CALGARY - Holy fireballs and metal mullets, Iron Maiden are in town!

Metal with melody has garnered them masses of devoted, cult-like fans.

Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back In Time tour hit the 'Dome last night to a sold-out crowd.

And let me tell yah, it was somewhere back in time, indeed. Seasoned Maiden fans must have gone digging deep into the back of their closets where they uncovered classic relics of the past, including Maiden-decal patched jean vests, and smelly old band T-shirts.

They came to rock, chant, head-bang, scream, fist pump, throw beer and mosh.

These fans came to relive the glory that was Iron Maiden, and they weren't kidding around.

So, can the band deliver with the same old British gusto they dished out in the '70s and '80s?

Or did they send disappointed followers running to the hills?

Ha, ha... get it?

I admit it, Run to the Hills is the only Iron Maiden song I know, and until I Googled him a few days ago, if you said the name "Bruce Dickinson" to me, I probably would have responded: "Is that Janice Dickinson's husband or the guy from Will Ferrell's cowbell sketch?"

Metal is not my genre, so I'm not going to insult the masses of metal junkies in this city (and believe me, it's a large, vibrant, organized community) by critiquing this concert too seriously.

But I promise, I went to this Iron Maiden show with an open heart and mind, determined to learn a thing or two about metal before Ozzfest roles into town.

For many concert goers such as myself, too young to experience the Iron Maiden heyday, it's impossible to compare last night's experience to what a concert may have been like in the band's prime.

But, I'll tell you what -- these guys are old, they need haircuts, they're a little longer in the tooth, there are a few more laugh lines around Bruce Dickinson's eyes -- but arthritis is a long way off.

The musicianship of this classic, celebrated band is superb, and Dickinson's pipes are powerful and fully capable of taking on a stadium venue.

It started out with big screen scenes of Winston Churchill's Second World War speeches and clips of the band traversing the globe in their "Iron Maiden" personal jet liner.

They launched straight into Aces High as Dickinson jumped on stage and hopped around like a 15-year-old.

Mixing up old hits -- 2 Minutes to Midnight, Revelations, The Trooper -- with new tunes off of their back in business 2006 release, Live After Death, the band enchanted the crowd with its imagery-infused music -- themes included what else but war, peace, religion and hieroglyphics.

Ear-piercingly precise guitar licks, experienced stage presence, and the ability to give their fans what they really want: True, classic, unbridled, heavy head-banging, hair-tossing, body-surfing, sweat-inducing metal in its purist form is what these veteran rockers are all about.