Iron Maiden, Lord Of The Lost - Zürich, Hallenstadion 30.06.2022
After the unfortunate cancelation by Metallica (which were scheduled to play in Switzerland one day before), Iron Maiden was the first big concert that I was going to attend after the start of the pandemic. After arriving in Hallenstadion (which was already getting full several hours before the headliners opening time), my initial reluctance immediately transformed to the familiar combination of feelings that I have been experiencing the last 32 years that I am attending concerts : The adrenaline rash before the show starts and the sense of belonging to a bigger "community" of people who despite having regular jobs and families, still like from time to time to dress in black t-shirts with "monsters" on them (as my daughter says), people who above all adore the music and support the artists.
The program started punctually (like a Swiss clock) with Lord Of The Lost getting on the stage. I was not familiar with their material and honestly I do not think that I will be in the near future. Their gothic, industrial hybrid which was also not being much helped by the poor sound quality (the guitar sound was totally "buried" by the synth and drums blasting) failed to drag my attention. Moreover, I think that their music style was not the "right" one to warm up the average Maiden fan. I could not help wondering though, if their choice for being the opening act for Iron Maiden was a result of strong management or a deliberate, "safe" choice that would not distract the audience attention from the headliners...
Following a 30 min break for the necessary rearrangements of the scene, the headliners entered the stage with the confidence of veterans they are. The crowd was quite energetic and active (even for a Swiss show) and Iron Maiden proved that despite their age, they are still in great shape. The setlist was wisely structured, having a sufficient number of mid tempo songs including breaks to change the scenery thus helping the band and Dickinson cope with an almost 2 hour show !
There will for sure be fans that will still complain about the absence of songs from 7th Son or Somewhere in Time but Maiden have such a vast catalogue of great albums and songs and they have been so often on the road during the last years (before the pandemic) that it is impossible to present a setlist that is not repetitive and can still make every fan happy. The setlist was the following :
Encore:
Encore 2:
All in all, 15 songs, not bad I would say!
Concluding, the summary was positive. This could have been a great 2 days had Metallica not cancelled due to Covid case in their ranks but Iron Maiden made up for both. My satisfaction should have been apparent on my face when a passenger in the return train home, seeing my T-shirt, asked me smiling to confirm if the concert was THAT great.
It was, I nodded...