Iron Maiden

IRON MAIDEN Drummer Discusses His Christianity


The following report is courtesy of Geoff Martin from Canada.com:

“The Lord blessed this one with this incredible magic,” says IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain about the new album A Matter Of Life And Death.
Given that he’s talking about an album from Iron Maiden, one of the darkest, most ominous heavy metal bands to emerge from the genre’s heyday in the '80s, it would be easy to take it for granted that he’s referring to his Dark Lord Satan. But surprisingly, he’s talking about the same “Lord” church-going folks pray to on Sunday morning.

But more on his conversion to Christianity later – first, let’s talk about this new album from one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time.

While there aren’t many surprises on A Matter Of Life And Death, which made its Canadian debut in late August, many critics have been surprisingly kind to the new CD.

“This album is a step up on everything else we’ve ever done, in my opinion,” says McBrain. “I know a few people don’t agree with that, but I don’t care, you can stuff that up your ass, I don’t give a s--t.”

With virtually no radio play and precious little ink being spilled about them in mainstream media outlets, Iron Maiden’s latest still debuted in the #2 spot on Canadian sales charts and has placed just as high or higher around the world.

It seems Iron Maiden is undergoing a renaissance of sorts, both among fans and within the band itself.

So what’s going on?

It seems to have started with the triumphant return of ear-piercing vocalist Bruce Dickinson, whose brief hiatus from the band ended six years ago. From 1993 to 1998, Iron Maiden recorded two poorly-received albums with another singer, Blaze Bayley.

McBrain has nothing but good things to say about the band’s time with Bayley but he and his mates were ecstatic to have their old singer back, along with guitarist Adrian Smith.

“Since Bruce has come back, it’s gone back like it was in the early ’80s, and there’s this escalation,” McBrain says. “In the mid-80s, people said it was the height of our career. Well it was then, but this is the height of our career, really, because we’ve come full circle, and we’re doing it again with the same people we had back in the '80s.”

The tour Iron Maiden is embarking on isn’t the longest they’ve ever undertaken – most members are well into their 50s, after all – but it will take them around the world, with three shows in Canada (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver), followed by eight in the U.S., four in Japan, and an extensive tour through Europe that will run until the end of 2006.

In some areas of the world, most notably in many small Scandinavian countries, the band can sell enough tickets to fill huge stadiums in just a couple of hours. Do the large crowds they’re still able to attract surprise the band?

“In Scandinavia, there’s this new breed that’s come out, the next generation, and they’ve gone wild for the band,” McBrain says. “And these younger kids, they’re discerning, they like the faster stuff, but they’ve gone back – and I’m going to put ourselves up with Led Zeppelin and bands of that ilk, but we’re still out there doing it! – and they’ve gone ‘freak, my old boots, this is class music, this is melody, this is speed, this is great guitar solos.’

“It seems to have just gone ballistic since Bruce came back,” McBrain adds. “It’s like when you have a (spat) with the old lady, and sometimes it’s good to be away for a while from one another. And then you come back and it’s better than it was before.”

McBrain takes a deep breath before continuing. And he’s going to need it because a conversation with Nicko McBrain is like lighting a bucket of firecrackers and then standing back and watching them go off. The man can talk even faster than he beats the drum skins.

“Music, and being in a band, it’s very much like a love affair,” says McBrain. “And don’t get me wrong when I say this: the sex is the music! The first 10 or 12 years I played in Iron Maiden, I saw more of these guys and lived with them more than I did with my family.”

When he’s not with the band, McBrain makes his home in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife and son. In his spare time, the British-born rocker indulges a newly acquired love of baseball by following the Florida Marlins, and an even more passionate love of golf.

After too long at home though, the drummer and his bandmates start to get itchy for the road.

When it’s pointed out Iron Maiden probably doesn’t need new albums as an excuse for a tour, McBrain reacts as though the thought had never crossed their minds.

“We could probably get away with that, but we don’t want to,” he says. “We want to still make new, cutting-edge, progressive, underground music. You can call it heavy metal, but to me we’re a hard rock band, and we’re really a progressive blues band, to be honest, a bit like (Led) Zeppelin were when they came out.

“We are a very selfish band,” he continues. “We don’t compromise, and people go, ‘Well if you did this or that, you’d have a lot more people come and listen to your band.’ We say, well bollocks, we don’t want to compromise. If people don’t like it the way it is, then we don’t particularly want them.

