Iron Maiden are an English
heavy metal band formed in
Leyton
Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...
,
East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter
Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
, drummer
Nicko McBrain
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...
, and guitarists
Dave Murray,
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Smith grew up in London ...
and
Janick Gers
Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...
. The band have released 41 albums, including 17 studio albums, 13 live albums, four
EPs
EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to:
Commerce and finance
* Earnings per share
* Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China
* Express Payment System, in the Philippines
Education
* Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...
and seven
compilations. They have also released 47 singles and 20 video albums. Two electronic games have been released with Iron Maiden soundtracks, and the band's music is featured in a number of other video games.
As pioneers of the
new wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
movement, Iron Maiden achieved initial success during the early 1980s. After several lineup changes, the band went on to release a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980's eponymous
debut album, 1981's ''
Killers'', 1982's ''
The Number of the Beast'', 1983's ''
Piece of Mind
''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...
'', 1984's ''
Powerslave
''Powerslave'' is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia ...
'', 1985's live release ''
Live After Death
''Live After Death'' is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in October 1985 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 200 ...
'', 1986's ''
Somewhere in Time'', 1988's ''
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like '' The Number of the ...
'', 1990's ''
No Prayer for the Dying
''No Prayer for the Dying'' is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is their first album to feature Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian Smith. Smith left the band during the pre-production phase, unhappy w ...
'' and 1992's ''
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...
''. In 1982, the band released ''
The Number of the Beast'' – its first album with
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
, who replaced
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981.
In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...
as lead singer – which was a turning point in their career, helping establish them as one of heavy metal's most important artists. ''
The Number of the Beast'' is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide.
Since the return of lead vocalist
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
and guitarist
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Smith grew up in London ...
in 1999, the band has undergone a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and highly successful tours. Released in 2006, ''
A Matter of Life and Death'', their 14th studio album, reached top sales in dozens of countries, initiating the series of Iron Maiden's highest-ranked albums. Their 2010 album, ''
The Final Frontier
''The Final Frontier'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 13 August 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, 17 August in North America, 18 August in Japan, and 16 August worldwide. At 76&nbs ...
'', peaked at No. 1 in 28 countries and received widespread critical acclaim. Their 16th studio album, ''
The Book of Souls
''The Book of Souls'' is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 4 September 2015. It is the band's first studio double album, and also their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes and 11 s ...
'', was released on 4 September 2015 to similar success, debuting at No. 1 in the album charts of 24 countries with physical sales and summary in 43 territories with physical and digital sales.
Most recently, their 17th studio album, ''
Senjutsu'', was released on 3 September 2021 and eventually reached No. 1 in 27 countries.
Iron Maiden have sold over 130 million copies of their albums worldwide,
despite minimal radio and mainstream media support. Band's catalogue's sold over 200 million copies worldwide, including albums, singles, compilations and videos. By 2022, their releases have been certified Silver, Gold and Platinum around 600 times worldwide. Iron Maiden have become one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time, and is credited with influencing countless bands and genres. Critics have stated that the band elevated heavy metal to an art form, proving that academic and musical inspirations can coexist. The band is also hailed as one of the greatest live acts of all time.
The band and its members have received multiple industry awards, including the
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
and its equivalents in other countries. Other accolades the band has received include
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
,
Silver Clef Award
The O2 Silver Clef Awards is an annual UK music awards lunch which has been running since 1976.
History
The Silver Clef fundraising committee was founded in 1976 by musicians and managers from across the British music industry, who wanted to hono ...
,
Nordoff-Robbins Award,
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
,
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
,
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
,
Public Choice International,
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards
The Classic Rock Roll of Honour was an annual awards program that ran from 2005 to 2016. The awards were founded by Classic Rock Magazine. Winners of the awards were chosen by the awards team and voted on by readers of the magazine. Winners are ann ...
,
ECHO Awards
Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...
,
Top.HR Music Awards, Žebřík Music Awards, honorary doctorates, State Prizes, sales recognition, marketing achievements recognition awards, charity and sport awards among many others. Iron Maiden were inducted into the
Hollywood RockWalk, BPI Hall of Fame and Kerrang! Hall of Fame. The band is also a part of permanent exhibitions of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
,
British Music Experience
The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition in the Cunard Building on Liverpool's waterfront. It began as an exhibition, taking up more than 20,000 square feet, installed into The O2 Bubble, part of The O2 in Greenwich, Lo ...
,
Rock in Rio Wall of Fame and
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...
Hall of Fame.
Iron Maiden's lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, society and religion. Many of their songs are based on history, classic literature and film. , the band have played some
2500 live shows, performing for tens of millions of fans. For over 40 years, the musicians have been supported by their famous mascot, "
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
", who has appeared on almost all of their album and single covers, videos and merchandise. Originally designed by
Derek Riggs
Derek Riggs (born 13 February 1958) is a contemporary British artist best known for creating the band Iron Maiden's mascot, "Eddie".
Career
Born in Portsmouth, England, Riggs is a self-taught artist, both in his traditional painting and in his ...
, Eddie became the main attraction of Iron Maiden live shows, which feature theatrical elements like coloured backdrops, inflatables, pyrotechnics, elaborate lighting rigs, props and stage sets.
History
Early years (1975–1978)
![Cartandhorses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Cartandhorses.jpg)
Iron Maiden were formed on Christmas Day, 25 December 1975, by bassist
Steve Harris shortly after he left his previous group, Smiler. Harris attributed the band's name to a film adaptation of ''
The Man in the Iron Mask'' from the novel by
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...
, the title of which reminded him of the
iron maiden torture device. They originally had the name Ash Mountain, but most of the band members preferred the name Iron Maiden anyway, so that name was chosen shortly after the band formed. After months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden made their debut at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on 1 May 1976, before taking up a semi-residency at the Cart and Horses Pub in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, Stratford. A few decades later, the pub was officially named "The Birthplace of Iron Maiden" and turned into a music pub with many mementos of the band's early years as part of London's rock music history.
The original lineup was short-lived, with vocalist
Paul Day being the first casualty as, according to Harris, he lacked "energy or charisma on stage". He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
fan who used makeup and fake blood during live performances. Wilcock's friend, guitarist
Dave Murray, was invited to join, much to the dismay of the band's guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance. Their frustration led Harris to temporarily disband Iron Maiden in 1976, though the group reformed soon after with Murray as the sole guitarist. Harris and Murray remain the band's longest-standing members and have performed on all of their releases.
![Harris 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Harris_1.jpg)
Iron Maiden recruited yet another guitarist in 1977, Bob Sawyer, who was sacked for embarrassing the band on stage by pretending to play guitar with his teeth. Tension ensued again, causing a rift between Murray and Wilcock, who convinced Harris to fire Murray, as well as original drummer Ron Matthews. A new lineup was put together, including future
Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut album ''Broadcast'' and hit single, " (I Just) Died in Your Arms".
History 1985–1986: Formation
While still in his teens, Nick Van Eede (b ...
member
Tony Moore on keyboards, Terry Wapram on guitar and drummer
Barry Purkis
Barry Graham Purkis, more commonly known as Thunderstick (born 7 December 1954), is an English drummer who wore various masks and used to perform on-stage closed in a cage. He was in the cult-band Samson (band), Samson, with whom his name is ...
(better known today as Thunderstick). After a single gig with the band in January 1978, Moore was asked to leave as Harris decided that keyboards did not suit the band's sound. Dave Murray rejoined in late March 1978, which Terry Wapram disapproved of, so he was sacked. A few weeks later, Dennis Wilcock decided to leave Iron Maiden to form his own band, V1, with Wapram, and drummer
Barry Purkis
Barry Graham Purkis, more commonly known as Thunderstick (born 7 December 1954), is an English drummer who wore various masks and used to perform on-stage closed in a cage. He was in the cult-band Samson (band), Samson, with whom his name is ...
left, as well. Doug Sampson was at Dennis and Thunderstick's last gig and so joined the band afterwards.
Harris, Murray and Sampson spent the summer and autumn of 1978 rehearsing while they searched for a singer to complete the band's new lineup. A chance meeting at the Red Lion, a pub in
Leytonstone
Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...
, in November 1978 evolved into a successful audition for vocalist
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981.
In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...
. Steve Harris stated, "There's sort of a quality in Paul's voice, a raspiness in his voice, or whatever you want to call it, that just gave it this great edge". At this time, Murray would typically act as their sole guitarist, with Harris commenting, "Davey was so good he could do a lot of it on his own. The plan was always to get a second guitarist in, but finding one that could match Davey was really difficult".
Record contract and early releases (1978–1981)
On New Year's Eve 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a demo, consisting of four songs, at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. Hoping that the recording would help them secure more gigs, the band presented a copy to
Neal Kay
Neal Kay (born 10 February 1950) is a former London-based disc jockey, who was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), along with Tommy Vance, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Career
Neal Kay has alway ...
, who, at the time, was managing a heavy metal club called "Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse", located in Kingsbury Circle, northwest London. Upon hearing the tape, Kay began playing the demo regularly at the Bandwagon, and one of the songs, "Prowler", eventually went to No. 1 in the Soundhouse charts, which were published weekly in ''
Sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'' magazine. A copy was also acquired by
Rod Smallwood
Roderick Charles Smallwood (born 17 February 1950) is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Ca ...
, who soon became the band's manager, and, as Iron Maiden's popularity increased, they released the demo on their own record label as ''
The Soundhouse Tapes
''The Soundhouse Tapes'' is the debut EP by Iron Maiden, and features the first recordings by the band. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape recorded at Spaceward Studios on 30 and 31 December 1978. The t ...
'', named after the club. Featuring only three tracks (one song, "Strange World", was excluded as the band were unsatisfied with its production), all 5,000 copies sold out within weeks.
![IRON MAIDEN - Manchester Apollo - 1980](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/IRON_MAIDEN_-_Manchester_Apollo_-_1980.jpg)
In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
and asked Dave Murray's childhood friend,
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Smith grew up in London ...
of
Urchin, to join the group as their second guitarist. Due to his commitment to Urchin, Smith declined and
Dennis Stratton
Dennis Stratton (born 9 October 1952) is an English guitarist who is best known as a former member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from December 1979 to October 1980.
Biography
Born in Canning Town, London, Stratton showed early promise a ...
was hired instead. Shortly afterwards,
Doug Sampson
Douglas William Sampson (born 30 June 1957) is a British musician. He was the drummer for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1979.
Biography
Prior to joining Iron Maiden, Sampson was a member of one of Steve Harris' previous groups, Smiler, along wit ...
left due to health issues and was replaced by ex-
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
drummer
Clive Burr
Clive Ronald Burr (8 March 1957 – 13 March 2013) was an English drummer. He was a member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.
Career
Previously a member of Samson, Burr joined Iron Maiden in 1979. Auditioning and joining ...
at Stratton's suggestion on 26 December 1979. Iron Maiden's first appearance on an album was on the ''
Metal for Muthas
''Metal for Muthas'' is the name given to a series of heavy metal compilations made during the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM).
The original compilation was ''Metal for Muthas'', released in February 1980. The compilation was a sampl ...
'' compilation (released on 15 February 1980) with two early versions of "
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
" and "Wrathchild". The release led to an
ensuing tour that featured several other bands linked with the
new wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
(
NWoBHM
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
) movement. According to different sources, between May 1976 and December 1979, the band played about 200 shows in Great Britain.
Iron Maiden released their
self-titled album in 1980, which debuted at No. 4 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. The album includes other early favourites such as "
Running Free
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
", "Transylvania", "Phantom of the Opera" and "
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
" – which was not on the original UK release, but appeared on the US version and subsequent remasters. The band embarked on a
headline tour of the UK, before opening for
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
on their 1980
Unmasked Tour
The Unmasked Tour was a concert tour by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was the first tour not to feature original drummer Peter Criss, and the touring debut of his replacement Eric Carr.
Background
The Unmasked tour was the first time tha ...
's European leg as well as supporting Judas Priest on
select dates. Iron Maiden also appeared, to much acclaim, at the Reading Festival 1980 with almost 40,000 in attendance. They were second to top of the bill on the Saturday, with
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
headlining. After the Kiss tour,
Dennis Stratton
Dennis Stratton (born 9 October 1952) is an English guitarist who is best known as a former member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from December 1979 to October 1980.
Biography
Born in Canning Town, London, Stratton showed early promise a ...
was dismissed from the band as a result of creative and personal differences, and was replaced by Smith in October 1980. In Europe, Iron Maiden played 28 shows to about 400,000 people (mainly
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
fans). In December, the band played at the
Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...
in London, where their very first live video was filmed. ''
Live at the Rainbow'' was released in May 1981, and the cuts "Iron Maiden" and "Wrathchild" from this video received heavy rotation on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
during its first hours on the air as the first metal videos ever.
Their eponymous debut album achieved critical acclaim in Japan, where Iron Maiden were named "The Best Newcoming Foreign Band" by readers of ''Music Life'' magazine and received their very first Gold certification. Four decades later, Iron Maiden's debut album was ranked No. 13 of "The Greatest Hard Rock & Metal Albums Ever" published by journalists of opinion-forming ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine and also named the third-most important metal debut album of all time. ''Iron Maiden'' is ranked at the similar positions in many other polls worldwide.
In 1981, Iron Maiden released their second studio album, ''
Killers''. Containing many tracks written prior to their debut release, it had only two new songs written for the record: "Prodigal Son" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (the latter's title was taken from the
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
). The leitmotif of the lyrics was a murder contemplated from different perspectives. Unsatisfied with the production on their debut album, the band hired veteran producer
Martin Birch
Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, W ...
, who would continue to work with Iron Maiden until his retirement in 1992. The record was followed by the band's first
world tour, which included their debut performance in the United States, opening for Judas Priest at
The Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas. Iron Maiden played 45 shows in North America to several hundreds of thousands of fans, including two headline gigs in Canada. ''Killers'' made the band's USA album charts debut, reaching No. 78 on the
''Billboard'' 200, and they booked 132 shows to promote the album. The musicians played the small or mid-size venues using standard type of stage equipment including 200 lamps, smoke machines, two backdrops with
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
and four members of the crew wearing Eddie masks when the song "Iron Maiden" was played live.
![Iron Maiden, Steve Harris - Manchester Apollo - 1980](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Iron_Maiden%2C_Steve_Harris_-_Manchester_Apollo_-_1980.jpg)
The band's second album featured the single "
Twilight Zone/Wrathchild" (released as a double A-side) and speed metal opus "
Purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
", as well as two instrumental songs – "The Ides of March" and "Genghis Khan" – and the proto-thrash title track. The music style of the album inspired generations of thrash, speed and power metal bands. The cover illustration by
Derek Riggs
Derek Riggs (born 13 February 1958) is a contemporary British artist best known for creating the band Iron Maiden's mascot, "Eddie".
Career
Born in Portsmouth, England, Riggs is a self-taught artist, both in his traditional painting and in his ...
became the first of many more iconic covers in the history of the genre. ''Killers'' sold much better worldwide than the debut album, hitting the one million mark a year after launch, earning the group Gold certificates in Germany, Japan, Canada,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, France (double Gold) and in the United Kingdom. The album debuted at No. 12 in the UK and reached the Top 10 and Top 20 in many countries around the world.
The UK tour included the band's headline performance at the
Hammersmith Odeon
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...
. However, Paul Di'Anno's addiction problems led to the cancellation of several German dates. In some of those cities, local fans reacted with street riots. Iron Maiden then toured Japan for the first time in seven shows. All tickets were sold out in record time, but further problems with Di'Anno forced the band to cancel two shows. The concert recordings from
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
were used on the mini-album ''
Maiden Japan
''Maiden Japan'', released as ''Heavy Metal Army'' in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album '' Made in Japan''.
Release
There are at least two different versions of ...
'' (''
Heavy Metal Army'' in Japan), which was released in September 1981. The band visited
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
as a headliner of the Belgrade festival with 50,000 people in attendance. It was the first time the band had played behind the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
and also a groundbreaking performance for a new generation of heavy metal artists in the so-called
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. During the summer, Iron Maiden played several festivals in Europe, including appearances as "very special guests" at the Golden Summernights 1981 festival series held at
Zeppelinfeld
The Nazi party rally grounds (german: Reichsparteitagsgelände, literally: ''Reich Party Congress Grounds'') covered about 11 square kilometres in the southeast of Nuremberg, Germany. Six Nazi party rallies were held there between 1933 and 1938 ...
in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
with 100,000 people, but also in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
in front of an audience of tens of thousands.
Success (1981–1985)
By 1981,
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981.
In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...
was demonstrating increasingly self-destructive behaviour, particularly due to his drug usage, about which Di'Anno comments, "It wasn't just that I was snorting a bit of coke, though; I was just going for it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day ... the band had commitments piling up that went on for months, years, and I just couldn't see my way to the end of it. I knew I'd never last the whole tour. It was too much". With his performances waning, Di'Anno was immediately dismissed following the Killer World Tour, at which point the band had already selected his replacement.
![Iron Maiden in San Sebastian](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Iron_Maiden_in_San_Sebastian.jpg)
After a meeting with Rod Smallwood at the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
,
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
, previously of
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
, auditioned for Iron Maiden in September 1981 and was immediately hired. The following month, Dickinson went out on the road with the band on a small headlining tour in Italy, as well as a one-off show at the
Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...
in the UK. For the last show, and in anticipation of their forthcoming album, the band played "Children of the Damned" and "22 Acacia Avenue", introducing fans to the sound towards which they were progressing.
In 1982, Iron Maiden released their third studio album, ''
The Number of the Beast'', which became the band's first No. 1 record on the UK Albums Chart, was a Top 10 hit in many other countries and reached No. 33 on the
''Billboard'' 200. At the time, Dickinson was in the midst of legal difficulties with Samson's management and was not permitted to add his name to any of the songwriting credits, although he still made what he described as a "moral contribution" to "Children of the Damned", "The Prisoner" and "
Run to the Hills
"Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, '' The Number of the Beast'' (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson ...
