Iron Maiden - Toronto ON CAN

"Scream for me, Toronto!"

After a pi(n)t stop at Eddie's Dive Bar (the Pint rebranded temporarily for Iron Maiden's Toronto double header with a pop-up shop featuring exclusive merchandise), the doors to Scotiabank Arena opened early at 6pm. With bandleader, Dave Mustaine, leading the opening act, Megadeth, to the stage at 7:15 as originally scheduled, the show kicked off 10 minutes earlier than had been indicated by more recent communications.

Opening with Tipping Point, Megadeth quickly tipped the heavy metal scales in their favour. Situated between two 3 x 4 stacks of red label Marshalls forming small walls of amps on either side of a tall drum riser, Dirk Verbeuren thrashed his way through timekeeping duties. By the end of the second song, Hangar 18, Verbeuren had already thumped his double bass drums to thunderously good use.

Rounding out the rhythm section on bass guitar was James LoMenzo, helping to light a low end fire on which to blaze for the duelling guitars of founder Dave Mustaine and relative newcomer, Teemu Mäntysaari. There was certainly shred to be found in abundance throughout the set, and not just on Let There Be Shred. Spurred on by a couple appearances from mascot Vic Rattlehead, hard headbanging was heavily featured, as expected.

Also as expected, however, Mustaine's singing was less than spectacular. Since his singing voice has never really been his calling card, this wasn't too much of a letdown. He still got up there and did it, with great guitar playing and energy to boot, but it would have been nice to hear him better when he spoke to the fans. Mustaine's subdued and soft-spoken crowd chats were hard to pick up amongst the metal mayhem unfolding at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.

It was at least discernible that Tornado of Souls featured one of Mustaine's favourite guitar solos (not his solo, just his favourite). Mäntysaari took the solo in question, slaying it like a conquered dragon. Just for good measure, Mäntysaari even added some lighter textures into the set, showcasing an expertly plucked fingerstyle passage on a mounted acoustic guitar with nylon strings.

Overall, the opening act was full of ferocious playing, serving as a stark reminder why the style popularized by Megadeth and a few others is known as thrash metal. With scorching leads shredding over galloping rhythms, Megadeth sounded like a herd of wildebeests rumbling through a canyon. Buckle up or get bucked off when these guys come to town. Mustaine signed off by exclaiming, "You've been great and we've been Megadeth, good night!"

The good night was only just beginning. A lengthy intermission of anxious anticipation followed, with the crowd hungry for Iron Maiden to begin their North American run after 50 years of metal mania. A video intro gave way to the metal gods themselves, and Iron Maiden's savage set was underway.

Legendary, longtime frontman, Bruce Dickinson, stormed the stadium right out of the gate, belting out the lyrics with sinister intensity and musicality, impressing the crowd with his continued vocal chops. Dickinson's magnetic stage presence made for riveting theatre in a fantastic display of leaping, lunging, rock and roll power. Stalking, roaming, and prowling the stage like a musical menace, he incited many screams for Lake Ontario and more from atop the mountain of metal madness. Cameo appearances by a stilted Eddie (Maiden's mascot, naturally) helped set the stage for the dark, heavy atmosphere of the night's proceedings.

Continuing with the theatrics throughout the show, synchronized pyrotechnics coupled with Dickinson's many wardrobe changes to keep the whole set on theme. Appearing masked at times, other times with huge flags and an ominously tattered reaper cloak, Dickinson fronted the band as few others could hope to dream, racing back and forth from lateral platforms across a raised bridge. This all amounted to world class crowd control with expert command of his mic stand, tossing and turning, trick moves and all.

Aside from periodic brief disappearances to change and move around the stage (and perhaps to rest his legs and lungs with quick seated water breaks), Dickinson only seemed to slow down when Hallowed Be Thy Name spotlighted him trapped inside a metal cage. Appropriately, their namesake song, Iron Maiden, followed Hallowed Be Thy Name to close out the main set before the encore.

Rhythm guitarist Janick Gers joined in on the wicked fun with crazy flipping, twirling guitar tricks, offering a ringing, swinging endorsement for whatever company makes his straps. By safely tethering his strats to his body when his guitars could have easily gone flying into the audience, these straps may have just saved some lives. Gers appeared reminiscent of Ethan Katzberg loading up a giant hammer throw, but it was all in good fun and no one was hurt in the making of this spectacle.

Adrian Smith, also on guitar, added some tasty textures, primarily playing Jacksons and displaying a soulful feel not frequently found in the land of metal.

Dave Murray was the most noteworthy of Maiden's three guitar players, as it was his fretboard fireworks which most brightly lit up the night. Erupting from some sort of strat or another, his solos scorched through blisteringly technical leads high up the neck with tremendous dexterity.

Nico McBrain was missed on drums after having retired from touring a couple of years ago, but Simon Dawson did his best to fill in behind the kit.

Rocking his signature Fender bass, Steve Harris formed a rock solid foundation on which to build the band's sound, just as he has for all these years. If Bruce Dickinson is the pinnacle of the great pyramid of Maiden, Steve Harris is indeed its foundational base. The galloping stampede started by Megadeth earlier was continued in full force by Iron Maiden, thanks in large part to Harris' iconic bass playing.

Fan engagement on this first stop of the tour was at a maximum, with nearly 20 thousand people in the sold out crowd standing up and rocking out, heads banging, fists pumping, teeth bared, horns raised, chants grunted and screams echoed throughout the arena in a raucous atmosphere fit for a heavy rock ritual. In a grand production featuring Number of the Beast, The Trooper, Fear of the Dark, and a parade of other bangers spanning five decades, along with the rare live cut, Infinite Dreams, Iron Maiden cemented their legacy at the upper rungs of the metal ladder. 4.5/ 5 stars.

Show review by contributing writer: Brendan Fardy