GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Mixed with a big amount of FANtasy.
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES 2025 Tour Thread *SPOILERS INSIDE*
- Thread starter Perun
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Mixed with a big amount of FANtasy.
onurb
Ancient Mariner
If they go with the guns n roses mindset, they better do another tour with 2000s songs.
Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
That's the thing: Let's assume Maiden continue for a bunch of tours. What's left to do?
New albums are supported by their respective tours, that's simple enough.
But after that? Doing any particular era like the Early Days, SBIT or Maiden England will look ridiculous, especially after we've gotten a 80s + FOTD tour celebrating the 50th anniversary.
I suppose a reunion heavy tour could work (no chance on a 90s tour). Or a "lets play this classic album front to back" for something like Powerslave or SSOASS.
Any other "best-of" style will look like a weird immitation of LOTB and I just don't see that happening. It's weird, but it feels like they are kinda running out of unique themes for future tours.
New albums are supported by their respective tours, that's simple enough.
But after that? Doing any particular era like the Early Days, SBIT or Maiden England will look ridiculous, especially after we've gotten a 80s + FOTD tour celebrating the 50th anniversary.
I suppose a reunion heavy tour could work (no chance on a 90s tour). Or a "lets play this classic album front to back" for something like Powerslave or SSOASS.
Any other "best-of" style will look like a weird immitation of LOTB and I just don't see that happening. It's weird, but it feels like they are kinda running out of unique themes for future tours.
Poto
Ancient Mariner
Absolutely. And you can add Murders and Killers too.
I actually think it's a bit funny that a greatest hits set has two fairly obscure Di'Anno era songs in the first three songs.
Yax
Ancient Mariner
It's not really a greatest hits set though. More like a classic songs set.
Excited to see Maiden again in four weeks. It's been two years since I last saw them, and I wasn't in the mind to really enjoy that gig, and before that it's been five. The setlist is amazing and from what I heard so far the performances are tight. I haven't been this enthusiastic about Maiden in many years.
Yax
Ancient Mariner
You're in for a great show, performance-wise, sound-wise as well as visually. I was just smiling the first few songs, thinking how surreal it felt to see Maiden for the first time in 7 years, so I imagine you'll be in a similar state of mind.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Very much looking forward to this show coming to the US. As long as Maiden is still touring, I'll be there.
BludBrutha
Ancient Mariner
They can easily do another retrospective tour following this one, knock out a third of the current setlist and put in Brave New World, Blood Brothers, Dance of Death and the other heavy hitters from the reunion era, press release saying we’re doing fan favourites from our entire career because it’s what the fans want, update a few screens … another two year tour right there, easy.
That’s exactly what I foresaw them doing as soon as they announced the current tour. They’ll extend it a few times and at some point it’ll be billed as a farewell tour and they’ll do all the major cities all over again.
That’s exactly what I foresaw them doing as soon as they announced the current tour. They’ll extend it a few times and at some point it’ll be billed as a farewell tour and they’ll do all the major cities all over again.
2M2M
Educated Fool
I agree - I felt like moving to screens was a good indicator that they'll be doing more tours with the screens - and while within 1 tour leg it might be difficult to change a song (or they feel it best to keep the same setlist for fans' sake), they would easily be able to change songs and have new artwork etc for each leg/new tour
onurb
Ancient Mariner
I think they could have changed the setlist last tour and didnt only because of nicko.
I am really looking forward to seeing this tour. Not gonna lie, it's a weird moment to be a Maiden fan. I feel like when Maiden first reunited, they were thinking about a 5, maybe 10 year stretch to ride this lineup into the sunset. There have been a couple times since then where it has felt like they were kinda caught off guard by their own success. One is the 2007 Matter of the Beast tour, one is the 2012 Maiden England tour, and I think we're in another one with this Run For Your Lives tour. Basically, I think Maiden has reached a few benchmarks where they've gone as far as they think they can go in terms of audience size and milking their classic catalog, and then realize there's actually more fruit in the tree. Legacy of the Beast felt like a farewell tour. Future Past felt like a gesture toward hardcore fans for being patient around the delayed new music. Now we're in 2025 and Run For Your Lives feels like... another farewell tour? IDK to me it feels like retirement has been looming and every time it feels like they might be ready to hang it up, they decide at the last minute they want to keep going and we get a tour that feels somewhat haphazardly put together in terms of theming.