". For the second time, the band embarked on a world tour, dubbed The Beast on the Road, during which they visited North America, Japan, Australia and Europe, including a headline appearance for 40,000 people at the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
. Iron Maiden played 188 shows in 10 months. For the very first time, they presented a conceptual setting, including specially designed stage and lighting with almost 400 lamps. Also for the first time in the history of the band, a movable, three-meter-tall Eddie was presented on stage during the performance of the song "Iron Maiden".
The Beast on the Road's US leg proved controversial when an American conservative political lobbying group claimed that Iron Maiden were
Satanic because of the new album's title track and "demonic" cover art, to the point where a group of Christian
activists
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
destroyed Iron Maiden records in protest. In recent years, Dickinson stated that the band treated this as "silliness" and that the demonstrations in fact gave them "loads of publicity". An American professor, Bryan A. Bardine, referring to the visual aspect of the band's third album, stated the authors' message seems to be understandable: "This album evokes power, passion and music that present darker themes and images".
The band played over 100 dates in North America, supporting
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
, Judas Priest and
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
. Iron Maiden headlined some Canadian dates, New York, Chicago free show and solo stops. They also performed at the biggest American festivals –
Day on the Green
Day on the Green was a recurring concert in Oakland, California, presented by promoter Bill Graham and his company Bill Graham Presents. Held at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, these events began in 1973 and continued into the early 1990s. ...
, SuperFest, Pacific Jam, Rock Fest – which were held at big stadiums such as
Rich Stadium
Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park (town), New York, Orchard Park, New York State, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 Buffalo Bills season, 1973 as Rich Stadium a ...
,
Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...
,
Oakland Alameda Coliseum
Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
or
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the
Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...
, among many others. Iron Maiden were quickly promoted to the hard rock extra-league and avant-garde of heavy metal. ''
The Number of the Beast'' is considered to be the groundbreaking album for modern heavy metal and has been back on the album sales charts and the all-time heavy metal albums polls constantly. The album's crowning track, titled "
Hallowed Be Thy Name", is considered one of the few most important in the history of the genre. It has repeatedly held leading positions in various polls. After the first year of its release, 2.5 million copies were sold. A new and hugely successful chapter in Iron Maiden's future was cemented: by 2010, the album had sold over 14 million copies worldwide. The "Golden Era" in the band's history had begun. Today, ''The Number of the Beast'' is considered one of the major albums of all time (Top 3, Top 5) in heavy music, and by December 2021 it had sold almost 20 million copies worldwide. In December 1982, drummer
Clive Burr
Clive Ronald Burr (8 March 1957 – 13 March 2013) was an English drummer. He was a member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.
Career
Previously a member of Samson, Burr joined Iron Maiden in 1979. Auditioning and joining ...
was fired from the band and replaced by
Nicko McBrain
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...
, who previously played for
Trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
. Although Harris stated that his dismissal took place because his live performances were affected by offstage activities, Burr objected to this and claimed that he was unfairly ousted from the band.
![Nicko McBrain 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Nicko_McBrain_2.jpg)
Soon afterwards, the band journeyed for the first time to the Bahamas to record the first of three consecutive albums at
Compass Point Studios
Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the The Bahamas, Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musici ...
. In 1983, they released their fourth studio album, ''
Piece of Mind
''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...
'', which reached the No. 3 spot in the UK and No. 14 on the
''Billboard'' 200. ''Piece of Mind'' features the successful singles "
The Trooper
"The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay in ...
" and "
Flight of Icarus
"Flight of Icarus" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was their eighth single, the first from their fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983), and their first in the United States, where it was one of their few with sub ...
", the latter being notable as one of the band's few songs to gain substantial airplay in the US. Other notable songs of the album are "Where Eagles Dare" (named after the
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
movie), "Revelations", "Die with Your Boots On" and the epic "To Tame a Land", which is based on
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...
's ''Dune''. Iron Maiden played 151 concerts in Europe and North America as a part of the World Piece Tour. For the very the first time, they booked a massive North America tour as headliners. Nearly 90 shows took place in 10,000+ capacity arenas, and the band sold out
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
with a crowd of 20,000. In London, they played four consecutive nights at the
Hammersmith Odeon
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...
, then toured many large venues across western Europe, including an extensive German leg. The World Piece Tour was concluded by two headlining performances at the Rock & Pop Festival at the
Westfalenhalle
Westfalenhallen (English: Halls of Westphalia) is a commercial complex composed of conference (Kongresszentrum Dortmund) and exhibition centers (Messe Dortmund) with an indoor arena (Westfalenhalle), located in Dortmund, Germany. It is surround ...
in Dortmund. The show was broadcast live to 300 million people with the exception of the song "Iron Maiden" due to the band's "violent behaviour on stage".
The setting of the tour was the next step in the visual development of the band's concerts. Iron Maiden used, ''inter alia'', a 100,000-watt sound system, a first for any group, designed specially for large sports arenas. The lighting equipment, in addition to the standard ramps with spots, included four movable, triangular ramps, rising to different heights above the stage and illuminating the audience from different angles. These were the first ramps of this type in the world, and their construction became a significant step forward as a starting point for the creation of mobile, extensive lighting systems used on subsequent tours. The lighting platform was based on over 520 lamps. As with the previous tour, the band had a conceptual set design with a number of props referring to the image of the promoted album, the movable Eddie and his big head emerging from behind the stage, also more use was made of pyrotechnics.
UK magazine ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' summed up the passing year, and readers were asked to select 100 best metal albums of all time, resulting with ''
Piece of Mind
''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...
'' ranked first, followed by ''
The Number of the Beast'', and the band's other releases were all in the Top 50. The rankings in other regions of the world looked similar. Iron Maiden became the most serious contenders for the title of "the biggest heavy metal formation in the world". In the year of the premiere, the circulation of the fourth album exceeded 2 million copies sold. In September 1983, the band released a video compilation, ''
Video Pieces'', which contained official clips from ''
The Number of the Beast'' and ''
Piece of Mind
''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...
''.
Soon after the success of ''Piece of Mind'' and its supporting tour, the band released their fifth studio album, ''
Powerslave
''Powerslave'' is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia ...
'', on 9 September 1984. The album features the singles "
2 Minutes to Midnight
"2 Minutes to Midnight" is a song by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, featured on their fifth studio album, ''Powerslave'' (1984). It was released as the band's tenth single, and first from the album on 6 August 1984. It rose to numb ...
" and "
Aces High", an emotional title track, as well as "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which is based on
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
's
poem of the same name and has a runtime of over 13 minutes. ''Powerslave'' was another chart success, reaching No. 12 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and No. 2 in the UK as a result of band's record company EMI's third ''
Now That's What I Call Music!
''Now That's What I Call Music!'' (often shortened to ''Now!'') is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Sony Music and Universal Music (Universal Music Group, Universal/Sony Music Entert ...
'' pop compilation, which should not be listed.
The tour following the album, dubbed the
World Slavery Tour
The World Slavery Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their fifth album, ''Powerslave'', beginning in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984 and ending in Irvine, California on 5 July 1985.
Background
The tour w ...
, was the band's largest to date, consisting of 193 shows in 28 countries over 13 months, playing to an estimated three and a half million people. The most elaborate tour to date was famous for using custom-made props, such as extensible golden
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...
, a 33-foot
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
appearing as a big and mummified walking phantom, the conceptual stage set with an
Ancient Egyptian motifs and extensive
pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...
. The band's own equipment travelled in six 45-foot articulated trucks, and touring needed three buses for 60 road crew and two more for the musicians. The PA front system power had 153,000 watts and an additional 21,000 for stage monitors. A custom-built and flexible lighting rig held nearly 800 lamps in vast triangular ramps of moving aluminium. The band's 2008–2009 tour,
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour was a concert tour by the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 2008 and 2009, focused on the band's 1980s material, in particular songs from ''Powerslave'', ''Somewhere in Time (Iron Maiden album) ...
, featured a stage set that largely emulated the World Slavery Tour.
The tour started in August 1984 with five shows in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. Iron Maiden were the first Western artists who brought full-scale production behind the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
. Average attendance in Poland was estimated as 12,000 people, plus a few thousand outside each night. The inaugural show in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, held at
Torwar Arena, gathered over 14,000 people and 5,000 more listened outside. In Budapest, some 50,000 fans filled a parking lot. Iron Maiden played to full-capacity crowds all over Europe and the UK. 105 dates in North America were massive successes. Many shows were played back to back in the same city, such as in Long Beach, California, where the band played four consecutive concerts at
Long Beach Arena
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
for a combined audience of 54,000 fans. In New York City, the band played five nights at
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
, and only Dickinson's falling ill prevented the five scheduled shows from becoming seven.
The band's third official video, entitled ''
Behind the Iron Curtain'', was released in October 1984. The
World Slavery Tour
The World Slavery Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their fifth album, ''Powerslave'', beginning in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984 and ending in Irvine, California on 5 July 1985.
Background
The tour w ...
documentary brought footage of the band touring eastern Europe in 1984, performing shows in the countries visited, and additionally portrayed the musicians as playing at a Polish wedding in
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
. The video contained two promotional clips for songs from the ''
Powerslave
''Powerslave'' is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia ...
'' album, brand-new live tracks, and special interviews with musicians and members of the road crew. ''Behind the Iron Curtain'' was the first documentary published by a Western artist that pictured them touring the countries of
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. MTV broadcast an expanded version (about one hour long) of the documentary, which became a part of the ''
Live After Death DVD'' released in February 2008.
Iron Maiden also made their debut appearance in South America, where they co-headlined the
Rock in Rio
''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
festival with
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
for an estimated 350,000–500,000 in attendance. The tour was physically gruelling for the band, who demanded six months off when it ended (although this was later reduced to four months). This was the first substantial break in the group's history, including the cancellation of a proposed supporting tour for the new live album, with Bruce Dickinson threatening to quit unless the tour ended. In October 1985, Iron Maiden published their first double live album, ''
Live After Death
''Live After Death'' is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in October 1985 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 200 ...
'', which was a critical and commercial success, peaking at No. 19 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
'' and No. 2 in the UK. The album was recorded at
Long Beach Arena
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
and also features additional tracks from four nights at London's
Hammersmith Apollo
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...
. ''Live After Death'' is widely regarded as one of the greatest live albums of all time and has been described by
''Classic Rock'' as "the last great live album of the vinyl era" and a seminal heavy metal live release. Along with the album, an official video with the same name was released, and it debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts and topped music video charts worldwide. ''Live After Death'' live video was digitally remastered and released in 2008 as a part of the "History of Iron Maiden" series. In November 1985, Iron Maiden were named the best rock and metal band in the world and awarded at Public Choice International. This recognition sealed their status as the biggest heavy metal band in the world.
Experimentation (1986–1989)
Returning from their time off, the band adopted a different style for their 1986 studio album, ''
Somewhere in Time.'' For the first time in the band's history,
synthesised bass and guitars were featured to add textures and layers to the sound. The release charted well across the world, particularly with the single "
Wasted Years
"Wasted Years" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the band's fourteenth single released and the first from their sixth studio album, '' Somewhere in Time'' (1986). It is the only song on the album that features no synthes ...
", but notably included no writing credits from Dickinson, whose material was rejected by the rest of the band. While Dickinson was focused on his own music, guitarist Adrian Smith, who typically collaborated with the vocalist, was "left to
isown devices" and began writing songs on his own, coming up with "Wasted Years", "Sea of Madness" and "
Stranger in a Strange Land
''Stranger in a Strange Land'' is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by ...
", the last of which would be the album's second single. The album was the band's biggest American chart success to date, reaching No. 11 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
'' and No. 2 in the UK charts. It almost immediately reached Gold status in the UK and Platinum in the US, where it eventually went Double Platinum, according to band's official biography, ''Run to the Hills''. The
Somewhere on Tour
Somewhere on Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 10 September 1986 to 21 May 1987, supporting their album '' Somewhere in Time''. The band performed across the globe, in countries including Poland, Italy, the United S ...
production was the most ambitious to date. ''Somewhere in Time'' features "Caught Somewhere in Time" as an opening track, the anthemic "Heaven Can Wait" and the progressive epic opus "Alexander the Great" crowning the album. Band used seven or eight 45-foot articulated trucks packed with over 100 tons of equipment, three crowd buses for 60 people and two nightliners for five musicians. The band-owned, customised Turbosound system was probably the biggest in the world used indoors. Total power (PA and stage monitors) was estimated at 180,000 watts. The vast and flexible lighting rig held over 1,100 lamps hung over a futuristic stage set, including flying space ships, inflatable props, laser guns, pyrotechnics, hydraulic stands, backdrops and monumental Eddie's appearance.
Somewhere on Tour
Somewhere on Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 10 September 1986 to 21 May 1987, supporting their album '' Somewhere in Time''. The band performed across the globe, in countries including Poland, Italy, the United S ...
was a big success everywhere. The band played 157 shows for two and a half million fans. Eighty-one shows in North America were spectacular success, and the musicians booked the bigger indoor arenas and some stadiums, too. Once again, Iron Maiden visited Poland, Hungary and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
to play for tens of thousands fans in each country. A massive UK leg, including six nights at Hammersmith Odeon, was sold out in advance. In October 1987, Iron Maiden released the ''
12 Wasted Years
''12 Wasted Years'' is a video documentary of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, focusing on the history of the band from 1975 to 1987. It includes several rare videos and interviews from the band's career, some of which were later included on the 20 ...
'' video documentary, focusing on the history of the band from 1975 to 1987. It included several rare videos and interviews from the band's career, some of which were later included on the 2004 documentary ''
The Early Days''. In March 2013, Iron Maiden included the full documentary in a reissue of their 1989 concert film, ''
Maiden England
''Maiden England'' (re-released in 2013 as ''Maiden England '88'') is a live video by the band Iron Maiden during their ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' world tour, which was dubbed Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour.
It was recorded at the Nationa ...
''.
The experimentation evident on ''Somewhere in Time'' continued on their next album, ''
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like '' The Number of the ...
'', which was released in 1988. A
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
recorded at
Musicland Studios
Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany. It was established by Italian record producer, songwriter and performer Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s. in Munich and based on the 1987 novel ''
Seventh Son'' by
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
, it was the band's first record to include keyboards, which were performed by Harris and Smith. After his contributions were not used for ''Somewhere in Time'', Dickinson's enthusiasm was renewed as his ideas were accepted for this album. Another popular release, it became Iron Maiden's second album to hit No. 1 in the UK charts and reached No. 12 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
.'' It initially only achieved a Gold certification in the US, in contrast to its four predecessors. The album incorporated many progressive rock influences and spawned three hit singles – "Can I Play with Madness", "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Clairvoyant" – along with the expressive "Moonchild", "Infinite Dreams", an epic title track, "The Prophecy" and "Only the Good Die Young", which was inspired by
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...
's works.
After the blockbuster tour in North America, Iron Maiden were headliners of the
Monsters of Rock festivals in Europe for the first time. They headlined stadiums and festivals in the UK, Germany,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, France, Italy, Spain,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. During the following
tour
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
, the band headlined the
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
festival at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
for the first time on 20 August 1988, playing to the largest crowd in the festival's history, with an estimated 107,000 in attendance. Also included on the bill were
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
,
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
,
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
and
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
. The festival was marred, however, by the deaths of two fans in a crowd-surge during Guns N' Roses' performance; the following year's festival was cancelled as a result. The tour concluded with several headline shows in the UK in November and December 1988, with the concerts at the
NEC Arena
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...
, Birmingham, recorded for a live video, entitled ''
Maiden England
''Maiden England'' (re-released in 2013 as ''Maiden England '88'') is a live video by the band Iron Maiden during their ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' world tour, which was dubbed Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour.
It was recorded at the Nationa ...
''. The video debuted at top spots of worldwide music videos charts.
To promote the album, the band hosted an evening of television, radio and press interviews at
Castle Schnellenberg in Attendorn, Germany, prior to the record's release,
before holding a small number of "secret" club shows under the name "Charlotte and the Harlots" at Empire, Cologne and
L'Amour, New York.
In May, the group set out on a
supporting tour, which saw them perform 103 shows to well over two million people worldwide over seven months.
To recreate the album's keyboards onstage, the group recruited Michael Kenney, Steve Harris' bass technician, to play the keys throughout the tour, during which he would perform the song "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" on a forklift truck under the alias of "The Count" (for which he would wear a black cape and mask). Kenney has acted as the band's live keyboard player ever since, also performing on the band's four following albums before Harris took over as the group's sole studio keyboardist on 2000's ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarch ...
''. Stage set and equipment, which has been taken by band, was transported in dozens of trucks and was the most elaborate to date and one of the biggest in the world, including over 200,000 watts of PA and over 1,500 spot lamps.
Iron Maiden was included in the
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
Museum for its performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1988.
[Guinness Book of Records 1990 ed. p. 155.]
Upheaval (1989–1994)
During another break in 1989, guitarist Adrian Smith released a solo album with his band
ASAP, entitled ''
Silver and Gold.'' Vocalist Bruce Dickinson began work on a solo album with former
Gillan guitarist
Janick Gers
Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...
, releasing ''
Tattooed Millionaire
''Tattooed Millionaire'' is the first solo album by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, released in 1990.
The album project began when Dickinson was asked to record a song for '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'', and so wrote " ...
