Iron Maiden: Finally came the turn of the mighty Iron Maiden, pioneers of the British Heavy metal. As the stage was being set up, the crew members hurled water bottles at the thirsty audience. The painful part was, none of that came to our side and we shouted for water in vain. Standing in that crowd became tougher and tougher as the crowd was beyond manageable level. We were continuously breathing Marijuana, cigarettes and dust as the air was filled with it. We still waited and consoled ourselves that all will be fine when Maiden start playing. Off go the lights and the black curtain makes way for the “Somewhere back in Time” backdrop. Then starts the “Churchill’s Speech” and it was mayhem. Nicko McBrain sat behind his drum kit, the guitarists Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and bassist Steve Harris charged into the stage and start playing the intro. Any guesses? It’s “Aces High”!Bruce Dickinson, the vocalist jumped on stage and his magical vocals were a breath of fresh air as we proudly sang along. At that time, we were around twenty meters from stage and standing was the toughest thing to do as the audience agitated and got us down on numerous occasions. This didn’t do any good to our already injured bodies but the pain was never felt. That is what Iron Maiden is all about. Gems like “Wrathchild”, “2 Minutes to Midnight”, “Phantom of the Opera” and “Trooper” then followed. Amidst all this, the crowd agitation forced us right in front of the stage which was by far the best thing that happened. Then followed epics like “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, “Powerslave”, “Wasted Years” and “Run to the Hills”. We had already forgotten the pain and lost ourselves in the music. Just when we wondered what is going to follow, they played cult classics like “Fear of the Dark” and “Hallowed be thy Name” one after the other and we were spell bound. We screamed out our throats singing, and chanted “Maiden” gesturing Devils Horns (\m/ \m/) at them. The lights went off and five minutes later they came back with “Number of the beast”, “Iron Maiden”, “TheEvil That Men Do” and our joy knew no bounds. Their mascot Eddie, an over 10 feet massive robot also made a presence which is a patent of Iron Maiden concerts. The final song of the day was “Sanctuary” and Bruce Dickinson appreciated the audience and announced the release of their new studio album in 2010 and promised to be back in 2011 as they finished magnificently. We got our souls cleansed!
Iron Maiden is known for the amazing guitar playing ability by Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Steve Harris and Janick Gers and this concert was no different. Dead would rise from the grave to watch them fire all cylinders. Bruce Dickinson could be called the father of vocals in heavy metal, an absolute bundle of energy on stage and Nicko McBrain, the most influential drummer in metal history. They may have grown old but it’s the music that makes them the strongest heavy metal force and their legacy was easily seen on stage. The riffs, complex twin guitar leads, magical vocals and thundering drums by them is the kind of post concert hangover that makes me write my experience at the Rock in India festival. I would consider this as the best concert experience I have ever had and I would cherish the moments of joy through the snapshots, videos, my friends and of course reading this post again, again and again….!
All hail Iron Maiden!!
