It’s Friday and we thought we should introduce you to our new feature, erm – Feature Friday. This will be a place for everything from in-depth articles to lighthearted fun stuff. We sort of got a head start last Friday with Christer Bakke Andresen’s massive story about Maiden’s History tours, Maiden England Invades in Europe 2013.

This week we head in the opposite direction. We’ve all seen the setlist from the recent North American stint for the Maiden England Tour 2012. By all means a terrific set, but being blessed with the, needless to say, most brilliant back catalogue in the entire world of music, there are bound to be heated discussions when the set of 16 – 18 songs is compiled. Yes, that’s at least 20 songs short, mind you!

Both Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris have hinted that there might be some slight changes in the setlist for the upcoming tour, the latter in an interview I did with him for Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet a few weeks back. Read it here.

So, inspired by Metal Hammer’s Iron Maiden dream setlist for Download, we thought we should have a go ourselves. In this article you will find both of our dream sets with comments on changes from the 2012 set. And the Maiden Revelations dream sets are two quite different ones! First up is Torgrim‘s dream set, and further down you’ll find Christer‘s version of the dream.

However, we’ve taken the theme of the current tour into consideration, which means closely mirroring the Maiden England video filmed at the Birmingham NEC in 1988, and then some. The “and then some” part is particularly interesting. Also, we’ve tried to structure it as closely as possible to the traditional Maiden set-up. Yes, that means that the song Iron Maiden has to close off the main set with three encores to follow. And of course we’ve allowed ourselves to dream a little.

Have a listen!

Here is Torgrim Øyre‘s dream setlist for the Maiden England European Tour 2013:

Torgrim comments:

I think the triple opening from the original Maiden England show with Moonchild leading into The Evil That Men Do, followed by the dramatically underplayed classic The Prisoner is a perfect way to kick everyone into frenzy. And we all know that we need the crucial “Scream for me this and scream for me that” before song number four sets in, so here you go… “The Flight of Icarus!”.

Now it’s time for Bruce to tell you all how wonderful you are and what a great community of Maiden fans we have here and what a cool thing it has been to revisit a period that reflects an era when most of you lot weren’t even born yet. “A little bit of a Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son kind of era… This is a very special song coming up next – Infinite Dreams, ladies and gentlemen – yes, that´s Infinite Dreams, not Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Infinite Dreams this one”. Tisch, tisch, tisch, tisch… (thath’s the sound of Nicko’s cymbal count).

Well of we go on another rollercoaster ride of classics. Tempo fueled The Trooper straight into the slightly slower and groove-laden Stranger in a Strange Land (It’s been too long guys, and you even have merch on the current tour for the bloody song!).

Crowd pleasing time (you’re not tired yet?) Can I Play With Madness? and Wasted Years with Bruce telling you some light hearted  in-between jokes… Don’t waste your beers and such. We’re all thoroughly enjoying ourselves at this point.

Darkness descends and evil lurks. The Number of the Beast with flames raging high as the Eiffel Tower (outdoors at least) and the baphomet goat makes an appearance on stage right, nodding viciously to the crowd.

Then magic is about to take place. The mega epic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son performed live in Europe for the first time in 25 years. Complete with blazing fireworks, crystal balls, a massive Scribe Eddie and huge candles, depicting good and evil. And of course Bruce in grand storytelling mode. Hard hitting The Clairvoyant closes off the Seventh Son-chapter.

A great calm descends, the sound of howling winds fills the speakers followed by the words “my son ask for thyself another Kingdom for that which I leave Is too small for thee”. Dry ice covers the stage while the sound of marching drums and Dave Murrays gentle guitar melody sets the tone for the miracle about to happen. After one minute the whole band kicks in with Bruce erupting from the stage left riser in full battle regalia. The place goes bonkers.
Rod, Steve, Bruce, can you hear us? Alexander the Great has everything – the drama, the sing-along’s, the melodies and the instrumental work that makes for the ultimate live classic (Steve, it’s even got a passage and a time change that is perfect to jump up and down to!).

