The frigid weather wasn’t keeping away Winnipeg metal fans from bracing the cold and filling up the Burton Cummings Theatre to see the local Judas Priest tribute band, Metal Gods, and the band who are considered the "world’s only female tribute to Iron Maiden," The Iron Maidens. This past weekend, The Iron Maidens took on a two-night mini-tour of the Prairies of Canada with shows in both Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Regina, Saskatchewan.
Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography.
The local heavy metal band Metal Gods were the first band to be welcomed to the stage and performed an assortment of Judas Priest covers. All five members of Metal Gods fully commit when performing, even right down to dressing up in the classic look of the band. Which includes full leather outfits with a plethora of metal studs. The band looked like they wanted to resemble what appeared to be approximately the 1979–1989 lineup of Judas Priest.
I noticed many members of the audience that were quite into the set as early as the first song. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, Judas Priest are as well known as Iron Maiden in the metal music scene. Especially when Metal Gods closed their set with the notable fan favourite, and I’d like to say, classic Judas Priest singles, "Breaking The Law," "Living After Midnight," and ending with, "You’ve Got Another Thing Coming." The audience even welcomed the band with a standing ovation as their set came to a finish.
Photos by Samuel Stevens Photography.
Next to hit the stage was The Iron Maidens, an all-female Iron Maiden tribute band from Los Angeles, California, and are currently gathering quite the international recognition. Starting the set off with a bang, The Iron Maidens performed "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight."The two singles off the album, Powerslave. Other fan favourites/singles performed by the band throughout the night included songs such as, "The Trooper," "Fear of the Dark," "Number of the Beast," "Hallowed By Thy Name," among many others. The Iron Maidens did not forget to dig deeper into the Iron Maiden catalogue to perform many deep cuts as well. Some of which are considered to be some favourites among the Iron Maiden fan base. These songs performed included "22 Acacia Avenue" and "Phantom of the Opera," to name a few. I loved that the band even replicated the standard Iron Maiden stage show and brought out a Somewhere in Time era Eddie the Head, the iconic Iron Maiden mascot, during the song "Wasted Years." The song is featured on the aforementioned album. The band’s performance also featured a costume change during "The Trooper" by vocalist, Kristen Rosenberg, also known as, Bruce Chickinson. Sporting a red and white army jacket, resembling Eddie the Head on the single artwork for The Trooper. As well as waving around a Union Jack and later on in the song, a Canadian flag. A beast wandered on stage during "Number of the Beast" at the most appropriate time. Lastly, a classic Eddie made his way on stage during the band's encore of "Hallowed By Thy Name." Both Metal Gods and The Iron Maidens had fun and energetic sets. The crowd was visibly rocked by their performances, and so was I. It’s rather disappointing that both of their performances came to an end so quickly as a duelling guitar solo can come to a slowing finish. I don’t know if it was The Iron Maidens first time playing anywhere in Canada, but it was the band's first-ever show in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the seventeen years the band currently has run. Drawing a sell-out crowd, I’m sure The Iron Maidens will be back very soon to play in front of the Winnipeg fans once again.