On May 22, Iron Maiden kicked off the 2022 edition on their ongoing Legacy of the Beast world tour with a show in Zagreb, Croatia where the band not only debuted a new samurai Eddie onstage, but three new songs off last year's Senjutsu album.
It's the first deviation in the setlist on the Legacy of the Beast trek, which continues through the summer and will return to North America this fall. Rather than opening with "Aces High" and a spitfire plane dangling overheard, the Powerslave cut instead appeared at the very end of the night as Maiden stepped back out onstage for a second encore.
This was the first time Maiden ever closed a show with "Aces High."
In it's place (and the place of other tracks which have been discarded from previous tour sets) were the three leadoff songs on Senjutsu, the title track, "Stratego" and "The Writing on the Wall," backed by an entirely new element of the stage production that matches the Japanese theme of the record's visuals.
The other setlist change came with the inclusion of Blood Brothers, a standout on 2000's Brave New World and it was the first time Iron Maiden had played this since 2017.
These four additions to the setlist came at the expense of "2 Minutes to Midnight," "The Wicker Man," "Where Eagles Dare" and "For The Greater Good of God," all of which had been staples of the Legacy of the Beast setlists until now.
The members of the band appeared to be no worse for the wear after two years away from the road and Bruce Dickinson sounded particularly strong as he comes up on what will be his 64th birthday later this summer.
See the complete setlist directly below and watch fan-shot footage of the Senjutsu tracks further down the page.
Iron Maiden Setlist — May 22, 2022 (via setlist.fm)
01. "Senjutsu"
02. "Stratego" (live debut)
03. "The Writing on the Wall" (live debut)
04. "Revelations"
05. "Blood Brothers" (first time since 2017)
06. "Sign of the Cross"
07. "Flight of Icarus"
08. "Fear of the Dark"
09. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
10. "The Number of the Beast"
11. "Iron Maiden"
Encore:
12. "The Trooper"
13. "The Clansman"
14. "Run to the Hills"
Encore 2:
15. "Aces High" (first time as show closer)
Iron Maiden Debut Samurai Eddie Onstage — May 22, 2022
Iron Maiden, "Senjutsu" Live — May 22, 2022
Iron Maiden, "Stratego" Live — May 22, 2022
Iron Maiden, "The Writing on the Wall" Live — May 22, 2022