'' in 1990, followed by a tour. At the same time, to mark the band's 10-year recording anniversary, Iron Maiden released a compilation collection, ''
The First Ten Years'', a series of 10 CDs and double
12-inch single
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
s. Between 24 February and 28 April 1990, the individual parts were released one by one, each containing two of Iron Maiden's singles, including the original B-sides. The band also released the career-spanning video compilation entitled ''
The First Ten Years: The Videos'' (in 1992 re-issued as ''
From There to Eternity
''The First Ten Years: The Videos'' (re-issued as ''From There to Eternity'') is a VHS and laserdisc music video compilation released by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 F ...
''). The 1980s were closed by the group with over 25 million albums sold, 10 million of which were in the US, along with over 5 million videos sold in the States, which gave Iron Maiden six of 120 Gold and Platinum certificates received worldwide. ''The Number of the Beast'' became the band's best-selling album, achieving sales 6 million copies in the eight years since its release. All the achievements sealed the group's status as the largest representative of the heavy metal genre at the time. Iron Maiden set new records in the UK: six singles in the Top 5, 10 double maxi-singles in the Top 10, the highest position ever for a debut single from a rock band, the most albums in the Top 10 for a British performer (excluding
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
) and 20 singles consecutively released on the charts.
Soon afterwards, Iron Maiden regrouped to work on a new studio record. During the pre-production stages, Adrian Smith left the band due to differences with Steve Harris regarding the direction the band should be taking, disagreeing with the "stripped down" style that they were leaning towards. Janick Gers, having worked on Dickinson's solo project, was chosen to replace Smith and became the band's first new member in seven years. The album, ''
No Prayer for the Dying
''No Prayer for the Dying'' is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is their first album to feature Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian Smith. Smith left the band during the pre-production phase, unhappy w ...
'', was released in October 1990. It contained the hit singles "
Holy Smoke" and "
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", the band's first – and, to date, only –
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
No. 1, originally recorded by Dickinson's solo outfit for the soundtrack to ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child''. The song was banned by the BBC, and only a 90-second live clip on Top of the Pops was shown. In 1990, Bruce Dickinson received the
Golden Raspberry Awards
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
in category "The Worst Original Song" for the band's most successful single in Great Britain. Dickinson's composition was nominated to an
American Music Award
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...
in category "Best Rock Song". In 1992, "
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" received another nomination to
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
in category "Best British Single". Iron Maiden's eighth studio album debuted at No. 2 in the UK albums chart and No. 17 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
''. ''No Prayer for the Dying'' signalled the return of Iron Maiden to the roots of their musical style, in particular in its simplicity of composition and raw sound.
The No Prayer on the Road tour was booked for 120 shows in Europe, North America and Japan. The main support act for Iron Maiden were an American thrash metal band called
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
. The tour started with 20 dates in British music theatres and was continued in European and American arenas. Thirty-three shows in continental Europe were sold out to 530,000 fans. In 1991, Iron Maiden played North America, Japan and outdoors in France, Denmark and Switzerland. For the first time, the band headlined
Roskilde Festival
The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...
for 60,000 fans. Following large-scale stage shows the band played in the '80s, musicians opted for a less elaborate production, including only mobile and the big
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
, traditional lighting rig and large backdrops. Once again, Iron Maiden played for some two million fans.
After another extensive tour and some more time off, the band recorded their next studio album, ''
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...
'', which was released in 1992. The title track is now a regular fixture in the band's concert setlists. Achieving their third No. 1 in the UK albums chart and No. 12 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
'', the release also included the No. 2 single "
Be Quick or Be Dead
"Be Quick or Be Dead" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released as the first single from their ninth studio album, ''Fear of the Dark'', on 13 April 1992. The single peaked at 2 on the UK Singles Chart and in Finland while reac ...
", the No. 21 single "
From Here to Eternity
''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Arm ...
", "
Wasting Love
"Wasting Love" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the third single from their ninth studio album, ''Fear of the Dark'', released in 1992.
Synopsis
The song was a collaboration of singer Bruce Dickinson, and guitarist ...
" and pacifistic anthem "Afraid to Shoot Strangers", which is based on the 1990–91
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
. The album featured the first songwriting by Gers, and no collaboration at all between Harris and Dickinson on songs. The
extensive worldwide tour that followed included their first-ever Latin American leg (12 stadium and arena shows after a single concert during the World Slavery Tour), and headlining the
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
festivals in seven European countries: UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden. Iron Maiden's second performance at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
, for a sold-out audience of 75,000 (the attendance was capped after the incident in 1988), was filmed for the audio and video release ''
Live at Donington'' and featured a guest appearance by Adrian Smith, who joined the band to perform "Running Free". Christian organisations prevented Iron Maiden from performing in Chile and accused musicians of being "emissaries of satanic propaganda".
Fear of the Dark Tour 1992 included 66 concerts played on five continents for well over a million fans. The band presented a powerful and elaborated lighting rig (over 1000 lamps and lasers) and scenery partly reminiscent of the 1980s. The setting of the Monsters of Rock concerts was completed by the huge Eddie crowning the stage and screens. Iron Maiden made their first appearance in
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and returned to Oceania after a seven-year hiatus. The tour in Japan was the largest in the history of the group. The tour witnessed the personal conflicts between Bruce Dickinson and rest of the band.
In 1993, Bruce Dickinson left the band to further pursue his solo career, but agreed to remain for a
farewell tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
and two live albums (later re-released in
one package): the first, ''
A Real Live One
''A Real Live One'' is a live album by English heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 22 March 1993. The album tracks were recorded at 9 different venues in Europe during the Fear of the Dark Tour in 1992. This album featu ...
'', was released in March 1993 and featured songs from 1986 to 1992, and the second, ''
A Real Dead One
''A Real Dead One'' is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 25 October 1993. It was recorded at various concerts across Europe, during the Fear of the Dark Tour in 1992 and the Real Live Tour in 1993. It features s ...
'', was released after Dickinson had left the band and featured songs from 1980 to 1984. The tour did not go well, with Steve Harris claiming that Dickinson would only perform properly for high-profile shows, and that at several concerts, he would only mumble into the microphone. Dickinson denied that he was under-performing, stating that it was impossible to "make like Mr. Happy Face if the vibe wasn't right", and that news of his exit from the band had prevented any chance of a good atmosphere during the tour. On 1 May 1993, the band performed at the "Primo Maggio Free Festival" in Rome, Piazza San Giovanni. According to different sources, the crowd was estimated between 500,000 and 1 million people. The band toured an extensive Italian leg and visited Russia for the very first time, playing three consecutive nights at Moscow's
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
. Bruce Dickinson played his farewell show with Iron Maiden on 28 August 1993. The show was filmed, broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
and released on video under the name ''
Raising Hell''.
Blaze Bayley era, ''The X Factor'' and ''Virtual XI'' (1994–1999)
![Blaze Bayley Eternal Flame](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Blaze_Bayley_Eternal_Flame.jpg)
In 1994, the title track from ''
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...
'' album received a
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nomination for "Best Metal Performance", a first for Iron Maiden. The band listened to hundreds of tapes sent in by vocalists before convincing
Blaze Bayley
Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...
, formerly of the band
Wolfsbane, who had supported Iron Maiden in 1990, to audition for them. Harris' preferred choice from the outset, Bayley had a different vocal style from his predecessor and ultimately received a mixed reception among fans.
After a three-year hiatus from studio releases – a record for the band at the time – Iron Maiden returned in 1995. Releasing their next studio album, ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', the band had their lowest chart position since 1981 for an album in the UK (debuting at No. 8). The album would go on to win "Album of the Year" awards in France, Spain and Germany. After more than 10 years of Iron Maiden's constant domination in the readers' polls of
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
magazine, the band's founder Steve Harris received the prestigious "Kerrang Kreativity Award". The record included the 11-minute epic "Sign of the Cross", the band's longest song since "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", as well as the singles "
Man on the Edge
"Man on the Edge" is a single from the Iron Maiden album ''The X Factor'' released in 1995. The song is based on the film ''Falling Down'', starring Michael Douglas. It was the first single the band released with Blaze Bayley on vocals.
Synopsis ...
" (based on the film ''
Falling Down
''Falling Down'' is a 1993 American action film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith and released by Warner Bros. in the United States on February 26, 1993. The film stars Michael Douglas in the lead role of William Foster, a di ...
'') and "
Lord of the Flies
''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes i ...
", based on the
novel of the same name. The release is notable for its "dark" tone, inspired by Steve Harris' divorce. The band toured for the rest of 1995 and 1996, playing for the first time in Israel and South Africa; Malta, Bulgaria, Romania in Europe; and ending in the Americas. The biggest show of the whole tour was a headline appearance for 60,000 people at the
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
festival in São Paulo, Brazil.
Generally, Iron Maiden booked smaller venues, including clubs, theatres and mid-size arenas, especially in the States. The band played in stadiums and large arenas in South America and resurged with mainstream popularity in Greece. The stage production was smaller than previous years but included many elements Iron Maiden were famous for: two Eddies, mobile lighting rig, conceptual stage set or backdrops. ''The X Factor'' sold 1.3 million copies, the lowest sales result since 1981. After the tour, Iron Maiden released a compilation album, ''
Best of the Beast
''Best of the Beast'' was Iron Maiden's first "best of" album, released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track (four disc) vinyl, a 27 track (two disc) CD, a 16 track (single disc) CD and MiniDisc. The vinyl edition is, to date, the band's longes ...
''. The band's first compilation, it included a new single, "
Virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
", in which the lyrics attack the critics, who had recently written off the band. Initially, the musicians planned to release a video compilation but quit due to the unsatisfying quality of available video remastering.
In 1998, Iron Maiden released ''
Virtual XI
''Virtual XI'' (pronounced "Virtual Eleven") is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 23 March 1998. It is the band's second and final album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. It also marks the first album to ...
'', whose chart scores were the band's lowest to date, failing to score 1 million worldwide sales for the first time in the band's history. The album peaked at No. 16 in the UK, the band's lowest for a new studio record. At the same time, Steve Harris assisted in remastering the band's entire discography, up to and including ''Live at Donington'' (which was given a mainstream release for the first time). ''Virtual XI'' features the singles "
The Angel and the Gambler
"The Angel and the Gambler" is a single from the Iron Maiden album ''Virtual XI'', released in 1998. It preceded the release of ''Virtual XI'' by two weeks.
Synopsis
It is the first Iron Maiden single to feature a video as a B-side. It is also th ...
" and "
Futureal
"Futureal" is a single from the Iron Maiden album ''Virtual XI'', released in 1998. It is the last single by the band to feature vocalist Blaze Bayley, as he parted ways with the band in February 1999.
Synopsis
The song was voted as one of the mo ...
", as well as epic opus entitled "Clansman" and the power ballad "Como Estais Amigos", which is dedicated to all of the people who died in
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
. "Futureal" stood for two weeks at the first position on US Metal Radio charts.
Prior to the album's release, the band organised a publicity tour in which they held football matches in different European countries with some guest musicians and pro-footballers from the UK and Europe. Following the more "back to the basics" stage sets that they had been using following 1988's
Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour
Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour was a world tour conducted by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 1988, in support of their seventh studio album, ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son''. It was their last tour to feature the World Piece Tour-era l ...
, they returned to a conception of an elaborate stage set. The musicians and management stated
Virtual XI World Tour
The Virtual XI Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 22 April 1998 to 12 December 1998. As with their previous tour, several of the band's U.S. shows had to be cancelled after vocalist Blaze Bayley had issues with hi ...
would bring a "massive show, with huge production, including stadium-levelling amounts of pyro". They also announced the participation of Dave Lights, who did their lighting and effects in the 1980s. Management booked more mid-size arenas and stadiums in Latin America, including a headline show at the
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the final show of the tour. Finally, the band used bigger backdrops, more elaborate lighting rigs, a conceptual stage set and an inflatable Eddie head and hands, which embraced both sides of the stage. Fans did not see pyrotechnics and the kind of production comparable with '80s monumental stage sets as it was previously announced. The tour was a big disappointment, both to the band and the fans.
Bayley's tenure in Iron Maiden ended in January 1999 when he was asked to leave during a band meeting. The dismissal took place due to issues Bayley had experienced with his voice during the
Virtual XI World Tour
The Virtual XI Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 22 April 1998 to 12 December 1998. As with their previous tour, several of the band's U.S. shows had to be cancelled after vocalist Blaze Bayley had issues with hi ...
, although Janick Gers stated that this was partly the band's fault for forcing him to perform songs pitched outside the natural range of his voice.
Return of Dickinson and Smith, ''Brave New World'' (1999–2002)
![Iron Maiden en Costa Rica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Iron_Maiden_en_Costa_Rica.jpg)
While the group were considering a replacement for Bayley, Rod Smallwood convinced Steve Harris to invite Bruce Dickinson back into the band. Although Harris admitted that he "wasn't really into it" at first, he then thought, "'Well, if the change happens, who should we get?' The thing is, we know Bruce and we know what he's capable of, and you think, 'Well, better the devil you know.' I mean, we got on well professionally for, like, eleven years, and so ... after I thought about it, I didn't really have a problem with it."
The band entered into talks with Dickinson, who agreed to rejoin during a meeting in Brighton in January 1999, along with guitarist Adrian Smith, who was telephoned a few hours later. With Gers, Smith's replacement, remaining, Iron Maiden now had a three-guitar line-up (called "The Three Amigos"), and embarked on a hugely successful reunion tour. Dubbed The Ed Hunter Tour, it tied in with the band's newly released greatest hits collection, ''
Ed Hunter
''Ed Hunter'' is a greatest hits album and video game released in 1999 by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden and Synthetic Dimensions. The game objective consists of following Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, through various levels depicting the ...
'', whose track listing was decided by a poll on the group's website, and also contained a computer game of the same name starring
the band's mascot. The 1999 reunion tour was the biggest enterprise in terms of production since
Fear of the Dark Tour 1992. The band visited North America and several European countries to present the conceptual show inspired by scenes from the game. Iron Maiden used a two-part stage related to graphics from the promoted game, three movable screens surrounded by light ramps, projectors, huge backdrops, pyrotechnics (for the first time since 1988), colourful props, visuals and two types of Eddie in the version known from the game. The equipment travelled in seven huge trucks.
One of Dickinson's primary concerns on rejoining the group "was whether we would in fact be making a real state-of-the-art record and not just a comeback album," which eventually took the form of 2000's ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarch ...
''. Having disliked the results from Harris' personal studio, Barnyard Studios located on his property in Essex, which had been used for the last four Iron Maiden studio albums, the band recorded the new release at Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, France in November 1999 with producer
Kevin Shirley
Kevin Shirley (born 29 June 1960), also known as The Caveman, is a South African music producer, engineer and mixer for many artists,Spencer et al, (2007Shirley, Kevinentry. Retrieved 4 February 2010. such as the bands Journey, Iron Maiden, ...
. New release was promoted by two singles "
The Wicker Man
''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 nov ...
" and "
Out of the Silent Planet
''Out of the Silent Planet'' is a science fiction novel by the British author C. S. Lewis, first published in 1938 by John Lane, The Bodley Head. Two sequels were published in 1943 and 1945, completing the ''Space Trilogy''.
Plot
While on a ...
", both of them achieving success on the UK singles chart. Thematic influences continued with "The Wicker Man" – based on the 1973 British
cult film of the same name – and "Brave New World" – a title taken from the
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley ...
novel of the same name. The album furthered the more progressive and melodic sound present in some earlier recordings, with elaborate song structures and keyboard orchestration. The album was a commercial and an artistic success and is considered a modern classic alongside the band's releases from the '80s. ''Brave New World'' charted at No. 7 in the
UK Album Charts
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and No. 39 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
'' and Top 5 in many other territories, and eventually went Gold and Platinum in a dozen other countries worldwide. The album re-established the band as a "metal powerhouse".
The reunion world tour that followed consisted of well over 100 dates (including 31 shows of the 1999 tour), and culminated on 19 January 2001 in a show at the
Rock in Rio
''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
festival in Brazil, where Iron Maiden played to an audience of over 250,000. While the performance was being produced for a CD and a highly successful DVD release in March 2002, under the name ''
Rock in Rio
''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
'', the band took a year off from touring, during which they played three consecutive shows at
Brixton Academy
Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
in aid of former drummer
Clive Burr
Clive Ronald Burr (8 March 1957 – 13 March 2013) was an English drummer. He was a member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.
Career
Previously a member of Samson, Burr joined Iron Maiden in 1979. Auditioning and joining ...
, who had recently announced that he had been diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
. The band performed two further concerts for Burr's MS Trust Fund charity in 2005, and 2007, before his death in 2013.
During the 2000–2002 tour, Iron Maiden played 91 shows for over two million people in 33 countries. The band visited big arenas, stadiums and performed at the biggest festivals. The world tour dubbed "Metal 2000 Tour" was a great undertaking, the main aim of which was to restore the concert glory of the band from the '80s. Iron Maiden used a huge lighting rig with moving parts and 600 lamps, pyrotechnics, a walking Eddie and a large wicker Eddie with dancers in the center, a burning cross lifting Bruce Dickinson up, alongside backdrops and conceptual scenery related to the ''Brave New World'' album cover illustration. In addition to their touring success, the band were nominated twice for the annual
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
and received the International Achievement Award at the 2001
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
, in recognition of Maiden's reign as one of Great Britain's biggest musical exports Iron Maiden was hailed as the most successful British metal group on
British Channel 4, and ''The Number of the Beast'' album was included in the prestigious
Eagle Vision
The Eagle Vision is a full-sized, front-wheel drive four-door sports sedan produced from 1992 until 1997. It was marketed by Eagle, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier (from which the Vision was derived). The Eagle Vision was bad ...
's "Classic Albums" series. In 2001 the band won a gong at the ''Online Music Awards Germany'' in the category, "Best Artist Website".
In November 2002, Iron Maiden released their third "best of" compilation ''
Edward the Great'', and a limited edition of a very special collector's metal casket entitled ''
Eddie's Archive
''Eddie's Archive'' is a box set by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 16 November 2002. The box, an embossed metal casket featuring the face of mascot Eddie, contains three double CDs, the Iron Maiden family tree and a shot gl ...
