“The Book Of Souls”

All posts tagged “The Book Of Souls”

IRON MAIDEN: Ed Force One Arrives In Cardiff

Posted by aliblackdiamond on February 18, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

IRON MAIDEN‘s brand new ‘Ed Force One’ 747 arrived in Cardiff, Wales late last night, Thursday 17th February, ahead of the much anticipated “The Book Of Souls” world tour. The band stated on their official website:

“The new and improved (and much bigger) Ed Force One landed in Cardiff a couple of hours ago, and isn’t she a beauty!!  More pics tomorrow when it’s daylight…”

The Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet is almost twice the size and over three times the weight of the Boeing 757 used on previous tours. Check out some photos:

Iron Maiden Ed Force One Cardiff Arrival

Ed Force One 2

Ed Force One 3

More details on the new 747 can be read here. For all tour dates which begin on 24th February in Florida, visit this location.

IRON MAIDEN Storms The Charts

Posted by Stargazer on September 12, 2015
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Iron MaidenMetal gods IRON MAIDEN released their sixteenth studio album, “The Book of Souls” on September 4th,  2015 via Parlophone. The album has achieved massive success and has reached number one in many charts around the world including the U.K.  Chart-listings can be seen below:

  • UK Albums: #1
  • German Albums (GfK Entertainment): #1
  • Dutch Albums (MegaCharts): #1
  • Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders): #1
  • Italian Albums (FIMI): #1
  • Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan): #1
  • Hungarian Albums (Mahasz): #1
  • Australian Albums (ARIA): #2
  • Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia): #2
  • French Albums: #2
  • Irish Albums (IRMA): #2
  • Japanese Albums (Oricon): #6

“The Book of Souls” is the band’s longest album, which was recorded during September to December 2014 in Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris. It was produced by Kevin Shirley and bassist Steve Harris was co-producer. The artwork was created by Mark Wilkinson.

IRON MAIDEN‘s newest album “The Book of Souls” is also mentioned as “a piece of true metal which the other metal icons, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, could not repeat with their latest albums.” by Metal Shock Finland’s Chief Editor.
Iron Maiden

Review: IRON MAIDEN “The Book of Souls” (2015)

Posted by Stargazer on September 2, 2015
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , . 1 Comment

Review by Mohsen Fayazi

Iron MaidenArtist: IRON MAIDEN
Album: The Book of Souls
Label: Parlophone, Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG
Release date: 4 September 2015

Tracklist:

Disc 1:
01. If Eternity Should Fall
02. Speed of Light
03. The Great Unknown
04. The Red and the Black
05. When the River Runs Deep
06. The Book of Souls

Disc 2:
01. Death or Glory
02. Shadows of the Valley
03. Tears of a Clown
04. The Man of Sorrows
05. Empire of the Clouds

After more than three decades, they are not only a musical group and not only Metal Gods, but they are the master builders of an admirable culture, a legacy and more importantly, a way to think differently and live differently. IRON MAIDEN are set to re-energize the engine of magnificent old school heavy metal with their newest album, “The Book of Souls”.

Obviously, this is a really important album for the band and the fans, as it could be their final encore of honour and glory, due to Bruce Dickinson’s cancer diagnosis. However, the quality of music, lyrics, production and all other parts of this album tells us that “The Book of Souls” is a piece of true metal which the other metal icons, JUDAS PRIEST and BLACK SABBATH, could not repeat with their latest albums. IRON MAIDEN ‘s sixteenth studio album, is definitely a tornado of passion, which does not show any signs of decades old dust and it will feed the hungry fans after a five year gap.

The world has changed from thirty years ago, but Maiden is still great, energetic and metal, loyal to the oath! In a world which is filled every day by death and tragic news, “The Book of Souls” is a drama about death and what may come after it, however it is not a conceptual album. It begins in a mysterious, confusing, psychedelic and epic theme with ‘If Eternity Should Fail’, written by Bruce Dickinson, and it will be familiar, especially to those who have followed him with his solo projects. Bruce‘s voice still sounds as fresh, pure and great as the early days, but with much more maturity throughout the whole of the album.

