Iron Maiden - OVO Hydro, Glasgow 30.06.2025

Celebrating 50 years as a band is not really something that happens that often in the music industry, especially when the band in question has done it all on their own terms.

Iron Maiden have just completed the UK leg of their “Run For Your Lives” tour which saw them a couple of days previous to this perform at London Stadium, home to Steve Harris’ beloved West Ham FC. Europe beckons with talk of the tour extending into next year with even more shows across other continents. Although the band have nothing at all left to prove they certainly seem keen to push themselves and not rest on their laurels. This tour seems them taking no prisoners in their performance, staging or choice of setlist.

After the usual intro music of “Doctor Doctor” the sold out OVO Hydro is thrown back half a decade as the intro video rolls across the back screen. You can almost smell the aroma of stale piss, beer and BO as it drops easter egg after easter egg for the faithful Iron Maiden fans gathered here to celebrate. The screen flips location to Paris as the band literally explode onto the stage with “Murder In The Rue Morgue” with more energy than most bands half their age.

Maiden are celebrating their golden anniversary with the “Run For Your Lives” tour, focusing specifically on songs from their debut up to 1992’s “Fear Of The Dark” inclusively, a period a lot of fans think of as their strongest. The set is an eclectic mix, shining a light on deep cuts as well as some of their big hitters, excluding some fan favourites, which shows how much depth they have in their material as I don’t think anyone can walk away from this show feeling short changed in the song selection.

Bruce Dickenson runs around the stage like a man possessed, matched by bassist Steve Harris, the band’s de facto leader and principle writer, who guns his bass at the audience, one foot up on a monitor in his own classic style. Guitar wise, Maiden have three of the best players in the metal genre in Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers, each bringing their own style and take on playing. Murray is all smiles as he stands on the stage, Smith crunches through riffs with a nice selection of Explorer style guitars amongst others, while Gers is flamboyant in his playing, throwing his guitar around with reckless abandon, at one point even catching Bruce Dickenson as he wanders too close.

This is also the first tour to feature Simon Dawson on drums, stepping in for Nicko McBrain who has stepped away from playing live after recovering from a stroke. Dawson also plays with Harris in the band British Lion, so their playing styles mesh together well. There have been some complaints from certain fans about his playing but for me, he seemed pretty tight on the night. There’s a lot of pressure resting on his shoulders but I hope fans go out of their way to give the man a chance. A drummer friend of mine (who is a Maiden nut and is heavily influenced by McBrain) had nothing but praise for Dawson’s performance. He may be less of a showman than Nicko was, but his (slightly) smaller kit is punched and pummeled with precision, allowing him to let the beats do the talking.

And there is plenty to talk about to. Song wise the band pull a blinder. “Wrathchild” and “Killers” follow second and third before a galloping “Phantom Of The Opera” is played fast enough to give the audience whiplash. Each song is given its own video backdrop, most drawn from from the band’s rich artwork history while others offer something a little different. “The Number Of The Beast” rears it’s demonic head relatively early, parts of the original “Nosferatu” film spliced into the backing video which is wonderfully sharp and clear. Arguably the centrepiece of the set is “Rime Of The Ancient Marriner”, Harris’ adaptation of the epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. A beautiful computer animation adds chilling depth to the song, making it incredibly captivating. Add in a little subtle pyro nod to their “Live After Death” shows from nearly 40 years ago and you have a lot of happy metal heads. Some might grumble about including a song of such length, but it’s something that i never thought I’d see played live. The creaks and groans of the doomed ship still send shivers up my spine.

Yes, the band are part pantomime, with some hammy theatrics, but that’s part of Iron Maiden’s charm. There would probably be a riot if their mascot Eddie the Head didn’t make a physical appearance, which he does a couple of times, threatening band members with an axe or sword. Dickenson plays things up with a few simple costume changes and props (appearing in a cage for “Hallowed Be Thy Name” for example). His voice holds up well for his age and also his recovery from cancer a few years ago. He may not possess the dynamic range he one had, but it’s not far off. He still powers through the classics, sustaining notes other singers would struggle with. He also commands the stage like no other frontman, running from one side to the other while also utilising the raised areas across the backline. He bounds over monitors like a toddler, and at one point even manages to fit in a folk jig during an instrumental section.

The stage is augmented with a well designed lightshow that adds depth to the band’s presentation. Sound wise they’re pretty loud and clear, guitars, bass and drums sounding well. Sometimes Dickenson’s voice gets a little lost in the mix but he can be forgiven that. Song wise we’re spoilt for choice, with several highlights standing proud including the afore mentioned “Rime.....”, as well as “The Clairvoyant”, “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” (complete with atmospheric keyboard swells to balance out Adrian Smith’s chunky instrumental riff) and “Powerslave” (Dickenson and the rest of the band dwarfed by a giant onscreen pharaoh Eddie sphinx) all hitting home.

The two hour set, including encore, passes by in the blink of an eye, and it feels as though they’ve only just begun before giving us a closing triumvirate of “Aces High”, a particularly wonderful “Fear Of The Dark” (featuring a haunting moment as Bruce appears on the upper stage framed by a rising full moon) and “Wasted Years”.

If there was a downside, it was the behaviour of some of the audience members. The guy behind me was particularly loud, shouting out song titles before they were about to play it, and tunelessly chanting along to the music out of time and key to what was being played. After dropping his phone and coat on my partner (on different occasions) as well as squirming around so much he kept knocking the back of her chair, I turned around, slapped his legs and told him to chill out a bit (or words to that effect) which seemed to take the wind from his sails a little. However, most of the audience were great, showing some wonderful camaraderie with each other. Also, seeing young kids at gigs with their parents brings a warm glow to your heart. That’s great parenting right there!

Glasgow was the final show in the UK leg of the tour, with Iron Maiden heading on down the road to carry on what they do best. The tour is expected to play well into 2026, as the band shows pretenders just how it’s done. It’s a phenomenal production with the band giving their very best with each and every song. We may never see another studio album from them, but Iron Maiden put together a premium show like no other band. The bar for a live presentation has now been set incredibly high. Metallica may have their big outdoor stage and Rammstein their pyro, but Iron Maiden have thrown down a challenge to their peers that may be unsurmountable. In years to come, people will look back at this run as the classic presentation that both band and audience deserve.

Scream for me!

666/5

Iron Maiden

Review - Scott Hamilton