The Iron Maidens
25th May 2018
The Studio, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
While nearly every single venue around Auckland was playing host to one of the many talented musicians New Zealand is lucky enough to call their own, at The Studio the Americans were staking their claim. The Iron Maidens are the world’s only female tribute band to the British proponents of heavy metal Iron Maiden and as their drummer Linda McDonald stated in a recent interview with Ambient Light, their show promised to be a fun filled night with a few surprises thrown in for good measure!
But on the official New Zealand Music Month ‘Love Your Local Venue Day’ even The Studio had to have its stage baptized with some Kiwi blood and what better way to do that then with a band such as Forsaken Age. After tearing apart Whammy Bar in support of Venom Inc. it was fantastic to see them on a bigger stage where they could really spread their iron clad wings. Storming the very walls of the venue itself with their opening track ‘Running in the Dark’, the Auckland five piece embraced that traditional heavy metal sound while simultaneously raising visions of Viking warriors and supernatural forces.
Moving straight into the title track of their second EP ‘Vengeance of the Slain’ and they had the audience locked in, lead vocalist and story teller Miss Misery (aka Chrissy Scarfe) throwing down some fearsome bowel quaking screams. While Aidan MacNaughton and Billy Freeman shredded their strings, Rev H. Metal (aka Lee Scarfe) brought bass lines that would strike fear in the heart of the beast himself; tonight’s rendition of ‘Wolves of War’ easily the stand out of the set as the audience joined them in a war chant the song coming to its climax as Miss Misery unleashed one final blood-curdling note. Seeing out the night with ‘Heavy Metal Nightmare’ which included a cheeky little bass solo from the Rev and Forsaken Age well and truly made their mark on this metal loving audience tonight.
From the steel forged sounds of metal to the long haired strut of rock n roll; Leathur Tattoo were here to party and the audience were invited along for the beer fuelled ride. As Shem Stiletto crashed away on the drums behind a curtain of long blonde hair looking like a close relative of Zakk Wylde, Paul Rothsay on vocals brought the house down with their version of Creedence Clearwater Revivals ‘Fortunate Son’, the crowd enjoying the opportunity to join in on the vocals.
Formed in 2013, Leathur Tattoo have one goal, and that is to ‘fly the flag for the style of music that hasn’t been seen in decades.’ And they certainly did that – and more – this evening; cavorting about the stage with bravado that was perfectly in keeping with their tracks such as ‘Strict Hard Lover’ and the aptly titled ‘Sex it Up’. “Are we getting drunk yet?” the bandana clad Rothsay asked the fans, the mass raising of bottles and cups his answer “I’ll join you soon!” he promised and there was not a doubt in anyone’s mind that he wouldn’t. Throwing in a cover of the Rolling Stones ‘Doom and Gloom’, Leathur Tattoo finished on a high with ‘Cold Hard’ serenading the audience with a final flourish of howling guitars.
With the darkness of the night blanketing Auckland the menacing grin of Charlotte the Harlot leered at the audience members from the banner behind the drum kit. From the speakers came the voice of Robert Downey Jr as Wayne Gale from the Oliver Stone movie Natural Born Killers:
“To some it’s a beautiful stretch of the American landscape. But to Mickey and Mallory Knox, who are still at large, it’s literally a candylane of murder and mayhem.”
As the crowd roared the Iron Maidens strode out onto the stage each and every one embodying the persona of a heavy metal goddess as they stood before the fans. Roaring full speed into ‘Aces High’ the stage is bathed in blood red signalling the entrance of the Iron Maiden herself, vocalist Kirsten Rosenberg (Bruce Chickinson). With bursts of CO2 that carpeted the stage in swirling pools of fog Rosenberg lets loose proving to one and all present just why she is the overall queen of this band of killer sirens.
While we are off to a flying start the equipment had other ideas; bassist Wanda Ortiz (Steph Harris) soon left silent as her wireless system decided it had other places to be. Like the true professionals they are – Iron Maidens having toured extensively over the span of their seventeen year career – finished the track in style; Rosenberg left with the slightly uncomfortable task of filling in the silence with small talk as they swapped Ortiz over to a lead. Back on track and the Iron Maidens bang out a couple of tracks that any tried and true Iron Maiden fans would appreciate; their cover of ’22 Acacia Avenue’ from the beloved 1982 album The Number of the Beast in particular an early set stand out.
While the fans were already fully engaged and completely on side with Rosenberg, her arrival on stage dressed in the uniform worn by Eddie for ‘The Trooper’ while waving a giant New Zealand flag saw them all go wild; lead guitarist Nikki Stringfield (Davina Murray) blowing everyone away with her on point finger work as she made some serious eye contact with those lucky enough to be in the front row. Formed in 2001 the Iron Maidens have made quite the name for themselves on the world circuit; proving to the naysayers that they are far more than just some glorified ‘covers’ band. This is in fact a group consisting of five outstanding musicans who have bonded over their love for the music of Iron Maiden. From the jaw-dropping solos of both Stringfield and Courtney Cox (Adriana Smith) – the latter also providing some well-placed backing vocals – to the ferocious drumming of the empress of the skins herself Linda McDonald (Nikki McBurrain) the Iron Maidens were a class act through and through.
While minor technical issues made a nuisance of themselves periodically throughout the night – Stringfield also having to convert back to a guitar lead later in the set – it was nothing more than a small blemish on a show that brought the metal by the bucket load. Anthems such as ‘The Number of the Beast’ saw the fans howl in delight as they banged their heads in time with the kick drums, goats raised to the ceiling as the beast himself cavorted about the stage, before the epic thirteen and a half minutes of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ left them almost breathless, the Iron Maidens perfectly emulating the three guitar attack. Of course it wouldn’t be a true Iron Maiden – or for that matter Iron Maidens – show without a visit from Eddie himself, Auckland fans treated to two different versions (one of which Cox defeated with the power of music itself, delivering the fatal blow with a dramatic flourish of her guitar).
With ‘Fear of the Dark’ topping off ninety minutes of glorious music the Iron Maidens finished with the most fitting track they could; ‘Iron Maiden’ seeing Rosenberg releasing one final wail that would have sent shivers of delight up the spine of Bruce Dickinson himself. All hail the Iron Maidens, the mistresses of metal.
Were you there at the Studio for this fun rock gig? Or have you seen The Iron Maidens perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Iron Maidens Setlist:
- Aces High
- 2 Minutes To Midnight
- 22 Acacia Avenue
- The Trooper
- The Duellists
- The Number Of The Beast
- The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
- Phantom Of The Opera
- Wasted Years
- Murder In The Rue Morgue
- Children Of The Damned
- Fear Of The Dark
- Iron Maiden
Leathur Tattoo Setlist:
- Fortunate Son [Creedence Clearwater Revival cover]
- Strict Hard Lover
- Rev It Up
- Sex Drive
- Doom And Gloom [Rolling Stones cover]
- Cold Hard
Forsaken Age Setlist:
- Running In The Dark
- Vengeance Of The Slain
- Death Terror
- Wolves Of War
- Denim Leather And Damnation
- Heavy Metal Nightmare
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