TBOS Tour Predictions

[THESEVENTHMARINER]

We've got a topic for predictions for the albums, but here's one for the upcoming tour, where we can discuss the setlist, the stage set, what variations of Eddie will appear.

I can't begin to try and conjure up a setlist as I haven't heard the album yet, but I hope it's made up of primarily of post 2000 songs like the 2010 The Final Frontier tour.

In terms of a stage set, I can see it being like a cross between the World Slavery tour and the Brave New World set but with a Mayan theme, with a multitude of wooden looking structures and mystic symbols.

Predict away!

 

[Chained Prometheus]

In terms of a stage set, I'm actually thinking it might be a blend between the World Slavery tour and the X-Factour (rather than the BNW tour) with a Mayan theme. The cover for TBOS just has a much darker look and vibe about it, akin to TXF, so that might carry over into the set design. Perhaps they'll have an Eddie participating in a human sacrificial ritual?

 

[Night Prowler]

Setlist prediction/wishlist:

01. If Eternity Should Fail
02. Speed Of Light
03. The Trooper
04. Coming Home
05. Man On The Edge
06. The Book Of Souls
07. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
08. Dance Of Death
09. The Longest Day
10. Heaven Can Wait
11. Empire Of The Clouds
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden
-
14. The Wicker Man
15. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name

1h 54 minutes. Probably gonna change once I hear the new songs, this is just an approximation.

 

[Chained Prometheus]

Setlist prediction/wishlist:

01. If Eternity Should Fail
02. Speed Of Light
03. The Trooper
04. Coming Home
05. Man On The Edge
06. The Book Of Souls
07. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
08. Dance Of Death
09. The Longest Day
10. Heaven Can Wait
11. Empire Of The Clouds
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden
-
14. The Wicker Man
15. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name

1h 54 minutes. Probably gonna change once I hear the new songs, this is just an approximation.

I don't see them playing #15 personally. I'm not expecting #5 either, but I'd love it if they did. I really want to see The X Factor get some proper representation live. I will make this random prediction/wish though: seeing as how they went a good three years in a row not playing Hallowed at all during the Maiden England tour, I think/hope they might not play Fear of the Dark on this tour either.

 

[ironbaz]

my guess on the setlist:

from BOS
- if eternity should fail
- speed of light
- the book of souls
- shadows of the valley
- empire of the clouds

classic
- iron maiden
- hallowed be thy name
- 2 minutes to midnight
- fear of the dark

specialties
- man on the edge
- revelations

post-reunion
- brave new world
- rainmaker
- these colours don't run
- el dorado

my (hopeless) dreamsong:
- drifter
- transylvania
- brighter than a thousand suns
- stranger in a stranger land (but since they didn't make it last tour...)

 

[bornless1]

Setlist: an evening with Iron Maiden
Edition: no opening act...

1. The ides of March
2. killers
3. If eternity should fail
4. 22 Acacia AVE
5. The Book of Souls
6. The Trooper
7. El Dorado
8. The Red & the Black
9. Run to the hills

Intermission

10. The re. Of Ben breege
11. Aces High
13. Speed of Light
14. Flight of Icarus
15. Blood brothers
16. Fear of the dark
17. Poweslave
Encore
Wasted years
Dance of Death
Iron Maiden
Hallowed be thy name

 

[Eddieson]

Maybe Maiden will use and utilize screens more then they have before. It gives more possibilities and can add more depth and feeling to different songs. I saw Muse a few weeks ago and they did this very well.

 

[ironbaz]

Setlist: an evening with Iron Maiden
Edition: no opening act...

1. The ides of March
2. killers
3. If eternity should fail
4. 22 Acacia AVE
5. The Book of Souls
6. The Trooper
7. El Dorado
8. The Red & the Black
9. Run to the hills

Intermission

10. The re. Of Ben breege
11. Aces High
13. Speed of Light
14. Flight of Icarus
15. Blood brothers
16. Fear of the dark
17. Poweslave
Encore
Wasted years
Dance of Death
Iron Maiden
Hallowed be thy name

I could die if it is ever going to happen. Speed of Light cannot miss and I do not think that Bruce can get Aces High and Flight of Icarus!

 

[Donner]

Maybe Maiden will use and utilize screens more then they have before. It gives more possibilities and can add more depth and feeling to different songs. I saw Muse a few weeks ago and they did this very well.

That would be cool but I'd put the possibility of that happening at around 1%

Here's my guess -

1. If Eternity Should Fail
2. Speed of Light
3. Wrathchild
4. Children of the Damned
5. Death or Glory
6. The Red and the Black
7. The Trooper
8. Heaven Can Wait
9. Run to the Hills
10. 2 Minutes to Midnight
11. The Book of Souls
12. Die With Your Boots On
13. Fear of the Dark
14. Iron Maiden

15. The Number of the Beast
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name
17. Sanctuary

 

[Lego]

I'm actually kind of hoping they won't go too overboard on the "Mayan" theme... it could get contrived and cheesy very quickly.

