Iron Maiden Close Out ‘The Book of Souls World Tour’ at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center

Joseph Baura

With over 40 years of music spanning 16 albums, Iron Maiden continues to be one of the most influential heavy metal bands in the world. When many bands reach points where they find too great of a disconnect and split, Iron Maiden has stood the test of time, continuing to push forward with the band’s original roster and maintaining the sound that brought them success through the decades. After news loomed over the band that lead singer Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with cancer, there were strong concerns that the band would never return to the stage in full form. However, as evidenced by their long and strenuous “The Book of Souls World Tour,” capped off by two sold out shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Dickinson and Iron Maiden have not faltered one bit and still bring the same energy that brought them to prominence so many years earlier.

Die-hard Maiden fans came out in full force, traversing through the summer heat to make their way to Barclays Center. The tour was originally supposed to come to a close on Friday, but when the first show sold out, the crew added a second to satisfy NYC’s insatiable appetite for Maiden’s brand of metal.

Right from the jump it was clear that Iron Maiden was ready to bring their trademark outstanding stage design with all of the frightening props with which their live performances are synonymous, and of course Eddie, the band’s longtime zombie mascot. Their iconic mascot was rightfully the face of their performance as he made appearances in the band’s animated intro video and was also paraded around the stage as a 10 foot inflatable presence, adding ambience as the band played. At one point, Dickinson approached the inflatable Eddie figure, ripped his heart out and tossed it into the crowd for the fans to feast on.

With countless songs for the band to perform on such a momentous occasion, fans wondered what they would hear from Iron Maiden’s storied career. With a heavy focus on their more recent works, the band struck a great balance between new and old by weaving classic hits and songs that were slowly growing on diehard fans into their setlist. Opening with back-to-back songs off their last release, “Book of Souls,” Dickinson stood a top a platform in the middle of the stage as he dipped his head into a smoke filled cauldron.

All eyes were on Dickinson throughout the performance, as the 58-year-old maestro behind the microphone put on a show that kept fans screaming for more. Aside from his energetic movements, which easily harkened back to his younger days where he would run back and forth across the stage, Dickinson’s voice sounded as good as it did in their heyday, hitting the highs and lows of vocal register with ease.

With a 15 song set that spanned nearly two hours, the band left very little to be desired. Ending the performance on three classics in “The Number of the Beast,” “Blood Brothers,” and “Wasted Years,” the legendary metal outfit closed the back cover of their “Book of Souls” tour with an emphatic and thunderous encore.

Iron Maiden ended their ‘The Book of Souls Works Tour’ at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on July 22.