From The Beatles and Stones to Zeppelin and Sabbath and all the way up through Oasis and Muse, England has always been about Rock and Roll. It may have been born in America, the bastard child of Blues, Country and R&B. But the British always seem to know exactly what to do with it.

With sixteen studio and eleven live albums over 42 years, London’s Iron Maiden and their mascot, Eddie the Head reign supreme on the stages around the world. And Friday night they brought the Book of Souls world tour to Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. It was the first of two nights to close out the 116 date tour.

This isn’t 80s metal coming out of Los Angeles. This is the loud type made famous on albums like 1982’s Number of the Beast. Hard Rock played on Les Pauls and Stratocasters by three guitarists (Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers) and founding member Steve Harris on bass. There is something majestic in this music.

With fists pumping to the chorus of UFO’s classic Doctor Doctor, the sold-out arena’s fans ate up the band’s hyper-active stage show from the thick smoke pouring out all over the stage and pyrotechnics to the synchronized stage antics of the guitar players.

Lead singer Bruce Dickinson joined the band in 1982 for the classic Number of the Beast album. Thirty-five years later, Dickinson can still hit the high notes he made famous. Dressed more like a construction worker or football fan on a cold Fall day than a Metal god, he never stops working the stage. And of course, Eddie made his appearance for The Book of Souls complete with its acoustic guitar intro.

The band played a fifteen-song set. After playing their namesake song to close the main set, the band returned for a three-song encore highlighted by Number of the Beast. As the crowd was left screaming for more, Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life was piped over the PA, proving that even the heaviest of British Metal comes with the sense of humor the nation is known for.

All photos courtesy of Marc Millman.