"Scream for Me, Toronto!" Bruce Dickinson Brings Solo Fire to History

“Scream for me, Toronto!” Familiar words echoed by Iron Maiden’s legendary frontman Bruce Dickinson. This time in an unfamiliar setting as he brought his solo act to Toronto’s History. Usually playing to sold out stadiums all over the world with Iron Maiden, it was a rare opportunity to see Dickinson in this intimate atmosphere. In fact, the first time since his 1997 visit to the now extinct Guvernment venue.

Opening the night was Oshawa’s own, ever impressive prog rock duo, Crown Lands. Who’s dramatic instrumentation and shrill vocals dropped the jaws of those previously unfamiliar. Even Dickinson himself said he had to stop in his tracks backstage and said to the others, “Wait. Is the drummer also playing a flute?”

Dickinson opened his set with the “Accident of Birth” from the 1997 album of the same name. Immediately summoning a horde of leather and denim bearing fists to the air to chant along to the chorus hook, “Welcome home!”

Dickinson’s latest work, The Mandrake Project, is the centerpiece for this tour. His well-received seventh solo album, and first in almost 20 years. Songs like “Shadow of the Gods” and “Rain on the Graves” were met with much praise. Which made it surprising that the album only had a three-song presence on the sixteen-song setlist. Of course, one of the biggest reactions of the night came at the surprise inclusion of Iron Maiden’s “Flash of the Blade” from their 1984 classic album, Powerslave.

For most of the night, all eyes were on Dickinson, who at 67 years old, can still run, jump, and move better than someone half his age. But most importantly, his airy, captivating vocals were as powerful as ever. Dickinson’s latest band is made up of session musicians. The most standout being the mesmerizing, Tanya O’Callaghan, the Irish bassist enchantress, who also joined Whitesnake as of 2021.

The night came to a close with Dickinson’s popular track “Tears of the Dragon,” from the recently re-released 1994 album, Balls to Picasso, and the Tarot-inspired song, “The Tower” from 1998’s The Chemical Wedding. Dickinson thanked the crowd of tattooed metalheads who had made their way out to the east end, and promised us another new album in 2026.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.