“And our fans and the people who are coming to know this band realize, they look at our merchandise, they look at the way we put our shows together, and they say, ‘They care. They’re doing it for themselves, but they really do care about us, don’t they?’”

McBrain insists the recording experience was largely argument-free – not the norm when recording an Iron Maiden album.

“Normally, (bassist) Steve (Harris) and I have this complete blow-out argument somewhere along the line, whether it’s in writing or making the record,” McBrain says, “but this time ’round we didn’t, and it was such a talking point, you know? Steve said, ‘Hey, do you realize we haven’t had an argument on this record?’ Well we still had four B-sides to record, and I said ‘Steve ’ang on a minute, we’ve got another day in the studio yet, that could happen!’”

The album was recorded nearly live, with all members playing their instruments at the same time, and the producer mixing on the fly -- something the vast majority of today’s bands wouldn’t even dream of trying.

But for McBrain and his bandmates, this seemed like a very natural approach to the recording since their live shows have gained a reputation over the years for being tour-de-force exhibitions of musicianship.

Their brand of thundering and often furiously angry music might not be for everyone, but anyone with a set of ears has to acknowledge that Iron Maiden is staffed by some very talented musicians.

“Pretty much anything we record, we pride ourselves on being able to actually reproduce it live,” McBrain says.

“At the end of the day, the fan that buys that record is very discerning, he’s going to go to a live show and he’s going to stand in front of the band or the solo artist, whomever it is, and he’s going to go ‘hey that doesn’t sound very good, that’s s--t!,’ you know? So at the end of the day you’re going to get caught, one way or the other. You can dunk your biscuit in it, and if it don’t hold together, it’s going to fall all over the cup of tea.”

Wait a minute. Golf? A reference to drinking tea? Christianity? Are we still talking about good ol’ head-banging Iron Maiden here?

Yes, we still are. And yes, Nicko McBrain is a Christian.

His conversion is apparently a complicated issue, but one McBrain obviously loves to talk about. What follows is his response to a single question about his conversion, which he says happened in 1999.

Are people ever surprised by his conversion?

“The usual question I’ve been approached with is people coming up to me and going, ‘How can you play Number Of The Beast?’ Well, ’ang on, it’s a story. If you look in the Book of Revelation it tells you about all that, all that grief, all that business. And that, by the way, was a song written from a nightmare that Steve had.

“And my opinion is, well look, one of the greatest tricks the Devil ever pulled was making you think he didn’t exist, and I can tap people on the shoulder and say, ‘I’m not glorifying him -- if I was then I wouldn’t be Christian.’

“Because I understand, and most Christian people understand, that sin is the Devil’s domain, and the ultimate sin is death, but we have a way up, and that’s where your faith and your Christianity comes into play. Sometimes I’ve had an opportunity to talk to people about my faith, and what I feel, and maybe that’s the way the good Lord’s working with me.

“To still be able to be in such a great band, where people think we’re demonic or Satanic, most people that know and have a modicum of sense and intelligence knows that not to be true. It doesn’t take an Einstein to listen to the records and listen to the lyrics of the songs to know what’s going on.

Okay, so Eddie’s the mascot of the band, right? And he’s a… sort of… well, he’s a demon, you know! He’s whatever you want him to be, you know? I mean, listen here, look at the number of the Beast, here he is, the Devil’s the puppet! But you know, we’re not glorifying Eddie as being evil. It’s just … he’s just a cartoon character.

“But people can look at that and say ‘wait a minute, Nick, ’ow can you say you’re a Christian, you’re playing in a band that’s got this kind of stuff going on?’

“But when you become a Christian, you don’t become sinless, the idea is to sin less. We’re all sinners, we’re never going to be clean till the day the good Lord is standing in front and judgment comes, but to me, I try to live my life, I do fall off, and occasionally I fall off hard and I have to get down on my knees and beg forgiveness, so it’s not an easy ride, and it’s not professed to be either.”

Has Nicko tried converting any of his fellow band members to his faith?

“We’ve had some incredibly deep conversations amongst each of us,” McBrain said. “I can’t say to you that I’m trying to convert all these guys in my band to be Christians. I’m leading them on my route, and if they choose to follow what God’s plan is in the Bible, that’s up to them. I say to them all, you know, look, in my belief, at the moment, if you turn to your saviour Jesus Christ, I’ll have eternal life in Heaven with you! … We don’t talk about it every time we get together, but we’ve had some interesting conversations over the years.

