September 17, 2024

Iron Maiden – Spark Arena: September 16, 2024 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Last night, the legendary Iron Maiden roared through Auckland’s Spark Arena, with a sold-out arena of fans unfazed by the torrential rain hammering the city. For nearly two hours, Maiden stomped and screamed as a magnificent unit across their stage, delivering a spectacular concert experience that reminded everyone why they’ve remained at the forefront of metal for nearly five decades.

Five decades. How incredible it is to get to that point and to still deliver and embrace the wild and untamed spectacle of a metal concert, both as performers and fans. Before the lights dimmed, the longevity of that musical offering is what struck me across the sea of heads in the crowd.

Iron Maiden Heavy metal has often been stereotyped as a genre for a particular age group, but last night proved otherwise. A young girl, perched on her parent’s shoulders and wearing bright pink ear protectors, was clearly as enthralled by the atmosphere as any veteran headbanger – and looking around the absolutely heaving arena, it was clear this was an event for solo fans as it was entire families passing down this love of live music.

It was a powerful reminder of how music transcends generations, and how these moments can be both a concert and a formative experience with the wider musical community, one that we may look back on as the reason for sparking broader love or appreciation of music and what it can bring to our lives.

From the moment Doctor Doctor by UFO blasted through the speakers, signalling the imminent arrival of the band, there was a palpable buzz in the air. Gorgeous Blade Runner inspired light displays accompanied the Vangelis song from the end of the film, before a neon futuristic backdrop emerged as the opening notes of Caught Somewhere in Time hit and the arena exploded with energy.

The screens behind the stage cycled through uniquely vivid, thematic backdrops for each song, enhancing the storytelling woven into the setlist. Stranger in a Strange Land saw the return of Eddie, their mascot, towering over the stage as a futuristic space warrior. His imposing presence is a familiar but ever-evolving part of the Iron Maiden spectacle. It’s impressive that even after all these years, the character still plays a pivotal role in creating the otherworldly escapism fans crave.

Iron Maiden

Bruce Dickinson – whose infectious energy seems impervious to the passage of time – addressed the crowd with all the glorious metal cheese of storytelling across history and time, pausing a handful of times to segue between songs, offering context and a common thread linking each track to the next. This interweaving of storytelling gave the show an almost theatrical quality – always a few bad moments away from potentially veering towards Spinal Tap – and yet scene and word were a reminder to let go, to just embrace the music and let every wild, overlapping guitar solo carry you along the journey.

The new material from their latest album Senjutsu, including The Writing on the Wall and The Time Machine, stood confidently among classics like Can I Play With Madness and Heaven Can Wait. These songs reflected Maiden’s ability to evolve while staying true to their roots; the intricate guitar work and galloping rhythms are still there, but there’s a maturity to the newer tracks – perhaps reflective of a band that has nothing left to prove but everything left to give, and just loves to keep giving while they can.

One of the standout moments of the night came during Death of the Celts. The song’s epic storytelling, with its haunting melodies and Celtic-inspired riff, brought a moment of introspection amidst the fury of the set. It was in moments like these that the crowd could fully appreciate the craftsmanship behind Iron Maiden’s music. Throughout the entire set, you could hear the influence of decades of musicianship – a touch of Nothing Else Matters here, a hint of Tubular Bells there – which is a testament to the evolution of their sound, deeply rooted in both history and heavy metal tradition, yet always reaching for something more.

The visual aspect of the show was, as expected, nothing short of stunning and genuinely surprising in how well it was utilised. Each track had its own bespoke backdrop, a visual companion to the musical journey. At one point, Dickinson whipped out a Gatling gun, “firing” fireworks at a towering robot that shot back, the sequence culminating in a pyrotechnic explosion that had the audience roaring in joy. This moment perfectly encapsulated Iron Maiden’s ethos – over-the-top in the best possible way, merging music, theatre, and spectacle into one cohesive experience.

An encore delivered a fluid transition from Hell on Earth, a relatively newer addition to their setlist, into the ferocity of The Trooper and finally Wasted Years, the crowd swaying and raising their hands until he final notes drifting into a grateful applause from an incredibly satisfied crowd – as Dickinson said himself, imagine the chaos we could have caused if it wasn’t just a rainy Monday night.

In reflecting on the night, it’s clear that Iron Maiden is not just a band; they are an institution. They have evolved from the hungry young metalheads of the ’80s into masters of their craft, confident and at ease in their legendary status. At the same time, they’ve retained the passion and fire that made them so compelling in the first place. Yes, they’re older. Yes, their sound has evolved. But that’s precisely the point, and it’s the remarkable ability to retain that, and sustain both the energy and love for performance over the years, that makes a concert like last night so memorable.

Iron Maiden isn’t about reliving the past; they’re about celebrating the journey, the evolution, and the shared experience of music. Last night was proof that they’re still one of the greatest live acts in the world – impervious to the passage of time and as relevant as ever.

As I left the arena – thrilled that I’d been fortunate enough to witness these absolute musical legends – I thought again about that young girl on her parent’s shoulders. She, like the rest of us, had just experienced an incredible evening and a memorably defining chapter in her own personal story of musical appreciation – given by a band that has already given so much to the world of music, yet still continues to deliver their all, and leaves us all the better for it.

Oxford Lamoureux

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Brenna Jo Gotje:

Iron Maiden: