Text by: Márcio Barbosa Jr.
Iron Maiden performed the first show of their Run For Your Lives last Tuesday night, the 27th, at the Papp László Sportaréna in Budapest, Hungary. It was the beginning of a new tour, a new show, a new setlist, a new drummer, a new stage, a new Eddie.
A new era began and I was there watching history being written. Exactly two years ago I was at the Future Past Tour in Ljubljana to witness the beginning of that magnificent journey, and now I wanted that feeling again. Seeing Iron Maiden's first show is the only way to be surprised, and that feeling is wonderful.
The yellow lights came on and UFO . The most attentive fan of the band knows that this is the song played before the start of the show, and it made the audience go wild. The greatest show on earth was back. The flags were gone and now the stage was a large interactive screen. "The Ides of March" began to play, showing an animated video depicting the beginning of the band, showing places like the Cart & Horses and Ruskin Arms, both in London. A world where Eddie lives.
Next, “Murders in the Rue Morgue” begins, the screen transforms into a Paris seen from above with a somber atmosphere, and finally we are in the presence of the Run For Your Lives World Tour . At the end of the song, Bruce Dickinson announces the new drummer, at which point Simon Dawson is cheered. Then the band plays “Wrathchild,” where the stage transforms into a wall with a large Eddie from his Killers era, and the song begins to be sung at the top of everyone's lungs. The band quickly follows with the song “Killers,” and here we have the first walking Eddie of the night. An Eddie alluding to the tour poster, interacting a lot with the band on stage and with the audience, he wields an axe in one of his hands. A grand start to the show. At the end of the song, Bruce makes a brief speech and says, “You ain't never seen it before .
Then “Phantom of the Opera” begins, with the stage transforming into a large, abandoned theater. During “The Number of the Beast,” the screens showed a clip reminiscent of old films. Adrian Smith used his red Ibanez Destroyer guitar straight from 1983. Sensational.
The bass chords of "The Clairvoyant" then kicked in, getting everyone excited. "Powerslave" followed, with one of the most immersive stages bringing back that 1985 vibe. With the screens, the band created a more immersive dynamic, making the pyramid darken throughout the song and showing a 3D view from below. The fireworks also created a very special atmosphere. Another surprise was Adrian using his Lado guitar, just like in 1985. The band thought of everything, down to the smallest details, for the most attentive fans.
“2 Minutes To Midnight” followed immediately, with a large Eddie from the single's cover on the screens, but without much new to offer. After a brief speech, the band launched into “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner,” an absolute epic, transforming the stage into a turbulent ocean at night, with the ship sinking at certain moments. Pure spectacle. Another point for the band; they made the epic even more epic with this immersive experience. The entire audience was swept away, enjoying every moment. One of the highlights of the show.
“Run To The Hills,” whose chorus gives the tour its name, was played with the single's cover art on the screens. Nothing innovative here. The big surprise came with “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.” I wasn't expecting that song. The stage transformed into a vast sea with glaciers. One of the most incredible stages Iron Maiden has ever created. This was another highlight of the show. The band gave their all in this performance.
Following that came "The Trooper," another staple of the shows, which has never left the setlist. Nothing new here, with a second walking Eddie on stage. The same one that was used during the Legacy of the Beast . I think they could innovate and use another Eddie in another song.
The best song in the universe, in my opinion, returned to the show: “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” Needless to say, this is a sure thing, right? Bruce is in his cell singing about his last moments of life, a song performed flawlessly. When the instrumental part kicked in, leading into the solos, came what I consider the band's greatest stage interaction with the screens. The screen, which was a scene, transforms into a kind of stone ramp, and Bruce is sent up there. Bruce is now a digital being while the band performs the song brilliantly. He climbs this ramp, being teleported at times, until he is hanged, to the joy or sorrow of some. But this interaction was incredible. Then, he returns to the real world in his cell and finishes this true anthem.
The expectation now is for the next song, “Iron Maiden.” The expectation was to see what the inflatable Eddie would be like, and guess what? We didn't get it. Everything was digital. During the song, the screen transforms into a cell in an asylum, and at a certain point, the Big Eddie from Piece of Mind . Another really cool interactive moment is that the stage spotlights are perfectly synchronized with the Big Eddie, creating a true immersive experience. The stage lights illuminate the Eddie inside the screen, and at the end, he rips out steel cables, “exploding” things on stage. Even without the inflatable Eddie, the band knew how to exploit this interaction well.
We now moved on to the encore, which was actually quite simple. “Aces High”, “Fear of the Dark” and “Wasted Years”. More of the same, unfortunately. At this point, the screens gave the songs a new lease on life with an aerial battle in “Aces High” and a dark, nocturnal atmosphere with a large moon in “Fear of the Dark” and a spaceship traveling through the universe. And so ended the first show of the Run For Your Lives World Tour, Monty Python 's “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” playing over the speakers.
I expected much more from the setlist. Nothing from the album No Prayer for the Dying was played, and there are some good songs on it. They placed more emphasis on Powerslave , playing 4 tracks. The beginning of the show was insane, but the encore was disappointing. Drummer Simon Dawson did his homework, played what he had to play, did the usual. I found the tempo of some songs a little slow, not much, but maybe it's so Bruce can keep up.
's speech in "Aces High" was a little rushed, but that's just a detail from picky people. Janick Gers sometimes got lost and simply stopped playing. We really missed Big Eddie, but later I understood the band's intention with the digital version better. The immersive screen experience is really cool, especially at the beginning of the show.
I'm still processing everything calmly, as the Future Past Tour is still very recent and it takes time to digest it all, especially the "mourning" for drummer Nicko McBrain . It's strange to look and not see him there.
Iron Maiden: Run For Your Lives Tour in Budapest
01. Murders In The Rue Morgue (First time since September 2005)
02. Wrathchild (First time since July 2017)
03. Killers (First time since October 1999)
04. Phantom Of The Opera (First time since July 2014)
05. The Number Of The Beast
06. The Clairvoyant (First time since October 2013)
07. Powerslave (First time since July 2017)
08. 2 Minutes To Midnight (First time since October 2019)
09. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (First time since April 2009)
10. Run To The Hills
11. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (First time since July 2014)
12. The Trooper
13. Hallowed Be Thy Name
14. Iron Maiden
BIS:
15. Aces High
16. Fear Of The Dark
17. Wasted Years
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