Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Time is its own master, we are its servants, we are the victims and playthings in which the illusion of freedom is sought as a compromise, in which the future has its own set rules and inevitabilities, and the past is written either in dark forbidding ink or ruled with glory in hues worthy of memory.
Time though can be, as is reminded, can be for a short glorious while full of life, not once stilled by the routine, but by the appearance of heroes in the shape of expressions, a pulse quickened, a show that captures all that a fan or an interloper of the occasion can sit back afterwards and understand that Time was, if not conquered, then humbled by the spectacle unveiled, and before a dynamic Birmingham crowd, Iron Maiden, the undisputed kings of British Heavy Metal in many eyes, sought out Time and beat it to within an inch of life.
The Future Past tour rolled in the city of industry and history on the back of triumph, and in its wake has left a hole that will not be easily filled, this was Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers, and the rampant, uncontained and sensationally wild Nicko McBrain at their incredible best; this was perhaps a subtle hint of an era ending, but delivered with the force of a shockwave that was felt as far as Stechford, Selly Park, Handsworth and the gentle snoozing houses that had come alive during the 1st Ashes test…this was a metal earthquake that consumed the Midlands, and reiterated the city’s claim as the home of the beast and genre.
Opening with Caught Somewhere In Time and Stranger In A Strange Land, the band of brothers on stage took the capacity crowd down a path of fierce blasts and memories fulfilled, the sound outside was volatile, inside it was the spark of the magnificent six setting fire to preconceived ideas and the restrictions imposed by a set of people to whom Time has turned into rabid monsters…freedom was gained for many on a midweek night in the land of Ozzy.
With tracks such as The Time Machine, The Prisoner, the sensational Death Of The Celts, to which Bruce proved the beauty of the live show with a mistaken announcement of the following song, demonstrating just how they can overcome any slip with absolute humour, the sensational Can I Play With Madness, the outstanding Fear Of The Dark, Iron Maiden, and The Trooper, Heaven Can Wait as an artistic vortex consumes all souls,
this was Maiden at their most consummate, most down to earth, all thrill and Time, well the beast was beaten, and whilst it will always rise again, what will be will be, it just takes the memory of a sensational night to burn it gratefully down again.
Ian D. Hall