Text and photos by Rodrigo Simas
At 7:30 pm sharp on July 30th, Air Force, the English band that has been opening for British Lion on this tour, began their performance at LAV (Lisboa Ao Vivo) for the audience that was still slowly arriving to watch the group led by Steve Harris .
With a basic but effective traditional heavy metal sound, firmly rooted in the NWOBHM, the group did a good job before the main show began. With their own repertoire, they managed to excite the fans, who seemed to enjoy songs like "Finest Hour" and "Sniper," and whose communication was facilitated by the Portuguese vocalist Flávio Lino . Another interesting fact about Air Force: the drummer is Doug Samson , who was part of Iron Maiden between 1978 and 1979.
But make no mistake: everyone was really there to see Steve Harris up close. And what does the Iron Maiden do on his days off? He books shows with his other band, naturally. It's commendable to see Harris, at 66, still get excited playing in small venues, as if he were a young musician starting his career. Perhaps he needs this closer contact with fans, which is impossible with the size of his main group, but the fact is that he seemed to play with the same passion and intensity as he does in packed stadiums.
Very cohesive, British Lion already sounds like a band with years of experience, even though they are only promoting their second album, The Burning . The setlist was based on this and their debut album, and the best-known songs such as "Bible Black," "Spit Fire," and "Lightning" were received with enthusiasm by the audience.
Perhaps if the band had slightly stronger compositions and a more charismatic vocalist, they would already be on another level, but even so, any negative point is compensated for by a lot of energy and commitment from the musicians: the guitar duo ( Graeme Leslie and David Hawkins ) is excellent, and Steve Harris is always incredible to see live, even more so up close (LAV holds approximately 1,200 people, but it seemed to be just over half full).
A memorable night for heavy metal fans in Lisbon and a great warm-up for Iron Maiden, who perform in the city the following day.
