Iron Maiden delivers a killer show
Iron Maiden fans braved the cold on Saturday evening to watch their favourite metal band in action on the Festival Lawns at Carnival City.
Their bravery was richly rewarded when the band put on a brilliant show – both acoustically and visually – as part of their Book of Souls tour.
Known for their energetic performances and spectacular sets, the band played to their strengths and rocked the crowd for “the fastest two hours of my life” as one of my friends put it.
As usual, the lighting – which included fiery tikki torches – was a captivating part of the show with the stage and lights perfectly matched to the set-list and set.
The band played songs off their new album ‘Book of Souls‘ as well as a few of their classic fan favourites, including Wasted Years and Fear of the Dark, the latter bringing tears to the eyes of some of the audience.
Bruce Dickinson once again showcased his powerful vocal range and his ability to reach out and grab the audience, wherever they may be standing.
The rest of the band was also on form, with Steve Harris living up to his reputation as one of the best metal bassists in the world.
His bass playing is insane.
The guitar trio of Janick Gers, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray set the stage on fire with their solos, while drummer Nico McBrian was outstanding, as expected.
Eddie, the bands iconic mascot, was out in force and his appearance was met with a thunderous roar from the audience.
With a show this good, it is little wonder Iron Maiden is still a force to be reckoned with, 40 years after they first hit the metal scene, and remain one of the greatest metal bands of all time.
The opening act, Southern Rock band Jasper Dan, local lads hailing from the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, got the crowd rocking from their first note.
While they may be relatively unknown, their set was well appreciated by the crowd, and far better than British band The Raven Age who followed them.
Jasper Dan won the coveted opening slot in a contentious ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition but did little to let the controversy hinder their performance on the night.
While some die-hard metal-heads may have preferred a local metal band to open the night’s concert, most embraced Jasper Dan, enjoying their catchy tunes.
The Raven Age is a melodic metal band of guitarists George Harris (Steve Harris’ son) and Dan Wright who failed to live up to the opening act, or do justice to the main attraction which followed.
This was definitely the least appealing act of the night but did little to dampen the mood as the crowd waited for the ultimate act to take the stage.
