The Metal Files

Somewhere I hear a voice that’s calling
Out in the dark there burns a dream
You got to hope when you are falling
To find the world that you have seen

I remember it well, the weekend in 1986 before Iron Maiden released Somewhere In Time. I had gone in to Unicorn Records to see Drew and ask if he had the new Maiden yet…on cassette of course. He said he did but couldn’t sell it yet…legally. I asked to at least look at it and after much badgering, he finally conceded. It was all I could do to not just run out of the store with it. Of course I wouldn’t have as the owner and I were friends, but I did consider it.

He told me to come back Tuesday. I told him I’d have to wait until the following weekend. I think he could see the pain in my face and he definitely knew that Maiden was y favorite band. I handed it back to him and was about to leave and when he stopped me and said, “OK. I’ll sell it to you. Just don’t tell anyone!” Drew was such a softie! I handed him the money and bolted out to my old 66 Nova 4dr.

Flash forward to this morning. I had to actually work on a Saturday (it was actually a class at work). After it was finished, I got into my car and decided to listen to some Maiden. I when to the Maiden folder on the iPod and decided that I wanted to hear Somewhere In Time. I was in the mood for Sea of Madness and Wasted Years specifically.

When that first synth in Caught Somewhere In Time started, I suddenly felt a chill come over me, in a good way. It took me right back to that day in 86, sitting in my car and popping that cassette in for the first time. I was completely awed by the album. It was quite different than Powerslave (my all tie #1). The ride back to my town was about 30 minutes or so and I got through half of the album. I had to call someone! So I called, Kelz. “Dude, Drew sold me the new Maiden today.” “No he didn’t.” “Yes, he did! Listen!” “Man, you suck.” Kelz and I repeated this conversation when Seventh Son came out. haha

While Somewhere is a damn fine album, I still find myself skipping Alexander the Great.

From Maiden:

“We have great fun playing the History of Maiden Tours because it gives us an opportunity between new albums to go out and play songs from our earlier catalogue,” says frontman Bruce Dickinson. “It’s always fantastic seeing the crowd reaction from a new generation of fans who have never experienced some of these tracks performed live before, and of course we know our longstanding fans will enjoy seeing the original Seventh Son Tour re-visited – with many other surprises!

“Our intention is to play about two thirds of the original track list of Maiden England (shown below*), including some songs we have not played live in a very,very long time, plus other favourites we just know the fans are going to want to hear! We always try to give our fans a great show musically, but we have always tried to make it as entertaining and memorable an experience as we can visually. And we all feel this show is going to do that splendidly! We can’t wait to get started in Charlotte”.

For reference, the ‘Maiden England’ VHS tape has the following tracklisting:

Moonchild, The Evil That Men Do, The Prisoner, Still Life, Die With Your Boots On, Infinite Dreams, Killers, Can I Play With Madness, Heaven Can Wait, Wasted Years, The Clairvoyant, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden.

So a shitload of amazing songs to choose from, then.

Dates for the tour are as follows:

MAIDEN ENGLAND 2012 TOUR DATES
Thur 21st June Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sat 23rd June Atlanta, GA Aarons Amphitheatre
Tue 26th June Boston, MA Comcast Center
Wed 27th June Wantagh, NY Jones Beach
Fri 29th June Philadelphia, PI Susquehanna Bank Center
Sat 30th June Washington, DC Jiffy Lube Live
Mon 2nd July Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Thur 5th July Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank
Sun 8th July Quebec, QC Colisee Pepsi Arena
Wed 11th July Montreal, QC Bell Center
Fri 13th July Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
Sat 14th July Sarnia, ON Bayfest
Mon 16th July Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Wed
18th July Detroit, MI DTE Music Theatre
Thur 19th July Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Centre
Tues 24th July Winnipeg, MB MTS Center
Thur 26th July Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Fri 27th July Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
Sun 29th July Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum
Mon 30th July Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre
Wed 1st August Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
Fri 3rd August San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mon 6th August Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
Thur 9th August Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sun 12th August Albuquerque. NM Hard Rock Pavilion
Mon 13th August Denver, CO Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
Wed 15th August San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
Fri 17th August Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
Sat 18th August Houston, TX The Woodlands

It’s no secret.  My love for this band runs deep and Powerslave is my favorite album of all time.  We just finished this tattoo on the back of my right calf.

tattoo by www.marcohyder.com

UP THE IRONS!

I was never much of a button collector but I bought a few.  Here are 2 of the 3 I know that I had.  The other was a Stryper button from 1985 (my first metal show) that I lost a few years back.

The Yngwie one came from Triumph/Yngwie 1986.  Thomas’ dad took us to the show.  He sat in the rafters while we stayed close to the front.  Triumph was on the Sport of Kings tour and Yngwie was on the Trilogy tour.  Jeff Scott Soto had come back into the band for the tour.  Don’t really know why Boals left but we were all happy to see JSS on stage.  Both bands were great.  I couldn’t afford a shirt so a button was my souvenir.

The other is from Iron Maiden/Anthrax in 1991.  I am pretty sure that I bought a Maiden shirt that likely disintegrated shortly after the show.

Yngwie and Anthrax buttons (click to enlarge)

This was my 2nd Maiden show.  Two pals of mine drove up with me to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA for this one.   Anthrax was opening on their Persistence of Time Tour.  I remember during Anthrax’s set that many of the folks in the front rows were sitting down and Belladonna had made some comments to the crowd about it.  Security was pretty tight for this show.  We had pretty decent seats up and off to the side.  At the end of Tailgunner (the opening song), they dropped stickers down from the roof and that’s what’s under the ticket in the photo below.

Setlist

1. Tailgunner
2. Public Enema Number One
3. Wrathchild
4. Die With Your Boots On
5.  Hallowed Be Thy Name
6.  22 Acacia Avenue
7.  Holy Smoke
8.  No Prayer for the Dying
9.  The Clairvoyant
10.  2 Minutes to Midnight
11.  The Trooper
12.  Heaven Can Wait
13.  Iron Maiden
14. The Number of the Beast
15.  Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter
16.  Run to the Hills
17.  Sanctuary