It’s rare for an act to make it past the 50-year mark, and it’s even rarer to have toured and released new music as regularly as Iron Maiden has during that period. To mark the special anniversary, Maiden’s Run for Your Lives World Tour is a multiyear celebration of the past half a century.
For anyone familiar with the band’s theatrics, it will come as no surprise that the creative team pulled out all the stops. Not wanting to rest on their laurels, the production featured several firsts for the band, including moving away from the traditional hand-painted backdrops to a video screen.
Despite this modernisation of certain staging elements, the creatives still wanted to ground the show in set-based theatrics and therefore called on longstanding special effects supplier Pyrotek Special Effects to create several custom looks to help blend the physical and virtual worlds.
Pyrotek has been working with the British metalers since 2008s Somewhere Back in Time World Tour. Once again, Keith Maxwell oversaw the delivery of special effects, alongside Eric ‘Mooch’ Muccio and newcomer to the camp Josh Brea.
Reflecting on the suppliers’ involvement with the tour, TPi caught up with Pyrotek President and Chief Executive Officer, Scott Dunlop, and Senior Project Manager, Marie Kun. “Maiden always have an interesting approach when it comes to pyro and effects,” reflected Dunlop, looking back on the company’s 18-year history with the band.
“It’s not understated, but it’s very tastefully done, and it’s always very thematically orientated. It always begins with the set list, and what we do, whether it’s a pyro hit or a fog element, is designed to enhance the mood of a specific song.”
With this focus on thematics, the creative team were keen to ensure that the special effects married up to the content being played on the rear LED screen. This thought process led to a request to create some unique props. “The concept of creating bespoke flaming torches was aired very early on in the design, and there were a lot of conversations on how that was going to fit into the set and what they would look like,” commented Kun.
The torch effect was achieved through a canister system, which made it easy to obtain sign-off across multiple territories. The most intriguing part of the effect was how the outer casing was created. “The decorative elements of the torches were fabricated by a blacksmith located near our main facility in Sweden,” enthused Kun. “It meant we were able to create an aesthetic that the band were looking for. The blacksmith worked very hard to ensure they were all roadworthy while also looking very Game of Thrones,” she chuckled.
“Credit to our European office, which found the blacksmith and worked to design the fuel delivery system for the products,” added Dunlop. “It also happened that the blacksmith was a massive Maiden fan, which was a bonus.”
Dunlop went on to highlight his favourite moment of the tour, which exemplified how the torches enhanced the show’s overall look. “When they play the song Hallowed Be Thy Name, there is an extended sequence that has a video of Bruce [Dickinson, Lead Singer] climbing some stairs to a hangman’s noose. In the content, there are torches, but then we also have ours burning on the stage,” he described, highlighting the extension of the look and the blurred lines between virtual and reality.
Pyrotek also provided several other effects, including Salamander Flame Units, CO2 Jets and pyrotechnics, all of which were controlled and fired by a Fire Control G3 system, Pyrotek’s proprietary control platform. “This has been very beneficial as its controlling both the pyro and DMX,” stated Kun.
“Having everything from fog to pyro all run through one control system is incredibly helpful for the team on the road,” added Dunlop. The President and CEO spoke more broadly about the benefits of the company’s transition to offices with bases in both Europe and the US – a move cemented last year following the merger between Pyrotek and Unique Pyrotechnic. “Now that we have physical operations in Europe and North America, we can get a more seamless integration in all the thousands of tasks that have to happen behind the scenes to get the show supplied and rolling, including permitting and authorisation. The European team is handling the tour now, and it will move to the North American team in the summer.”
Both Dunlop and Kun expressed excitement about the band having a Stateside tour later this year. “Any Maiden tour is a big deal,” closed Dunlop. “From Keith and Mooch on the ground to everyone else in the company, there is a lot of passion that goes into this show. Not only do we want to pay homage to the 50-year anniversary, we also want to reinterpret the show and find new effects to push it up a few notches.”
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Iron Maiden Official