''. The special box included three double CDs: ''
BBC Archives
BBC Archives are collections documenting the BBC's broadcasting history, including copies of television and radio broadcasts, internal documents, photographs, online content, sheet music, commercially available music, BBC products (including ...
'', ''
Beast over Hammersmith
''Beast over Hammersmith'' is a live album by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 November 2002. Recorded 20 years previously, during The Beast on the Road tour at the Hammersmith Odeon, the footage was specially co-produced ...
'' and ''
Best of the 'B' Sides
''Best of the 'B' Sides'' is a compilation of B-sides by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 November 2002 as part of the Eddie's Archive box set. Each track was remastered and the set came with a running commentary from Rod ...
'' with unique live recordings from Reading Festivals 1980 and 1982, Donington's Monsters of Rock Festival 1988, BBC Rock Friday 1979, songs from B-sides of particular singles and a live recording of London's Hammersmith Odeon 1982 in its entirety. As special fan souvenir, the box included a parchment scroll with the band's family tree (by Pete Frame), a customised
shot glass
A shot glass is a glass originally designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either imbibed straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a cocktail ("a drink"). An alcoholic beverage served in a shot glass and typically con ...
and a metal ring.
''Dance of Death'' and ''A Matter of Life and Death'' (2003–2007)
In June 2003 Iron Maiden released a double DVD promo-video compilation entitled ''
Visions of the Beast,'' which went multi-platinum worldwide. At the same period, the band began a promotional tour for the new DVD and forthcoming album. The summer leg of the tour's run was entitled the
Give Me Ed... 'Til I'm Dead Tour and included 57 shows in Europe and North America. They played indoor arenas, stadiums, American amphitheaters and headlined large festivals such as Roskilde, Heineken Jammin' Festival,
Rock am Ring and Rock im Park
The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...
(combined attendance of 130,000) and the first
Download Festival
Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
held at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
as a successor to Monsters of Rock. The Spanish leg of the 2003 tour spanned nine shows, with 160,000 fans in attendance. This was the most successful attendance record for the band in that territory in band's career. 28 more shows were played in Europe to 720,000 fans and Iron Maiden visited the US and Canada to play 29 shows for the hundreds of thousands of people. Fans were treated to classic material, alongside the brand new song "
Wildest Dreams", the first promotional single from the forthcoming studio album. The tour was another visual attraction, the stage set and theme referring to the most popular incarnations of Eddie along with all the lighting effects and pyrotechnics fans had come to expect. There was also a public lobotomy of the group's mascot taking place during the song "Iron Maiden".
Following their Give Me Ed... 'Til I'm Dead Tour in the summer of 2003, Iron Maiden released ''
Dance of Death
The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death.
The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...
'', their thirteenth studio album, which was met with worldwide critical and commercial success. The album reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 18 on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
''. Produced by Kevin Shirley, now the band's regular producer, many critics felt that this release matched up to their earlier efforts, such as ''Killers'', ''Piece of Mind'' and ''The Number of the Beast''. As usual, historical, and literary references were present, with "Montségur" in particular, focussing on the
Cathar
Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...
stronghold conquered in 1244, and "Paschendale" relating to
the significant battle which took place during
the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The album features the successful singles "
Wildest Dreams" and "
Rainmaker", alongside the epic title track and live favourite "
No More Lies". No More Lies was released as an EP on 29 March 2004 and featured the track alongsided an orchestral version of Paschendale and an 'electric' version of the song "Journeyman". "Journeyman", a departure for the band, featured on the album as a mostly acoustic ballad, something that had not been attempted since the song "Prodigal Son" had appeared on "Killers" in 1982. The album also touted the first ever song composed by drummer Nicko McBrain entitled "The New Frontier". The band recorded the album at London's
Sarm West Studios
Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...
which they used again for the following album in 2006.
The Dance of Death Tour 2003–04 began in September 2003 and was the band's most theatrical tour to date. The stage portrayed a medieval castle with an opening gates,
Grim Reaper
Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
statues on either side of the stage, large towers, and two versions of Eddie as the ominous Grim Reaper character. Bruce Dickinson used many props and costumes, such as a sinister black coat, carnival masks, a throne, and a
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
uniform and helmet. During the performance of "Paschendale", fans witnessed the stage being transformed into a battlefield, with deceased soldier mannequins, trenches, barbed wire and barricades, and the lighting system imitating flashes of explosions that echoed through the powerful sound system. Iron Maiden played 53 shows visiting European indoor arenas, North America, Latin American stadiums and Japan. During the tour, members of the band took a part in charity football events called Music Soccer Six. In 2004 Iron Maiden received the Special Achievement Award at the
Nordoff-Robbins Silver Clef awards. During the album tour, the band's performance at
Westfalenhalle
Westfalenhallen (English: Halls of Westphalia) is a commercial complex composed of conference (Kongresszentrum Dortmund) and exhibition centers (Messe Dortmund) with an indoor arena (Westfalenhalle), located in Dortmund, Germany. It is surround ...
, in Dortmund, Germany, was recorded and released in August 2005 as a live album and DVD, entitled ''
Death on the Road
''Death on the Road'' is a live album and video released by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden on 29 August 2005 on CD and vinyl, and on 6 February 2006 on DVD. The album was recorded at Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany on 24 November 200 ...
''.
In 2005, the band announced the
Eddie Rips Up the World Tour
Eddie Rips Up the World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden in 2005 based on bringing back rarities from the first four Iron Maiden albums for the younger audience (''Iron Maiden'', '' Killers'', '' The Number of the Beast'' and ''Piece of M ...
, which, tying in with their 2004 DVD entitled ''
The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days'', only featured material from their first four albums and was the first of three retrospective tours in the "History of Iron Maiden" series referring to the '80s. As part of this celebration of their earlier years, "The Number of the Beast" single was re-released and went straight to No. 3 in the UK Chart. The tour included many headlining stadium and festival dates, including a performance at
Ullevi Stadium
Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; th ...
in Sweden to an audience of almost 60,000. This concert was also broadcast live on satellite television all over Europe to approximately 60 million viewers. The tour was the first step in transforming the reborn Iron Maiden into a stadium-size band. The stage production was larger than ever before and reflected the visual elements from the tours promoting the group's first four albums. The band used more backdrops, several incarnations of Eddie, and a more powerful lighting rig with triangular ramps, trusses and pyrotechnics.
Following this run of European shows, the band co-headlined the US festival tour,
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...
, with
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
. An average Ozzfest concert attendance was estimated at 30,000 people. The San Bernardino show before 50,000 fans earned international press coverage after it was sabotaged by singer
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
's family, who took offence to Dickinson's remarks about reality television, in what became known as ''The Eggfest Incident''. The band completed the tour by headlining the
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
on 26–28 August, and the
RDS Stadium in Ireland on 31 August. For the second time, the band played a charity show for The Clive Burr MS Trust Fund, which took place at the
Hammersmith Apollo
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...
. That same year, the band were inducted into the
Hollywood RockWalk on
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
, Los Angeles.
In the same period, Iron Maiden were inducted into the ''Kerrang! Hall of Fame''.
![Bruce Dickinson and Eddie 30nov2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Bruce_Dickinson_and_Eddie_30nov2006.jpg)
At the end of 2005, Iron Maiden began work on ''
A Matter of Life and Death'', their fourteenth studio album, released in autumn 2006. While not a concept album, war and religion are recurring themes in the lyrics, as well as in the cover artwork. The release was a critical and commercial success, earning the band their first top ten on the
''Billboard'' 200 and debuting at number one in the album charts of 13 countries The new effort featured the singles, "
Different World" and "
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg is a song by Iron Maiden, released as the lead single from their fourteenth studio album, '' A Matter of Life and Death''. The song was released as a single on 14 August 2006, preceding the release of ''A Matte ...
", but the album itself grabbed critical attention for its focus on dark themes and reflections on the futility of war. It was also noted for progressive compositions such as "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns", "The Longest Day", "For the Greater Good of God" and "The Legacy". Among many accolades, Maiden's fourteenth album received the Album of the Year award at the 2006
''Classic Rock'' Roll of Honour Awards.
A
supporting tour followed, during which they played the album in its entirety; response to this was mixed. Iron Maiden played in North America, Japan and Europe selling out indoor arenas everywhere. They played multiple shows in venues such as the
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...
in London,
Forum di Assago
Mediolanum Forum (originally the Forum di Assago, formerly the FilaForum and DatchForum) is an indoor sports arena that is located in Assago, a small town 3 km outside Milan, Italy. The arena has a seating capacity of 12,700 and is primarily use ...
in Milano, and
Globen Arena
Avicii Arena, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; "the Globe"), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockh ...
in Stockholm or
Hartwall Arena
Helsinki Halli (formerly Hartwall Arena) is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice hockey games is 13,34 ...
in Helsinki. The setting of the 2006–07 tour was an extension of the ideas accompanying the presentation of the song "Paschendale" from the Dance of Death tour. The stage set resembled a battlefield fortification featuring sand bags, barricades, trenches and the like. Movable light ramps were covered with camouflage netting and khaki fabric. There were also uniformed paratrooper mannequins woven into the scene. Additional lighting was also used, and at the climax of the show, the set turned into a huge moving tank.
![A Matter of Life and Death Tour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/A_Matter_of_Life_and_Death_Tour.jpg)
The second part of the "A Matter of Life and Death" tour, which took place in 2007, was dubbed "A Matter of the Beast" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ''The Number of the Beast'' album's release, and included appearances at several major festivals and stadiums worldwide. The tour opened in the Middle East with the band's first ever performance in Dubai at the
Dubai Desert Rock Festival
The Dubai Desert Rock Festival was an event celebrating various styles of rock and metal music on one stage in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Originally a one-day festival, it was expanded to two days in 2007 and 2008, before its eventual cancellat ...
for 25,000 people, after which they played to over 40,000 people at the
Bangalore Palace
Bangalore Palace is a royal palace located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, in an area that was owned by Rev. J. Garrett, the first principal of the Central High School in Bangalore, now famous as Central College. The commencement of the const ...
Grounds, marking the first concert by any major heavy metal band in the Indian sub-continent.
The band went on to play a string of European dates, including an appearance at
Download Festival
Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
, their fourth headline performance at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
, to approximately 80,000 people. Iron Maiden performed at
Olympic Stadium (Rome)
The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...
in Rome,
Bazaly Stadium
The Bazaly stadium is a football stadium in Ostrava, Czech Republic. It lays in Slezská Ostrava, the Silesian part of the city, next to the Ostravice River. The first match was played there on 19 April 1959, it functioned as the home stadium of ...
in Ostrava,
Lokomotiv Stadium in Sofia,
Sudweststadion in Ludwigshafen, Fair Arena in Belgrade, Bezigrad Stadion in Ljubjana, and played shows in the big indoor arenas of Düsseldorf and Athens. Finally, the band headlined the BBK Live Festival in Bilbao,
Graspop Metal Meeting
Graspop Metal Meeting is a Belgian heavy metal festival held in Dessel each year since 1996, excluding 2020 and 2021 due to covid restrictions. Despite the small size of the festival grounds (upholding a perimeter of only ~4 km) the festiva ...
in Dessel,
Fields of Rock Festival in Biddinghuizen, and the
Heineken Jammin Festival
Heineken Jammin' Festival is a large live rock festival in Milan, Italy featuring international and Italian rock acts.
It started in mid-June 1998 at the Imola Autodrome and has attracted attendances of more than 100,000 over the course of the th ...
in Venice. On 24 June they ended the tour with a performance at London's
Brixton Academy
Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
in aid of The Clive Burr
MS Trust fund.
The four consecutive world tours, two successful studio albums and three DVD releases cemented Iron Maiden's status as the one of the most relevant and successful metal bands in the world. During the period of 2003–2007, Iron Maiden released two studio albums and played 215 shows to combined audience estimated at five million people.
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour and ''Flight 666'' (2007–2009)
![Iron Maiden 47f b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Iron_Maiden_47f_b.jpg)
On 5 September 2007, the band announced their
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour was a concert tour by the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 2008 and 2009, focused on the band's 1980s material, in particular songs from ''Powerslave'', ''Somewhere in Time (Iron Maiden album) ...
, which tied in with the DVD release of their ''Live After Death'' album. The setlist for the tour consisted of successes from the 1980s, with a specific emphasis on the ''Powerslave'' era for set design. The first part of the tour, commencing in Mumbai, India on 1 February 2008, consisted of 24 concerts in 21 cities, travelling nearly 50,000 miles in the band's own chartered aeroplane, named "Ed Force One". They played their first ever concerts in Costa Rica and Colombia and their first shows in Australia and Puerto Rico since 1992.
The tour led to the release of a new compilation album, entitled ''
Somewhere Back in Time
''Somewhere Back in Time - The Best of: 1980 - 1989'' is a best of release by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, containing a selection of songs originally recorded for their first eight albums (including ''Live After Death'').
Backgroun ...
'', which included a selection of tracks from their 1980 eponymous debut to 1988's ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'', as well as several live versions from ''Live After Death''. The tour turned out to be the biggest concert undertaking in the group's history so far. Iron Maiden have performed in huge stadiums and arenas in every corner of the world. Only seven concerts in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
saw over 250,000 viewers gathered at such venues as
Ullevi Stadion
Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the 1 ...
,
Olympiastadion
Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to:
* Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'')
* Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...
in Stockholm and Helsinki,
Ratina Stadion
Tampere Stadium ( fi, Tampereen stadion), also known as Ratina Stadium ( fi, Ratinan stadion), designed by architect Timo Penttilä and completed in 1965, is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampere, Finland, with a seating capacity of 16,800 people ...
in Finland and
Valle Hovin
Valle Hovin is both a bandy and speed skating rink in cold weather, and an outdoor stadium for concerts in warm weather, in Oslo, Norway.
Located in the residential area Valle-Hovin, in amongst trees and a park, one finds Valle Hovin. It is rea ...
in Oslo. According to
Live Nation Scandinavia, the band attracted the largest audience ever for a rock artist in this region of Europe. In 2008–09 in Latin America, the musicians gave as many as 27 concerts for about a million people in total. It was a record for a heavy rock performer.
The Somewhere Back in Time World Tour continued with two further legs in the US and Europe in the summer of 2008, during which the band used a more expansive stage-set, including further elements of the original ''Live After Death'' show. With the sole UK concert taking place at
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...
, this would be the first time the band would headline a stadium in their own country. The three 2008 legs of the tour were remarkably successful; it was the second highest-grossing tour of the year for a British artist.
![Iron Maiden - Twickenham London - 050708](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Iron_Maiden_-_Twickenham_London_-_050708.jpg)
The last part of the tour took place in February and March 2009, with the band, once again, using "Ed Force One". The final leg included the band's first ever appearances in Peru and Ecuador, as well as their return to Venezuela and New Zealand after 17 years. The band also played another show in India (their third in the country within a span of 2 years) at the
Rock in India festival to a crowd of 20,000. At their concert in São Paulo on 15 March, Dickinson announced on stage that it was the largest non-festival show of their career, with an overall attendance of 100,000 people. The final leg ended in Florida on 2 April after which the band took a break. Overall, the tour reportedly had an attendance of over two and a half million people worldwide over both years. At the
2009 Brit Awards
Brit Awards 2009 was the 29th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court in London, and was broadcast live on ITV on 18 February at 8pm (GMT). Duffy became the first female ar ...
, Iron Maiden won the award for best British live act. Voted for by the public, the band reportedly won by a landslide.
On 20 January 2009, the band announced that they were to release a full-length documentary film in select cinemas on 21 April 2009. Entitled ''
Iron Maiden: Flight 666'', it was filmed during the first part of the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour between February and March 2008. ''Flight 666'' was co-produced by Banger Productions and was distributed in cinemas by Arts Alliance Media and
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, with
D&E Entertainment sub-distributing in the US. The film went on to have a Blu-ray, DVD, and CD release in May and June, topping the music DVD charts in 25 countries. In most of them the release went Gold, Platinum or Multi-Platinum.
''The Final Frontier'' and Maiden England World Tour (2010–2014)
![Iron Maiden @ Olympiastadion, 2011-07-08 (5918491552)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Iron_Maiden_%40_Olympiastadion%2C_2011-07-08_%285918491552%29.jpg)
Following announcements that the band had begun composition of new material and booked studio time in early 2010 with
Kevin Shirley
Kevin Shirley (born 29 June 1960), also known as The Caveman, is a South African music producer, engineer and mixer for many artists,Spencer et al, (2007Shirley, Kevinentry. Retrieved 4 February 2010. such as the bands Journey, Iron Maiden, ...
producing, ''
The Final Frontier
''The Final Frontier'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 13 August 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, 17 August in North America, 18 August in Japan, and 16 August worldwide. At 76&nbs ...
'' was announced on 4 March and featured three singles "The Final Frontier", "El Dorado" and "Coming Home", as well as epic, progressive opuses such as "Isle of Avalon", "The Talisman" and "When The Wild Wind Blows". The album, the band's fifteenth, was released on 16 August, garnering critical acclaim and the band's greatest commercial success in their current history, reaching No. 1 in twenty-eight countries worldwide. ''The Final Frontier'' debuted at No. 4 on ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
'' reaching the highest American album charts position to date. Although Steve Harris had been quoted in the past as claiming that the band would only produce fifteen studio releases, band members have since confirmed that there will be at least one further record. The album was band's next commercial success, achieving Gold or Platinum status in 24 countries around the world. Iron Maiden were awarded with the special sales recognition plaque for selling over 750,000 of their albums in Finland.
