You know there's something heavy in the air when Ed Force One, Iron Maiden's custom fitted and supremely airworthy Boeing 757 tour-craft, makes a low pass over your hometown's main gas, food and lodging conduit. Well, up the irons Maiden heads of America - the boys'll be back in town this summer revisiting their 1988 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son world tour with production and content to mirror their Maiden England concert home video* so closely that they're gone ahead and exhumed the title for use on yet another "between albums" tour, or the third chapter in the band's History of Iron Maiden live shows.
'Tis a thing of beauty, no? I am almost at a loss for words to explain how pumped I am for this tour. Seventh Son was the first Iron Maiden cassette I ever owned and it still serves as a source of workaday strength for me, especially the song (and music video for) "Can I Play With Madness" - any of you "talented arts" kids out there will fell me on that score. In fact, eff it, I'm so stoked right now how about we watch the music video for "Can I Play With Madness" and talk tour deets n' things after the break.
Now, if you or any of your clairvoyant friends are in the official Iron Maiden fan club then chances are you've already procured your tickets as they were made available to IMFC members today, but if you're not be ready to get the best of the leftovers on March 2nd or 3rd (check here or your local venue listings for official ticket sale dates and times) and remember to buy paperless and avoid the gauging habits secondary ticketing sites (i.e. the evil that men do lives on and on). For a complete list of set list speculations and 2012 tour dates, see below. Otherwise, up the irons! See you in D.C. and San Francisco!!!!!!!!
*Maiden England 1988 Longform Video VHS Tracklisting:
Moonchild, The Evil That Men Do, The Prisoner, Still Life, Die With Your Boots On, Infinite Dreams, Killers, Can I Play With Madness, Heaven Can Wait, Wasted Years, The Clairvoyant, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden.
MAIDEN ENGLAND 2012 TOUR DATES
| Thur | 21st June | Charlotte, NC | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre |
| Sat | 23rd June | Atlanta, GA | Aarons Amphitheatre |
| Tue | 26th June | Boston, MA | Comcast Center |
| Wed | 27th June | Wantagh, NY | Jones Beach |
| Fri | 29th June | Philadelphia, PI | Susquehanna Bank Center |
| Sat | 30th June | Washington, DC | Jiffy Lube Live |
| Mon | 2nd July | Newark, NJ | Prudential Center |
| Thur | 5th July | Chicago, IL | First Midwest Bank |
| Sun | 8th July | Quebec, QC | Colisee Pepsi Arena |
| Wed | 11th July | Montreal, QC | Bell Center |
| Fri | 13th July | Toronto, ON | Molson Amphitheatre |
| Sat | 14th July | Sarnia, ON | Bayfest |
| Mon | 16th July | Buffalo, NY | Darien Lake Performing Arts Center |
| Wed | 18th July | Detroit, MI | DTE Music Theatre |
| Thur | 19th July | Indianapolis, IN | Klipsch Music Centre |
| Tues | 24th July | Winnipeg, MB | MTS Center |
| Thur | 26th July | Calgary, AB | Scotiabank Saddledome |
| Fri | 27th July | Edmonton, AB | Rexall Place |
| Sun | 29th July | Vancouver, BC | Pacific Coliseum |
| Mon | 30th July | Auburn, WA | White River Amphitheatre |
| Wed | 1st August | Salt Lake City, UT | USANA Amphitheatre |
| Fri | 3rd August | San Francisco, CA | Shoreline Amphitheatre |
| Mon | 6th August | Phoenix, AZ | Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion |
| Thur | 9th August | Irvine, CA | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre |
| Sun | 12th August | Albuquerque. NM | Hard Rock Pavilion |
| Mon | 13th August | Denver, CO | Comfort Dental Amphitheatre |
| Wed | 15th August | San Antonio, TX | AT&T Center |
| Fri | 17th August | Dallas, TX | Gexa Energy Pavilion |
| Sat | 18th August | Houston, TX | The Woodlands |