Finishing up the main set is the anthem Iron Maiden of course. With the icing on the cake (no pun intended) being bucket loads of pyro, ice sculptures and Eddie having a baby.

Encore time. Caught Somewhere in Time didn’t sound too good on the Somewhere in Time tour in 86/87, mostly due to the lack of the heavy rhythm guitars in the verse. Now you’ve got three guitarists, so you should be able to pull it of.

Hallowed Be Thy Name time. Enough said.

Run to the Hills with General Custer Eddie either slashing you to pieces with his fake plastic saber or  making you, erm, run home with a massive grin on your face, because this set kicked your ass:

MOONCHILD
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
THE PRISONER
FLIGHT OF ICARUS
INFINITE DREAMS
THE TROOPER
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
WASTED YEARS
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
IRON MAIDEN
CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIME
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
RUN TO THE HILLS

Here is Christer Bakke Andresen‘s dream setlist for the Maiden England European Tour 2013:

Christer comments:

In my dream 2013 set, there are three songs out and three songs in compared with the 2012 set. I honestly think that this many changes are unlikely but not impossible. One or two changes are highly likely, in my opinion, but what the hell! One can dream of a little more than that.

I’ve left out Aces High, 2 Minutes To Midnight and Running Free. The latter should never have been in the set to begin with, in my opinion, being overplayed in the past several years. Aces High was a complete surprise, and I love the song and the pyro, but I feel it is completely inappropriate for a tour titled Maiden England. I would guess that 2MTM is the least likely of these to be removed, as the band seems to love playing it and it’s pretty easy on Bruce, unlike Aces High with its insanely high notes. But I’m removing it anyway because it’s been played often lately and is also a feature of Live After Death, not Maiden England, just like Aces High is. I’d like to see more of a difference between 2008 and 2013.

I actually guessed last year that Afraid To Shoot Strangers would be in this set, and I don’t mind its presence despite its non-relation to the touring concept, since it’s not been performed for almost 15 years and never at all with the current line-up.

(By the way, yeah, Fear Of The Dark is overplayed and has no place in a Maiden England set. But I’ve long since realized that the audience won’t accept its removal. Not gonna happen.

Phantom Of The Opera also has nothing to do with Maiden England, but I’m proposing somewhat realistic changes here, and this song goes down extremely well while being easy on Bruce.)

Then, what to put in?

One song is a non-brainer for me. Infinite Dreams was rehearsed for the 2012 tour and dropped late in the game for reasons unknown. This song is popular with fans, it is taken from the album that lends the current History tour its themes and visuals, it was a cornerstone of the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son show which was huge in Europe in 1988, and it was even the single off the Maiden England concert video, which is soon to arrive on DVD and from which the current tour lifts its name.

That song must be in the set! It’s got so many fundamental ties to the Maiden England concept, its exclusion would be nearly akin to excluding Powerslave from the previous History tour.

Is it too tough for Bruce? Not in and of itself, but maybe when a set is considered as a whole? That’s partially why my second choice of addition is Killers. A cool rarity, featured in the Maiden England video, and a walk in the park for Bruce. Should be in the set.

On the other hand, my guess is that Hallowed Be Thy Name will stay out of this set throughout the tour. The way Bruce struggled with it on the 2011 tour makes me think he’ll want to keep it out until the next touring concept emerges in 2014 or so.

So my last addition is a very unlikely one…

Flight Of Icarus. I include this for three reasons: It’s not been performed since 1986, it’s one of the band’s biggest hits, and it’s one of the tunes that can be counted as shameful omissions from the History tours. Others in this category, in my opinion, include Killers, 22 Acacia Avenue, Stranger In A Strange Land, and Infinite Dreams. If the band wanted to throw a real curveball, Flight Of Icarus would do just fine in a set that would flow really well:

MOONCHILD
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
THE PRISONER
INFINITE DREAMS
FLIGHT OF ICARUS
THE TROOPER
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS
KILLERS
WASTED YEARS
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
IRON MAIDEN
FEAR OF THE DARK
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
RUN TO THE HILLS

Please come 2013 NOW!

PS! Share your dream setlists with us in comments section below.