# A Matter of Life and Death Tour

A Matter of Life and Death and A Matter of the Beast were two concert tours by Iron Maiden from 2006 to 2007. The first tour was unique, as the set list primarily consisted of the band's most recent release, A Matter of Life and Death, in its entirety, although this got a mixed response from audiences. Unusually, the first leg did not include "The Number of the Beast", a song which Iron Maiden had previously played on every tour since its inception. The second part of the tour, in celebration of The Number of the Beast's 25th anniversary, saw the band playing four songs from said album as well as five from A Matter of Life and Death (although they had initially planned to play five songs from both releases).

## Set

Throughout the tour, the stage would be decorated to look like a First World War trench, with the wall canvases featuring painted sandbags and barbed wire, the stage floor decorated with barbed wire and mud as well as actual sandbags placed in front of the monitors. The podiums at the end of each runway came with actual barbed wire and searchlights (operated by Dickinson) and the bodies of two parachutists would appear from the lighting rig during "The Longest Day" (during "Iron Maiden" in 2007). As with previous tours, Nicko McBrain's drumkit featured a Sooty puppet, this time dressed in army attire.
During "Iron Maiden," a tank would appear from the back of the set (the rear runway transforming into the tank's wheels), topped with a binocular-wielding Eddie with flashing LED lights. The walk-on Eddie would also appear as an armed soldier during "The Evil That Men Do."

## Opening acts

* Lauren Harris
* Trivium
* Bullet for My Valentine
* 3 Inches of Blood
* Motörhead
* Machine Head
* Parikrama
* In Flames
* Mastodon

## Setlist

* Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War" served as the intro for the tour.
* "Different World" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "These Colours Don't Run" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "The Pilgrim" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "The Longest Day" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "Out of the Shadows" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "For the Greater Good of God" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "Lord of Light" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "The Legacy" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "Fear of the Dark" (from Fear of the Dark, 1992)
* "Iron Maiden" (from Iron Maiden, 1980)
Encore
* "2 Minutes to Midnight" (from Powerslave, 1984)
* "The Evil That Men Do" (from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
* "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Number of the Beast, the band announced that they would play five songs each from The Number of the Beast and A Matter of Life and Death throughout the 2007 part of the tour. However, only four songs from The Number of the Beast were actually played, which meant that "Children of the Damned" would be the only rarity in the setlist.
* Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War" served as the intro for the tour.
* "Different World" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "These Colours Don't Run" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "Wrathchild" (from Killers, 1981)
* "The Trooper" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)
* "Children of the Damned" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)
* "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "For the Greater Good of God" (from A Matter of Life and Death, 2006)
* "The Number of the Beast" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)
* "Fear of the Dark" (from Fear of the Dark, 1992)
* "Run to the Hills" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)
* "Iron Maiden" (from Iron Maiden, 1980)
Encore
* "2 Minutes to Midnight" (from Powerslave, 1984)
* "The Evil That Men Do" (from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
* "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)
Notes:
* "Children of the Damned" was not played in Dubai, Athens, Belgrade and Bangalore.

## Tour dates

List of 2006 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| 4 October 2006 | Hartford | United States | New England Dodge Music Center |
| 6 October 2006 | Boston | United States | Agganis Arena |
| 7 October 2006 | Camden | United States | Tweeter Center at the Waterfront |
| 9 October 2006 | Quebec City | Canada | Colisée Pepsi |
| 10 October 2006 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre |
| 12 October 2006 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| 13 October 2006 | East Rutherford | United States | Continental Airlines Arena |
| 16 October 2006 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre |
| 17 October 2006 | Auburn Hills | United States | The Palace of Auburn Hills |
| 18 October 2006 | Rosemont | United States | Allstate Arena |
| 21 October 2006 | Irvine | United States | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre |
| 25 October 2006 | Tokyo | Japan | Nippon Budokan |
| 26 October 2006 | Hiroshima | Japan | Yubinchokin Hall |
| 28 October 2006 | Tokyo | Japan | Kokusai Forum |
| 30 October 2006 | Osaka | Japan | Osaka-Castle Hall |
| 31 October 2006 | Nagoya | Japan | Shimin Hall |
| 9 November 2006 | Aalborg | Denmark | Gigantium |
| 10 November 2006 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Valby-Hallen |
| 12 November 2006 | Tampere | Finland | Icehall |
| 14 November 2006 | Helsinki | Finland | Hartwall Areena |
| 15 November 2006 | Helsinki | Finland | Hartwall Areena |
| 17 November 2006 | Stockholm | Sweden | Stockholm Globe Arena |
| 18 November 2006 | Stockholm | Sweden | Stockholm Globe Arena |
| 20 November 2006 | Gothenburg | Sweden | Scandinavium |
| 21 November 2006 | Oslo | Norway | Vallhall Arena |
| 23 November 2006 | Bergen | Norway | Vestlandshallen |
| 25 November 2006 | Stockholm | Sweden | Stockholm Globe Arena |
| 27 November 2006 | Den Bosch | Netherlands | Brabanthal |
| 28 November 2006 | Paris | France | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy |
| 30 November 2006 | Barcelona | Spain | Palau Sant Jordi |
| 2 December 2006 | Milan | Italy | DatchForum |
| 3 December 2006 | Milan | Italy | DatchForum |
| 5 December 2006 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion |
| 7 December 2006 | Stuttgart | Germany | Schleyerhalle |
| 8 December 2006 | Dortmund | Germany | Westfalenhalle |
| 11 December 2006 | Cardiff | Wales | CIA |
| 12 December 2006 | Birmingham | England | NEC |
| 14 December 2006 | Manchester | England | Manchester Evening News Arena |
| 15 December 2006 | Glasgow | Scotland | SECC |
| 17 December 2006 | Newcastle | England | Metro Radio Arena |
| 18 December 2006 | Sheffield | England | Hallam FM Arena |
| 20 December 2006 | Dublin | Ireland | The Point |
| 22 December 2006 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
| 23 December 2006 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
List of 2007 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| 9 March 2007 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | Desert Rock Festival |
| 11 March 2007 | Athens | Greece | Hellinikon Basketball Arena |
| 14 March 2007 | Belgrade | Serbia | Belgrade Fair Hall 1 |
| 17 March 2007 | Bangalore | India | Eddfest, Bangalore Palace Grounds |
| 2 June 2007 | Ljubljana | Slovenia | Bežigrad Stadium |
| 4 June 2007 | Sofia | Bulgaria | Lokomotiv Stadium |
| 6 June 2007 | Ostrava | Czech Republic | Bazaly Stadium |
| 8 June 2007 | Ludwigshafen | Germany | Südweststadion |
| 10 June 2007 | Donington Park | England | Download Festival |
| 14 June 2007 | Venice | Italy | Heineken Jammin' Festival |
| 16 June 2007 | Biddinghuizen | Netherlands | Fields of Rock Festival |
| 17 June 2007 | Düsseldorf | Germany | ISS Dome |
| 20 June 2007 | Rome | Italy | Stadio Olimpico |
| 21 June 2007 | Bilbao | Spain | Bilbao BBK Live |
| 23 June 2007 | Dessel | Belgium | Graspop Metal Meeting |
| 24 June 2007 | London | England | Brixton Academy |
Reference