This is serious, not only because “The Book of Souls” is their longest album but also it is one of the heaviest and darkest Maiden has ever released, though the vintage blood of NWOBHM is running through its veins. Very well balanced music, it has its ups and downs but harmony rules, the spirits of five incredible persons and a culture can be heard from their instruments. There are fast, powerful and heavy tracks such as ‘Speed of Light’, ‘When the River Runs Deep’ and ‘Death or Glory’, able to rock you from head to toe. And there are some songs which are a little bit slower, but still heavy and dark, such as ‘The Man of Sorrows’ and ‘Empire of the Clouds’ which create such a brainstorm about the most mysterious, confusing and unanswered questions about life and death.

There have been always one or two tracks in all Maiden‘s albums which are longer than others and this one is no exception. However there are two songs which are like the Nile river, the longest ever Maiden offerings. ‘The Red and the Black’ at 13:14 long, starts with an acoustic guitar and electric bass following each other in a sort of tragic pattern, then a rhythmic strike comes from the guitars and drums and the lead guitar joins the party with those kind of melodic ‘Maideny’ riffs. The self titled song is a masterpiece when the band opened the gate of Babylon, using some oriental music scales, unleashing a storm of talent and creativity in IRON MAIDEN. ‘Empire of the Clouds’ is the last shot of this magnificent and glorious theatre, a song at an incredible 18:02 in length, the edge of rupture between reality and truth, when a creative mind breaks the chains and flies. Agony, sorrow, despondency and that bloody familiar feeling like something important is missing, are the main components of this amazing power ballad and the band knew no limits in using the violin, piano, keyboard and cello. Have you ever felt joy from sadness and sorrow?! This song is creating one of those moments, upon a cloudy empire, where time flies faster but every music note counts.

It feels like there is a soul, extending its shadows through the whole of this album or a super-harmony, which makes it impossible to choose a song as the best or greatest, all the tracks must be seen as part of one thing. IRON MAIDEN‘s newest album “The Book of Souls” is not a book you just want on your shelves, but it is a magnificent volume of William Shakespeare and in the end, the question is “To be or not to be…“
 

Rating: 9.5/10

 

 

IRON MAIDEN Dedicate New Song To Robin Williams

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 24, 2015
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

RobinWilliams

Next month brings the release of IRON MAIDEN’s first album in five years, a double LP called “The Book of Souls”. According to ConsequenceOfSound.net, in a new interview with Italy’s Corriere Della Sera, frontman Bruce Dickinson revealed the one of the album’s tracks is dedicated to the late Robin Williams.

“My favorite song is one I didn’t write,” Dickinson explained. “It’s ‘Tears of a Clown,’ which talks about Robin Williams. I ask myself how could he be so depressed when he always seemed to be so happy.”

Williams committed suicide on August 11th, 2014 following a long battle with depression.

“The Book of Souls” arrives on September 4th through Parlophone Records. Watch below the video for lead single “Speed of Light”.

IRON MAIDEN: First Track And Official Video “Speed Of Light” From “The Book Of Souls” Unveiled

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 14, 2015
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Iron Maiden

British metal legends IRON MAIDEN will release their eagerly awaited 16th studio album “The Book Of Souls” on 4th September, through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.A.). Now the band has unveiled the first track and Official Video for the song “Speed Of Light”, check it out below:

“The Book Of Souls” was recorded in Paris with their longstanding producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added earlier this year. However, the band decided to delay its release so that vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who was recently given the all-clear from a tumour, would have time to recuperate sufficiently to join in the preparations for the album’s launch.

The stunning cover art was created by Mark Wilkinson who has worked with the band previously, and because this 11 track album has a total running time of 92 minutes, it is IRON MAIDEN’s first ever double studio album. There’s a broader split on the song-writing compared to previous Maiden records, with bassist and founder member Steve Harris contributing to seven of the tracks; 6 of them with Maiden’s guitarists and one sole composition. This is also the first time since 1984’s Powerslave that an IRON MAIDEN studio album also features two tracks written solely by Bruce Dickinson, one of which is the longest song Maiden has ever recorded! And also two Dickinson/Smith collaborations.

