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Of all the Bell Centre concerts where the singer ripped out the heart of a 10-foot Mayan zombie, Friday’s sold-out Iron Maiden gig was almost certainly the best.

More than 35 years after threatening that “Iron Maiden wants you for dead” in their eponymous rip-roarer, one might think the comic horror props would have lost their novelty. And they probably would have long ago, if not for the old-guard metal kings’ unwavering virtuosity, and their commitment to adding to the repertoire while honouring what came before. The smouldering Mayan ruins towering over the Bell Centre’s stage were a sight to behold, but the marvel at the two-tiered setup quickly gave way to marvel at a sextet that remains tough as torture spikes.

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Still, it was comforting to see the macabre drama re-established from the outset, with a hooded Bruce Dickinson summoning unearthly terrors next to a boiling cauldron before the rest of the cast bolted from the wings and If Eternity Should Fail exploded into the first of many six-handed guitar epics. Very broadly speaking, Dave Murray was the lyrical one, Adrian Smith the quicksilver one, Janick Gers the gymnastic one. None of them were the spotlight-hogging one; showboating is built into Maiden’s complex instrumental choreography, but everyone gets a turn in this band of brothers, and the three axemen and bassist Steve Harris clearly still relish falling into a unified military formation at the lip of the stage.