As far as the stage goes. The video screens caught me off guard in some ways but also not much of a surprise considering they were testing it on Future Past (and the staging for Future Past in general was pretty understated. This is the logical next step considering they were not going to beat what they did with practical staging on LOTB. Overall I think the screens are well executed and it works. I was bummed about screen Eddie at first but then I saw the video. Wow. I'm sure it's even more spectacular in person. I also think inherent in the reliance on screens is the unavoidable fact that these guys are physically slowing down. If more screens means Bruce can focus more on singing and less running around, that is probably good for their longevity.
Here's the rub with the setlist. I like the take that this is the three history tours thrown in a blender. Like a Best Of the Best Of tours. For those of us who have seen Maiden before, it's nothing new. Even for me, despite missing SBIT I will only be seeing two songs I've never heard live before (Killers and Rime). Without checking for sure, I'm almost positive this is a record low and it's not even close. At the same time, for many of these songs it will have been 15 years or more since I last heard them live, so I can welcome that at least. Given what Maiden typically does, I think this is about as good as you can expect a Maiden setlist to be given the theme. I mean, you're getting Rime, Powerslave, Phantom, and SSOASS in the same show, what else do you need? In a lot of ways, this is the epics tour people clamored for.
IMO a lot of the things people are complaining about with the setlist would be fixed with a change in encore. Aces High was a bad pick for an encore, but it also seems to me like the visuals around spitfires as well as the hype around the churchill speech are so iconic that the band feels like it's an integral part of a nostalgia tour. Closing with Wasted Years again is kind of a dud to me as well. I think if you reorganized the set order a bit and found a way to include something like Still Life, Infinite Dreams, or even something never played live before a lot of the complaints would go away. But, also, having been part of this community for as long as I have, I think Maidenfans tend to find something to complain about no matter what. In general I think the moaning about Aces High is kinda overexaggerated compared to the audience response I'm seeing in the bootlegs. It's not really about the performance for that song imo, but about the staging/visuals/energy.
The elephant in the room to me is where does Maiden go from here? I've laughed off the idea that they would do a X Factor to Senjutsu and beyond tour to follow this up, but I think a new album and a tour focusing more on the late stage of their career (with some hits from the 80s mixed in of course) isn't out of the question. Simon feels like a longevity pick to me. He's close to them in age and he's been treated like a full time member, not a fill in. This all points to them seeing him as a long term partner in the band and perhaps someone they want to go in the studio with.
All this to say I'm not sure RFYL is the last tour. But if Senjutsu is the last album, I think the expectations for the next tour are going to be high. There's not much they can do without seriously repeating themselves on the next tour, so I hope they think about a new album or doing something more off the beaten path for the next tour. I want Maiden to keep going, but I hope RFYL doesn't become their version of Rolling Stones/other nostalgia bands essentially playing the same hits every tour.
Overall I'm positive on this tour and, as always, will be extremely excited for more Maiden gigs.
As far as the stage goes. The video screens caught me off guard in some ways but also not much of a surprise considering they were testing it on Future Past (and the staging for Future Past in general was pretty understated. This is the logical next step considering they were not going to beat what they did with practical staging on LOTB. Overall I think the screens are well executed and it works. I was bummed about screen Eddie at first but then I saw the video. Wow. I'm sure it's even more spectacular in person. I also think inherent in the reliance on screens is the unavoidable fact that these guys are physically slowing down. If more screens means Bruce can focus more on singing and less running around, that is probably good for their longevity.
Here's the rub with the setlist. I like the take that this is the three history tours thrown in a blender. Like a Best Of the Best Of tours. For those of us who have seen Maiden before, it's nothing new. Even for me, despite missing SBIT I will only be seeing two songs I've never heard live before (Killers and Rime). Without checking for sure, I'm almost positive this is a record low and it's not even close. At the same time, for many of these songs it will have been 15 years or more since I last heard them live, so I can welcome that at least. Given what Maiden typically does, I think this is about as good as you can expect a Maiden setlist to be given the theme. I mean, you're getting Rime, Powerslave, Phantom, and SSOASS in the same show, what else do you need? In a lot of ways, this is the epics tour people clamored for.
IMO a lot of the things people are complaining about with the setlist would be fixed with a change in encore. Aces High was a bad pick for an encore, but it also seems to me like the visuals around spitfires as well as the hype around the churchill speech are so iconic that the band feels like it's an integral part of a nostalgia tour. Closing with Wasted Years again is kind of a dud to me as well. I think if you reorganized the set order a bit and found a way to include something like Still Life, Infinite Dreams, or even something never played live before a lot of the complaints would go away. But, also, having been part of this community for as long as I have, I think Maidenfans tend to find something to complain about no matter what. In general I think the moaning about Aces High is kinda overexaggerated compared to the audience response I'm seeing in the bootlegs. It's not really about the performance for that song imo, but about the staging/visuals/energy.
