San Antonio, Texas, often referred to as the Heavy Metal Capital of the World, filled up its indoor football stadium known as the Alamodome. The crowd was rabid, packed, and probably a record attendance for Texas – if not for the entire United States. Bruce Dickinson, in addressing the crowd early, said something like 70,000 plus were in the house. While Iron Maiden regularly plays and fills stadiums in other parts of the world, it has not done so in the U.S. The night had the kind of energy and magic that such a record crowd might incite.
I’ve long loved the early Iron Maiden catalog but somehow had never seen ’em live. This was a crime for a heavy metal magazine editor, I know, so I made it a bucket list item for the next time they came close to Austin. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I expected it to be great. Turns out they exceeded my expectations – and then some. I knew they’d fill the room with precise, powerful, and heavy as hell sonics. What I was not quite prepared for, ironically, is how well their triple guitar sounds draped every song with shred, melody, and volume.
Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers melded their sound, multiplied the wall of amplification, but never sounded crowded or ever out of place.
My Iron Maiden journey began in 1980 while reading a magazine. Ironically, it wasn’t a metal magazine. It was a skateboard magazine called “Action Now,” a revamped version of the infamous Skateboarder Magazine. One of the hot-at-the-time skateboarders was being interviewed and he talked about heavy metal and its expansion beyond what the seventies had shown us. He mentioned this band called Iron Maiden, who had just released its self-titled debut. As soon as I was able to find the sophomore album, Killers, in a record store, I was hooked. Here was a band that took the hooks of hard rock, sped up the tempo, and laced it with trills of dual guitars in stereo. It was like hearing what I’d dreamed rock and roll would become. I so love that Killers album, which is still my favorite Iron Maiden album by far. All that to say, I was thrilled to think that the band might create their setlist in some sort of chronological order.
How lucky was I to have a photo pass and be able to stand in the photo pit between the stage and the barricade for the first three songs, which were all from guess which album?! This was just too good to be true. Although it’d be crazy cool to hear the original vocalist, Paul D’Anno, blast out these tunes, this frontman extraordinaire Bruce Dickinson ain’t no slouch himself. The tunes were over the top and glorious.
Prior to exploding on stage as a band, the auditorium was treated to the recorded sounds of UFO Live with “Doctor Doctor” from the Strangers in the Night live album. Quite a tip of the hat and respect to what some might call the fathers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I wouldn’t argue with that, but the honor probably collectively belongs to Judas Priest, Saxon, and Iron Maiden (and a slew of other bands). Then the familiar strains of “The Ides of March,” the instrumental lead-off track to Killers officially started the show (sort of). It was pre-recorded music, but it was Iron Maiden.
The members strolled out on stage as they began the bass rumblings of “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” followed by “Wrathchild” and then “Killers.”
Did I mention how cool it was to be that close to the stage for these first three songs?! Oh my gosh, it was good.
Another treat I had never experienced before was the huddle that all the photographers got in with an 18-year-veteran of Iron Maiden’s crew. This friendly lady broke down the first three songs in great detail to show us photographers should look for to get the best shots. “The band loves having you guys here,” she made a point to say. She told us who would stand where, when Eddie the mascot would come out, and then she told us flat-out, “Do not try to keep up with Bruce all over the stage. You’ll be exhausted after three songs.” She was right, this consummate frontman was scrambling all over the stage like a monkey on steroids. “Just pick a spot,” she said, “and he’ll come to you.”
Over the course of two hours and ten minutes Dickinson changed costumes, ran left, right, and behind the drum riser, up stairs and high into the stage set. Quite impressive physical feat to lead this band through a show so high energy and non-stop moving. Even when he wore a peacock-like mask for “Phantom of the Opera” and stood still, you’d swear he was moving.
All the hits you’d expect, like “The Number of the Beast,” “2 Minutes to Midnight,” “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” “Run to the Hills,” “The Trooper” were all spread throughout the set. The band had conquered its audience early on and then just poured on the goods.
Of course, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” came close to the end of the set, oozing with power and dramatic timing. It was awesome. I don’t think anyone expected them to follow that up with the song “Iron Maiden,” but that’s the high adrenaline number they closed the set with. Kudos to their newest drummer, Simon Dawson, who really pounded on the drums all night.
Then we heard a Winston Churchill speech circa World War II and the song “Aces High” began. This is a great example of how the video screen really adds to the excitement and aural assault of the show. Seeing those old war planes flying behind the band was just classic and fun. “Fear of the Dark” and “Wasted Years” capped off the encore experience and then the band was done.
Wow. What a show. I just heard they’ve extended this tour into next spring in the US of A, which I’d recommend taking in – especially if you were like me and hadn’t seen ’em in forever.
It was unusual for such a great metal show to start at 6 p.m., but that’s when Anthrax opened the show (at 6:10). They pleased the crowd with a great mix of their tunes and fun attitude. They started with “Caught in a Mosh” and ended with “Indians.” They only played five songs, but it didn’t feel short. The crowd sang along heartily to “Antisocial.”
Megadeth followed with a full one-hour set. Neither band slowed down for anything, bringing top-notch metal. Both played well and got rave applause from the huge crowd.
Of course, everyone loved “Peaces Sells” and “Sweating Bullets.”
Review and photos (c) 2026 Doug Van Pelt.
