PAUL DI’ANNO – 24.11.2023 – TROON

It is fair to say that the career of former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno has been a somewhat bumpy and unpredictable ride. With his inimitable vocals having been immortalized on those legendary first couple of LPs by Iron Maiden, it is not as if he has anything to prove as such. After all, they are two of the greatest heavy metal records ever conceived and a large part of that is down to Paul’s charismatic and unique singing.

It had been exactly ten years since we last saw Paul on stage, and I honestly did not know what to expect from Friday’s performance at the main stage, but it actually turned out to be a minor musical triumph and a great fucking time overall. In a wheelchair and with an infection the size of a zeppelin (and obviously not in the best of health), the man was nevertheless in a good mood, and his sense of humor and sarcasm certainly remains intact, which was great to see and hear. What blew me away was the fact that he sang those classic Maiden tracks way better than he did two decades ago. With a phenomenal band consisting of some of Norway’s finest musicians, Di’Anno and his boys tore through ‘Charlotte the Harlot’, ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’, ‘Remember Tomorrow’, and a handful of other gems from Iron Maiden and Killers. They capped things off by delivering a blistering and aggressive version of ‘Sanctuary’ as the climactic finale to their afternoon set. The interplay between drummer Rick Hagan and bass player extraordinaire Are Gogstad was outstanding, and there was something inspired about seeing Paul defy all the odds and greet the WinterStorm crowd with a renewed sense of enthusiasm, vigor, and determination. We should all be grateful that these chaps are giving us the opportunity to experience those immortal compositions in an intimate live setting these days. What exactly was the show like in pure, simple terms then? Let me put it this way; it was pure NWOBHM bliss that lasted for three glorious quarters of an hour.