Legendary British Heavy Metal Band Deliver An Amazing Finale to Their Tour – Review and Photos of the Iron Maiden Concert at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida

Iron Maiden is one of the most well known heavy metal bands in the entire world, touring the world countless times over and melting the faces of concert-goers for over 40 years. They’ve served as inspiration to hundreds of artists, including Metallica and Lady Gaga, and even if someone isn’t a fan of metal, you can be pretty sure they’ve at least heard of the band. Bringing their incredible live show to the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Iron Maiden performed the final concert of their “Legacy of the Beast” tour to a riotous sold out crowd. They began this tour in 2019, and although they had to take a small pause during the Corona Pandemic, this year they were back and better than ever. During the pandemic, the band also recorded their critically acclaimed new double-album Senjutsu, songs from which made an appearance on this latest leg of tour.

Kicking off the party that night was Dutch Symphonic Metal band Within Temptation, who acted as direct support for Iron Maiden on this tour. Within Temptation was no stranger to playing huge stages with intricate props and set-design, as their regular “headlining” stage show is very impressive as well, but unfortunately due to time and space constraints they played a very stripped-down stage setup with minimal props. But don’t be fooled: “stripped down” absolutely did not apply to their live performance as the crushing guitars and tack-sharp drumming demonstrated, and singer Sharon del Adel provided an amazing vocal display while simultaneously darting around the stage. Within Temptation also did a great job of playing a song from every one of their albums, while playing a few extras from their excellent latest album Resist.

After Within Temptation finished their performance and the techs expertly flipped the stage, the lights finally dimmed and fog began to pour into the room. In the darkness, a lone spotlight shone onto the drum kit from high above, and Nicko McBrain appeared in the light, thanking the crowd before sitting down and obscuring himself behind his enormous kit for the majority of the show. As Bruce Dickinson and the rest of Iron Maiden appeared on stage, they broke into their first two songs “Senjustu” and “Stratego”, which featured the appearance of a giant samurai Eddie. The set design was incredibly theatrical, with intricate set pieces adorning the stage, backgrounds changing after every song and giant inflatable props appearing for certain hits. Pyrotechnics and concussion blasts were also liberally used throughout the show, with Bruce even appearing with a giant flamethrower for one song that they must have borrowed from Rammstein. After another song from the latest album and a few deep cuts from their lesser known albums like “Sign of the Cross” and “Flight of the Icarus“, Iron Maiden kicked it into overdrive by playing a knock-out combination of “Fear of the Dark“, “Hallowed be thy Name“, “The Number of the Beast” and the eponymous song “Iron Maiden” before disappearing backstage as the crowd bayed for an encore.

Finally, after the crowd’s cheering reached a fever pitch, the lights dimmed once again and the band rushed to the stage, playing the opening lick of “The Trooper“. As the band performed the song, giant soldier Eddie made an appearance once again, sword-fighting with a red-coated Bruce as he sang the lyrics. After another deep cut “The Clansman” and the epic classic “Run to the Hills“, the band once again ducked in the back while the crowd screamed, ever hungry for more. In between encores, Nicko came out from behind his kit and tossed out setlists and drumsticks, and even flung out a couple of signed drum heads into the arena floor to a few lucky fans, and you can tell that even after 40+ years on the road, Iron Maiden still cares about and appreciates their fans. Finishing off their second encore with the legendary “Aces High” complete with the giant WW2 Spitfire airplane on stage, the band took their final bow and departed from the stage into the shadows. Iron Maiden shows are always an amazing time and I can’t wait to see what the band comes up with next!