Special report by Jason Deaville

The world's hardest working band return to North American soil a mere two years after their incredibly successful and arduous Somewhere Back In Time World Tour, which saw the band circle the globe under the skilled aviation of frontman Bruce Dickinson at the controls of Ed Force One, all the while being documented for the award-winning film, Flight 666.

This latest venture, dubbed the Final Frontier World Tour, will see IRON MAIDEN's most extensive tour of North America in years, which kicked-off on June 9th in Dallas, Texas, and finishes up in Washington D.C. on July 20th. According to an earlier press release by Dickinson, the band "really wanted to get out and play some shows before the release of the new album later this year, so we thought what better way to kick off the tour than by going back to Canada and the USA where fans gave us such a fantastic reception during our last tour in 2008! We were astounded to see so many thousands of fans packing out the venues, so this time round we will be playing a few more cities we haven't visited for some time, like Dallas, Saskatoon, Detroit, Denver and Pittsburgh, though logistically we couldn't get to a few places we really like to play, which is a shame."

As the July 3rd show at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario proved, Dickinson is spot on with his above statement - Iron Maiden still have no issues packing a large venue 35 years into their storied career. Nearly 18,000 fans were on hand to welcome the band as they stormed onto the Final Frontier space-themed stage with the opening twosome of 'The Wicker Man' and 'Ghost Of The Navigator', both hailing from their decade old album, Brave New World.

Dickinson, as always, was in top athletic form, leaping, sprinting, and galavanting his way to and fro the stage like a man half his age. Not unlike that of a circus ringleader, he immediately captures the imagination of his audience and whisks them away on a two-hour journey through the fantastical world of Iron Maiden. It's been said before, and I'll say it again - the frontman is by far one of the greatest showmen of all time.

Without missing a beat, bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain launch into the easily recognizable rumblings of 'Wrathchild', a welcome surprise pulled from the band's '81 sophomore effort, Killers. It was at this point of the show that I realized just how diverse the evening's crowd actually was. From kids as young as five, to geriatrics clad in Maiden tees, the age differences were staggering! In fact, I'd venture to say that a sizeable portion of attendees were whole families - mom, dad, son, daughter, making it a decidedly family affair. Iron Maiden are certainly one the few metal bands in existence that are capable of bridging the generational gap, nay, multigenerational gap.

At this point, with the crowd completely won over, Dickinson takes the opportunity to discuss the band's forthcoming fifteenth studio album, The Final Frontier. He then jumps into a diatribe regarding the inferior quality of the free downloadable MP3 of the song 'El Dorado' (which was released to the public last month) when listened to on "tiny little headphones, propelled by a battery, on a device made by Steve Jobs and Google, it sounds like shit!" He ensures the audience that the song actually sounds "really fucking awesome" when listened to on its intended format, CD. In an attempt to drum up hype for The Final Frontier, Dickinson utilizes his pulpit to persuade the audience into helping the band take the album to the number one position on the Canadian Billboard charts. A few chants of "number one in Canada" has the audience at a fevered pitch as the band proceeds to rip into 'El Dorado'. Maiden couldn't have asked for better self-promotion on the heels of The Final Frontier, and I'm sure that Canada will follow through on their promise of a number one album.

As the sun sets over the beautiful Toronto horizon, Maiden change gears a little and make their way through a handful of later-era songs, including 'Dance Of Death', 'The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg' and 'These Colours Don't Run'. I found it a little peculiar, up to this point, that they had only played one truly classic song, which was a little unfortunate, as it sucked a little energy from the atmosphere. I imagine this was intentional, the band likely choosing to rest a little before pummelling the crowd into submission with some fan faves during their encore. It wasn't all a loss, though, as it gave the crowd a chance to focus on the whole of the band. Bruce took a backseat and allowed his bandmates to shine with some stellar performances and trade-offs between guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers.

In a classy and patriotic move, Dickinson dedicated the band's next song 'Blood Brothers' to fallen comrade and friend, Ronnie James Dio. It was a truly moving experience to see the 18,000 strong crowd holding the horns high in tribute to the metal legend who passed away this past May. With the crowd unified and riding high on metal camaraderie, Maiden rip through 'Wildest Dreams' and 'No More Lies' from their Dance Of Death album, followed by a couple of fan favourites in 'Fear Of The Dark' and 'Iron Maiden' to end their set.

With the entirety of the crowd on their feet chanting the band's name in unison, the lights abruptly went out and the intro narration from the Book Of Revelation slowly filled the whole of the Amphitheatre. As the crowd recited the final words of the intro "for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty six" the band burst forth into phenomenal renditions of 'The Number Of The Beast', 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' and 'Running Free'.

Aside from a few issues with sound - related to the acoustics of the venue, not the band - Maiden once again put on a solid performance filled with energy and genuine love for their craft. At this point in the game, I believe they are unrivalled when it comes to showmanship, heart, passion, and respect for their fans. This latest gig further solidified my belief and unity in the world wide Cult Of Maiden.

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