The elephant in the room to me is where does Maiden go from here? I've laughed off the idea that they would do a X Factor to Senjutsu and beyond tour to follow this up, but I think a new album and a tour focusing more on the late stage of their career (with some hits from the 80s mixed in of course) isn't out of the question. Simon feels like a longevity pick to me. He's close to them in age and he's been treated like a full time member, not a fill in. This all points to them seeing him as a long term partner in the band and perhaps someone they want to go in the studio with.
All this to say I'm not sure RFYL is the last tour. But if Senjutsu is the last album, I think the expectations for the next tour are going to be high. There's not much they can do without seriously repeating themselves on the next tour, so I hope they think about a new album or doing something more off the beaten path for the next tour. I want Maiden to keep going, but I hope RFYL doesn't become their version of Rolling Stones/other nostalgia bands essentially playing the same hits every tour.
Overall I'm positive on this tour and, as always, will be extremely excited for more Maiden gigs.
Poto
Ancient Mariner
Maybe on paper, but man what a perfect song to end with. In 2023 there were a few shows where I got tears in my eyes with the event shirts on the screens throughout the song. That felt like a thank you and a farewell from the band.
And in Helsinki this the year people around me went crazy during the song, jumping and singing more than they did during Hills and Fear.
For some songs you have to be there to understand the appeal.
BludBrutha
Ancient Mariner
All they had to do was one or two rare songs. Hell, knock out the boring three minutes of middle section they’ve added to SSOASS (which isn’t on the album) and they wouldn’t even be adding to the run time.
If Bruce doesn’t want to sing do Losfer Words and put some Egyptian crap on the screen. Or a retrospective band history with old clips. KISS had one of those in their show since 2000.
If Bruce doesn’t want to sing do Losfer Words and put some Egyptian crap on the screen. Or a retrospective band history with old clips. KISS had one of those in their show since 2000.
2M2M
Educated Fool
I'm sorry but have you ever listened to SSOASS studio version? haha!
In all fairness it's likely the middle section has extended out a bit live purely out of them not really knowing when to come back in .. But the studio version does have 2.5 minutes roughly of it
matic22
Ancient Mariner
Yeah. Wasted Years has become one of their major hits in the last 10 years or so (isn't it among top 5 played songs on the streaming platforms?). Which is kinda unusual, since it's been played very sporadically before ME tour and it kinda made it into TBOS setlist kinda by accident.
But I love it. One of my favourite songs by any artist ever.
And also multiple people I know, who don't like Maiden/aren't fans love Wasted Years.
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OutwardFeller
Educated Fool
I actually loved the opening three songs. It was hands down the wildest, most energetic opening a have seen them do.
(Yes I love the Killers album so much.)
Also I have seen Maiden in Prague 5 times (2008, 2013, 2018, 2023, 2025) and this set had the best flow.
(Yes I love the Killers album so much.)
Also I have seen Maiden in Prague 5 times (2008, 2013, 2018, 2023, 2025) and this set had the best flow.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
It's simple, they're still thinking and wanted to see how Simon would do. People need time, but there will always be criticism, preferences and comparisons when he plays Nicko's songs. Simon playing on a new Maiden album is very curious, he might bring a different approach, but I don't want straightforward drumming to the core.
I doubt it, but let's see.
This. They can't repeat the previous History/Hits tours, although they kind of doing it now, but it's a different celebration. They are running out of ideas for themes and they know it. Plus, they don't want to be a cabaret act and play the same songs on every tour. I think that's one of the reasons why the current tour is for only half of their albums, they are leaving room for a potential Part 2. And it could be combined with a new album and some hits (5 new songs, 6-7 most popular Reunion songs and 5 classics). It's likely and popular enough methinks, but that would mean they have to think about something else after the album tour (the same 80's hits again? Naaah... Hybrid tour with BNW?... - the best songs from almost (or) all albums? I can see that for a final tour, but at least 10 songs will be from the 80's). I doubt they would do a tour in which they would play just Reunion songs, they didn't in 2010. With the screens and the theme, they could easily do Part 2 as a short 3rd leg in 2027. Especially if they play Europe next year too, or they could save it for after the album tour. They have habits, the current tour shows it again, so the next step is a new album.
And they are in the places of Running Free and Sanctuary in terms of popularity.
A mix of both.
Probably.
Well said. Agreed about Aces, Infinite could have perfected the ''epics'' set, the whole set has a great flow (probably one of the best flows), they know how to do it. I'm also positive about the future. They believe in Simon.
As a song, Wasted Years is one of the best show closers. No dobut.
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