The album's
supporting tour saw the band perform 101 shows across the globe to an estimated audience of well over two and a half million, including their first visits to Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea, before concluding in London on 6 August 2011. As the tour's 2010 leg preceded ''The Final Frontier''s release, the band made "
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
" available as a free download on 8 June, which would go on to win the
award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An awar ...
for
Best Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...
at the
2011 Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011. It was the band's first win following two previous Grammy nominations ("
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...
" in 1994 and "
The Wicker Man
''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 nov ...
" in 2001). During both years of the tour band headlined the biggest festivals in the world, including
Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiv ...
,
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
,
Nova Rock
The Nova Rock Festival, also just Nova Rock, is an Austrian rock festival that has existed since 2005 and takes place each year in June. It is located in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria, near Nickelsdorf and the Hungarian a ...
,
Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...
,
Soundwave (five dates),
Wacken,
Sziget,
Ottawa Bluesfest
Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, ...
,
Festival d'été de Québec
Festival d'été de Québec (FEQ) is the biggest outdoor musical event in Canada. The event was held since 1968, the 11-day festival takes place every year in July. FEQ's programming includes many international stars and emerging artists from ar ...
also
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
dates in the UK, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Switzerland. Iron Maiden played in the big indoor arenas, stadiums and festivals around the world, sometimes for 100,000 people.
![Iron Maiden 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Iron_Maiden_2010.jpg)
On 15 March, a new compilation to accompany 2009's ''
Somewhere Back in Time
''Somewhere Back in Time - The Best of: 1980 - 1989'' is a best of release by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, containing a selection of songs originally recorded for their first eight albums (including ''Live After Death'').
Backgroun ...
'' was announced. Entitled ''
From Fear to Eternity'', the original release date was set at 23 May, but was later delayed to 6 June. The double disc set covers the period 1990–2010 (the band's most recent eight studio albums), and, as on ''Somewhere Back in Time'', live versions with Bruce Dickinson were included in place of original recordings which featured other vocalists, in this case
Blaze Bayley
Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...
.
In a press release regarding ''From Fear to Eternity'', band manager
Rod Smallwood
Roderick Charles Smallwood (born 17 February 1950) is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Ca ...
revealed that Iron Maiden would release a new concert video to DVD in 2011, filmed in Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina during The Final Frontier World Tour. On 17 January 2012, the band announced that the new release, entitled ''
En Vivo!'', based on footage from the Chile concert, would be made available worldwide on CD, LP, DVD, and Blu-ray on 26 March, except for the United States and Canada (where it was released on 27 March). DVD topped the music video charts around the world to achieve similar success as previous ones. In addition to the concert footage, the video release includes an 88-minute tour documentary, entitled Behind The Beast, containing interviews with the band and their crew. In December 2012, one song from the release ("Blood Brothers") was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance was an award presented at the 2012 and 2013 Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description ...
at the
2013 Grammy Awards
The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...
.
The Final Frontier World Tour
The Final Frontier World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden in support of the band's 15th album, ''The Final Frontier'', which began on 9 June 2010 in Dallas and ended in London, England on 6 August 2011. The tour was announced on the band' ...
set design referred to the visual conventions known from the cover of ''The Final Frontier'' album. It resembled a modified space station (Satellite–15), crowned with 10-meter radar towers with spotlights. The lighting system was developed the most since 2000 and it consisted of two semicircular ramps and triangular modules with sets of various light points. Two versions of Eddie the Alien were also prepared, the movable one and in the form of a huge monster's bust and paws emerging from behind the stage. Panoramic backdrops referred to the illustrations contained in the booklet of the promoted album.
![Iron Maiden (9443669642)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Iron_Maiden_%289443669642%29.jpg)
On 15 February 2012, the band announced their third retrospective
Maiden England World Tour
The Maiden England World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden, which began on 21 June 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina and ended on 5 July 2014 with a performance at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth, UK. The tour's setlist was largely ba ...
2012–14, which was based around the
video of the same name. The tour commenced in North America in the summer of 2012 and was followed by further dates in 2013 and 2014, which included the band's record-breaking fifth headline performance at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
with 100,000 fans in attendance, their first show at the newly built
national stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
in Stockholm, a return to the
Rock in Rio
''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
festival in Brazil, and their debut appearance in Paraguay. In August 2012, Steve Harris stated that the ''Maiden England'' video would be re-issued in 2013, with a release date later set for 25 March 2013 in DVD, CD, and LP formats under the title ''Maiden England '88''.
Maiden England World Tour stage set was built in an Arctic-style in many aspects reminding
Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour
Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour was a world tour conducted by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 1988, in support of their seventh studio album, ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son''. It was their last tour to feature the World Piece Tour-era l ...
. The band presented wraparound stage including some special platforms and podiums. Stage set and backdrops portrayed a dozen of the frozen pictures of
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
monster. Fans could see the three incarnations of band's mascot and movable, custom-made elements of stage props as organs with silver pipes, frozen sculptures of Eddie, the crystal ball and movable lighting rig imitating construction from an era of 1988. Iron Maiden decided to extend the pyrotechnics using even more than on previous tours, as Bruce Dickinson said "we like to alternate it every other year, because if you get the reputation that you've got to go and see a band because of the pyro and then you don't do the pyro, people think, 'Oh, I won't bother then." The tour was even bigger logistical challenge than a few previous ones. Michele Stokley, organiser of
Sarnia Bayfest Rogers Sarnia Bayfest was an annual music festival held in Centennial Park in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada each July, from 1999 to 2012. At its end, the event was attracting approximately 100,000 visitors.
As of 2007, Bayfest was run by Bayfest Festival ...
stated, Iron Maiden "brought 22 tractor trailers and the
ixbuses full of equipment for the show".
![Iron Maiden 2014 in Poznań HDR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Iron_Maiden_2014_in_Pozna%C5%84_HDR.jpg)
Iron Maiden closed their
Maiden England World Tour
The Maiden England World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden, which began on 21 June 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina and ended on 5 July 2014 with a performance at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth, UK. The tour's setlist was largely ba ...
in July 2014 headlining at
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
,
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Hert ...
. Musicians have impressed the crowds by having The Great War Display Team featuring
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
among its pilots, stage a sensational aerial dogfight in the skies above the Festival with band's frontman flying his very own
WW1 German Fokker Dr1, just hours before taking to the stage. Iron Maiden headlining show marked the final chapter in the band's trilogy of tours performing their 80's repertoire. The historical tour was another big commercial success in band's career. Over three years, 100 shows were undertaken in 32 countries before an estimated audience of not less than two million and a seven hundred thousand people. Throughout the tour, consistent praise was received from music critics, with the band's performances and the stage show receiving very particular acclaim. Third retrospective tour established Iron Maiden's status as a stadium–filling band.
In 2013 Iron Maiden in collaboration with "
Robinsons Brewery
Robinsons Brewery is a family-run, regional brewery, founded in 1849 at the Unicorn Inn, Stockport, England.
The company owns around 250 pubs, mostly in North West England.
History
William Robinson purchased the Unicorn Inn from Samuel Hole on ...
" released their own beer called Trooper Ale. Since its launch, the 4.7% Premium British Beer that was Trooper original has become a leading player amongst British ales, exported to over 100 countries around the world. Back in 2015 Iron Maiden and their management were honored with a very special Golden Disc Award for trespassing the 10 million Trooper Ale sales threshold. In 2021 the band and "
Robinsons Brewery
Robinsons Brewery is a family-run, regional brewery, founded in 1849 at the Unicorn Inn, Stockport, England.
The company owns around 250 pubs, mostly in North West England.
History
William Robinson purchased the Unicorn Inn from Samuel Hole on ...
" have been celebrating over 30 million Trooper pints sold around the globe, during the week they marked the 8th Birthday of their hugely successful collaboration. Trooper has also won multiple gold medals at the prestigious British Bottlers' Institute Awards, as well as picking up awards at the World Beer Awards, Global Beer Masters, International Beer Challenge and International Brewing and Cider Awards (aka "Oscars of the brewing and cider world") among many others.
''The Book of Souls'', ''Legacy of the Beast'', and ''Senjutsu'' (2015–present)
![Paléo 2016 – Iron Maiden-19 (28345030002)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Pal%C3%A9o_2016_%E2%80%93_Iron_Maiden-19_%2828345030002%29.jpg)
Following confirmation from the group that 2010's ''The Final Frontier'' would not be their last album, Bruce Dickinson revealed plans for a sixteenth studio record in July 2013, with a potential release date in 2015. In February 2015, drummer Nicko McBrain revealed that a new album had been completed, although the release was put on hold as Dickinson was recovering from treatment for a cancerous tumour found on his tongue. On 15 May, after Dickinson was cleared for activities, manager Rod Smallwood confirmed that the album would be released in 2015, although the band would not tour until 2016 to allow Dickinson to continue recuperating. On 18 June 2015, the band's website announced its title, ''
The Book of Souls
''The Book of Souls'' is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 4 September 2015. It is the band's first studio double album, and also their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes and 11 s ...
'', and confirmed a release date of 4 September 2015. It is the band's first original studio album not to be issued by EMI outside North America, following
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
's acquisition by
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
in 2013. It was a critical and commercial success, becoming the band's fifth UK No. 1 album and second No. 4 on ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
'' in the US. The new release reached number one positions in the album charts of 43 countries.
Iron Maiden received many accolades and prestigious awards including
The Rocks Awards, Silver Clef Award in recognition of outstanding contribution to UK music, Bandit Rock Awards, Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards, ECHO Award, Kerrang! Awards, Loudwire Awards, Burrn! Awards, Metal Hammer Germany Awards, Golden Gods Awards among many others. ''The Book of Souls'' went Gold and Platinum in twenty countries.
The new record was recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris, which they had previously used for 2000's ''Brave New World'', with regular producer Kevin Shirley in late summer 2014. With a total run time of 92 minutes, it is the group's first double studio album. In addition, the release's closing song, "
Empire of the Clouds
"Empire of the Clouds" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden from their sixteenth studio album, ''The Book of Souls''. The song was issued as a single on 16 April 2016, tying in with Record Store Day.
Background, writing and re ...
", penned by Dickinson, surpassed "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (from 1984's ''Powerslave'') as Iron Maiden's longest song, at 18 minutes in length. A music video for the song "
Speed of Light
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit ...
" was issued on 14 August. Apart from an aforementioned songs double album features epic tracks as the title one and Dickinson's "If Eternity Should Fail" referring to Mayan mythology, heavy rock hits such as "Death or Glory" and "Tears of a Clown" dedicated to late actor
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
, progressive opuses as "The Great Unknown" and "The Man of Sorrows" or the more complex, "The Red and the Black".
The touring setting was (once again) one of the best in the career of the six-person line-up to date. Referring to the title and the leading topic of the album, the stage set reflected the architectural solutions characteristic of the ancient Maya religious buildings. The group's mascot, Eddie the Head, appeared in a movable version, as the Mayan shaman, during the concert presentation of the title track from the album and as its big version during the presentation of "Iron Maiden" composition. This one was presenting by a huge (ten meters), inflatable and exploding bust known from the album's cover painted by
Mark Wilkinson
Mark Wilkinson (born 3 October 1952) is an English illustrator. He is best known for the detailed surrealistic cover art he created for a number of British bands.
Wilkinson's breakthrough came through his association with the neo-progressive r ...
. The band used an extensive pyrotechnics, lasers, movable lighting rig based on a dozen of pillars. The construction was built on a pyramid plan, with a circular, movable target placed in the central point, around which multicolored LED floodlights were mounted, giving the effect of light reflecting on the audience.
![Paléo 2016 – Iron Maiden-27 (28449875545)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Pal%C3%A9o_2016_%E2%80%93_Iron_Maiden-27_%2828449875545%29.jpg)
The individual segments of the stage design, were placed on the stage's podium, as well as the two stepped towers placed in the back of the stage on its extreme sides. Initially they were turned in the opposite direction to the original, during the presentation of selected inscriptions which were properly illuminated, creating the effect of the real buildings. Panoramic backdrops have been changed with each song referred to the graphic convention and paintings from the Mayan era, originally included in the booklet of the promoted album. Bruce Dickinson changed his costumes several times and used a variety of props. Another attraction was an eight-meter long inflatable devil goat doll, emerging from behind the stage during the presentation of "The Number of the Beast" song.
In February 2016, the band embarked on
The Book of Souls World Tour
The Book of Souls World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden, held in support of their sixteenth studio album, ''The Book of Souls''. During the first leg of the tour the band played shows in 36 countries across six continents, which included ...
, which saw them play concerts in 35 countries in North and South America, Asia, Australasia, Africa, and Europe, including their first ever performances in China, El Salvador, and Lithuania. It was Iron Maiden's biggest album tour since The X Factour 1995–1996. As with 2008–09's Somewhere Back in Time World Tour and 2010–11's The Final Frontier World Tour, the group travelled in a customised aeroplane, flown by Dickinson and nicknamed "Ed Force One", although they used a
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...
jumbo jet. The band completed the tour in 2017 with further European and North American shows. Iron Maiden played 117 shows on six continents for well over two and a half million people. On 20 September 2017, ''
The Book of Souls: Live Chapter'' was announced. Recorded throughout The Book of Souls World Tour, it was released on 17 November 2017. On 11 November 2017 band released for free the entire concert video via YouTube as an official stream for loyal fans around the world. The event was called "Stream For Me, YouTube".
![IM guitars](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/IM_guitars.jpg)
In the summer of 2016, the group launched a
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
, ''Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast'' and a
pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
game with the same name in 2018.
The game has been No. 1 mobile RPG in multiple markets, with over four million players worldwide having downloaded the game. Inspired by the game's title, the band would undertake the
Legacy of the Beast World Tour
The Legacy of the Beast World Tour was a concert tour by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, named after the comic and mobile game released by the band in 2017. Described as a "history/hits tour", Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood has revealed ...
, commencing in Europe in 2018, with North and South American shows following in 2019. 82 shows of the tour attracted over two million fans filling sold-out arenas, stadiums and some of the biggest festivals in the world as
Rock in Rio
''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
2019 with well over 100,000 fans in attendance.
The band achieved the another impressive success in Latin America, where over half a million viewers saw concerts in six cities of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The 33 shows played in North America were the band's greatest success since their heyday in the mid-1980s. Iron Maiden set record attendance in many European cities.
On 23 September 2019, the band announced they would play the 2020 Belsonic Festival in Belfast and a headline show at Donington Park, England, as part of 2020 Download Festival.
On 7 November 2019, they announced Australian shows throughout May 2020 joined by
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast (band), Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joe ...
.
["Iron Maiden Are Bringing their Massive Legacy of the Beast Tour to Australia"](_blank)
Musicfeeds.com. Legacy of The Beast World Tour
The Legacy of the Beast World Tour was a concert tour by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, named after the comic and mobile game released by the band in 2017. Described as a "history/hits tour", Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood has revealed ...
has been critically acclaimed by fans and media as the most extravagant and visually stunningly live show of the band's career to date. Both the production and the decades-spanning set-list of fan favourites and hits were inspired by their so same named mobile phone game. The multi-themed shows opened with a replica
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...
flying above the stage and progresses through a two-hour theatrical journey of ever-evolving interlocking stage sets with multiple incarnations of Eddie, pyrotechnics and special effects including muskets, claymores, flame throwers, a giant electrified crucifix, a noose, gallows and an enormous
Icarus
In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...
among many other attractions.
![Iron Maiden au Hellfest 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Iron_Maiden_au_Hellfest_2018.jpg)
In May 2020, the band announced that all concerts for the year had been cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, with tour dates rescheduled for 2021. Nearly one million people bought tickets for all 35 shows originally booked for 2020.
In April 2021 it was announced that the 2021 tour was cancelled once again and most of the European shows were rescheduled for 2022.
In October 2020, the band announced that they would release a live album from the Legacy of the Beast World Tour called ''
Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City''. The double concert album was recorded during three sold-out concerts in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
's
Palacio de los Deportes
() is an indoor arena located in Mexico City, Mexico. It is within the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City complex, near the Mexico City International Airport and in front of the Foro Sol, in which sports and artistic events are also celebrated. It i ...
for a combined audience of over 70,000 people. It was released worldwide on 20 November 2020.
["IRON MAIDEN To Release 'Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live In Mexico City' In November"](_blank)
''Blabbermouth''. Retrieved 23 November 2020 That same month, Dickinson announced that Iron Maiden had been "working together a little bit in the studio" for the follow-up to ''The Book of Souls''.
["IRON MAIDEN Has 'Been Working Together A Little Bit In The Studio,' Says BRUCE DICKINSON"](_blank)
''Blabbermouth''. Retrieved 23 November 2020 On 15 July 2021, Iron Maiden released a video for their first song in six years "
The Writing on the Wall
"The writing on the wall" is an idiomatic expression that suggests a portent of doom or misfortune, based on the story of Belshazzar's feast in the book of Daniel.
The Writing on the Wall, The Writing's on the Wall or similar titles may also refer ...
", which was directed by Nicos Livesey. Four days later, the band announced that their seventeenth studio album, ''
Senjutsu'', would be released on 3 September 2021.
On 19 August 2021, the band released another single from the album, "Stratego".
''Senjutsu'' eventually reached the top of the best-seller lists in 27 countries, however it was the band's first album in fifteen years (since ''
A Matter of Life and Death'' in 2006) not to reach number one on the
UK charts, although it did top the
UK Rock & Metal Singles and Albums Charts
The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
. In the list of sales of physical albums in the UK and the US, the double-disc release took the first position, also noted on the European Album Chart Top 200. ''Senjutsu'' was also in the Top 5 physical and digital best-selling albums combined around the world. In South America, the album went on sale only a week after the official date. At the same time as the Iron Maiden album, the latest releases of the most popular representatives of the pop scene and rap such as
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...
and
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...
were on the best-seller lists. In total, ''Senjutsu'' reached the top three best-sellers in 55 countries around the world and the Top 5 best-sellers in 63 countries. The animated video for "The Writing on the Wall" single was nominated for
UK Music Video Awards 2021 in category "Best Animation in a Video". ''Senjutsu'' was awarded the title of "Best Metal Album of 2021" by
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
magazine and took top positions in many summaries of the year around the world.
