{"id":452361,"date":"2026-09-30T18:48:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/452361\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:48:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:48:54","slug":"iron-maiden-megadeth-and-anthrax-filled-san-antonios-alamodome-with-powerful-metal-onslaught","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/452361\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Anthrax filled San Antonio’s Alamodome with powerful metal onslaught"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is San Antonio still the heavy metal capital of the world, a moniker frequently invoked in the 1980s? <\/p>\n

On Tuesday night, it sure felt like it was.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because a stacked lineup of metal legends graced the stage of the Alamo City\u2019s biggest venue, drawing a near-capacity crowd of devotees.<\/p>\n

Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Anthrax \u2014 each headliners in their own right \u2014 shared the bill for the historic show celebrating Iron Maiden\u2019s 50-year anniversary as the grande finale of its Run for Your Lives World Tour.<\/p>\n

Anthrax opened the evening with a short set of just five songs, which served as a brief rundown of the veteran thrash group\u2019s best-known tracks, from \u201cCaught in a Mosh\u201d to \u201cIndians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megadeth followed, though the mix at the beginning of the set didn\u2019t do any favors to the strained vocals of singer-guitarist-bandleader Dave Mustaine.<\/p>\n

Still a guitar virtuoso, Mustaine won over the crowd when, during \u201cSweating Bullets,\u201d he performed soaring arpeggios on his Flying V in front of a stack of speaker cabinets.<\/p>\n

Other classic tracks that made the nine-song set included \u201cSymphony of Destruction,\u201d \u201cTake No Prisoners\u201d and \u201cPeace Sells.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megadeth also performed \u201cTipping Point,\u201d the lead single from its latest album, released in January of this year, which Mustaine thanked the crowd for making No. 1 on the Billboard 200.<\/p>\n

For \u201cTipping Point\u201d and \u201cTornado of Souls\u201d Mustaine switched from his V to an Alien Tech Green Les Paul, another signature guitar in the longtime collaboration between the iconic Gibson guitar brand and the longtime thrash metal figure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were rumors that we\u2019re retiring after this tour, and the rumors are true,\u201d Mustaine said between songs. \u201cThere\u2019s something wrong with my hands. So we\u2019re going to play our asses off and hopefully we won\u2019t be gone too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the trouble with his hands, Mustaine traded solos full of hammer-ons, flashy shreds and palm muting with Finnish lead guitarist Teemu M\u00e4ntysaari.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly shit, San Antonio you guys are metal through and through,\u201d M\u00e4ntysaari said.<\/p>\n

In the era of \u201cblue dot fever\u201d \u2014 the industry nickname for the rash of empty stadiums booked by musical acts \u2014 filling the Alamodome was no small feat.<\/p>\n

To mark the final show on what could be Megadeth\u2019s final tour, Mustaine closed with the familiar sign-off \u2014 maybe for the last time:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how it goes \u2014 you\u2019ve been great, we\u2019ve been Megadeth. Goodnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, it was time for Iron Maiden. As the first smoke-and-mirrors flourish in a theatrical set, a banner featuring the band\u2019s cadaverous mascot Eddie appeared to drop and reveal the band as it ripped into \u201cMurders in the Rue Morgue\u201d from the 1981 album Killers.<\/p>\n

Far from the only literary reference of the night, the song named after Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s short story was delivered in front of a Paris backdrop.<\/p>\n

Another literary moment came during the highlight of the set, \u201cRime of the Ancient Mariner\u201d from 1984\u2019s Powerslave, when the band lulled the crowd into a trance-like state. <\/p>\n

In the epic-length song, named for a work by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the guitars placidly idled, drawing out the interlude and allowing the midsection to sink to the ocean floor while a ship creaked and groaned on the screen behind them.<\/p>\n

As Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson glided across the stage, the long sleeves of his robes causing the rising smoke to spiral around him, the effect was nearly psychedelic. Valleys such as these made the peaks in the band\u2019s dynamic set even more ecstatic for the fist-pumping crowd.<\/p>\n

Maiden ripped through a bevy of greatest hits, with an emphasis on its first two albums \u2014 a rarity for the Dickinson-fronted lineup since the group\u2019s original vocalist, the late Paul Di\u2019Anno, sang on those tracks.<\/p>\n

Songs from the band\u2019s self-titled debut album included \u201cPhantom of the Opera\u201d and \u2014 naturally \u2014 \u201cIron Maiden,\u201d the latter of which always features in its sets. Songs from their second album Killers included \u201cWrathchild\u201d and the eponymous \u201cKillers.\u201d Indeed, the set\u2019s first four songs were drawn from the first two albums.<\/p>\n

It was as if Maiden were reminding fans \u2014 50 years into the band\u2019s dynastic reign \u2014 \u201clook at how far we\u2019ve come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dickinson echoed that sentiment in banter between songs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have waited 50 years before we got to the Alamodome, \u2019cause that\u2019s how long this band has been together, which is a ridiculous number,\u201d he told the cheering crowd. <\/p>\n

The sheer pageantry and spectacle, delivered with precision every moment of the show, demonstrated how Maiden has been able to entertain through the ages and remain a massive concert draw despite a minimum of radio airplay. <\/p>\n

Dickinson\u2019s operatic vibrato was as piercing as ever, his movements fluid and graceful as he bounded across the stage and the guitars synchronized in satisfying harmony.<\/p>\n

An onslaught of career-spanning hits included \u201cThe Number of the Beast,\u201d \u201cPowerslave,\u201d \u201c2 Minutes to Midnight,\u201d \u201cRun to the Hills,\u201d \u201cThe Trooper\u201d and \u201cHallowed Be Thy Name.\u201d<\/p>\n

The encore delivered one of the most visually striking moments of the set for \u201cFear of the Dark,\u201d during which Dickinson sang against a massive full moon. Clad in a Dickensian top hat and overcoat, he looked over his shoulder, shining a lamp as he navigated the smoky stage, seemingly expecting to encounter Jack the Ripper himself.<\/p>\n

This is the level of spectacle that a crowd of 40,000 or more calls for, and he knew it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiggest show we\u2019ve ever done we\u2019ve ever done in Texas. Maybe the biggest show we\u2019ve ever done in all of the fucking USA,\u201d Dickinson said early in the set. <\/p>\n

Photos by Jaime Monzon.<\/p>\n

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