The Iconic Metal Voice of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson at Brooklyn Paramount

Bruce Dickinson is more than the lead singer of Iron Maiden. Although the British-born singer is best known as the front person for one of the biggest heavy metal bands of all time, he also has worked as a commercial airline pilot, radio host, novelist, film writer, entrepreneurial beer creator, and competitive fencer. Dickinson’s most recent book, The Mandrake Project: Year One, saw publication on August 5, 2025.

Dickinson’s greatest success is his career with Iron Maiden, the band he joined from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present day. The 13 albums he has sung on have sold more than 100 million copies. Exploring other musical avenues, he also has released seven solo studio albums. In 2024, he released his most recent, The Mandrake Project, as his first solo album in 19 years. Then, in July of this year, he added to his solo catalog a re-worked version of his 1994 album, Balls to Picasso, now re-titled More Balls to Picasso.

Music is Dickinson’s primary endeavor. After an Iron Maiden concert tour ended in December 2024, he quickly began strategizing how to resume the Mandrake Project Tour. Promoting his then current solo album, the tour played California, Brazil and Europe from April to July 2024, his first tour as a solo artist since 2002. In short time, he reunited guitarists Philip Naslund and Chris Declerq, keyboardist Maestro Mistheria, bassist Tanya O'Callaghan, and drummer Dave Moreno.

Rather than play the massive arenas and stadiums that Iron Maiden normally headlines, Dickinson’s The Mandrake Project tour 2025 would be an opportunity for metal fans to enjoy his uniquely distinctive and iconic voice in more intimate venues, including large clubs and mid-size theaters. The 2025 coast-to-coast-to-coast tour began on August 22 in Anaheim, crossed the United States to the east coast, and ultimately will conclude back in California in Los Angeles on October 5. The tour landed at Brooklyn Paramount on September 10, after a quick one-day side gig at a music festival in Brazil.

After a well-received set by hometown Brooklyn metal band Anaka, the house lights dimmed for the second time as the public address system played a loud recording of "Toltec 7 Arrival," a 37-second instrumental track Dickinson composed for his 1997 solo album, Accident of Birth. The live set started moments later, and would consist of 13 songs from five of Dickinson’s solo albums, a cover of the Edgar Winter Group’s instrumental “Frankenstein,” and a rare live performance of a deep cut from Iron Maiden. The song, “Flash of the Blade,” from Iron Maiden’s 1984 album Powerslave, reportedly has never been performed live by Iron Maiden.

If fans were disappointed that Dickinson did not perform more Iron Maiden songs, at least they saw their hero with another solid band in a more stripped-down and natural environment. Unlike Iron Maiden’s complex stage sets, Dickinson’s external visuals were almost non-existent. No rising ramps to run across, no giant monsters, no pyrotechnics, no anything except musicians and lights. With five decades perfecting his performance skills, an athletic Dickinson was constantly darting across the stage, all the while singing crisply and engaging both his musicians and his audience. The explosive energy he manifested for two straight hours and the clarity of his powerful operatic-influenced vocals were impressive for a life-long performer who turned 67 only a month earlier.

The evening’s program included several special moments. Dickinson opened “Shadow of the Gods” playing a theremin, an electronic instrument seldom seen in hard rock music. He flexed his vocal range with an a capella rendition of “Revelations” before launching into the Iron Maiden song, both of which he composed. The cover of the Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein,” on the other hand, showcased the talents of Dickinson’s assembly of musicians. As the show approached closure, Dickinson tossed his sweat-soaked wool cap into the audience, a unique souvenir for one lucky fan.

As Dickinson seldom tours apart from Iron Maiden, the Brooklyn Paramount audience witnessed a performance that the heavy metal titan seldom offers. Many of his solo albums were released without a coinciding tour, meaning that these songs did not get to be performed live in years past. For many fans, the evening was the fulfillment of decades of anticipation to hear Dickinson’s solo songs performed live.

Considering that Dickinson has not toured as a solo artist in 23 years, many of his most faithful fans enjoyed the opportunity to hear another side of him at Brooklyn Paramount. Fortunately, the uncommon and iconic voice behind Iron Maiden was as strong and as exciting as ever. Dickinson proved that he remains an incomparable and irreplaceable force in heavy metal music.

Setlist

1. Accident of Birth

2. Abduction

3. Laughing in the Hiding Bush

4. Shadow of the Gods

5. Chemical Wedding

6. Flash of the Blade (Iron Maiden song, with a capella "Revelations" introduction)

7. Resurrection Men

8. Rain on the Graves

9. Frankenstein (The Edgar Winter Group cover)

10. The Alchemist

11. Book of Thel

12. Road to Hell

Encore

13. Tears of the Dragon

14. Gods of War

15. The Tower

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music circuit. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise.

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