A return to the DoD/AMOLAD type of set, with many darker earth tones would be cool, but some sort of bright contrasting colors would be quite welcome -a la the Dance of Death 12 pointed star motif.

This may be the most exciting stage set "reveal" they have had in ages! The album cover is even more ambiguous than BNW- it's very hard to say what direction they are going to go in.

 

[Lego]

In regards to the setlist- much as I'd love to hear "Empire" live, I don't think it's going to happen due to instrumentation and length considerations. Here's my prediction:

1. If Eternity Should Fail
2. Speed of Light
3. 2 Minutes
4. Man of Sorrows/Tears of a Clown/River Runs/Shadows of the Valley (whichever is the most ballad-y)
5. Trooper
6. Clansman (hey, I can dream!)
7. The Book of Souls
8. Death or Glory
9. NOTB
10. TROBB (PLEASE something off AMOLAD)
11. The Red and the Black
12. Fear of the Dark
13. Iron Maiden

14. The Prisoner (went down very well in 2012-14, good intro tape...)
15. Wicker Man
16. Hallowed

..any way you slice it, I hope we get at least 6-7 new tunes, and a healthy smattering of songs from other eras. The TFF 2011 setlist was such a pedestrian affairs with no real surprises, so I hope they choose wisely!

 

[Chained Prometheus]

In regards to the setlist- much as I'd love to hear "Empire" live, I don't think it's going to happen due to instrumentation and length considerations.

I have to disagree; Empire's the song that they're building up the most for the fans, much like how they built up When the Wild Wind Blows on the last album. Moreover, the descriptions for the song so far seem to indicate that Empire is pretty much the musical culmination of Maiden's long history and desire for theatricality.

 

[Lego]

I have to disagree; Empire's the song that they're building up the most for the fans, much like how they built up When the Wild Wind Blows on the last album. Moreover, the descriptions for the song so far seem to indicate that Empire is pretty much the musical culmination of Maiden's long history and desire for theatricality.

I'd love it if they did... but there would be a whole lot of additional instrumentation required- based on what we've read so far in Kerrang and TeamRock it sounds like there's quite a lot of piano and strings.

Plus, they'd have to whittle their setlist down by a handful of songs- or go out and do a double set with no opening act. Don't get me wrong, it would be absolutely amazing, I just don't think it's realistic.

 

[Brigantium]

I'm too tired to get my head around drawing up a full speculative list, but my money is on Speed of Light first

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Empire's the song that they're building up the most for the fans...

How have the band been building it up? It's 18 minutes long: people have asked about it; and one or two band members have talked about it. That's kinda all that's happened.

 

[Chained Prometheus]

How have the band been building it up? It's 18 minutes long: people have asked about it; and one or two band members have talked about it. That's kinda all that's happened.

I'd say the fact that they singled that song out in the album's press release is a good start. With TFF, I seem to remember the band hyping up WWTWB for being the third longest song in the band's history and it promptly received a lot of media attention in reviews and interviews leading up to the album's release, much like what's been happening with Empire right now. Iron Maiden's epics are generally among their most praised and loved songs by the fans. Now they have a song that's five minutes longer than the previous longest song in their discography.

I'd love it if they did... but there would be a whole lot of additional instrumentation required- based on what we've read so far in Kerrang and TeamRock it sounds like there's quite a lot of piano and strings.

Plus, they'd have to whittle their setlist down by a handful of songs- or go out and do a double set with no opening act. Don't get me wrong, it would be absolutely amazing, I just don't think it's realistic.

That's true, but again, they can have the SSoaSS dude come up onstage with a piano/keyboard to play Bruce's piano parts and also pipe in the strings (if they wanted to). It's not at all unheard of.

Sure, but that didn't stop the band from playing the entirety of AMOLAD from start-to-finish on its album tour, when it was the then-longest album in the band's history. It's not blind desire that's motivating my thoughts here. I'm honestly more excited for If Eternity Should Fail than Empire. However, with all the hype the song's getting and its apparently theatrical sound in mind, I feel like this song is probably tailor-made for the band's live shows.

Granted, my thoughts might change once I hear the song, as it could turn out to be so musically complicated or fragile that it'd be too risky to play live (like Starblind or Alexander the Great). I don't think that's the case though, so I think the band will be willing to take out a regular song or two from the setlist to put Empire in there. Hell, they dropped Hallowed Be Thy Name so that they could play Phantom of the Opera and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son on the last tour.

 

[Donner]

I don't think it's getting that much hype other than being mentioned. I agree that it would probably be cool to hear, but I think it's a pretty gutsy call to go with an 18 minute song live when you could fit other songs in its place. But who knows, we haven't even heard the thing yet!

