Thousands of heavy-metal fans from across Central America gathered Tuesday night for one of the biggest and most eagerly anticipated events ever held in Costa Rica. Following weeks of hype and expectation, legendary British band Iron Maiden finally took to the stage at the Ricardo Saprissa stadium in Tibás as part of their “Somewhere Back In Time” world tour.

The scale of excitement in the lead up to the concert was staggering. Some fans had camped out since Friday to be sure of a prime position near the stage, and more than 25,000 people saw the show.

Unsurprisingly, the hordes of fans were determined to enjoy every last moment. A vast majority of what seemed to be a largely middle-class crowd had bought one of the group's T-shirts, making the stadium a sea of black. There were grown men wearing illuminated red devil horns. The crowd sang Happy Birthday to guitarist Adrian Smith. Nobody batted an eye when a giant Eddie robot appeared during the song “Iron Maiden.”