IRON MIDEN

EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009

 

Ed hunter

Ed Hunter, a rail shooter video game, was released in 1999, and is based on and accompanied by Iron Maiden's music. The game objective consists of rescuing the mascot of Iron Maiden, Eddie, from a prison while passing through game settings evocative of the albums. Music from the band completes the game's customizable soundtrack.

The game passes through various levels, starting in a street, then to a mental institution, then into hell itself, and then into other various locations. The locations are from the covers of previous Iron Maiden records.

The gameplay itself consists of shooting the appearing enemies with the mouse cursor. The game travels on "a track" and the player has no control over movement apart from occasionally choosing the route he will take through the levels. The player can select which tracks play in the background of which levels.

The package includes 3 CDs. The first CD contains 14 songs, the second CD contains 6 songs and the installation program for the game, and the third CD contains the game data. The soundtrack allegedly consists of the top 20 songs voted for by Iron Maiden fans on Maiden's official website.

The US version has a hidden bonus track of a new recording of "Wrathchild" with Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals, which subsequently received radio play. This track was not present in the initial US pressing of the game, but on runs that featured a sticker on the shrinkwrap stating that the track was included.

A sticker on the compilation album Best of the Beast originally announced the upcoming release of this game as "Melt, Eddie's own state-of-the-art 3D game".

The Ed Hunter Tour was the tour supporting the album.

 

 

 

Levels (background music listed in brackets)

London's East End (Killers, Iron Maiden)

The Shady Pines Asylum (Piece of Mind)

The Pits of Hell (Hallowed Be Thy Name, Number of the Beast)

The Graveyard (Live After Death)

The Pharaoh's Tomb (Powerslave)

Blade Runner (Somewhere In Time)

Futureal (The Evil That Men Do)

Finale (The Evil That Men Do)

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Brave new world

Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by Iron Maiden, released on 30 May 2000 (see 2000 in music). It marked the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band who left the band in 1990, replaced by Janick Gers. It was also the band's first studio recording with three guitar players, as Gers stayed with the band after Smith's return.

The album art and title song are references to the novel of the same name written by Aldous Huxley. The upper half of the album art was done by Derek Riggs, and is the last new artwork done by Riggs to be used on an Iron Maiden release.

The songs "The Wicker Man" and "Out of the Silent Planet" were both released as singles. "The Wicker Man" was released in the U.S as a promo single with extra vocals in the chorus.

"The Nomad", "Dream of Mirrors", and "The Mercenary" were originally written for Virtual XI, according to Adrian Smith in an interview. He said there was a fourth song, but he didn't know which one it was and that Steve Harris did not remember either. It is likely that this is either The Fallen Angel or The Thin Line Between Love And Hate, or an unreleased song from the sessions, as the remaining songs have all been confirmed to have been written for Brave New World. Apparently, former singer Blaze Bayley also co-wrote "Dream of Mirrors", but wasn't credited.

Brave New World Tour was the tour supporting the album.

The song "Brave New World" was covered in 2008 by Ghostlines on the tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine.

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Rock in Rio

Rock In Rio is a live album recorded in Brazil by Iron Maiden in 2001. Here they faced their second largest ever crowd - 250,000 people - the first being their 1985 Rock In Rio performance to a crowd of 300,000, and with the relatively recent return of lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band, they recorded their fifth live album.

It features many of their best known tracks, including studio-quality examples of the eponymous "Iron Maiden" and "Run to the Hills" coupled with some of their "comeback" tracks, including "The Wicker Man" and "Brave New World." Less popular songs were also performed, such as Bruce Dickinson's versions of the Blaze Bayley-era songs "Sign of the Cross" and "The Clansman".

A video version is also available on DVD

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Edward the great

Edward the Great was Iron Maiden's third "best-of album" (counting their 1999 video game Ed Hunter which came with a 20 track best of CD with songs chosen by the fans), and was released on November 5, 2002 along with the massive Eddie's Archive box set, as a way to introduce new fans to Maiden. However, many older fans complained about the lack of exclusive or rare material on it. Another complaint of many was that the album lacked material from the first two Iron Maiden albums, Iron Maiden and Killers which featured Paul Di'Anno on vocals.

