Iron Maiden at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

English heavy metal icons Iron Maiden, took Newark, New Jersey by storm as they brought their Book Of Souls World Tour to the Prudential Center.

As the crowd anxiously awaited for show to start, the obligatory blasting of UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” blared through the venue. When the song was over, the lights dimmed as vocalist Bruce Dickinson appeared behind a smoking cauldron while belting out the lyrics to “If Eternity Should Fail.”

One thing that was absolutely clear throughout the whole night was that Iron Maiden sure know how to put on an extravagant show. From the horseshoe shaped riser that Dickinson was running around on, to pyro going off and thick theatrical smoke, it definitely helped to set the mood for Maiden’s explosive set. Their mascot, Eddie, also had a big stage presence as he was incorporated into the show in two forms. The first was a massive Eddie head that sat at the back of the stage, while the other was a “live” Eddie that ran around on stage and interacted with the band.

Playing songs such as ‘Wrathchild’, ‘The Trooper’, and ‘Book of Souls’, their 15 song set list flew by really fast. The band’s chemistry on stage was definitely something special to watch. They were all having a great time on stage interacting with the fans as well as each other, while managing to never miss a beat of the performance. I was really impressed with the amount of energy they had on stage, it was unlike anything I’ve experienced.

Looking around the venue it was wonderful to see that this show was a family affair. I saw kids, teens, adults, and a good majority of grandparents mixed into the crowd. All of them sporting Maiden tees and headbanging the night away. There was a young girl who looked no more than 8 perched on her dad’s shoulders singing along to every song in the pit. It really says a lot about a band when they can stand the test of time and also bring together generations of a family. It was also to note that from looking around the venue fans had travelled far and wide to see the show. Dickinson took note and gave a special shout out to the fans who have travelled from all over the world to see them. As he thanked them, he even mentioned some of them by name as if they were old friends, which was very humbling to hear.

As the night came to a close, the band performed ‘The Number of the Beast’, ‘Blood Brothers’, and ‘Wasted Years’. When all was said and done, it was evident to see why Maiden continues to stay on top of the heavy metal game after all of these years.