 

[Chained Prometheus]

I don't think it's getting that much hype other than being mentioned. I agree that it would probably be cool to hear, but I think it's a pretty gutsy call to go with an 18 minute song live when you could fit other songs in its place. But who knows, we haven't even heard the thing yet!

Sure, but that's the thing; it's being mentioned and being praised. Nicko calls it an opus at a live show, Steve calls it a masterpiece in Kerrang, so on and so forth. It's certainly getting more attention (and as a result, hype) than say The Red and the Black.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

I'd say the fact that they singled that song out in the album's press release is a good start...

...much like what's been happening with Empire right now.

All it says in the official website announcement is: This is also the first time since 1984’s Powerslave that an IRON MAIDEN studio album also features two tracks written solely by Bruce Dickinson, one of which is the longest song Maiden has ever recorded!

There’s a broader split on the songwriting compared to previous Maiden records, with bassist and founder member Steve Harris contributing to seven of the tracks; 6 of them with Maiden’s guitarists and one sole composition. This is also the first time since 1984’s Powerslave that an IRON MAIDEN studio album also features two tracks written solely by Bruce Dickinson, one of which is the longest song Maiden has ever recorded! And also two Dickinson/Smith collaborations.

http://www.ironmaiden.com/new-iron-maiden-studio-album-the-book-of-souls.html

That's it. The rest is just hype you've read online.

That's true, but again, they can have the SSoaSS dude come up onstage with a piano/keyboard to play Bruce's piano parts and also pipe in the strings (if they wanted to). It's not at all unheard of.

Who ever said Bruce wrote & performed the keyboard parts on Seventh Son? Steve played the keyboard parts on the earlier stuff.

Sure, but that didn't stop the band from playing the entirety of AMOLAD from start-to-finish on its album tour, when it was the then-longest album in the band's history.

They didn't play the tracks "start-to-finish" (i.e. back-to-back), did they?

However, with all the hype the song's getting and its apparently theatrical sound in mind, I feel like this song is probably tailor-made for the band's live shows.

I think it's been fairly well argued why it does not sound tailor-made for live performance. The same reason(s) SiT tracks get overlooked to this day.

Granted, my thoughts might change once I hear the song, as it could turn out to be so musically complicated or fragile that it'd be too risky to play live (like Starblind or Alexander the Great).

Janick's already said that it was recorded in several parts. It sounds unlikely.

I don't think that's the case though...

Dude, you haven't even heard it yet!

Sure, but that's the thing; it's being mentioned and being praised. Nicko calls it an opus at a live show, Steve calls it a masterpiece in Kerrang, so on and so forth. It's certainly getting more attention (and as a result, hype) than say The Red and the Black.

They were asked directly about it. They're hardly likely to say it's shit & a bit on the long side.

 

[Chained Prometheus]

All it says in the official website announcement is: This is also the first time since 1984’s Powerslave that an IRON MAIDEN studio album also features two tracks written solely by Bruce Dickinson, one of which is the longest song Maiden has ever recorded!

That's it. The rest is just hype you've read online.

Okay, fair enough.

Who ever said Bruce wrote & performed the keyboard parts on Seventh Son? Steve played the keyboard parts on the earlier stuff.

Certainly not me. My suggestion (which I've mentioned here on the forums before) is that that they could get Michael Kenney to come onstage and play Bruce's piano parts live, much like how he did for Seventh Son with Steve's keyboard parts. I think you misread my post there, buddy.

They didn't play the tracks "start-to-finish" (i.e. back-to-back), did they?

Yes, they did, at least in the 2006 leg of the tour. They took some songs out and put in more from NotB to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary during the 2007 segment.

I think it's been fairly well argued why it does not sound tailor-made for live performance. The same reason(s) SiT tracks get overlooked to this day.

Not necessarily. SiT tracks seemingly get overlooked to this day because the guitar parts are apparently too complex/fragile for Adrian to want to play them. If that's the case with Empire, then you're spot-on. If it's just because of the piano and strings, then there's ways around that. The Gregorian chants at the start of Sign of the Cross didn't stop the band from playing that song live without a choir, after all. They can pipe in the strings if they want to and they can do the same for the piano parts if they don't want to bring Kenney onstage either.

Janick's already said that it was recorded in several parts. It sounds unlikely.

I seem to recall Dave saying the exact same thing about When the Wild Wind Blows five years ago.

Dude, you haven't even heard it yet!

Sure, but then neither have you or anyone else here. At the end of the day, we don't know the song yet. So I'm just as free to think that it could be playable live as you think it isn't. Sounds fair to me.

They were asked directly about it. They're hardly likely to say it's shit & a bit on the long side.

Fair enough.