In 2005, a revised edition was released in Europe, Asia and South-America, with a slightly different tracklist. This "updated" version was to coincide with the release of The Essential Iron Maiden compilation that was released in North America. The revised edition features some songs from the Dance of Death album, and a different live version of "Fear of the Dark". The new version also adds the song "Brave New World" from the album of the same name. The booklet includes a new foreword by Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood, whereas the original version has a foreword by founding member Steve Harris. The album cover does not differentiate between the two other than the tracklisting - some shops still sell old stock of the original. In some cases, record distributors accidentally released the revised 2005 version CD with the old track list still on the album sleeve, although this mistake has since been corrected.

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Dance of death

Dance of Death is Iron Maiden's 13th studio album, released first in Japan on September 2 and rest of the world on September 8, 2003.

This album marks the first participation in songwriting by Nicko McBrain, who co-wrote the song "New Frontier" and also is the first (and so far only) time that all members of the band get a songwriting credit. It is sometimes mistakenly said that Steve Harris performed all the keyboard parts on the album because no credit is given to usual collaborator Michael Kenney, but this is actually due to an oversight in the printing of the album booklet (no instrument credits are given to any of the full band members either). The band's usual message in every album (a variation on the line "Up the Irons!") is absent too.

Give Me Ed... 'til I'm Dead Tour & Dance of Death World Tour was the tour supporting the album. Dance of Death once again brought costumes to Maiden's stage show. During "Dance of Death," Bruce Dickinson would wear theatrical masks and a cape while moving around the stage; at the end he would dress as the Grim Reaper for the final chorus. During the song "Paschendale", Dickinson would sometimes wear a traditional British Infantryman suit as worn during World War I and act out his death onstage during the song.

The title of the album refers to the late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the dance of death unites all. This philosophy is more commonly known as Danse Macabre.

 

stronghold of the Cathars conquered by the Albigensian Crusade in 1244. The lyrics include verse As we kill them all so God will know his own, referring to a well-known quote of the papal legate before the massacre of thousands in Béziers in 1209. It also mentions "Templar believers," as it is frequent popular belief today that there was some link between Knights Templar, Cathars and Montségur.

The song "Paschendale" is about The Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War. 'Face in the Sand' features double bass drumming by Nicko McBrain, his only such performance to date.

"Journeyman" is Iron Maiden's first fully acoustic song. According to Bruce Dickinson, before playing the song on the Death on the Road live album, the song is about "the whole process of song writing and being a musician," though the lyrics seem to be more focused on appreciating life while you have it.

Other lyric themes are current events in the world ("Face in the Sand," "Age of Innocence," "New Frontier"), religion ("No More Lies", "Montségur"), and realising yourself ("Wildest Dreams," "Rainmaker," "Journeyman"). The title track features lyrics in a more classic storytelling vein, being about a man who experiences the Danse Macabre and has many similarities to both the poem Tam o' Shanter and "The Number of the Beast". The album is also notable for its heavy Celtic influences in the guitar melodies, especially the title track, "No More Lies," and "Montségur."

 

Cover art

The computer-generated cover art for the album was provided by David Patchett, but he asked to be removed from the credits because he was not satisfied with the result. The version used was actually a prototype provided by Patchett, but the band decided to use it in its incomplete form. Upon close inspection, one can note several of what appear to be errors; the small infant/dwarf to the right appears to be suspended in midair with his/her ankle sunk into the side of the wolf. The other small person to the left is also standing on the toes of a man, and the woman directly to the right of Eddie (center) seems to have some disfiguring on the fold of her elbow. The woman to the right of the foreground also has a long, misshapen neck.

When the cover art was first revealed on the Internet, many Iron Maiden fans believed that the band was playing a prank. It has been the cause of much controversy amongst fans and is generally quite disliked. Images of the album's cover briefly circulated as an Internet meme as it was ridiculed by many fans and casual observers alike.

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Death on the road

Death on the Road is a live CD, LP, and DVD released by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden on August 30, 2005 (CD & LP version), respectively on February 6, 2006 (DVD version). It contains songs which were performed at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany, on 24 November 2003 during the band's Dance of Death Tour (2003–2005).

During the first week after the album's release, it entered the national charts in several countries; Finland (no. 6), Sweden (no. 7), Norway (no. 12), France (no. 14), Italy (no. 17), Switzerland (no. 17), Spain (no. 18), United Kingdom (no. 22), Ireland (no. 27),the Netherlands (no. 39), India (no.29).