“I truly praise the Lord for being able to carry on with this band, and the blessings that we have to be able to make this kind of music, and still go out there and turn young kids’ heads and they go ‘Crikey, these guys can play! They might be old farts, but listen to that!’

And, as McBrain points out, the band has bucked the trend of rock music by not having a dead member in its past despite nearly three decades in the business.

“The legacy here is that you can actually talk to each member of the band, you know? It’s not posthumously. We’re still around, and I praise the Lord again for that, and maybe I’ll go tomorrow, but the thing is that the passion that we have is to play this music, our music, together as a band, the six of us.”

And best of all, he adds, “I’m still the best-looking one in the band.”

IRON MAIDEN Artist DEREK RIGGS - New Book Featuring Artwork Now Available For Pre-Order


Just a reminder that the new Derek Riggs art book entitled Run For Cover is now available for pre-order in the shop section at Riggs' official website http://www.derekriggs.com/shop.asp . The book was written by BW&BK scribe Martin Popoff and features large numbers of pictures by Riggs from his long career. It is available in both hard and soft cover editions.

IRON MAIDEN - Another Tokyo Show Added


The official IRON MAIDEN website has been updated with the following message:

"With the Budokhan already close to sell out Iron Maiden have announced a second Tokyo show at Tokyo Forum on October 28th.

If any fans wish to travel to Japan for this show tickets can now be purchased via mosaicodiffusion.com ."

Iron Maiden's complete tour schedule can be seen here. http://www.ironmaiden.com/index.php?section=2&subsection=1&article_type=TO

IRON MAIDEN - More Tickets For Bergen Show Available

More tickets are available for IRON MAIDEN's show in Bergen, Norway on November 23rd at the Vestlandshallen. According to the band's website, "The venue capacity has been increased from 8000 to 10,000. The first 8000 having sold out in an hour last February!!! These 2000 additional tickets for the show on November 23rd are now available from the usual outlets." Iron Maiden's complete tour schedule can be viewed here. http://www.ironmaiden.com/homepage.php?section=0&subsection=0

IRON MAIDEN: People Will Be Literally 'Blown Away' By New Live Show -

IRON MAIDEN are due to kick off their hugely aniticipated world tour in the U.S. next Wednesday (October 4) in Hartford, Connecticut

The band's new album, "A Matter of Life and Death", has already achieved tremendous chart success and critical acclaim all over the world, including their highest-ever chart position in the U.S., No. 2 in Canada and No. 1 on the Pan-European chart. Sales of tickets across the shows in North America have reflected the reaction in Europe where most the shows are already sell-outs. Boston and Philadelphia are already sold out and most of the other shows are rapidly heading for sellout.

Says vocalist Bruce Dickinson:
"We've been working really hard in the last few weeks to make sure that the show and production on this tour is going to make people's jaws drop. The music will be incredibly intense and our production team has worked incredibly hard to ensure the stage show will share that same energy and excitement. We've enjoyed a brilliant reaction to the album from everywhere and basically we're all just itching to get out there and play it."

Adds the band's manager, Rod Smallwood:
"IRON MAIDEN has always been renowned for its exciting and spectacular stage performances and this tour will certainly not disappoint our fans, both new and old. The reaction and feeling around this album for the band has been nothing short of amazing and they're all charged up to deliver something very special this time around. I was down at music rehearsals last week and the band are really pushing themselves hard, which I believe is a reflection of the power, energy and intensity that can be heard on the new album. Although I can't reveal what the set will contain I think a lot of people will be literally 'blown away' by this show. Personally I can't wait to see it next week!"

The show in Hartford next week is the beginning of a three-month world tour that visits major venues in the USA, Canada, Japan, and then finally two months of dates in Europe, finishing in London just before Christmas.

"A Matter of Life and Death" has sold 88,000 copies in the United States since its Sept. 5 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

IRON MAIDEN Drummer To Appear On The Classic Metal Show Saturday

The Classic Metal Show, heard live on Saturdays from 9pm to 3am EST and available online exclusively at www.theclassicmetalshow.com, have announced that legendary IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain will be joining the show on Saturday, September 30th. Nicko will be checking in to talk about their latest release, A Matter Of Life And Death, as well as the band’s upcoming world tour in support of the album. A Matter Of Life And Death was released on September 5th, 2006 in the USA, and has currently sold over 88,000 copies. Also scheduled to appear on the show are Century Media Recording artists BRAND NEW SIN and Auburn Recording artists WRETCH.

