Iron Maiden touched down in Auckland today in Ed Force One -- their very own Boeing 747-400.
One of the fans waiting at Auckland Airport to see Ed Force One arrive and hopefully catch a glimpse of the band was an expat from Syria.
"It's something amazing -- Iron Maiden, or any kind of metal music, especially the classic bands -- this music has no boundaries. In Syria and the Middle East, they don't speak English. Most of them, including me, learn English through the music," he told Newshub.
When asked if the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime approves of metal music, the fan, who had seen Iron Maiden once before in Dubai, replied that it certainly did not.
"I remember 10 or 20 years ago anyone wearing a metal t-shirt with long hair, the special police force will take him, shave his head and investigate them. For them, any group of people two, three or above, might be planning something against the government. Anybody wearing a metal t-shirt, they'll take them immediately in a police car to investigate them -- maybe punch him, kick him also."
Iron Maiden are playing at Vector Arena tomorrow night before moving on to Australia.
Newshub.
