Pilot. Fencer. Author. Beer taster. Vocalist of (arguably) the greatest heavy metal band of all time, Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson surely is a man of many talents. It’s not every day you see a lead vocalist fly his band around the world with his plane as in the documentary Iron Maiden: Flight 666. Ever since Bruce joined the legendary British band in 1981 and recorded the vocals for their monumental album The Number of the Beast, heavy metal hasn’t been the same. Hell, even Iron Maiden hasn’t been the same. 

Known as “the air raid siren” for his incredible range, particularly for his wailing high notes, Bruce remains as one of the most passionate and consistent performers in the world of heavy music. He started to sing by covering the Beatles’ Let It Be with school friends, got into heavy music through Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, and learned how to scream by trying to emulate the latter’s frontman—Ian Gillian. From cocky hard rock vocal delivery to impossibly clean vibrato high notes, few singers come close to his style. 

When Bruce joined Maiden, they had already released two great albums with Paul Di’Anno, a vocalist with a very punk style. However, instead of contrasting with the music, Dickinson’s operatic style added a theatrical dimension to the songs. In the album’s closer Hallowed Be Thy Name, a tale about a man who knows he’ll be hanged in a few hours, his doomed vocal delivery really brings the listener to the perspective of this man who’s having his last thoughts on this earth. 

The theatricality completely comes together at the live shows, of course. Iron Maiden shows are known for their bombastic stage designs and appearances from the band’s undead time-traveling mascot Eddie. Nevertheless, the show’s driving force is always Bruce’s incredible control of the audience. You will never hear an audience scream louder than when he goes, “Scream for me!” He is often found running around, doing certain shenanigans on the stage during the instrumental sections. His infectious energy is something that always motivates the fans. 

I had seen him with Iron Maiden before in 2018 when they played in Bulgaria. I had the opportunity to see him again this summer when he came to Istanbul for his solo project, supporting his new record and comic: The Mandrake Project.

Bruce’s solo project, which fully took off when he left Iron Maiden between 1993-1999, is very special. Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding became classic albums in an era where classic heavy metal had lost popularity. The incorporation of the old-school sound with a modern touch truly made these albums great, but what made them special were the lyrics.

In his songwriting, Dickinson comes off as a truly curious figure, digging to uncover the darker depths of the human soul. His non-trivial interest in the occult and the poetry of William Blake paints the lyricism of these songs. Sometimes the references are esoteric which really incites a genuine curiosity in understanding the philosophy lying in these texts. 

The concert day was hot as hell but I wanted to go early to be in the front row. Unfortunately, there were already other people burning under the sun 4 hours before the doors opened. They were the Iron Maiden fan club from all around the world like Florida, Indonesia, Russia, etc. From now on, every time I label myself a massive Iron Maiden fan, I’ll always remember those who are even more dedicated than me. 

After I got in the venue, drank over-priced beer, and listened to the opening band’s ok set, excitement built up until sounds from an old British horror film filled the open air. Then entered The House Band of Hell—the newly recruited band including Whitesnake’s brilliant bassist Tanya O’Callaghan, Italian keyboardist Mistheria, Dave Moreno who played drums on an older album, and guitarists Philip Naslund and Chris Declerq. Opening with Accident of Birth, Bruce entered the stage with a huge jump. 

After a while, it became apparent that Bruce’s solo show was something special on its own. The projection of early silent-era horror films in the background matched the macabre of the songs. So did the beloved frontman’s introductions. In his classic stage banter, he comes off as a man of solid British humor. Even when talking about witch hunts and castration, he still manages to bring out a silly side of things. The band did justice to the compositions of the songs. It was a bit sad to not see the brilliant guitarist on the studio album, Roy Z, but nevertheless, the solos were played with the same impact. The band jam, “Frankenstein”, was so cool. They brought out the bongos and the theremin!

I feel like we had the best setlist on the tour, filled with great diversity between the songs. The straight-up bangers were dominant but the mellower tracks created a nice contrast. The first 3 songs were fast and heavy to properly hype up the atmosphere, only to then settle down in an intoxicating adaptation of William Blake’s poem “Jerusalem” where Dickinson stopped running around the stage, put his microphone stand to the ground, and sang to the audience’s hearts. 

At that point, I came to realize the sheer genius of his frontmanship. It reminds me of how The Doors used live shows to create a communal atmosphere in the audience. Jim Morrison was almost like a shaman when he was performing, intoxicated by the music but also in total control of the audience. Bruce Dickinson, on the other hand, is as in power as Morrison was but his intentions seem to be different. He’s always having more fun than the audience in the concerts. It’s like a playground for him—controlling the masses through the music. Like the alchemists he’s so fascinated by, he’s also transforming energy. He takes the music and lyricism and turns it into a form of communication with the audience. Every clap, “hey hey hey,” or scream he gets from the audience is the gold he converts at the end of his experiment. 

He seemed surprised at one point of the show when the audience started to sing “Tears of the Dragon” before he even started. His genuine surprise put a smile on his face. “Shall we start?” he said, knowingly smirking that his magic had already reached the audience. 

This was a monumental show for me, and everyone in the audience. The magic of Bruce Dickinson is that, no matter where in the crowd you are, he gets you. He performs for you. His performance is always fascinating and he himself has fun in his shows. For a life filled with achievements, it’s still great to see Bruce still enjoys doing these shows and connecting with people. Catch him if you can with Iron Maiden this month in Toronto!