The Official Book of Souls Tour 2017 Thread (Warning: Spoilers Within)
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GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Thanks for the information. Do you have any idea of possible dates and whether we will get to see them outside a festival in the UK? Thanks.
Could be. We'll see I guess. Kinda hoping you're wrong, tbh. But we shall see.
Manofsorrows
I know what i want
The only thing I know is that I have to save money for the next year, the day of the show I ended saying that they can play the number of the beast 16 times and I will keep screaming like Flanders and begging for a H guitar pick hahaha
AncientMariner_Essex
Ancient Mariner
I don't know why people are saying slayer makes no sense as tour support. It's not the first time slayer have supported Maiden. Metal 2000 at Earl's Court had Slayer and Entombed supporting and was a cracking show.
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
It doesn't follow what Maiden have been doing for the last 14 years in Europe. These are examples of bands they've taken on tour with them. Yes, you can find plenty of other examples of more interesting bands that Maiden's fanbase would appreciate more, but it's been more common for Maiden to take Steve's or Bruce's kids along with them or some other young band who don't really interest a lot of people.
2003: Funeral for a Friend
2007: Trivium, Lauren Harris
2011: Rise to Remain, Airbourne
2013: Voodoo Six
2016: The Raven Age
2017: Shinedown
The support for Iron Maiden's next tour will be As Lions, Austin Dickinson's new band.
2003: Funeral for a Friend
2007: Trivium, Lauren Harris
2011: Rise to Remain, Airbourne
2013: Voodoo Six
2016: The Raven Age
2017: Shinedown
The support for Iron Maiden's next tour will be As Lions, Austin Dickinson's new band.
Slayer and Judas Priest have the leverage to demand more money to open. Having them both on a bill seems very unrealistic for that reason alone. Not to mention they would cut into each other's set times. I could see Slayer in the US, but not Europe.
Manofsorrows
I know what i want
When the band came to Mexico in 2013 they bring with them Slayer and Ghost, and for the last year anthrax and Raven age opened the show, but for Europe doesn't make sense.
AncientMariner_Essex
Ancient Mariner
Well I'm sick of the band dragging their kids pet projects round Europe all the time. I've seen some superb supporting line ups announced for playing the states and other territories but we get shafted in Europe.
The obvious reason must be to increase interest in gigs by having bigger bands support them in certain places. They are still massive in Europe and sellout 20,000+ arenas everywhere but I suspect they need a bigger draw elsewhere.
I'd gladly pay double the ticket price I paid for the BOS tour ticket to have quality support like Judas Priest and Slayer on the bill. Rather that than what ever flavour of the month shit band one of their kids has going.
The obvious reason must be to increase interest in gigs by having bigger bands support them in certain places. They are still massive in Europe and sellout 20,000+ arenas everywhere but I suspect they need a bigger draw elsewhere.
I'd gladly pay double the ticket price I paid for the BOS tour ticket to have quality support like Judas Priest and Slayer on the bill. Rather that than what ever flavour of the month shit band one of their kids has going.
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
It's extremely frustrating that with the quantity, range and quality of Metal bands in Europe that we, particularly in the UK, get stuck with as Maiden support bands. You'd think with all the great festivals Maiden have headlined in Europe (e.g. Wacken, Graspop) that they could have picked up a more suitable and more interesting band than The Raven Age who simply don't have the music for an arena. They've supported Maiden in arenas all over the world, played at plenty of big festivals and also supported Anthrax in the UK yet they still headline tiny clubs on their own tour. Steve's attempts to force The Raven Age on the world have failed - give up Steve. If we think about the bands that Maiden influenced directly, such as Helloween and Blind Guardian, then we immediately find bands who would go down better as Maiden support. Obviously those bands are way past the stage of playing as support acts to Maiden and play to similar crowds in Europe anyway, but there's plenty of young European bands who would be far better warm-up acts than Shinedown or The Raven Age (although Shinedown were far better than The Raven Age). I wonder how a band like Epica or Delain would go down as a support act, but they've almost certainly moved beyond that stage in continental Europe now - and Simone Simons or Charlotte Wessels would make Bruce sound bad (and highlight how ugly various members of Iron Maiden are). Still, there's plenty out bands out there who deserve a leg up just as much as Shinedown or Airbourne but would be received better by Maiden's core fanbase.
At the end of the day though we'll all still pay the £70 or whatever currency and applaud politely while drinking beer although we're all despairing inside about Maiden's choice of support.
At the end of the day though we'll all still pay the £70 or whatever currency and applaud politely while drinking beer although we're all despairing inside about Maiden's choice of support.
AncientMariner_Essex
Ancient Mariner
support bands don't necessarily need to be young bands needing a leg up ALL THE TIME. I do think it's nice if Maiden to try and help up coming bands and open them to a wider audience which is what bands like Priest and Kiss did for Maiden when they were just starting but when it's another band with one of their kids in I just roll my eyes. Not one of steves kids or Bruce's for that matter has amounted to shit. None of their bands have been particularly exciting, original or technically good. They've all floundered never to be heard of again after their 5 mins of fame due to their famous dads.
