Iron Maiden Tour 2025 - Discussion

It would suck never to hear Hallowed again, especially as they clearly don't have much time left as a band. I wouldn't be mad if they did what Judas Priest are doing and bring Nicko out for the encore while someone fills in for the main set.
 
I think it all comes down to how they see themselves: as a band or as a b(r)and. If they see themselves as a band, then yes - changing a member to someone else may be impossible for many reasons. If they see themselves as a brand (which is not impossible considering the management's decisions), changing a member will be extremely easy (because the brand is iron maiden, not a single member and the question is what % of the audience will notice the difference).
 
TaaviMaiden said:
I was just about to write that we have proof that Maiden will not be playing in Greece. Bruce solo has played parts of Alexander The Great.
He wouldn't preempt Maiden if Maiden had that planned for 2025.
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I doubt the song will be part of next year's setlist anyway.
Nomadd said:
Probably they wanna spoil Power/LaD anniversary with 50 anni tour. I can imagine the stage set looking as the collage from the differen eras, with some instant changes, many special effects, most of them referring to the golden era of 1984/1985 which made Iron Maiden the superstars of rock. I think fans would be pleased.
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I don't expect the stage set for a 50th anniv tour to be a collage from different eras. It will be something original without repeating the PS motif(?) or the GME tour. They might keep the screens, but I doubt about a Legacy-heavy production.
 
About Nicko: he's doing very good, given the circumstances. I'm sure it's really tough for him that he can't give 100% for the fans. Yes, I'm worried even about his playing for the next album and that he seems to have lost some of his stamina, but as long as he keeps the tempos. And he is doing that. I don't think the performances ''suffers'' in the full sense of the word. I'll miss some of the fills, but it is what it is, his job is the hardest, not to mention age and material. He tries hard for the fills (big kudos!) and he just needs to maintain the level from last year's last shows. They won't change any of the band members. They are family. And I'm good with that. Steve even wanted to drop CSIT from the tour if Nicko couldn't play it. Next year is a big celebration for them. And who knows if they have plans beyond 2026...

His solo shows may be an indicator of what songs to expect. He recently played TTAL and Infinite Dreams, which are not that easy songs, so that's good. With the right songs selected we can get even cooler deep cuts/setlist. I really want to hear Hallowed live again, but I'm not sure at all.

Meliegree said:
after last albums I dont think that „sounding good” is high on their list of priorities.
They will, however, have problems with rhytm and tempo and that may be a dealbreaker.
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The situation is different when we talk about live performances. The live performances won't be perfect because of the drumming, but the band still sounds great live. Nicko knows this, but it's up to band to decide if the performances aren't good enough for them. Last year's tour, all the reports were positive about everything, ofc more so at the end of the tour. Maiden's live standards are high, but we have to consider the stage of their career.
 
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matic22 said:
I think that the fact is that Nicko can't play some songs anymore. One of those is Run To The Hills, which has too much fast hi-hat work and was just played straight with the Marines orchestra.

I think Titanium Tart (past and future) shows might be a good indicator of what Maiden can play. Since his stroke, he played Infinite Dreams and TTAL, so there is that. I'm afraid that with it's tom rolls and fast snare transitions, Hallowed might be gone too.
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As much as I love Hallowed, I think it´s time to let it go... Nicko isn´t gonna do it justice and Bruce... well, 2019 and 2022 proved that Bruce is not really capable of pulling that one off at a high standard anymore in original key, at least not near the end of the show.
 
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Alright Allright, keep calm
but I'm just thinking he can fill that middle section with other drum bits than the easy solution (call it lazy solution too) of play straight.
 
I feel like the headline and some of these comments are taking things out of context. Steve said they didn’t have to play CSIT if Nicko couldn’t do it, but they ended up playing it anyway and Nicko simplified that part. This was a song that people were writing off the possibility of being played live even before the tour started because they didn’t think Nicko could handle the drum part years later.

I don’t really see why it’s not possible for Nicko to adapt his parts to his current capabilities. I doubt they are going to preempt songs without trying things out, especially staples like Hallowed and RTTH.
 
onurb said:

Iron Maiden Will Drop Songs Nicko McBrain Can't Play Anymore​


Iron Maiden introduced a new rule about live shows to help drummer Nicko McBrain deal with the aftermath of his stroke, he said in July 2024.

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain says the band had instituted a new rule to address the fact that he can’t play as well as he used to.

He suffered a stroke in January 2023 that left him partially paralyzed, although he returned to action after months of intensive physical therapy.

After a few dates of their summer tour that year left some fans asking questions, McBrain – now 72 – explained that he’d been left with some limitations in his performing ability, but that he believed he was at 70 percent at the time.

READ MORE: Bruce Dickinson Worries Iron Maiden Doesn’t Push Hard Enough

“I’ve gotta be honest with you: it was a touch and go last year for me,” he recently told the crowd at a show in Pompano Beach, FL, with his side-project Titanium Tarts (video below).

“I couldn’t play; I was paralyzed on the right side. Fortunately… there’s a girl called Julie Blum that looked after me, and in three months, she had me playing again.”

He admitted: “And it ain’t the old Nicko – it’s not the old one by a long shot. But at least it's part of me. And my band, bless their hearts, Steve Harris and the rest of the guys turn around and say, ‘If you can’t do something in a song, we just won’t do that song.’”

He went on to cite the example of “Caught Somewhere In Time” from the 1986 album Somewhere in Time, which managed to escape the new rule through some inspired thinking from Harris.

“Now, there’s a middle section; it’s all snare drum on the record. I can’t play it,” McBrain confirmed. “Those of you nerds that are in the audience [will] go, ‘He didn’t do the drum fill!’ Well, that’s why – I fucking can’t do it! … Steve turned around to me and I said, ‘Okay, I’ve got an idea. if I do the double on the snare…’ and I played it for him and he went, ‘No. Have you got anything else?’

“I went, ‘Yeah, I’ll play it on the cymbal.’ ‘No. You got anything else?’’ That’s me spent, mate.’ … [H]e thought about for about half a minute…and he’s going, ‘Why don’t you play it straight?’

“I went, ‘You’re a fucking genius, Harry!’ And there’s me, the drummer, supposedly, supposed to come up with all these ideas… I didn’t even think of that. And so we rehearsed it from there on in, and we play it straight – which I’m sure 90 percent of you don’t give a fuck about that bit anyway!”

ultimateclassicrock.com

Iron Maiden Will Drop Songs Nicko McBrain Can't Play Anymore

Iron Maiden introduced a new rule about live shows to help drummer Nicko McBrain deal with the aftermath of his stroke, he said in July 2024.
ultimateclassicrock.com ultimateclassicrock.com
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I'm surprised to see Maiden go to such lengths to keep their lineup intact. Lackluster performances led to the departures of both Blaze and Paul. The difference in performance since 2022 is staggering, and I would understand if the band decided to bring in a new drummer. The post-1999 lineup is one of the greatest in metal history, but personally, compromising on performance is not something Maiden should do. I love the Blaze Bayley era, but some of those live performances from 1995 to 1998 were inexcusable. I'd suggest finishing this tour cycle, then moving away from the history tours and returning to the new album -> tour -> new album cycle with Joe Lazarus on drums.
 
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