Iron Maiden and Killswitch Engage Will Head ‘Down Under’ Next September

Attention, Australian friends livin’ down under — a major tour is heading your way next year, though you’re going to have to wait a while before you can attend.

Starting next September, British icons Iron Maiden and American metalcore outfit Killswitch Engage will head to England’s old prison colony for a short string of shows. It’ll be the first time in nearly seven years since Bruce Dickinson and company last played Australia, with their last show on that continent having taken place during their Book of Souls tour back on May 14, 2016 in Perth, according to Setlist.fm.

The tour will kick off on September 1 at the RAC Arena and end on September 16 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

Iron Maiden have been on a roll with the touring in recent months on the back of their latest album Senjutsu. During a recent interview, bassist Steve Harris said the band wants to be realistic about aging and touring while they still can.

“Who knows for sure? At the moment, we want to tour as much as we can. But even if we did semi-retire [from playing live], we could still make albums. I don’t know. We’ll see.

“I always thought that it would be nice to make 15 albums, which we’ve surpassed. It’s all downhill from here, isn’t it? [Laughs.] But each of us is still enjoying it—possibly more than ever—maybe because we know that we’re coming towards the end. We try not to think too much about that, but so long as everyone still enjoys what we do, we’ll keep on going as long as we can.”

Tickets for the dates are available now. Just to remind anyone unsure (as if you could forget), the tour combines the band’s 17th album, the recent, Senjutsu, and their 1986 album Somewhere In Time.

9/1 – RAC Arena, Perth – Aus
9/4 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide – Aus
9/6 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – Aus
9/10 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane – Aus
9/12 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney – Aus
9/16 – Spark Arena, Auckland – NZ