I mean, does anyone hear of Lauren Harris these days? What about Rise to Remain, flash in the pan band who've now split up I hear. The raven age will be gone in a couple of years. They sound like a poor mans trivium. They have a sound that is obviously influenced by the likes of trivium, killswitch engage, avenged sevenfold etc but don't have an ounce of their skill as musicians. They have a few ok riffs but one listen if their album and you can see they get so excited when they've come up with a good catchy riff that they stretch it out and over use it in a 7 minute song. No solos and boring vocals don't amount to much.
I'm sorry if I seem like I'm ranting but in this day and age when bands business thrives on touring more than ever with record sales dwindling I think it's only fair based on the massive hike in ticket prices i've seen over the last decade for bands to put on a good touring package.
As much as I love Maiden I've seen them so many times since the mid 1990's that if it wasn't for the fact they play a lot of new songs off the latest album I wouldn't bother seeing them anymore. I've no interest in seeing them trawl out FOTD, troooper, number of the beast, wrathchild etc for the millionth time so when they take out shit support bands it puts a bit of a dampener on things.
Don't get me wrong I have seen some good support acts over the years. My dying bride on the x-factour and Helloween on VXI tour plus trivium and dream theater amongst others but just wish we would get these sort of bands more regularly. Judas Priest and Maiden on the same tour would be awesome. Take out Saxon and bill it as the British heavy metal legends tour and I'd re mortgage my house to follow that tour everywhere lol.
Come on Maiden, if you want your kids bands to do well surely you have enough clout with record companies now to get them their own decent tour and stop taking them out with you.
I mean, does anyone hear of Lauren Harris these days? What about Rise to Remain, flash in the pan band who've now split up I hear. The raven age will be gone in a couple of years. They sound like a poor mans trivium. They have a sound that is obviously influenced by the likes of trivium, killswitch engage, avenged sevenfold etc but don't have an ounce of their skill as musicians. They have a few ok riffs but one listen if their album and you can see they get so excited when they've come up with a good catchy riff that they stretch it out and over use it in a 7 minute song. No solos and boring vocals don't amount to much.
I'm sorry if I seem like I'm ranting but in this day and age when bands business thrives on touring more than ever with record sales dwindling I think it's only fair based on the massive hike in ticket prices i've seen over the last decade for bands to put on a good touring package.
As much as I love Maiden I've seen them so many times since the mid 1990's that if it wasn't for the fact they play a lot of new songs off the latest album I wouldn't bother seeing them anymore. I've no interest in seeing them trawl out FOTD, troooper, number of the beast, wrathchild etc for the millionth time so when they take out shit support bands it puts a bit of a dampener on things.
Don't get me wrong I have seen some good support acts over the years. My dying bride on the x-factour and Helloween on VXI tour plus trivium and dream theater amongst others but just wish we would get these sort of bands more regularly. Judas Priest and Maiden on the same tour would be awesome. Take out Saxon and bill it as the British heavy metal legends tour and I'd re mortgage my house to follow that tour everywhere lol.
Come on Maiden, if you want your kids bands to do well surely you have enough clout with record companies now to get them their own decent tour and stop taking them out with you.
TheTalisman
Ancient Mariner
The most out of place band I have seen opening for Maiden were Opeth last year at Ullevi, who were inserted between Raven Age and Maiden. For some reason the swedish arranger has demanded its own opening act for the last 3 arena concerts. Sabaton opened up in 2011 and 2013 as well, which was a decent choice, I think.
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I thought Ghost was a marvelous choice in North America this time around, but I wasn't very impressed with Raven's Age, nor Shinedown. However with the latter, they have a decent amount of success on their own, I just don't care for them.
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
Perhaps the reason that Maiden take their kids on tour is that they know their bands won't last so they make sure they make a decent amount of money from an arena tour before they got back to a 9-to-5 job.
I've seen The Raven Age four times now and I've only been remotely impressed by them in a tiny venue supporting another tiny band in London. I think they're fine that setting but they don't work in an arena, or even a medium sized venue like the Kentish Town Forum supporting Anthrax. Rise to Remain have finished, yes, and Austin Dickinson is in a band called As Lions now. I've heard one song by them and it seemed ok - but we'll find out what they're like on Iron Maiden's next tour. They've toured with Shinedown before as well, which might have had something to do with Shinedown's invitation to tour with Maiden this year.I agree. The £70 we pay for Iron Maiden tickets includes support bands so we should at least get something more appropriate. The best line-ups I've seen in arenas were Judas Priest/Megadeth/Testament and Dream Theater/Opeth/Bigelf but arguably neither of those bands should have been headlining that venue. A couple of year ago a also saw Megadeth take Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Sylosis on tour with them in smaller arenas which are too big for Megadeth to be honest but justifiable with the support bands.
Count yourself lucky to have seen Helloween and Dream Theater support Iron Maiden!
