Iron Maiden brought their career-spanning Legacy of the Beast tour to North America last night with a performance at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL.

The 16-song set opened with the double-whammy of “Aces High” and “Where Eagles Dare” and contained material from throughout the NWOBHM icons’ catalog, including “The Clansman” and “Sign of the Cross” from their mid-‘90s Blaze Bayley-fronted albums. The performance was early-‘80s heavy with a total of nine tracks taken from their third, fourth and fifth LPs The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave.

Watch Fan-Shot Video of Iron Maiden Performing "Aces High"

 

Iron Maiden’s return to the U.S.A. comes on the heels of a successful 2018 run through Europe. The band took Legacy of the Beast to 26 different countries during the trek, including multiple stops in England, Germany and France.

"We’re immensely proud of this show and we’ve had great reactions from the many fans who came to see us in Europe,” Singer Bruce Dickinson said via a statement released at the time of the North American tour announcement. Legacy of the Beast shares its name with a series of projects the band has launched in recent years, including a video game, comic book series and pinball machine.

“The production is based on our mobile game The Legacy of the Beast, which basically takes various incarnations of Eddie into many different Maiden Worlds," Dickinson previously revealed. "This inspired us to put together a stage show to take our fans through different Worlds and experiences set to appropriate songs."

Watch Fan-Shot Video of Iron Maiden Performing "Revelations"

 

Indeed, the production design was one of the night’s biggest stars at the show in Sunrise. The show opened with the stage covered in World War II-type camouflage netting, with drummer Nicko McBrain hidden behind a wall of the material. The band’s replica Spitfire plane hung overhead, partly moving into the audience and changing angles. Later the netting was pulled away to reveal a church-like setting with stained-glass windows featuring band mascot Eddie through the years. Props included a sword for "The Clansman"; flamethrowers for "Flight of Icarus," a giant Icarus figure, a giant Beast head and of course Eddie himself, who engaged Dickinson in a swordfight during “The Trooper” and eventually lost to the frontman’s cannon.

“We gave a lot of thought to the set list for this tour as the songs needed to follow the narrative of the changing worlds of the stage show," bassist Steve Harris explained via press release. "We feel we ended up with a very strong and well balanced set mixing songs we haven’t played in many years like ‘Flight of Icarus,’ ‘Sign of the Cross’ and ‘The Clansman’ with songs we know the fans want to hear like ‘The Trooper,’ ‘2 Minutes to Midnight,’ ‘The Number of the Beast,’ ‘Fear of the Dark,’ ‘Run to the Hills,’ ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ and others, reflecting the journey through the different themes of the show.”

John McMurtrie / Iron Maiden
John McMurtrie / Iron Maiden
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The Legacy of the Beast tour will continue through the end of September, with stops scheduled throughout the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. You can get complete show and ticket information at Iron Maiden's official website.

Watch Fan-Shot Video of Iron Maiden Performing "Run to the Hills"

Iron Maiden Set List, July 18, 2019, Sunrise, FL

1. “Aces High”
2. “Where Eagles Dare”
3. “2 Minutes To Midnight”
4. “The Clansman”
5. “The Trooper"
6. “Revelations”
7. “For The Greater Good Of God”
8. “The Wicker Man”
9. “Sign Of The Cross”
10. “Flight Of Icarus”
11. “Fear Of The Dark”
12. “The Number Of The Beast”
13. "Iron Maiden"

Encore:
14. “The Evil That Men Do"
15. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
16. “Run To The Hills”

John McMurtrie / Iron Maiden
John McMurtrie / Iron Maiden
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