Tuesday night, September 27, 2022, brought me to the Concord Pavilion in Concord California for what can only be described as a heavy metal dream. Trivium was opening for the heavy metal legends Iron Maiden. While technically, this tour was to support Maidens newest release Senjutsu, this is still part of the Legacy of The Beast tour.
Trivium was up first to, as Matt Heafy said, warm the crowd up for Iron Maiden. These guys came out of the gates swinging. I think the crowd needed a warm up for the warm up. Opening up with “Silence in the Snow”, this power packed seven song set kept the audience’s energy level high and their attention focused. Trivium’s set consisted of songs as far back as 2008 and included two songs from their latest release In the Court of the Dragon. “The Phalanx” and “The Shadow of the Abattoir”. Towards the end of their set, They thanked Iron Maiden for kickstarting their career by bringing them on tour back in 2006. They were definitely grateful to the rock legends.
Trivium are:
Matt Heafy – Guitar, Vocals
Corey Beaulieu – Guitar
Paolo Gregoletto – Bass
Alex Bent – Drums
Setlist
1). Silence in the Snow
2). Into the Mouth of Hell We March
3). The Sin and the Sentence
4). The Phalanx
5). The Heart From Your Hate
6). Strife
7). The Shadow of the Abattoir
When Iron Maiden hit the stage, the world could have been ending outside the venue and no one would have cared. Maiden fans are a special breed of fan. These people are mega-fans to say the least. People travel from all over the world to see them in various locations and this show was no different. The barrier between the photo pit and the stage was lined with flags and battle vests from all over. Opening with three songs from the new album Senjutsu, the rest of the set consisted of nearly two hours of all our favorites from the years gone by. Each song featured a different backdrop and different props. One person next to me described it as musical theater for metalheads. I can’t disagree but, that is what makes Maiden, Maiden. Their songs tell a story and they provide the visuals live.
Iron Maiden’s mascot Eddie made two appearances, once as a samurai warrior and once as the trooper. Each time, he and Bruce Dickenson battled on stage as the stories were told. As for the rest of the show, the night was filled with fire, fireworks and intense mood lighting setting the scene for each story. At one point, Bruce “blew up” the stage with a giant dynamite plunger. Truly a sight.
They briefly left the stage after their title track “Iron Maiden” before coming back for not one but, two encores. The show ended with a giant WWII fighter plane flying over the stage while the Winston Churchill ‘Never Surrender’ speech segued into “Aces High” .
Steve Harris – Bass
Dave Murray – Guitar
Adrian Smith – Guitar
Bruce Dickinson – Vocals
Nicko McBrain – Drums
Janick Gers – Guitar
Setlist
1.) Senjutsu
2.) Stratego
3.) The Writing on the Wall
4.) Revelations
5.) Blood Brothers
6.) Sign of the Cross
7.) Flight of Icarus
8.) Fear of the Dark
9.) Hallowed Be Thy Name
10.) The Number of the Beast
11.) Iron Maiden
Encore:
12.) The Trooper
13.) The Clansman
14.) Run to the Hills
Encore 2:
15.) Churchill’s Speech
16.) Aces High
Follow Trivium on social media
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