IRON MAIDEN

"Different world" sera le second single de IRON MAIDEN, extrait de l'album "A matter of life and death".
Sa date de sortie est programmée pour les 13 et 14 novembre respectivement en Europe et aux USA.

IRON MAIDEN a joué entièrement le nouvel album, "A Matter of Life and Death",pour le 1er concert aux US hier 4 Octobre à Hartford, Connecticut. setlist :


. Different World
. These Colours Don't Run
. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
. Pilgrim
. Longest Day
. Out of the Shadows
. Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
. For the Greater Good of God
. Lord of Light
. Legacy
. Fear of the Dark
. Iron Maiden
---------------------
. 2 Minutes to Midnight
. The Evil that Men Do
. Hallowed Be Thy Name

IRON MAIDEN - A Matter Of Life And Death Certified Platinum In Finland

EMI Finland has announced today that the new IRON MAIDEN album, A Matter Of Life And Death, has been officially certified platinum in the Finland for sales in excess of 30,000 copies. The album stayed in the number one spot for three weeks and latest chart position is #3. As reported earlier today, Iron Maiden frontman BRUCE DICKINSON has scheduled an appearance on MusiquePlus on October 10th. Full details on Bruce's appearance can be found at the MusiquePlus website, www.musiqueplus.com .

(Thanks Maidenfans.com)

IRON MAIDEN Manager Checks In AGAIN From Hartford!

Rod Smallwood, IRON MAIDEN's manager, has checked in from Hartford, CT again, following the band's debut performance on the A Matter Of Life And Death World Tour:

"Its early Thursday (October 5th) and l am trying to get this to you all before we leave for the drive to Boston. And l have a bit of a sore head as we had a bit of a post first gig celebration at the Irish pub again. Anyway to what you want to hear about the first show last night. Basically it was amazing. Everything worked (which on a first night is always a massive bonus) and the band played really well - they obviously did enough rehearsal to be ready!! Yes we are playing the whole album start to finish with 'Different World' being the set opener. And personally l loved it - but its no secret what l think of the new album! its the best! We followed this with 'Fear Of The Dark', 'Iron Maiden' (of course) then '2 Minutes To Midnight', 'Evil That Men Do' and 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'. l won't go into detail on the show itself as it would spoil it for you but the set, lights and "special effects" (aka what Eddie did next) are really stupendous. It's as good a show as we have ever done. and the reaction of the Hartford crowd was l am sure the best we have ever had there - and we have played there many times including opening our 2003 tour there too (so thanks to everyone who turned up for us)

After the gig we invaded the Irish pub - McKinneys ??? - all the band, tour managers, a couple of Bullet (who went down really well which is good to see ) various friends who came along for the first gig from all over America, some guys from our label and Jimmy from Best Buy.

Nicko has already gone off to Boston to get in a round of golf and tonight we are all going out for dinner then tomorrow is Boston which has been sold out for a couple of weeks, it will be the first time we have played in the actual city for many years as we have tended to play around there like Worcestor. Its a new basketball arena and l am told by our agent its a terrific gig, we know Boston is a great metal town and has always been good to us so definitely looking forward to it."

(Thanks MaidenNorway.com)

IRON MAIDEN Manager Checks In From Boston

IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood has checked in from Boston, MA after finally sorted the problems with his laptop. Here's his latest update from the boys on the road on the A Matter Of Life And Death World Tour:

"Yesterday was a pretty quiet day as a day off. l had the same online problems trying to work in the morning so more frustration. We drove to Boston at around midday - Nicko (McBrain) went off earlier to get some golf in. I was with Steve (Harris) and Bruce (Dickinson)and we chatted over some ideas for the future which is always fun, some good ones too but l am not going to reveal them now!

Drive took a couple of hours. Much better hotel in boston, got some lunch then set up laptop to work and .....isnt life great sometimes, it fired up online straight away when connected and at a really good speed. It makes such a difference when l am getting a lot of large files with art, film clips or photos and makes a huge difference to how you feel. Anyway pretty boring stuff for you all so lets move on.

Went out to a couple of bars near the hotel in the eventing with Steve, Gaddsy and a couple of Steve's mates from around here. Typical non-eventful day on the road really. Its really not that glamorous a lot of the time and we dont really get into the rock star lifestyle, whatever that is. We have been to a lot of these cities many times so know them pretty well and the band tend to spend time with people they have met there over the years. Friends in many ports l guess.

Woke up really early - jet lag l suppose - and basically have sat around for 12 hours just catching up on a load of stuff on the phone and laptop so I can get a break over the weekend. Must get to the gym tomorrow. Thank god its a gig tonight - some action again!! Very much looking forward to it. The first 3 shows are a bit smaller than usual as they are really warmups - it takes a gig or two for the band to start gelling, especially with complex material like the new album to play, but any set with a lot of new songs takes a while to really get there. Not that its sloppy, its just a matter of fact. That's why we usually do some smaller gigs first. Hartford was about 6000 capacity and was close to sell out but Boston (6000) and Camden near Philly (7300) have been sold out for a week or so.

About time to go so will jump in shower and get ready to for another bombardment of all the senses. More tomorrow about the gig - lets hope it goes well!!!"

(Thanks MaidenNorway)

IRON MAIDEN Manager Checks In From The Road

IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood has checked in on the road on the North American leg of the A Matter Of Life And Death World Tour:

"So we went off to the Boston Airport to pick up out new transport for the next week or so – and what a beauty it is – 9 seater Gulfstream 200. We started traveling by private plane a few years ago and it makes a massive difference to the comfort and ability to tour. We really don’t want to be crammed on a tour bus anymore- did enough of that in the past – and as we all know with all the security aspects flying commercially is a real pain. The first time we toured over here by private plane was when Bruce (Dickinson) flew Steve (Harris), Nicko (McBrain) and l in his own Cessna and that was great fun as we got to see USA and Canada from coast to coast at 1500 feet. Dave (Murray), Jan (Gers) and H – the tres amigos – went scheduled as the Cessna was only a 5 seater!! Since then we have gone by jet. We need a 9 seater for whole band, myself, our tour manager Ian and his assistant Gaddsy. So anyway got on the plane to be told there was an hour delay due to the amount of air traffic heading for Philly so we sat back and had something to eat and drink. The pilot used to fly F16s which of course fascinated Bruce and l have to say the take off and landing was by far the fastest any of us (except Bruce!) had experienced.

Got to gig at about 6. checked in with Dickie our Production Manager – everything fine. Had a look at hall – we have played here a few times but not in winter with the lawns closed off. In America the “sheds”, as they tend to be known, are permanent auditoriums with large stage and generally good backstage facilities . They have a roof covering anything up to 12,000 seats with a lawn behind which can hold up to another 10,000 or so quite often. The Camden one holds about 7,300 seated and in the winter a wall is put up behind the seats cutting off the lawns and enclosing the venue. This was the same at Hartford which was also a shed. Verizon in LA coming up Oct 21 is a shed too but because of the good Californian weather the lawns can remain open to give it a total capacity of about 16,000.

Anyway this show has been sold out for a week or so. I walked round outside with the audience and had a beer just getting the feel. You can often tell how a gig will be by the atmosphere of the audience beforehand and here there was a very good “up” vibe – so l reckoned it would be a really good night.

Watched all of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE who went on at 7.30 and did 40 min. They played really well and went down well with the crowd, the majority of which was in to see them. Check them out if you get chance.

Anyway we went on at 8.35 to an enormous cheer. It really was a good gig – thank you Philly. Even better l found out after that the band were really happy with the onstage sound so what the crew did must have worked. The onstage sound from monitors and to some extent PA is crucial – if you cant hear yourself play or sing it is very tough and hard for the guys to enjoy it. So that was great news. Unfortunately the major “special effect “ didn’t work due to power problem which is a real shame as its just brilliant. I won't specify so as not to blow it for the rest of you (although no doubt the whole detail of our show is probably on the web somewhere by now!) but l felt sorry for the Camden audience to have missed it. But they sure seemed to enjoy it a lot anyway.

After the show it was straight off stage into the cars and off to the airport to fly up to Quebec though we had to land in Montreal on the way for customs clearance which fortunately at that late time was pretty quick. This way we can have a full day off without traveling – a Sunday too which is always good. We had a bit of wine on the flight and as the onstage sound was so improved the band were in great spirits and we had a good laugh between us on the 2 hour flight. I guess we got to the hotel at about 2am but not so sure.

Had a good lie in then got up and went to breakfast at the top of the hotel – beautiful views of the city, the Heights of Abraham and the St Lawrence Seaway from there – this is such a beautiful city, we really like it here. I told you about the audiences yesterday – mad for it!! And if you are reading this hello to the Quebec Beaver club and yes l will be wearing your Where Beavers Dare T shirt for the gig!!