Pollstar
''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017.
History and profile
Founded in 1981 in Fre ...
has published the ranking of "Top 50 the Most Successful Touring Artists of the Past 40 Years", including the figures of ticket sales in North America monitored by the publisher. Iron Maiden were ranked 34 with 9,2 mln ticket sold in period of 1981 – 2021.
![Iron Maiden in Chula Vista](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Iron_Maiden_in_Chula_Vista.jpg)
As many previous releases band's seventeenth studio effort was critically acclaimed and commercially successful album, especially appreciated for its ambitious epic scope. The band decided to continue the postponed Legacy of the Beast Tour in 2022 adding next 30+ dates in North America and some new territories in Europe. Tour production was planned as even more spectacular with using a brand new scenery dedicated to ''Senjutsu'' album and including the setlist changes to perform songs from the seventeenth studio effort. Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood commented: "Next summer we will finally get to play the huge European stadium and festival tour for Legacy of the Beast originally set for 2020. The new show will be even more spectacular so after our visit to Rock in Rio early September 2022 we have decided to take it back to our fans in North America and Mexico too, playing in cities or venues we did not get to last time we toured in 2019. We are also adding some of the great cities of eastern Europe we were not initially visiting! We'll be making a couple of additions and changes to the production and setlist to include some songs from our new album ''Senjutsu'' and are making the 2022 version of Legacy of the Beast even more spectacular than the acclaimed original show. You can be sure that we will still be featuring all the 'hits' and the key elements of the original tour like the Spitfire, Icarus, Hell, flamethrowers and pyro and the rest - but we will shake it up a bit and Trooper Eddie will have serious competition in the new 'Senjutsu world' we are adding". During an appearance on the "
Talk Is Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeric ...
" podcast, Bruce Dickinson confirmed that Iron Maiden is planning to stage a tour where it will perform ''Senjutsu'' double album, in its entirety. With 140 shows, Legacy of the Beast World Tour became the longest tour with Bruce Dickinson on vocals since the "
Somewhere on Tour
Somewhere on Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 10 September 1986 to 21 May 1987, supporting their album '' Somewhere in Time''. The band performed across the globe, in countries including Poland, Italy, the United S ...
" in 1986–1987. The tour started in Tallin, Estonia in May 2018 as the very first of 140 shows in 35 countries. Finally the band have played to well over three and a half million people on their biggest world tour so far. The tour was honored with CAA & K2 Award. Iron Maiden played series of stadium dates in Europe and both Americas and headlined Rock in Rio for the fifth time and Donington's rock festival for seventh, attracting circa 100,000 fans for the fourth time in their career.
On 6 October 2022, the band announced that their next tour will be called The Future Past Tour, along with some tour dates in Europe with more dates to follow.
The theme of the tour will be a combination of ''
Senjutsu'' and the underperformed 1986 album ''
Somewhere in Time''. According to Steve Harris, the band plans to perform songs which have not been played live for 35 years or even at all before, in addition to tracks from "Senjutsu" and other albums.
On 28 October 2022, the band's manager Rod Smallwood confirmed that the Future Past Tour will continue into 2024.
Image and legacy
![Guitar Center Hollywood (2372266757)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Guitar_Center_Hollywood_%282372266757%29.jpg)
Iron Maiden and particular musicians of the band have received multiple nominations, honours and awards including
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
and equivalents awards in many countries,
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
,
Silver Clef Award
The O2 Silver Clef Awards is an annual UK music awards lunch which has been running since 1976.
History
The Silver Clef fundraising committee was founded in 1976 by musicians and managers from across the British music industry, who wanted to hono ...
,
Nordoff-Robbins Award,
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
,
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
,
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
,
Public Choice International, Online Music Awards Germany,
The Rocks Awards,
Burrn! Awards,
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards
The Classic Rock Roll of Honour was an annual awards program that ran from 2005 to 2016. The awards were founded by Classic Rock Magazine. Winners of the awards were chosen by the awards team and voted on by readers of the magazine. Winners are ann ...
,
ECHO Awards
Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...
,
Top.HR Music Awards, Žebřík Music Awards, honorary Doctorates, State Prizes,sales recognition, marketing achievements recognition awards, charity and sport awards among many others. Musicians have also received ten awards from fifteen nominations at the
''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards.
The band was ranked No. 24 in
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock", No. 4 in
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's "Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All Time", No. 3 in
VH1 Classic
MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as VH1 Smooth, an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It wa ...
's "Top 20 Metal Bands"., and was ranked as the most successful British metal group on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. In 2012 ''
The Number of the Beast'' was voted as Best British Album Ever in the public poll related to
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
. Iron Maiden were inducted into
Hollywood RockWalk, BPI Hall of Fame and Kerrang! Hall of Fame. The band's movie
Flight 666
''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'' is a concert documentary film featuring the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in February and March 2008, during which they tr ...
was a part of prestigious
British Music Experience
The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition in the Cunard Building on Liverpool's waterfront. It began as an exhibition, taking up more than 20,000 square feet, installed into The O2 Bubble, part of The O2 in Greenwich, Lo ...
exposition held in London, 2011
and
Eddie the Head
Eddie (also known as Eddie the Head) is the mascot for the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is a perennial fixture of the group's artwork, appearing in all of their album covers (as well as most of their singles) and in their merchandise, ...
iconic mascot – monster was presented for the very first time at
British Music Experience
The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition in the Cunard Building on Liverpool's waterfront. It began as an exhibition, taking up more than 20,000 square feet, installed into The O2 Bubble, part of The O2 in Greenwich, Lo ...
's doorway in Liverpool in 2017 and became a part of permanent exhibition. Iron Maiden are also a part of permanent exhibition of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
,
Rock in Rio Wall of Fame and
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...
Hall of Fame. Band's mascot is a part of Rock Legends Wax Museum placed in Ontario. In February 2021, Iron Maiden were nominated for
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
class. In April 2021, ex-members of the band (
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981.
In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...
,
Blaze Bayley
Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...
and famous illustrator
Derek Riggs
Derek Riggs (born 13 February 1958) is a contemporary British artist best known for creating the band Iron Maiden's mascot, "Eddie".
Career
Born in Portsmouth, England, Riggs is a self-taught artist, both in his traditional painting and in his ...
) were inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame. Iron Maiden have sold over 130 million copies of their albums worldwide,
despite little radio or television support. According to many sources all audio-visual catalogue of the band has sold in over 200 million copies worldwide, including regular albums, singles, compilations, and videos. By 2022 their releases have been certified silver, gold and platinum around 600 times worldwide.
Iron Maiden frequently use the slogan "Up the Irons" in their disc liner notes, and the phrase can also be seen on several T-shirts officially licensed by the band. It is a paraphrase of "Up the Hammers", the phrase which refers to the London
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club,
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, of which founder Steve Harris is a fan. Collection called "Die With Your Boots On" was published in 2020 as the result of a unique collaboration between Iron Maiden and West Ham United. Band's mascot is the official symbol of
Força Jovem
Santos FC is a football club based in Santos, that competes in the Campeonato Paulista,
São Paulo's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or ''Brasileirão'', Brazil's national league. The club was founded in 1912 by the initiati ...
youth soccer club Vasco.
![Seventh Son Eddie 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Seventh_Son_Eddie_2013.jpg)
Iron Maiden's
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
,
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
, is a perennial fixture in the band's science fiction and horror-influenced album cover art, as well as in
live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
shows. Originally a papier-mâché mask incorporated in their backdrop which would squirt fake blood during their live shows, the name would be transferred to the character featured in the band's debut album cover, created by
Derek Riggs
Derek Riggs (born 13 February 1958) is a contemporary British artist best known for creating the band Iron Maiden's mascot, "Eddie".
Career
Born in Portsmouth, England, Riggs is a self-taught artist, both in his traditional painting and in his ...
. Eddie was painted exclusively by Riggs until 1992, at which point the band began using artwork from numerous other artists as well, including
Melvyn Grant
Melvyn "Mel" Grant (born 1944) is an English artist and illustrator. Trained traditionally, he originally worked with oil paints, but in the late 1990s Grant switched to creating most of his work digitally with a digitizing tablet and the software ...
. Eddie is also featured in the band's
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
video game, ''
Ed Hunter
''Ed Hunter'' is a greatest hits album and video game released in 1999 by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden and Synthetic Dimensions. The game objective consists of following Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, through various levels depicting the ...
'', as well as their
mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
, ''Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast'', in addition to numerous T-shirts, posters and other band-related merchandise. In 2008, he was awarded the "Icon Award" at the ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' Golden Gods, while
Gibson.com
Gibson Brands, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was for ...
describes him as "the most recognisable metal icon in the world and one of the most versatile too". In November 2021, the group's management teamed up with
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...
. The result of the collaboration was, among others, a series of gadgets containing the image of the most famous characters of Marvel and Eddie. According to the manager of Rod Smallwood, the collaboration was a dream come true, joining the band's mascot to the group of pop culture superheroes such as
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
,
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
,
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
,
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
,
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
,
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
,
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
,
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
or
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
.
Iron Maiden became famous from its huge and constantly growing merchandising offer, which is also one of the most characteristic on the market. The beginnings of the group's activity in this field can be traced back to mid-1979, when Keith Wilford, a declared fan of the band, became the president of FC Iron Maiden and was the first to decide to create T-shirts with a characteristic logo. The avalanche of ideas began at the turn of 1979/1980, when the visual artist Derek Riggs, at the request of the manager Rod Smallwood, created the character of a macabre mascot named
Eddie The Head
Eddie (also known as Eddie the Head) is the mascot for the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is a perennial fixture of the group's artwork, appearing in all of their album covers (as well as most of their singles) and in their merchandise, ...
, in the long term stimulating the possibility of a multi-threaded continuation of the band's multimedia promotion, using this very characteristic character. Since then, Eddie has been an integral part of the stage and media image of the group, being the hero of the graphics decorating almost every release and accompanying the projects that the musicians of the formation endorse. Both the managerial activities and the influence of the team's management on the creation of the merchandising offer are considered pioneering and groundbreaking in the context of the entire genre. To a large extent, thanks to skillfully created merchandising, Iron Maiden became regarded as the greatest metal band in the world in the mid-1980s.
Regardless of the numerous controversies that the image of Iron Maiden aroused over the next decades, the merchandising offer created on its basis is one of the most impressive in history. As a whole, it includes several thousand versions of all possible gadgets, releases and other products, along with their reissues, on which the logo of the British formation has appeared over the past several decades. Its diversity and versatility can be compared with the no less impressive offer of the American group
KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
. According to Enrique Campos, stylist, creative manager and fashion expert: "Eddie T-shirts can be seen everywhere and on all people, even those who have never heard the band's music. Rock is associated with being 'bad', with life on the sidelines. Concepts that part of the public likes to join from time to time, which is why you see chic girls from the Salamanca District wearing their T-shirts".
With the launch of alcoholic products with the group's logo on the market, a wide range of gadgets related to the culture of consumption, bar decor, product storage appeared, including proposals for glassware, dishes and brewing accessories dedicated to the group. The group's official store contains only a small part of the offer, but it is usually divided into several thematic panels, allowing for selective search for product proposals depending on the selected category from the global offer. On the global market, the group's products are available from the best distributors of music gadgets. The group's gadgets were created in cooperation with such market tycoons as Bravado, NECA,
Stern Pinball
Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for '' Berzerk''. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1999 ...
, Incendium, Super7, Nodding Frog, Global Merchandising Services,
Funko Pop
Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessori ...
, EMP, Rock Merch, Backstreet Merch,
CMON and many others. In cooperation with the American tycoon
CMON, board game sets compatible with the offers of
Zombicide
''Zombicide'', is a collaborative adventure board game with a modern zombie theme, created by Guillotine Games. It was launched on Kickstarter by publisher CoolMiniOrNot and raised $781,597 from 5,258 backers.
In the game, each player controls ...
,
Ankh
Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene.
This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphate ...
,
Kthulhu, Massive Darkness, Rising Sun were created, which are a tribute to the group's mascot - Eddie, described by the publisher as "The Greatest Heavy Metal Icon of All Time". The sets contained miniatures referring to individual incarnations of the mascot known from the group's publications, which could be used in dedicated board games, also in limited editions. It was the first such a wide offer related to a heavy metal artist.
In 2016, the group launched a
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
, ''Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast'' and a
pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
game with the same name in 2018. The game has been No. 1 mobile RPG in multiple markets, with over four million players worldwide having downloaded the game. Inspired by the game's title, the band would undertake the
Legacy of the Beast World Tour
The Legacy of the Beast World Tour was a concert tour by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, named after the comic and mobile game released by the band in 2017. Described as a "history/hits tour", Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood has revealed ...
, commencing in Europe in 2018 with North and South American shows following in 2019. Finnish computer game developers
Rovio Entertainment
Rovio Entertainment Oyj (formerly Relude Oy and Rovio Mobile Oy and doing business internationally as the Rovio Entertainment Corporation) is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Founded in 2003 by Helsinki University of Technology s ...
have teamed up with the management of Iron Maiden to include Eddie's group mascot as one of the characters creating a special instalment of the game "
Angry Birds Evolution
''Angry Birds Evolution'', later renamed to ''Angry Birds Evolution 2020'' and currently ''Angry Birds Evolution 2022'', is a free-to-play 3-D turn-based role-playing puzzle game that was released worldwide by Rovio Entertainment on June 15, 2017. ...
", related to the Halloween celebration in 2017. Cooperation with the creators of the game
Angry Birds
''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castle ...
, which has a multi-million audience of users around the world, meant that potentially many of them got a chance to initiate into the world of heavy metal. In May 2019, the band filed a $2 million lawsuit against video game company
3D Realms
3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller (entrepreneur), Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game ' ...
for infringing on their trademark via the planned release of a game called
Ion Maiden
''Ion Fury'' (originally titled ''Ion Maiden'') is a 2019 cyberpunk first-person shooter video game developed by Finnish studio Voidpoint and published by 3D Realms. It is a prequel to the 2016 video game '' Bombshell''. ''Ion Fury'' runs on a m ...
, which the band claims "is nearly identical to the Iron Maiden trademark in appearance, sound and overall commercial impression." The suit further accuses 3D Realms of causing "confusion among consumers" by depicting a skull icon similar to the band's Eddie mascot and that ''Ion Maiden'' is similar to the band's own ''Legacy of the Beast'' video game.
Since 2021, Iron Maiden have welcomed in-game collaborations with the other rock and metal artists. As the first came
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth () is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and hi ...
with a playable viking Berserker character, followed by the ethereal Shadow Sorceress, which represented
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...
's frontwoman
Cristina Scabbia
Cristina Adriana Chiara Scabbia (; born 5 June 1972) is an Italian singer, best known as one of the two vocalists of gothic metal band Lacuna Coil.
Scabbia used to write an advice column in the popular rock magazine ''Revolver'', alongside mus ...
and next step was
Papa Emeritus
Ghost is a Swedish rock band that was formed in Linköping in 2006. In 2010, they released a three-track demo followed by a 7-inch vinyl titled "Elizabeth", and later their debut full-length album ''Opus Eponymous''. The song "Ritual" was chose ...
of
Ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
entering the arena. In 2022,
Disturbed
Disturbed may refer to:
Books
* ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author)
Film and TV
* ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell
* "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs''
* "The Disturbed", a 2 ...
's mascot
The Guy
Disturbed is an American heavy metal band from Chicago, formed in 1994. The band includes vocalist David Draiman, guitarist/keyboardist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer, and drummer Mike Wengren. Donegan and Wengren have been involved in the ban ...
was brought into battle with mysterious dark powers in the Legacy of the Beast mobile game. Iron Maiden teamed up with German power metal band,
Powerwolf
Powerwolf, often stylized as POWERWOLF, is a German power metal band founded in 2003 in Saarbrücken by members of Red Aim. The band consists of vocalist Karsten Brill as "Attila Dorn", lead guitarist Benjamin Buss as "Matthew Greywolf", bassist/ ...
, to bring the Battle with Vârcolac (the werewolf) in games character showcase event: Macht Der Wölfe (Power of the Wolf) Queen Beast is the next character appearing in the game, created with collaboration with Swedish melodic death metal band
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...
. On 18 October 2022 Iron Maiden teamed up with
Avenged Sevenfold’s Deathbats Club for another in-game collaboration.
The huge puppet with the image of Eddie has appeared many times during the carnival celebrations in
Rio De Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
and other South American cities, among other installations resembling the most famous stars of the stage, film, sports and influential personalities of world politics. During the
Cavalcade of Magi
The Cavalcade of the Magi is a traditional parade with floats carrying the wise men taking place in practically all Spanish cities and villages (known in Spanish as ''Cabalgata de Reyes Magos'', in Galician as ''A Cabalgata dos Reis Magos'' and ...
2021 in the Spanish city of
Cadiz, next to dolls representing characters known from the world of pop culture, there was a huge, inflatable mummy inspired by the characteristic image of the Iron Maiden mascot from 1985. In addition to a wide range of widely available gadgets, the protagonist of which were the subsequent incarnations of the band's mascot, the image of Eddie turned out to be a popular theme for tattoos adorning various parts of the body of thousands of fans of SF / Fantasy aesthetics and heavy varieties of rock music.
Over the course of several decades, the band's cover illustrations and iconography have appeared in various TV productions, music videos by artists representing popular music in the broad sense, and in press publications. The distinctive cover illustrations, especially the group's mascot and logo, have become part of celebrity clothing (especially
t-shirts
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generall ...