Iron Maiden

The full tracklisting is:
Track listing:
Disc 1
1. If Eternity Should Fail (Dickinson) 8:28
2. Speed Of Light (Smith/ Dickinson) 5:01
3. The Great Unknown (Smith/ Harris) 6:37
4. The Red And The Black (Harris) 13:33
5. When The River Runs Deep (Smith/ Harris) 5:52
6. The Book Of Souls (Gers/ Harris) 10:27

Disc 2
7. Death Or Glory (Smith/ Dickinson) 5:13
8. Shadows Of The Valley (Gers/ Harris) 7:32
9. Tears Of A Clown (Smith/ Harris) 4:59
10. The Man Of Sorrows (Murray/ Harris) 6:28
11. Empire Of The Clouds (Dickinson) 18:01

Formats:
2CD deluxe hardbound book limited edition
2CD standard edition
Triple heavyweight black vinyl
High res audio (24-bit Mastered for ITunes and non-Mastered for iTunes)
Standard res audio (16 bit/ 44.1 kHz)

“The Book Of Souls” is the band’s 16th studio album since their eponymous debut in 1980 charted at #4 in the UK, in a career achieving sales of over 90 million albums worldwide. Their previous album, 2010’s The Final Frontier was Maiden’s most successful chart-wise to date, reaching Number One in 28 countries and was their highest chart debut in the U.S reaching #4 in the Billboard 200.

IRON MAIDEN’s JANICK GERS On “The Book Of Souls”: “I think it’s a fantastic album”

Posted by aliblackdiamond on August 12, 2015
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

This September sees the long awaited release of “The Book Of Souls” by IRON MAIDEN. A double album, the LP comes after the news that vocalist Bruce Dickinson has now happily received the all clear from cancer (he was receiving treatment for a small tumour on his tongue; the record itself was recorded late last year in Paris, before diagnosis). The Quietus recently had an interview with Adrian Smith and Janick Gers which you can read some excerpts of below:
Can you tell us about the writing process behind The Book Of Souls?

Adrian Smith: “We didn’t actually rehearse anything at all – which is a very different way of working for Maiden. We just brought our ideas to the studio. I think Bruce and I had one session which produced ‘Speed Of Light’ and ‘Death Or Glory’. Steve and I got together in the studio and I played him a load of stuff I had and got busy writing lyrics for that. I actually did a lot of writing on my own. We hadn’t actually played together as a band before we went into the studio in Paris. I did a lot of writing on my own and everyone just brought ideas in.”

Janick Gers: “I’m really proud of it, I think it’s a fantastic album. Bands have to grow, travel different avenues, push the boundaries and we always do. People say, ‘Oh, Maiden always sound the same’, but we don’t; we travel different pathways and this one is no exception. I’ve got to say that the writing process was really different this time. Normally, we go into rehearsal and spend three or four weeks rehearsing. We’ll go off writing with different people in the band and get all the ideas up to speed – almost so that we can play them all live as a set – but this was different. We went into the studio with only outlines and finished writing the songs in the studio – so we were actually learning them, rehearsing them, and putting them down all at once. It gives it an immediacy because we were learning them as we went; it all has a very live feel. We all brought different things, a really broad spectrum of musical ideas – I don’t want us to become a parody of what we were; you get bands that come out and only do one song off the new album – and I know people love that and some people want that – but that’s not what we do at all.”

Iron Maiden

How much pressure was there, writing that way?

AS: “There is pressure but it’s a good pressure because it snaps you into action. Before we go in, a month before we go in the studio, I like to go in my home studio and put down a load of rough demos and ideas – it’s a good pressure, it fires you up. I like it.”

Adrian, the tracks that you and Bruce wrote together for the record- ‘Speed Of Light’ and ‘Death Or Glory’ -are the shortest and punchiest. Was that a conscious decision, to focus on a more straight up sound?

AS: “Well, Bruce and I hadn’t actually written anything – just the two of us – for some years. So I had it in my mind to do some shorter songs. We used to do stuff like ‘Two Minutes To Midnight’ back in the day. If I’ve got something a bit more involved, I usually bring Steve in and say, ‘What do you think of it?’ because these days he’s focussed on lyrics and melodies as much as anything. Whereas before he’d bring in four or five complete songs – from beginning to end – it’s a much more collaborative process these days. He’ll provide a steer lyrically and melodically.”

For the full interview visit this location.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HAa0Y8ohkQ

Iron Maiden