico Brain’s retirement replacement Simon Dawson and declaring this “The closest you’ll get to a greatest hits set”, they do ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and a few lads head to the bar. It’s good though, duelling guitars, lots of wibbly bits, y’know, Maiden. ‘The Number of the Beast’ though is what lights the touch paper. The pyro certainly wakes the crowd up and my hopes lift as the atmosphere finally starts to kick in. ‘The Clairvoyant’ helps too. Seventh Son is my favourite record and this has the bounce in its step that this set needs. Dickinson is up on the riser that wraps the stage, working the crowd. Before donning a tribal mask for ‘Powerslave’. He’s putting a shift in and looks good for it. Honestly without him, good as they sound, this wouldn’t be anything like the show it is. There’s another costume change for ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ which it has to be said seems quite poignant at the moment as a nuclear bomb is detonated on screen. After airing some grievences at a bad review it’s time for ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, which is as theatrical as its visual backdrop. It’s not a great song in my humble opinion, but live it really works. It is bloody long though. About half an hour later, we move on to ‘Run to the Hills’. This is a crowd pleaser and everyone’s singing, badly. Well except Dickinson who sounds magnificent. He’ll do over 2 hours by the close and doesn’t drop a note all night. No one does, they’ve decades of practice, but they remain as tight as ever. ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ next, again gets to spread its wings live. I’m all for this. They look like they’re having fun up there which after 50 years is saying something. I then get myself in a bit drama diffusing a fight before they release ‘The Trooper’. The guitars line up, the stilt-walker is back as the titular character and Bruce waves his flags as a thousand phones come out. It’s telling that it’s the same songs as last time I saw them that the crowd react to. Dickenson is caged as they deliver ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ in a spectacle that Alice Copper would enjoy and ‘Iron Maiden’ strikes a disarming gear change taking us into the break, the pace double pretty much everything else in the set as the AV department once again outdo themselves. After some Churchillian speech from… Churchill, we’re back with ‘Aces High’. The crowd scream, Dickinson dons his biggles goggles and we hit the skies. It’s all fun, but even with probably some of the best video you’ll see at any gig, anywhere, it’s still feels dated. That said, even though it’s over 30 years old, the next song will steal the show. ‘Fear of the Dark’ is everything that Maiden do best wrapped up in one song. Theatre, riffs and a fucking catchy chorus. It twists without ever getting indulgent. It’s a clear set highlight and blows everything else away. It would’ve been a better way to close than ‘Wasted Years’ but the crowd might not agree, they love it. Not for me though. It wasn’t a great start and it took a while to find its feet, but it’s a good set, a great show and a fantastic band. I think I might’ve now scratched my Iron Maiden itch though and after the other gigs I’ve witnessed this week, this doesn’t quite reach the high bar.