The DVD was released on February 6, 2006. It is a 3 DVD set, with the first DVD being the concert in 5.1 Digital audio, the second DVD being the concert in stereo, and the third DVD being special features, including the documentary listed below, and all promo videos from the Dance of Death album. Reportedly, the first DVD of the set is faulty in many cases, as two of the three guitar tracks' volume being tuned down, specificly Dave Murray's track.[citation needed]

The DVD set features a full 70-minute documentary directed by Matthew Amos charting the album's creation and the subsequent preparations for the following tour. The feature length program includes candid and personal footage of the band during the recording and writing of the album, which is the first time it's ever been filmed.

In 2005 when Edward the Great was re-released the recording of "Fear of the Dark" from this album was included.

The cover was by Melvyn Grant, and on the carriage are the words 'Edward and Son Undertakers', a reference to Eddie.

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A matter of life and death

Iron Maiden. It was released on 25 August 2006 in Italy and in Finland, 28 August worldwide, and 5 September 2006 in the United States, Canada and Japan. It is the first heavy metal album to debut at #4 in India, and made it to #2 in the Indian charts. It is also one of the few rock/metal albums to go platinum in India. It is the first album in Iron Maiden's more than 30 year career to enter the U.S. Billboard charts in the top 10 and the third album where Steve Harris has had a song writing credit on every track, and has seen significant chart success in many other countries.

While the album is not a concept album, war and religion are recurring themes in the lyrics throughout the album, as well as in the album's artwork. The title "A Matter of Life and Death" is also linked with the war theme, as it titles a 1946 movie whose primary character is a WWII Royal Air Force pilot.

A Matter of Life and Death Tour was the tour supporting the album.

 

The band, still consisting of the same lineup as their previous two studio albums (making it the second most stable lineup; see Powerslave), started to write the songs near the end of 2005 after their hugely successful appearances in the U.S. and Europe. By the end of the year, the songs were done and they started rehearsing at Sarm West Studios in London.

At 72 minutes, A Matter of Life and Death is the band's longest album to date (exceeding 1995's The X Factor by approximately one minute) and its average song length (7:12) also makes it the longest Iron Maiden album by song average.

This is the band's fourth studio album that is not named after a specific song on the album, following Piece of Mind, The X Factor and Virtual XI.

The album cover was created by Tim Bradstreet, an American artist, currently best known for his covers on the Punisher comics.

During their North American, Japanese and European tours, they performed the entire album in full. They announced after the show at Earl's Court, London on December 23, 2006, that the album would never be played in its entirety again.

 

Critical response

The album was met with positive reviews. Metal Hammer rated the album 10/10 and stated that "Iron Maiden have utterly surpassed themselves", Kerrang! rated it 5/5 and said "Another [Iron] Maiden classic... Keeps what longtime fans loved about the band alive." Classic Rock also awarded it Album of the Year, and the band won an award voted by Classic Rock readers, for the album. Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5, finding the music and lyrics "relevant." However, the magazine also claims that "the songs now march where they once galloped", implying that the band is "aging gracefully".

 

Single details

The first single to be released from the album was "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". It was released on 14 August 2006. On 10 August 2006, "Different World" was put on the official website for everyone to hear. The following day "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" was also put on the official site for public streaming.

"Different World" was the second single released from the album. It has already been receiving airplay on many rock radio stations. The song also features an animated video, similar to that of "Wildest Dreams".

 

DVD documentary

In addition to the standard CD release, A Matter of Life and Death was also released in a limited edition version which contains a bonus DVD. The DVD, which has a total runtime of nearly one hour, contains a half-hour documentary, plus videos and photos all shot whilst the band were making the album. The documentary "The Making of A Matter of Life and Death", directed by Matthew Amos (director of The Early Days and Death on the Road DVD documentaries), features candid video footage shot largely by Kevin Shirley himself during the recording of the album giving a behind-the-scenes look at life in the studio. The bonus DVD also features the full video promo for "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg", and a special intimate filming of the band recording "Different World" in the studio. The album is also available as a limited edition double picture disc vinyl in gatefold sleeve, and as a digital download.

 

Charting positions

The album went gold in Finland in its first week. This gold record became Maiden's 8th from Finland. The album sold over 220,000 copies worldwide on its first day of release and sold over 500,000 copies worldwide in 3 days. By the end of the first week of release, A Matter of Life and Death had sold over a million copies worldwide. It entered at no. 4 in the world album chart, no. 1 in ten countries, no. 4 in the UK charts, no. 2 in Canada, no. 4 in India , and for the first time entered the U.S. top 10 at no. 9 with sales of over 56,000. An update on Iron Maiden's official website states that "In just the first week the new album has shipped over a million copies worldwide and impacted on the charts pretty well everywhere in the world". In doing so it has charted in the top 20 in 34 countries worldwide.

