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IRON MAIDEN, THE HU In San Antonio, TX With Photos!

By Larry Petro, News Monkey
Thursday, November 28, 2024 @ 9:16 AM

It's Back To The Future And The Past At Frost Bank Center November 17th

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All Photo By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography

For the second time in less than a month I had the opportunity to catch metal legends for their final show on a U.S. or North American Tour, the first being JUDAS PRIEST at the end of October at their final North American show for the second leg of the band's Invincible Shield trek and now it was IRON MAIDEN's turn, and what better way to cap off their 'Future Past Tour' than with a 19,000 capacity sold out show at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, home to the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. And also for the second consecutive time it was a venue I had not previously been to and let me just say that everything about this venue from the parking to the professionalism of the staff was of the highest quality!

The opening act for this tour was Mongolian folk metal artists THE HU, who have certainly come quite a ways since their beginnings back in 2016. With now 2 full length albums under their belts, a live album, several cover tunes from acts like METALLICA and IRON MAIDEN, and collaborations with the likes of FROM ASHES TO NEW, Jacoby Shaddix (PAPA ROACH), Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) and William Duvall (ALICE IN CHAINS), the band brings a very unique style of 'metal' with them, incorporating not just your traditional guitar and bass but also Mongolian instruments such as the morin khuur and the tovshuur. And if you've never seen them live you're really robbing yourself of true cultural experience. Led by frontman Nyamjantsan "Jaya" Galsanjamts, THE HU got things started with the title track of their first album, The Gereg, one of 3 such tracks they would perform from that record. Their latest release Rumble of Thunder was represented 4 numbers including "Black Thunder" and set closer "This Is Mongol". THE HU continues to ascend the ranks of current metal acts and if you get the opportunity, check 'em out!

Setlist:

"The Gereg"

"Upright Destined Mongol"

"Lost"

"TATAR Warrior"

"Grey Hun"

"Black Thunder"

"Yuve Yuve Yu"

"Wolf Totem"

"This Is Mongol"

As for IRON MAIDEN, what can you say except that this band continues to add to their legacy each year of their existence and unlike others who continue to regurgitate the same set tour after tour, these legends keep things fresh by not only releasing new music but changing things up each time out and this time was no exception. Upon entering the venue the lines for merchandise stretched halfway around the inside of the building it seemed, with fans eager to get their hands on the latest tour swag, of which I counted at least 10 different t-shirt designs alone. And the band loves Texas as much as Texas loves them and we always get our own special tour shirt with just the Texas dates on the back. Why? Because we're awesome that's why. Having seen the band every time through Texas since vocalist Bruce Dickinson rejoined the band for the album Brave New World and ensuing tour there have been at last 3 or 4 occasions where the band has either started or ended a tour in this state and without having actually looked that up I would have to say that it's probably more than any other state in the Union. So yeah, we consider ourselves special.

The 'Future Past Tour' was somewhat of a continuation of the last tour in support of the 2021 album Senjutsu, but with the added twist of their seminal 1986 opus Somewhere In Time. So when the PA system started blaring the classic UFO track "Doctor, Doctor", the packed house came to life as they knew what was coming. Following "Blade Runner (End Titles)", drummer Nicko McBrain appeared behind his kit giving a fist pump to the crowd as the first strains of "Caught Somewhere In Time" began. As the intro finished and the meat of the song began the band appeared on stage with a flash of pyro and we were off and running. The band was all energy and you certainly could not tell that they had spent the past month and a half ravaging stages across America. Dickinson, sporting some futuristic looking goggles, was as full of energy as I have seen him, seemingly feeding off the crowd's energy, as did his bandmates, bassist Steve Harris, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers and of course McBrain though he couldn't be easily seen behind his massive kit though he was certainly heard.

MAIDEN went straight from the opener into another tune from that album in "Stranger In A Strange Land", featuring the evening's first appearance of their mascot Eddie in his Somewhere In Time garb, then jumping forward to Senjutsu for a pair in "The Writing On The Wall" and "Days Of Future Past", probably my favorite from that album. In all, of the 15 numbers performed during this night, a full 10 were pulled from those 2 albums, so we got gems like "Alexander The Great" and "Heaven Can Wait" (featuring a gun battle between a returning Eddie and Dickinson) as well as "Death Of The Celts" and "The Time Machine", which Bruce introduced by way of comparisons to the Back To The Future movies.

Now, with a tour focusing so much on just those 2 albums you know that something had to give with regards to the setlist and in this case "Run To The Hills", "Number of The Beast" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" were the causalities, but you know what, they weren't really missed because the band made up for it in what they did play. We got "Can I Play With Madness?" and of course "Fear Of The Dark" and "Iron Maiden". And in a trend that I have seen several bands do now over the past year or so, they included a new release song in the encores, in this case "Hell On Earth", which came with enough pyro to make it feel like, well, hell on earth. And while that song might have been one I had overlooked initially on the Senjutsu record, I certainly have a newfound appreciation for it now that I've seen it live. The show was finished off with set staple "The Trooper" and "Wasted Years". As the band took their final bows Dickinson stated "See you in a couple of years" before adding "if not sooner". We can only hope.

And if this tour wasn't really your cup of tea in terms of setlist then just wait as IRON MAIDEN has already announced the 'Run For Your Lives' Tour for 2025-26 with the focus this time being on the debut album up through Fear Of The Dark. Even 40+ years in IRON MAIDEN still finds way to keep it real and keep it fresh.