Iron Maiden crown third Nova Rock day with opulent heavy metal show

The Vienna-based group Frevd played their very first concert ever on the Red Bull Stage, and the German band Kanonenfieber, who describe themselves as "anti-war metal," transformed the Blue Stage into a World War I battlefield with reenactment scenes featuring pickelhaube helmets.

Late in the evening, Swedish power metal band Sabaton kicked off the day's finale on the Red Stage. With "Ghost Division," Sabaton immediately set a high tempo and charted the course for the night: powerful guitar parts, mighty choruses, and catchy power metal anthems. A flying tank prop also made an appearance, as bassist and founding member Pär Sundström had announced beforehand: "Zum Beispiel den fliegenden Panzer," Sundström said, and kept his word.

Sabaton ring in the night

"Heute können wir aber alles auffahren. Wir sind jetzt eine große Show - und das wollte ich immer!" The schedule is now jam-packed: "Es sind extrem interessante und aufregende Zeiten," said Sundström. Sabaton, whose songs revolve predominantly around military-historical themes, will perform again at Graz's Stadthalle on April 30.

Earlier, Sepultura, founded in 1984 in Brazil, had played a date in Burgenland as part of their farewell tour. On the opening day, a brief rain shower had interrupted the brass music kickoff before the sun returned.

Iron Maiden as headliners

Iron Maiden provided the crowning finale. Frontman Bruce Dickinson, in magnificent voice, slipped repeatedly into different roles throughout the evening: a soldier during "The Trooper," a condemned man in "Hallowed Be Thy Name," and a night watchman in "Fear Of The Dark." With songs like "The Trooper" and "Aces High" as well as animated air raids on the video wall, the band deliberately drew on war imagery.

The arc spanned from early-album bangers ("Wrathchild") to the metal masterpiece "The Number Of The Beast" and on to the complex, lengthy tracks "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" with their atmospheric instrumental passages. A particular highlight was "Infinite Dreams," which Maiden had not featured in their set for 38 years. "Wasted Years" brought to a close an entertaining metal musical with perfect sound.

Dickinson bade farewell to the grateful audience of all ages with the words: "Have a great fucking life - every one of you -, 'cause you deserve it!" He left a return conspicuously open: "to be continued - just like James Bond."

Given the band's now-eleventh album and the fact that they will be back in Austria next year, the takeaway is that the cult band is a sure bet in the genre they have more or less defined themselves — a bet a major festival can hardly afford to ignore in 2026 either.

Mascot Eddie was also not missing from the stage, accompanying the Brits through a set that illuminated the entire corridor of their discography — from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal early work to the concept albums of the late eighties.