Gig Preview: Iron Maiden: ‘The Book of Souls’ First Listen and Tribute

A exclusive first listen of The Book of Souls by Sony Music, a screening of Flight 666 and a tribute set by Devoid and Friends all in one night is more than what any Iron Maiden worshipper could ask for.

The tribute gig, which will be held on September 3^rd at Blue Frog, Mumbai, celebrates the release of the British heavy metal band’s first ever double studio album. The event will kick off with a screening of the concert documentary Flight 666 that documents the first leg of the band’s ”˜Somewhere Back In The World’ tour in February/March 2008.

Mumbai metal band Devoid’s Iron Maiden tribute set will feature many guest vocalists. Photo: Aabhishek Gunaratnam.

Following the two-hour film will be a tribute gig by Mumbai thrash metallers Devoid, who plan to revive Maiden classics with a little help from guest vocalists, including Biprorshee Das of horror metal band Albatross, vocalist Arjun Dhanraj [whose band NerveRek opened for Iron Maiden when they performed in Mumbai in 2008], Ashutosh Pande and more.

Says vocalist Arun Iyer, “Since I can’t sing Maiden, we decided to do the instrumentals and get guest vocalists on board. The initial idea of only Biprorshee and Devoid playing has now become more than that; we all have this interconnected Maiden fellowship of sorts.”

Das, who cites Iron Maiden as his biggest musical influence, is just as eager to be part of the tribute: “’Hallowed Be Thy Name’ is a song I’ve been singing for donkey’s years now. I am not giving that to anybody. We have some fun ideas for ”˜Number Of The Beast’ and that is something I am really looking forward to.”

The Iron Maiden tribute gig takes place on September3rd, 2015 at Blue Frog, Mumbai. Cover: Rs. 500. Event details here.