) worn privately, as well as at prestigious industry events, including fashion shows. Among hundreds of others can be found:
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
,
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...
,
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
,
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
,
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
,
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
,
Taylor Hill,
Selena Gomez
Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...
, David Beckham, David Hasselhoff, Diego Maradona, Kelly Rowland, Taryn Manning, Olivia Munn, Travis Scott, Cameron Diaz, Dolph Ziggler, Justin Bieber, Hilary Duff, Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman, Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Holly Madison, David Banks (soccer), David Banks, Jaden Smith, Michael Fassbender, Sam Worthington, Taylor Momsen, Kat Von D, Keith Urban, Amy Poehler, Paul Gascoigne, Marc Overmars, Faustino Asprilla, Juicy J, Kourtney Kardashian, DJ Mustard, Odell Beckham Jr., Odell Beckham Jr, Ann Sydney, Kylie Jenner, Benicio del Toro, Pilar Rubio, Slaven Bilić, Pablo Zabaleta, Anushka Sharma, Terry Butcher, Ian Wright, Patrick Vieira, Paul Mariner, Stuart Pearce, Iggy Azalea, Bjorn Einar Romoren.
![Iron Maiden Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Iron_Maiden_Logo.png)
Iron Maiden's distinct logo has adorned all of the band's releases since their debut, 1979's ''
The Soundhouse Tapes
''The Soundhouse Tapes'' is the debut EP by Iron Maiden, and features the first recordings by the band. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape recorded at Spaceward Studios on 30 and 31 December 1978. The t ...
'' EP. The typeface originates with Vic Fair's poster design for the 1976 science fiction film, ''The Man Who Fell to Earth (film), The Man Who Fell to Earth'', also used by Gordon Giltrap, although Steve Harris claims that he designed it himself, using his abilities as an architectural draughtsman. Metal Lord / Iron Maiden, a characteristic font known from the group's classic logo, disseminated around the world by graphic works related to the band's activities, has found its way into pop culture for good, becoming a motif commonly used to create various logos and inscriptions. The band's characteristic graphic motifs have appeared on huge stadium banners many times during football games in many countries around the world. The song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (from Monty Python's ''Monty Python's Life of Brian, Life of Brian'') is a staple at their concerts, where the recording is played after the final encore.
At the beginning of January 2021, at general audience in Aula Paolo VI, Pope Francis was honoured with a circus show presented by 25 artists of Ronny Roller Circus, accompanied, among others, by presentation of the classic piece "
The Trooper
"The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay in ...
", one of the greatest standards of the British formation. It was the first time in history when a composition by a heavy metal artist was sounded in the Vatican City, Vatican. BMW in collaboration with Motorrad Bögel GmbH has created a customized model of the IRON R18 motorcycle inspired by Iron Maiden's unique musical and visual style.
Influence on other artists and the genre
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
co-founder Paul Stanley noted that Iron Maiden "have helped spawn an entire genre of music" and influenced literally thousands of other artists. According to ''Guitar World'', Iron Maiden's music has "influenced generations of newer metal acts, from legends like Metallica to current stars like Avenged Sevenfold," with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich commenting that he has "always had an incredible amount of respect and admiration for them." Ulrich has frequently cited Iron Maiden as probably the biggest influence on Metallica's career. Metallica's guitarist Kirk Hammett described the cover of Iron Maiden's debut LP as his favourite album cover and stated that the song "Phantom of the Opera" from that album played an important role in his development as a guitarist. Hammett explained how "(...) a lot of guitar elements from that song can still be heard in his work with Metallica today". Kerry King of Slayer stated that "they meant so much to [him] in their early days". Two of the founding members of
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
, guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker, Danny Lilker, have also cited Iron Maiden as one of the band's main influences and inspirations (especially early on in their career), the former going on to say that "they had a major impact on
islife."
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
have cited Iron Maiden as one of their biggest inspiration on many different levels. Members of Testament (band), Testament have stated that Iron Maiden were one of their blueprint bands and have covered their songs many times. Exodus (American band), Exodus guitarist Gary Holt (musician), Gary Holt and late singer Paul Baloff have also acknowledged Iron Maiden as one of the band's influences, with the former citing both them and Judas Priest as "basically the calibre of the stuff [he] listened to" in Exodus' early years. Kurt Cobain, late founder, composer, vocalist and guitarist of Nirvana (band), Nirvana, was a big fan of Iron Maiden. Both former and current members of Suicidal Tendencies have also mentioned Iron Maiden as one of the sources of inspiration behind their music. Alice in Chains musicians mentioned about Iron Maiden's influences on them.
Tobias Forge, frontman and leader of Swedish rock band
Ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
stated that "for me personally, they have been very influential musically, I've always listened to them a lot growing up as a metal fan. Their live album, ''Live After Death (album), Live After Death'', had — and still has — a great impact on me when it comes to work ethic. Going through that book that came with the record, watching all those dates. When I was a kid, I would sit there with a map book and pin out all the cities they played on that tour. It was like a hundred shows all over America. The show was so over the top, so it set a standard. "[Iron] Maiden was one of the big movers when it came to '80s heavy metal merchandise. All of our merchandise has always been inspired by bands like Maiden. That's the sort of idea I had about rock and roll merchandise." Ville Valo, the former singer of the Finnish metal band HIM (Finnish band), HIM, stated that the Somewhere on Tour, Somewhere on Tour 1986 in Helsinki show was the first he attended in his life and also the kind of spectacle made an immense impression on him. Iron Maiden’s repertoire inspired Valo to write his own music and perform live before his own audience.
M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold stated that Iron Maiden "are by far the best live band in the world and their music is timeless", while Trivium (band), Trivium singer Matt Heafy comments that "without Iron Maiden, Trivium surely wouldn't exist". Slipknot (band), Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor said that "Steve Harris does more with four fingers than I've ever seen anybody do. And Bruce Dickinson? Dude! To me, he was the quintessential old-school heavy metal singer. He could hit notes that were just sick, and he was a great showman. Everything made me a fan. And there wasn't a dude that I hung out with that wasn't trying to draw Eddie on their schoolbooks", while their music also helped Jesper Strömblad of In Flames to pioneer the melodic death metal genre, stating that he had wanted to combine death metal with Iron Maiden's melodic guitar sounds. Viking metallers of Swedish band
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth () is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and hi ...
stated Iron Maiden is one of their biggest influence also participated in Iron Maiden's ''Legacy of the Beast'' RPG game project. Chris Impellitteri stated Iron Maiden have influenced "virtually every heavy metal band in existence with their music, brand, and of course talent!"
Matt Bellamy, frontman of the English rock band Muse (band), Muse, revealed his love and great respect for Steve Harris’ band: "(…) Iron Maiden were the British band and also felt a bit more punk rock in ways. The song "Phantom Of The Opera" [from Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut album] doesn’t feel as bloated or overtly classical as other metal songs. There’s still something quite angry and scary about it. That’s why Maiden are a band we’ve always looked up to. That usage of the harmonic minor scale and the progressive approach to arrangements is something that we share, even if we never sounded like them and live in a different genre. We have a lot of respect for them as musicians, especially Steve Harris, who is one of the best bass players around."
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
drummer Charlie Benante stated Iron Maiden "made every band that were influenced by them aspire to be like them. When I was learning to play guitar, this was one of the tunes I practiced. I developed as a guitar player and my coordination got better and better. Maiden had something different, they brought out that Primal roar from us. This was a New style of Hard Rock and Metal, they had a Punk Drive to them with Boston styled Guitar licks, they changed the game. I often said, no Maiden, no Big 4." Rafael Bittencourt, the guitarist of Brazilian heavy metal band Angra (band), Angra, praised Iron Maiden as the band which finally defined power metal style. Brendon Small, an American musician, stand-up comedian, animator, writer, producer and the actor, known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies (TV series), Home Movies'' and ''Metalocalypse'', was inspired by Iron Maiden music and iconography.
Employed to Serve's Sammy Urwin stated: "(...) their influence is absolutely huge, Maiden are a funny one. They're the one that seems to stick out for people, especially in the hardcore scene. Everyone is into Sabbath and Priest, but Maiden can be the Marmite one of the three. But they've influenced so much metalcore. Everyone from Prayer for Cleansing, Prayer For Cleansing, Unearth and Darkest Hour (band), Darkest Hour – the influence of records like ''The Number Of The Beast'' on bands like that is undeniable. Not just influential on a musical level, ''The Number Of The Beast'' is as much a part of heavy music culture as it is a straightforward, mandatory soundtrack for diehard metalheads. In fact, the album has transcended its heavy metal origins and passed into the broader mainstream."
Famous pop singer
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
stated she admires what Iron Maiden have achieved in their career and aims to follow in their path. "The devotion of the fans moving in unison, pumping their fists, watching the show, when I see that, I see the paradigm for my future and the relationship I want to have with my fans. Iron Maiden‘s never had a hit song, and they tour stadiums around the world, and their fans live, breathe and die for Maiden, and that is my dream. That is my dream." Miley Cyrus stated that Steve Harris's band is one of her favorites and the band's music has had a significant impact on shaping her taste in music. Chuck D, founder of the iconic rap group Public Enemy, admits: "The whole idea for the Public Enemy concept album began with our amazement that bands like Iron Maiden were able to include a number of messages and details on the covers of their albums." Joakim Brodén, Joakim Broden, songwriter who is the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and occasional third guitarist of the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton (band), Sabaton, stated Iron Maiden's ''
The Number of the Beast'' "is an album that defines an entire music genre". Band's formula secret is about "taking the energy of punk and put it into heavy metal without losing any of what made metal great."
Miho Rosana, the former bass player of Japanese metal band Lovebites (band), Lovebites, described her respect to Iron Maiden and their eponymous debut album in a few sentences: "(…) Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut is the greatest album of the last 50 years. It is important because of its unprecedented sound. It saw progressive metal sounds fused with the aggression of punk, and in doing so became the cornerstone of the New wave of British heavy metal, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Truly an iconic album in every way. You can hear Iron Maiden’s influence in so much metal that followed and even in new bands today. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that without them, today’s metal scene would be very different."
Other artists who cite the band as an influence include Chris Jericho, a professional wrestler and lead singer of Fozzy, multi-instrumentalist Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails), Myles Kennedy an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in guitarist Slash (musician), Slash's backing band, guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
, Nine Inch Nails, Alanis Morissette), Serj Tankian, frontman of System of a Down, Zoltan Bathory, the guitarist of Five Finger Death Punch, musicians of an American heavy metal band Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God, David Vincent (musician), David Vincent and Steve Tucker (musician), Steve Tucker of Morbid Angel, Lee Altus of Exodus and Heathen (band), Heathen, musicians of American progressive metal band Mastodon (band), Mastodon, Tom Morello, the lead guitarist of RATM and Audioslave, Cam Pipes, lead vocalist of 3 Inches of Blood, Joey Vera bassist of Armored Saint, Vitaly Dubinin, bassist of Aria (band), Aria, Michel Langevin, founding member and drummer of Voivod (band), Voivod, Mille Petrozza, vocalist and lead guitarist of Kreator (band), Kreator, Marcel Schirmer of German thrash metal band Destruction (band), Destruction, Chuck Schuldiner, late frontman, founder and guitarist of Death (metal band), Death, Paul Allender, guitarist of British extreme metallers Cradle of Filth, Adam Nergal Darski, co-founder, frontman, composer and the lead guitarist of Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth (band), Behemoth, David Draiman, the vocalist of American band
Disturbed
Disturbed may refer to:
Books
* ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author)
Film and TV
* ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell
* "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs''
* "The Disturbed", a 2 ...
, Ihsahn, composer, vocalist and lead guitarist of Emperor (band), Emperor, musicians of German power metal band
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...
, American metal band Machine Head (band), Machine Head, Washington-based band the Melvins, Bay Area thrash metal band Death Angel, American progressive metal band Fates Warning, Canadian rock band Sum 41, American rock band Skid Row (American band), Skid Row, American heavy metal bands Sanctuary (band), Sanctuary and Nevermore (band), Nevermore, Paul Gilbert, co-founder of Mr. Big (American band), Mr. Big band, Jon Schaffer, the rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter of the Florida-based heavy metal band Iced Earth, Mikael Åkerfeldt, guitarist and lead vocalist of Opeth, and X Japan drummer Yoshiki (musician), Yoshiki and former guitarist Hide (musician), hide. Andreas Kisser and Max Cavalera of Brazilian metal band Sepultura. Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine, American rock band My Chemical Romance, musicians of Sentenced (band), Sentenced,
Cristina Scabbia
Cristina Adriana Chiara Scabbia (; born 5 June 1972) is an Italian singer, best known as one of the two vocalists of gothic metal band Lacuna Coil.
Scabbia used to write an advice column in the popular rock magazine ''Revolver'', alongside mus ...
of
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...
, Ville Valo, the frontman of HIM (Finnish band), HIM, also musicians of Amorphis and Therion (band), Therion. Both current and former Dream Theater members John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy have stated that Iron Maiden were one of their biggest influences. Kat Von D a Mexican-American tattoo artist, model, entrepreneur and recording artist was influenced by the band. Franck Hueso better known as Carpenter Brut listed Iron Maiden's second album ''Killers'' among ten records which changed his life. Lorenzo Raganzini a techno musician and the performer who uses remixes of metal music including Iron Maiden's classics, described the band as one of his greatest inspirations.
Iron Maiden's musical style has also influenced many Scandinavian extreme metal bands including Nifelheim, Watain, Dissection (band), Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, Varg Vikernes of Burzum, Fenriz of Darkthrone just to name a few. Greek metal stage was extremely influenced by the band, not mentioning traditional heavy metal bands, many Hellenic Black Metal artists were inspired by Iron Maiden. Musicians of Rotting Christ, Varathron, Necromantia, or Yoth Iria have been stating about English formation has influenced on them. Polish heavy metal pioneers Turbo (Polish band), Turbo many times have mentioned about Iron Maiden being one of their biggest influences to date. The band's second album ''Smak ciszy'' (1985) was officially dedicated to Iron Maiden. A few decades later Turbo musicians supported live former Maiden's frontman
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981.
In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...
.
Among the countless musicians and bands which have been introduced into metal or influenced by Iron Maiden are: Gene Hoglan of Dark Angel (band), Dark Angel, Dethklok and ex-Death, Testament, Strapping Young Lad and Fear Factory, the late Dimebag Darrell of Pantera and Damageplan, Vicious Rumors, Anathema (band), Anathema, Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride, Bobby Ellsworth, Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth of Overkill (band), Overkill, Karl Sanders of Nile (band), Nile, Gojira (band), Gojira, Moonspell, HammerFall, Hammerfall, Kurdt Vanderhoof of Metal Church, Annihilator (band), Annihilator's Jeff Waters, Jørn Lande, Jorn Lande, Carcass (band), Carcass, Stratovarius, Warlock (band), Warlock, Larry LaLonde of Primus (band), Primus and ex-Possessed (band), Possessed and Blind Illusion, Queensrÿche, Queensryche, Michael Amott of
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...
, Funeral for a Friend, Children of Bodom, Running Wild (band), Running Wild, Grave Digger (band), Grave Digger, Necrophobic, Chris Barnes (musician), Chris Barnes of Six Feet Under (band), Six Feet Under and ex-Cannibal Corpse, George Fisher (musician), George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of Cannibal Corpse, Wolf (band), Wolf, Edguy, Angra (band), Angra, Blind Guardian, Nuclear Assault, Gamma Ray (band), Gamma Ray, Iron Savior,
Powerwolf
Powerwolf, often stylized as POWERWOLF, is a German power metal band founded in 2003 in Saarbrücken by members of Red Aim. The band consists of vocalist Karsten Brill as "Attila Dorn", lead guitarist Benjamin Buss as "Matthew Greywolf", bassist/ ...
, Zeal & Ardor, Marek Pająk, guitarist of Vader (band), Vader, Nocny Kochanek, Scream Maker, CETI, Sepultura, A Wilhelm Scream, Savatage, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, D.R.I., Escape the Fate, Hellsongs, Candiria, Sodom (band), Sodom, Sacred Reich, Coroner (band), Coroner, Watchtower (band), Watchtower, Wrathchild America, Forced Entry (band), Forced Entry, Flotsam and Jetsam (band), Flotsam and Jetsam (whose song "Flotsam and Jetsam (Flotsam and Jetsam album), Iron Maiden" is a tribute to the band) and surreal artist Vincent Castiglia among many others.
Brian Slagel, the owner of Metal Blade Records, stated: "''The Number of the Beast (album), The Number Of The Beast'', to me, still to this day, is the perfect heavy metal album. Everything is perfect. The sound is perfect, the songs are perfect, the lyrics are perfect. It's the ultimate heavy metal album and it checks off all the boxes. Forty years on, the influence of ''The Number Of The Beast'' can be heard in a vast array of contemporary heaviness, and it might be quicker to list notable metal musicians who don't cite the record as an inspiration. For me it along a time when I was really heavily getting into the whole metal thing. I was starting my record company and it was a pivotal point in my life, and which determined what I would do for the rest of it! Maiden motivated me to do whatever I could to make other people hear this amazing music. It was a life-changing experience."
As noticed music journalist Geoff Barton, the band's music constituted an important passage between the classic heavy rock school of the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, based on rhythm 'n blues, and contemporary heavy metal, characterised by sub-genre diversification and stylistic eclecticism. According to Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp the style and attitude of Iron Maiden drummer
Nicko McBrain
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...
has inspired generations of heavy-metal drummers that followed. As stated the former editor of the German magazine ''Rock Hard (magazine), Rock Hard'', Götz Kühnemund, Iron Maiden were (and still are) the inspiration for all the heavy metal bands we know today because they're an intrinsically heavy metal group. It is equally important for those who play power metal, speed, thrash, death, black, hard rock – almost every genre. Iron Maiden took hard rock from the '70s, took it into the' 80s, and created a new genre that didn't exist before. This band introduced a DIY approach to all rock music. They even more than all the others popularised guitar harmonies in metal. Many metal bands in existence today have two guitarists, who use double guitar harmonies, and that's where they are inspired by Iron Maiden.