Ghost are significantly more interesting than various other support bands Maiden have taken with them, but I didn't know enough by them to get into their set properly. I'll be seeing them again this weekend though and have checked out a few of their songs in advance this time. As for Shinedown, I don't think they are too bad actually. I think I could enjoy their music if I bothered to listen to them properly, and as they've already got a fanbase who overlap with Maiden's it meant there was a bit more of an atmosphere than there was when The Raven Age supported last year. Shinedown's singer has a good amount of stage presence too which, to be fair to The Raven Age guy, comes with experience. At all four shows I saw in May he always made sure to get all parts of the crowd involved in the show - even the people up in the gods at the back - which is what we need from a warm-up act.
I do wonder though if part of Maiden's rationale behind taking random bands on tour with them is that they want to keep the crowd their own. For example, I've been to shows before where I mainly (or sometimes only) want to see one of the support bands and I see this quite often with other people too. If Maiden were to take an already well-established band with them such as, say, Lamb of God for example (totally not going to happen, but just bear with me), then a not insignificant portion of the crowd would be there purely for Lamb of God and wouldn't care for Maiden. This would probably affect the atmosphere and could stop genuine Iron Maiden fans from getting tickets. It's also the case that Iron Maiden just don't need a well established band to support them as they have no problem selling tickets like some other bands do.
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Ghost put on a good show. Even if you're not madly into their music, they do present a set in their own right. To me, that adds more value to the full show than a support band - no matter who they are - presenting a forced low-key performance with lots of "So who's looking forward to IRON MAIDEN, then?"
Like Wiz says, maybe Maiden have been putting too much effort into choosing support acts that leave them shining brighter.
Like Wiz says, maybe Maiden have been putting too much effort into choosing support acts that leave them shining brighter.
Operations666
Educated Fool
Ghost was a bad joke. Hope to never see or hear of that "band" again. Let them go worship Satan in hell, if that's what they want. I'm actually offended that Maiden inflicted that garbage on their fans.
Would rather have Lauren Harris and the Raven Age again (and I don't want Lauren Harris and the Raven Age again).
Would rather have Lauren Harris and the Raven Age again (and I don't want Lauren Harris and the Raven Age again).
AncientMariner_Essex
Ancient Mariner
I do get this and think it does play a part. I saw lamb of god with megadeth a while back and whilst I understood the rationale for this due to Chris Adler the bands are very different and have different fan bases and as a result the atmosphere wasn't the best I'd seen at a megadeth gig. Having said that megadeth could never play Wembley arena on their own these days so taking lamb of god and children of bodom was good as it ensured capacity was big enough that all three bands would have enough tickets to sell to their own fans. The price was awesome too, only about £30 which each of these bands could have charged on their own.
It can't be hard though for Maiden to find decent established bands where the fan base overlaps and wouldn't dampen the atmosphere. I don't think Maiden have ever toured with Saxon for example but I'm sure if your a fan of Saxon you'd be a fan of Maiden too. Same with Priest, can't see many Priest fans not being into Maiden. Off the top of my head you could have helloween, gamma ray, blind guardian, hammerfall heck there's a ton of decent bands that would have a fan base that would all appreciate not only seeing their fave band at a bigger arena but also would dig Maiden.
SirRobbins
Ancient Mariner
if you've actually seen the soundtrack for that game, there are some impressive tracks in there that would be great to hear again.... Here is the soundtrack list
http://ironmaidenlegacy.com/iron-maiden-legacy-of-the-beast-set-list/
Lots of goodies in there! Here are the rarities in the game's set list... it would make for an awesome show I think... I'd like to see Paschendale added though as well as Alexander or Stranger.... not one SIT song in there
The Fallen Angel (BNW) - played a few times in 2000
The Nomad (BNW) - never played live
Losfer Words (PS) - last played in 1984 ish
These Colors Don't Run (AMOLAD)
Where Eagles Dare (POM) last played in 2005
The Man of Sorrows (TBOS) - never played from new album
Empire of the Clouds (TBOS) - never played live
Shadow of the Valley (TBOS) - never played live
The Man Who Would Be King - (TFF) - never played live to my knowledge
For the Greater Good of God (AMOLAD - last played 2006
Out of the Silent Planet (BNW) - played a few times in 2000
it would actually be a tour of never played or rarely played tracks.... it would be fresh and appealing to me... with that being said, I cannot see them bringing The Red and the Black back again.... I think that song is too complex and will be sent to the grave...
there are 22 songs in the sound track so we know they'd knock a few out of there....
Based on the reviews I saw, you're in the minority there. Also, Ghost's "Satanism" is a gimmick.. I'm quite sure they aren't actually Satanists. Just a big joke.
And they are really quite fun, in my opinion.
Anyway, if Maiden does a "Legacy of the Beast" tour, expect the focus to be more on the comic book than on the game, and expect the tour to hit most eras of the band. Possibly one song from every album except NPFTD, TXF, and VXI (but if they do a Blaze song it would almost surely be The Clansman).
SirRobbins
Ancient Mariner
maybe our only chance to get Paschendale again.... I was pissed in 2010 when they played Dance of Death in Virginia and then in Texas they switched it to Paschendale for a few shows..... I missed the tour in 2003 for obvious reasons that many others did too.... one of only 3 songs on there I really like and is a top 5 song for me overall