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ED HUNTER

 

 

ED HUNTER

 

Disc one

1 Iron Maiden Live

2 The Trooper

3 The Number of the Beast

4 Wrathchild"

5 Futureal

6 Fear of the Dark

7 Be Quick or Be Dead

8 2 Minutes to Midnight

9 Man on the Edge

10 Aces High

11 The Evil That Men Do

12 Wasted Years

13 Powerslave

14 Hallowed Be Thy Name

15 Wrathchild

 

Disc two

1 Run to the Hills

2 The Clansman

3 Phantom of the Opera

4 Killers

5 Stranger in a Strange Land

6 Tailgunner"

BRAVE NEW WORLD

 

 

BRAVE NEW WORLD

 

1 The Wicker Man

2 Ghost of the Navigator

3 Brave New World

4 Blood Brothers

5 The Mercenary

6 Dream of Mirrors

7 The Fallen Angel

8 The Nomad

9 Out of the Silent Planet

10 The Thin Line Between Love & Hate

ROCK IN RIO

 

 

ROCK IN RIO

 

Disc 1

1 Intro Arthur's Farewell

2 The Wicker Man

3 Ghost of the Navigator

4 Brave New World

5 Wrathchild

6 2 Minutes to Midnight

7 Blood Brothers

8 Sign of the Cross

9 The Mercenary

10 The Trooper

 

Disc 2

1 Dream of Mirrors

2 The Clansman

3 The Evil That Men Do

4 Fear of the Dark

5 Iron Maiden

6 The Number of the Beast

7 Hallowed Be Thy Name

8 Sanctuary

9 Run to the Hills

EDWARD THE GREAT

 

 

EDWARD THE GREAT

 

1.Run to the Hills

2.The Number of the Beast

3.Flight of Icarus

4.The Trooper

5.2 Minutes to Midnight

6.Wasted Years

7.Can I Play with Madness

8.The Evil That Men Do

9.The Clairvoyant

10.Infinite Dreams

11.Holy Smoke

12.Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter

13.Man on the Edge

14.Futureal

15.The Wicker Man

16.Fear of the Dark live

DANCE OF DEATH

 

 

DANCE OF DEATH

 

 

1.Wildest Dreams

2.Rainmaker

3.No More Lies

4.Montségur

5.Dance of Death

6.Gates of Tomorrow

7.New Frontier

8.Paschendale

9.Face in the Sand

10.Age of Innocence

11.Journeyman

DEATH ON THE ROAD

 

 

DEATH ON THE ROAD

 

Disc one

1 Wildest Dreams

2 Wrathchild

3 Can I Play with Madness

4 The Trooper

5 Dance of Death

6 Rainmaker

7 Brave New World

8 Paschendale

9 Lord of the Flies

 

Disc two

1 No More Lies

2 Hallowed Be Thy Name

3 Fear of the Dark

4 Iron Maiden

5 Journeyman

6 The Number of the Beast

7 Run to the Hills

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

 

 

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

 

1.Different World

2.These Colours Don't Run

3.Brighter Than a Thousand Suns

4.The Pilgrim

5.The Longest Day

6.Out of the Shadows

7.The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg

8.For the Greater Good of God

9.Lord of Light

10.The Legacy

SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME

 

 

SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME

 

1 Churchill's Speech

2 Aces High Live

3 2 Minutes to Midnight

4 The Trooper

5 Wasted Years

6 Children of the Damned

7 The Number of the Beast

8 Run to the Hills

9 Phantom of the Opera Live

10 The Evil That Men Do

11 Wrathchild Live

12 Can I Play With Madness

13 Powerslave

14 Hallowed Be Thy Name

15 Iron Maiden Live

FOLLOWERS

 

 

BLOG ARCHIVE

 

▼ 2009 (8)

▼ February (8)

Ed hunter

Brave new world

Rock in Rio

Edward the great

Dance of death

Death on the road

A matter of life and death

Somewhere Back in Time

ABOUT ME

 

 

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VIEW MY COMPLETE PROFILE

 

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