Jörg Pistorius, German music journalist, stated there is: "No single band can claim to have created or invented heavy metal. However, there is one that shaped it and was largely responsible for making it a globally recognized style and market segment with high sales potential. (…) Iron Maiden played fast guitar figures sparkling with energy, combined with harmonious melodies and choruses that could be sung immediately. No band has shaped heavy metal as much as Iron Maiden."
Ian Christe, the Swiss musician, music journalist and an author of publication entitled ''Sound of the Beast'' claimed that Iron Maiden are responsible for the further development of the genre, carried out under the aegis of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. As he claimed, Iron Maiden, together with Judas Priest, is responsible for the greatest development of the metal genre. While AC/DC and Black Sabbath remained primal, dark, it was Iron Maiden and Judas Priest who transformed the twin guitar harmonies, creating a whole new quality.
According to music journalist and the writer Neil Daniels Iron Maiden "redefined the whole genre blending classic heavy rock influence with punky vibe, twin guitars attack and progressive approach which finally have created the new quality. Band's influence on generations of rock and metal bands cannot be overstated. They elevated metal to an art form, proving that academic and musical inspirations can coexist." From the artist's profile published by the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
it appears that "in the 1980s, Iron Maiden released seven high-octane albums that cemented them as one of the greatest rock bands – creating a blueprint for how heavy metal bands should look, sound and tour."
Former guitarist and co-founder of Judas Priest band, K.K. Downing, confessed Iron Maiden's "music does not quite suit my taste, I cannot deny that it has had a great influence on heavy metal and music in general. As a Brit, I am terribly proud of what they have managed over the years to fill the niche they have created. Besides, I have always admired them for being able to achieve such a great commercial success for their marketing activities."
Steve Harris is considered one of the most influential musicians and composers in heavy rock history. He is also the author of the lion's share of the Iron Maiden's repertoire and the creator of the archetypal composition pattern in modern metal. In addition to writing riffs, vocal melodies and lyrics for most songs, he was also involved in audio-visual production and editing. The riffs created by him are among the most unforgettable in history, as evidenced by compositions such as "
The Trooper
"The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay in ...
", "The Number of the Beast (song), The Number of the Beast", "Phantom of the Opera (Iron Maiden song), Phantom of the Opera", "
Run to the Hills
"Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, '' The Number of the Beast'' (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson ...
", "
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...
" or "
Hallowed Be Thy Name". The creator of Iron Maiden has been repeatedly named the best and most influential metal bassist of all time. He is also the originator of extremely expressive, galloping bass lines. His compositional style is based on triplets consisting of sixteenths and eighth notes, creating intense rhythmic background for a double (then triple) guitar attack. Steve Harris is one of the few bass players who can play extremely fast and dense with just his fingers. This ability has become a sensation in the context of the entire heavy metal scene. According to the Ultimate Classic Rock editors "technically it was incredibly impressive to achieve so much speed and dynamics in the sound without using a standard pick". The founder of Iron Maiden inspired masses of future musicians, including such thrash metal bassists as Frank Bello, Frankie Bello of Anthrax, and former and current Metallica bassists Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted, and Robert Trujillo.
Appearance in media
The first heavy metal videos in history broadcast by
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
were the images for the live versions of "Iron Maiden" and "Wrathchild" taken from official VHS ''Live at the Rainbow, Live at the Rainbow (Iron Maiden)''. The song "Flash of the Blade" was included on the soundtrack of Dario Argento's 1985 horror film ''Phenomena (film), Phenomena'' (AKA "Creepers") and was covered by the American band Avenged Sevenfold on their double live album/DVD ''Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough''. Rhapsody of Fire have also recorded a cover of the song that is featured on the deluxe edition of their album ''From Chaos to Eternity''. "Flash of the Blade" can also be heard in the ''Jem and the Holograms'' episode "Kimber's Rebellion", just after the cartoon band members return home from Paris, on a boom-box stereo being carried by a passerby.
The band's name has been mentioned prominently in several songs, such as the singles "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus, "Back to the 80's (song), Back to the 80's" by Danish dance-pop band Aqua (band), Aqua. and "Fat Lip" by Sum 41. Iron Maiden have also been referenced in Weezer's "Heart Songs" (from their 2008 self-titled "Weezer (2008 album), Red" album), Blues Traveller's "Psycho Joe" (from 1997's ''Straight On till Morning (album), Straight on till Morning''), and NOFX's "Eddie, Bruce and Paul" (from their 2009 album ''Coaster (album), Coaster''), which Sputnikmusic describes as "a humorous retelling of Paul DiAnno's departure".
The number of releases and ventures in tribute to the British formation can be estimated in hundreds, moreover - the reinterpretations of the band's achievements make up an extremely wide range of stylistic variants, such as: numerous sub-genres of rock and metal, soul, pop, classics, symphonic music, alternative music, electro, techno, industrial, hip-hop, rap, reggae, ska, jazz, chorales, pastiches, piano music, early music, string music, early music or acoustic versions with a wide range of classical instruments. In 2008, ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' released ''Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden'', an album composed of Iron Maiden cover songs performed by Metallica, Machine Head (band), Machine Head, Dream Theater, Trivium, Coheed and Cambria, Avenged Sevenfold, and other groups influenced by the band. In 2010, Maiden uniteD, an acoustic tribute band consisting of members of Ayreon, Threshold (band), Threshold and Within Temptation, released ''Mind the Acoustic Pieces'', a re-interpretation of the entire ''
Piece of Mind
''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...
'' album. As of 2021 nearly 200 Iron Maiden cover audio-visual releases exist (each featuring various artists), including piano, electro, string quartet and hip-hop tributes among many others.
Iron Maiden songs have been featured in the soundtracks of several video games, including ''Carmageddon 2'', ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', ''Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City'', ''Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned'', Marvel's ''Guardians of the Galaxy'', ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4'', ''SSX on Tour'' and ''Madden NFL 10''. Their music also appears in the ''Guitar Hero ''and ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' series of music video game, rhythmic video games. The U.S shooter game entitled ''PowerSlave'' was a reference to the Iron Maiden's album of the same name, released In 1984, which also features an Egyptian-themed cover.
Transformers (toy line), Transformers author Bill Forster is an avowed Iron Maiden fan and made several Iron Maiden references, including song lyrics and the phrase "Up the Irons" in his books, including ''The Transformers: The Ark : A Complete Compendium of Transformers Animation Models, The Ark'' series and ''The AllSpark Almanac'' series. Iron Maiden music, lyrics, themes, fans and iconography have appeared in many episodes and movies including quasi-documentary comedies as ''Schemers'', ''The Night of the Beast'' also in documentary movies such as ''Global Metal'' or band's own ''
Flight 666
''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'' is a concert documentary film featuring the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in February and March 2008, during which they tr ...
'' among many others. Iron Maiden songs have also appeared in films, such as ''Murder by Numbers''; while MTV's animated duo Beavis and Butt-Head have commented favourably on the band several times. "
The Trooper
"The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay in ...
" song and elements of the band's image appeared in a youth musical comedy entitled ''Metal Lords'' broadcast on Netflix. Numerous threads referring to the history of Iron Maiden and the role of the group in shaping the genre were included in individual episodes of the series ''Stranger Things'' (the character of Eddie Munson, recordings, presented releases and graphics), while the music of the group was included in the soundtrack of the production of ''The Terminal List''. On 17 November 2022, German television mogul ARD (broadcaster), ARD broadcast a series of documentaries entitled ''How Heavy Metal Saved My Life'' about the role of music in the lives of fans. One of the episodes was dedicated to Iron Maiden fans.
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
is the most active in media member of the band. Iron Maiden frontman presented ''Bruce Dickinson's Friday Rock Show'' on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
radio station 6 Music from 2002 to 2010. In addition to his show on 6 Music, Dickinson also hosted a series entitled ''Masters of Rock'' on BBC Radio 2 from 2003 to 2007. His singing and episode acting were presented in ''The Club Paradise'', ''Mr. Bean, Mr. Bean's Elected'', and ''A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child'' Dickinson's aviation passion and storytelling talent were reflected in ''Flying Heavy Metal, Flying Heavy Metal (Discovery Series)'' among many other documents. Bruce Dickinson was the main character of the ''Psycho Schizo Espresso'' podcast, which was published on social platforms. The topics of individual episodes were phenomena that could not be explained in a rational way. The interviews with controversial people were also broadcast.
Claims of Satanic references
In 1982, the band released one of their most popular, controversial and acclaimed albums, ''
The Number of the Beast''. The artwork and title track led to Christian groups in the United States branding the band as Satanism, Satanists, encouraging people to destroy copies of the release. The band's manager, Rod Smallwood, later commented that Christians initially burnt the records, but later decided to destroy them with hammers through fear of breathing in the melting vinyl's fumes. The protests were not restricted to the US, with Christian organisations preventing Iron Maiden from performing in Chile in 1992.
Contrary to the accusations, the band have always denied the notion that they are Satanists, with lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, doing so on-stage in the ''
Live After Death
''Live After Death'' is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in October 1985 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 200 ...
'' concert video. Steve Harris has since commented that, "It was mad. They completely got the wrong end of the stick. They obviously hadn't read the lyrics. They just wanted to believe all that rubbish about us being Satanists." Harris has also stated that "The Number of the Beast (song), The Number of the Beast" song was inspired by a nightmare he had after watching ''Damien: Omen II'', and also influenced by Robert Burns' "Tam o' Shanter (poem), Tam o' Shanter". Furthermore, the band's drummer,
Nicko McBrain
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...
, has been a born-again Christian since 1999.
Ed Force One
![Boeing 757-23A, Astraeus AN1497690](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Boeing_757-23A%2C_Astraeus_AN1497690.jpg)
For their
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour was a concert tour by the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 2008 and 2009, focused on the band's 1980s material, in particular songs from ''Powerslave'', ''Somewhere in Time (Iron Maiden album) ...
in 2008 and 2009, Iron Maiden commissioned an Astraeus Airlines Boeing 757 as transport. The aeroplane was converted into a combi aircraft, combi configuration, which enabled it to carry the band, their crew and stage production, thereby allowing the group to perform in countries which were previously deemed unreachable logistically. It was also repainted with a special Iron Maiden livery, which the airline decided to retain after receiving positive feedback from customers.
![Boeing747-IronMaiden01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Boeing747-IronMaiden01.jpg)
The aircraft, named "Ed Force One" after a competition on the band's website, was flown by Dickinson, as he was also a commercial airline pilot for Astraeus, and plays a major role in the award-winning documentary ''
Iron Maiden: Flight 666'', which was released in cinemas in 42 countries in April 2009. A different aeroplane (registered G-STRX) was used for
The Final Frontier World Tour
The Final Frontier World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden in support of the band's 15th album, ''The Final Frontier'', which began on 9 June 2010 in Dallas and ended in London, England on 6 August 2011. The tour was announced on the band' ...
in 2011 with altered livery, adopting the artwork of ''
The Final Frontier
''The Final Frontier'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 13 August 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, 17 August in North America, 18 August in Japan, and 16 August worldwide. At 76&nbs ...
'' album, and features heavily in the 2012 documentary "En Vivo! (Iron Maiden album), Behind the Beast".
For
The Book of Souls World Tour
The Book of Souls World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden, held in support of their sixteenth studio album, ''The Book of Souls''. During the first leg of the tour the band played shows in 36 countries across six continents, which included ...
in 2016, the band upgraded to an ex-Air France
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...
jumbo jet, supplied by Air Atlanta Icelandic (registered TF-AAK) and customised by Volga-Dnepr Airlines, Volga-Dnepr Gulf, which allows for more space without the aircraft having to undergo a significant conversion to carry their equipment. In January 2022, Bruce Dickinson told the Associated Press that he would not be piloting band's plane on their upcoming tour citing his nearing the mandatory age limit for commercial airline pilots. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), commercial pilots must retire at age 65. However, there is currently no maximum age limit for being a private pilot or for being an Air Force pilot.
Musical style and influences
Steve Harris, Iron Maiden's bassist and primary songwriter, has stated that his influences include
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep, Pink Floyd, Genesis (band), Genesis, Yes (band), Yes, Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull, Thin Lizzy,
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
,
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
and Wishbone Ash. In 2010 Harris stated, "I think if anyone wants to understand Maiden's early thing, in particular the harmony guitars, all they have to do is listen to Wishbone Ash's ''Argus (album), Argus'' album. Thin Lizzy too, but not as much. And then we wanted to have a bit of a prog thing thrown in as well, because I was really into bands like Genesis and Jethro Tull. So you combine all that with the heavy riffs and the speed, and you've got it." In 2004, Harris explained that the band's "heaviness" was inspired by "Black Sabbath and Deep Purple with a bit of Zeppelin thrown in." On top of this, Harris developed his own playing style, which guitarist Janick Gers describes as "more like a rhythm guitar," cited as responsible for the band's galloping style, heard in such songs as "
The Trooper
"The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay in ...
" and "Run to the Hills."
The band's guitarists, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers, each have their own individual influences and playing style. Dave Murray is known for his legato technique which, he claims, "evolved naturally. I'd heard Jimi Hendrix using legato when I was growing up, and I liked that style of playing." Stating that he "was inspired by blues rock rather than metal," Adrian Smith was influenced by Johnny Winter and Pat Travers, leading to him becoming a "melodic player." Janick Gers, on the other hand, prefers a more improvised style, largely inspired by Ritchie Blackmore, which he claims is in contrast to Smith's "rhythmic" sound.
Singer Bruce Dickinson, who typically works in collaboration with guitarist Adrian Smith, has an operatic vocal style, inspired by Arthur Brown (musician), Arthur Brown, Peter Hammill, Ian Anderson and Ian Gillan, and is often considered to be one of the best heavy metal vocalists of all time. Although Nicko McBrain has only received one writing credit, on the ''Dance of Death'' album, Harris often relies on him while developing songs. Adrian Smith commented, "Steve loves playing with him. [They] used to work for hours going over these bass and drum patterns."
Throughout their career, the band's style has remained largely unchanged, in spite of the addition of guitar synthesisers on 1986's ''Somewhere in Time'', keyboards on 1988's ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'', and an attempt to return to the "stripped down" production of their earlier material on ''No Prayer for the Dying''. In recent years, however, the band have begun using more progressive rock, progressive elements in their songs, which Steve Harris describes as not progressive "in the modern sense, but like Dream Theater, more in a 70s way". According to Harris, ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' was the band's first album which was "more progressive", while they would only return to this style from 1995's ''The X Factor'', which he states is "like an extension of ''Seventh Son''..., in the sense of the progressive element to it". The development contrasts with the band's raw-sounding earlier material, which AllMusic states was "clearly drawing from elements of punk rock", although Harris firmly denies this.
Band members
*
Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
(1975–present), keyboards
(1988, 1998–present)
*
Dave Murray – guitars
(1976–1977, 1978–present)
*
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Smith grew up in London ...
– guitars, backing vocals
(1980–1990, 1999–present), keyboards
(1988)
*
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
– lead vocals
(1981–1993, 1999–present), piano
(2015)
*
Nicko McBrain
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...
– drums
(1982–present)
*
Janick Gers
Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...
– guitars
(1990–present)
Touring musicians
* Michael Kenney – keyboards
(1988–2021)
Discography
* ''Iron Maiden (album), Iron Maiden'' (1980)
* ''
Killers'' (1981)
* ''
The Number of the Beast'' (1982)
* ''
Piece of Mind
''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Powerslave
''Powerslave'' is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia ...
'' (1984)
* ''
Somewhere in Time'' (1986)
* ''
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like '' The Number of the ...
'' (1988)
* ''
No Prayer for the Dying
''No Prayer for the Dying'' is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is their first album to feature Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian Smith. Smith left the band during the pre-production phase, unhappy w ...
'' (1990)
* ''
Fear of the Dark
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...
'' (1992)
* ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' (1995)
* ''
Virtual XI
''Virtual XI'' (pronounced "Virtual Eleven") is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 23 March 1998. It is the band's second and final album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. It also marks the first album to ...
'' (1998)
* ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarch ...
'' (2000)
* ''
Dance of Death
The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death.
The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...
'' (2003)
* ''
A Matter of Life and Death'' (2006)
* ''
The Final Frontier
''The Final Frontier'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 13 August 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, 17 August in North America, 18 August in Japan, and 16 August worldwide. At 76&nbs ...
'' (2010)
* ''
The Book of Souls
''The Book of Souls'' is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 4 September 2015. It is the band's first studio double album, and also their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes and 11 s ...
'' (2015)
* ''
Senjutsu'' (2021)
Concert tours
Awards and nominations
See also
* List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
* List of new wave of British heavy metal bands
* List of music artists and bands from England
* List of songs recorded by Iron Maiden
* List of Iron Maiden tribute albums
* The Iron Maidens
Citations
References
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* Popoff, Martin (2013). ''2 Minutes to Midnight: An Iron Maiden Day-by-Day''. Backbeat Books, .
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External links
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{{Authority control
Iron Maiden (band),
1975 establishments in England
Brit Award winners
Capitol Records artists
EMI Records artists
English heavy metal musical groups
Epic Records artists
Grammy Award winners
Harvest Records artists
Ivor Novello Award winners
Kerrang! Awards winners
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups from London
New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups
Second British Invasion artists
Parlophone artists
Universal Music Group artists
Warner Music Sweden artists