Way back in 2006, whilst on the road supporting the A Matter Of Life And Death album Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson promised that the  next Maiden tour would see the band recreating "a little bit of Egypt" in homage to the legendary World Slavery Tour and the release of the DVD version of Live After Death. Well after starting off said tour, dubbed Somewhere Back in Time, in India back in February, the travelling circus that is Maiden on the road finally found it's way to the UK for it's one and only stop on British soil, Twickenham Stadium no less. Rather surprisingly, given the band's status in an almost thirty year career, this was the first ever stadium show that they had preformed under their own name in their homeland. With that in find some fifty thousand Maiden devotees converged on the capital for what, hopefully , would be one of the events of the year. But of course before Maiden could take to the stage there was the support line up to consider.

Kicking things off, as on most Maiden dates of late, was Lauren Harris, daughter of Maiden bassist Steve Harris. Now plenty has been written about how lucky Ms. Harris is having such an illustrious father and the opportunities that affords but let's face it to get up stage in front of so many fanatical Maiden fans has been a daunting task for many a more established artist, never mind one starting out on a career. Having followed Ms Harris on the site for a couple of years it's interesting to see just how much she has matured as a stage performer in that time, whatever you're feelings are about the music there was no doubt that the prospect of opening up for Maiden at Twickenham held no nerves for the diminutive singer. Utilizing the full size of the huge stage she demanded attention from opening song Natural Thing to the closing duo of Gun's Steal Your Fire and Come On Over and if Twickenham wasn't always playing ball then she damn well screamed long and loud at the slightly sparse crowd until you just had to sit up and take notice.  Hats off to Ms. Harris, she is taking her opportunities and running with them at full tilt.

Sharon den Adel has a voice that almost entirely dominated Within Temptation's forty-odd minutes of stage time. Kicking off with 'Our Solemn Hour', the seven song set drew mainly from last years excellent 'The Heart of Everything' along with the addition of a couple from 'Mother Earth'. Den Adel's vocal simply resonated around the huge stadium and the rest of the band was left slightly dwarfed by her stage presence.

Backing tapes were used to replicate Keith Caputo's vocal part on the duet 'What Have We Done' which was a blunt attempt to cross over into the mainstream and score a hit single and is their most commercial song to date and the emotive 'Mother Earth' and 'Ice Queen' closed an impressive performance. Doubtless Within Temptation are a band best appreciated in an evening setting to make full use of the histrionic nature of much of their material, but their set was generally well received and will have ensured they gathered plenty of new admirers.

Dio, Motorhead, Queensryche....all are bands who have opened for Maiden in the US over the past few years. And yet here in Europe we have been regularly treated to the latest Metal Hammer / Kerrang! faves, presumably in an effort to recruit the next generation and shift more tickets. This is perhaps more understandable on a standard "album" tour but on a night when Maiden were celebrating their past then surely a band like Saxon or Motorhead would have proven an inspired choice. As it was, Twickenham was treated instead to Orange County's Avenged Sevenfold in the 'Special Guest' slot, who took the stage amidst a hail of bottles and a vibe of general indifference.

Vocalist M Shadows did little to try and connect with the crowd much beyond the first few rows and in a stadium the size of Twickenham they struggled to make much of an impact. In terms of the songs, then the majority came across as disjointed with the lyrics and what supposedly passes as melody tacked on as an afterthought, only 'Afterlife' managing to rise above the mire. Following some mumblings by Shadows about an incident in front of the stage the final song was cut short and "damp squib" is the phrase that best fits their display.

And so as the time eased round to 8.15 in the evening the strains of UFO's Doctor Doctor gave way the now infamous Churchillian speech that opened Maiden's World Slavery Tour excitement in Twickenham rose to fever pitch as Maiden finally hit the stage to deliver a turbo charged Aces High. With a set resplendent with Egyptian imagery as befitted the theme of the evening the first portion of the set disappeared in a blur as Maiden stuck to the opening quartet of songs that graced the Live After Death set (albeit with Revelations & The Trooper swopping positions) and it wasn't until Wasted Years that either the audience or the band had a moment to catch breath. But if the opening was good there was better yet to come. Missing from the band's live shows for over twenty years without doubt the centre piece of the current tour is the grandiose epic that is Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.  With an abundance of pyro, dry ice and a descending lighting rig that echoed the creaky wooden ships of yore it was rock theatrics at it's best and a spectacle that only Maiden could possibly serve up.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Maiden in 2008, not counting the band's actual performance, is the breadth of fan base they can count on. From the wizened old rockers who were with the band from the beginning their audience is now completed by whole families and generations of fans, a metal day out for the family if you will. Perhaps this will be Maiden's greatest legacy, the ability to unite rock fans from disparate genres into one sea of waving hands, screaming voices and banging heads. None of the band's peers have ever quite managed to capture the same enduring loyalty that Maiden have sustained over the decades, and the fact that their audience is still growing and demanding more is testament to the band's greatness. And then as Fear Of The Dark gave way to the opening riffs of the band's signature tune the band's talisman & mascot, the ubiquitous Eddie, made his appearance, cocooned in bandages and dangling dangerously close to drummer Nicko McBrain it was the cue for perhaps the biggest reception seen in Twickenham since the England rugby team last actually won anything.

The question of an encore was never in doubt and the revival of Moonchild, the opening track from 1988's Seventh Son set was a welcome addition to proceedings as was the follow up The Clairvoyant and then it was time for final track of the night Hallowed Be Thy Name, perhaps the track that sums Maiden up best. Storytelling with the lyric, screaming harmony guitars throughout and the driving rhythm section powering the set along to it's final conclusion. All in all, despite the odd fluctuation in the sound now and again, Maiden simply took Twickenham by the scruff of the neck, planted their collective feet on the monitors and didn't let go for nigh on two hours.

Dean Pedley & Steve Cummings