Got problems again with IT. Its wireless only but l can get on with a vodaphone G3 card. Can get on internet and open VPN but my Outlook which l use for emails just wont bloody well open so frustration again. So this and the photos may be a bit late though l am going to try and use a portable hard drive and get Gaddsy to send them. Here's hoping.

Enough for now. As no gig til tomorrow you won't hear from me til sometime Tuesday at the earliest."

(Thanks MaidenNorway.com)

nouveaux show de IRON MAIDEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSD_JQuZuM8

IRON MAIDEN - Tonight's Montreal Show A Sell-Out
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13,980 fans have crammed into the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC tonight (October 10th) to watch UK legends IRON MAIDEN on the second Canadian stop of the A Matter Of Life And Death World Tour. The setlist for tonight's show is as follows:
'Different World',
'These Colours Don't Run',
'Brighter Than A Thousand Suns',
'The Pilgrim',
'The Longest Day',
'Out Of The Shadows',
'The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg',
'Greater Good Of God',
'Lord Of Light',
'The Legacy',
'Fear Of The Dark',
'Iron Maiden'.
Encore:
'2 Minutes To Midnight',
'The Evil That Men Do' and 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'.

Maiden live in Camden, NJ from October 7th,




Upcoming Iron Maiden live dates can be viewed here. http://www.ironmaiden.com/homepage.php?section=0&subsection=0

video du dernier album mise en ligne sur you tube : different worlds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caMBtJbnpIA

IRON MAIDEN - Pictures From Montreal And Quebec Shows Available

Courtesy of MaidenNorway.com, pictures from the IRON MAIDEN's recenty shows in Montreal and Quebec are now available. Click on the following links:
Montreal, http://www.maidennorway.com/content/view/367/1/
Quebec. http://www.maidennorway.com/content/view/366/1/

The remaining dates on Maiden's North American tour are as follows:

October
16 - Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON
17 - Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI
18 - Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL
21 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA

As previously reported, The Gauntlet ( www.thegauntlet.com ) recently issued the following update:

"Iron Maiden's video for it's forthcoming single 'Different World" has been immediately added to MTV2 and will make it's television debut on T-Minus Rock next Monday, October 16th.

The show airs on MTV2 Monday through Friday at 11 AM. The video will also be available for streaming on MTV2.com and via MTV wireless on Monday as well. The stunning animated video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh - best known for SOUNDGARDEN's 'Black Hole Sun'.

In true Maiden style and to satisfy intense fan demand, a series of short action-packed clips from the video are being previewed via their website, www.ironmaiden.com, the week up to Sunday, October 15th when the full promotional clip will be exclusively revealed first to their fans before the worldwide premiere on Monday, October 16th.

Iron Maiden have five dates remaining on their highly successful sold-out North American tour. The band will travel to Japan next, before heading to Europe to bring A Matter Of Life And Death to the rest of the world."

IRON MAIDEN To Tour Cross Canada Next Year?


IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson announced at tonight's (October 16th) Toronto show at the Air Canada Centre that the band will tour across Canada next year. "This is the largest crowd we've played to in Toronto in a number of years," Dickinson said happily from the stage. "We will be back to tour Canada next year," he added. Close to 11,000 people witnessed the show - which followed the previous Canadian dates which were sold out in Quebec City, QC (on October 9th) and Montreal, QC (on October 10th).
The setlist for tonight's Toronto show was as follows:
'Different World',
'These Colours Don't Run',
'Brighter Than A Thousand Suns',
'The Pilgrim',
'The Longest Day',
'Out Of The Shadows',
'The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg',
'Greater Good Of God',
'Lord Of Light',
'The Legacy',
'Fear Of The Dark',
'Iron Maiden'.
Encore:
'2 Minutes To Midnight',
'The Evil That Men Do'
'Hallowed Be Thy Name'.

Reality TV Is About As Enjoyable As Snuff Films For IRON MAIDEN's BRUCE DICKINSON

Dose.ca ( www.dose.ca ) has issued the following report from Heather Adler:

Metal originators IRON MAIDEN don’t exist in the same musical world as any other band: on planet Maiden, singer BRUCE DICKIINSON is king, trends don’t matter, media support is unrelated to success and creativity trumps reality-TV ideals.

The metal mavens with a 30-year career saw their new record, A Matter of Life and Death, debut at No. 2 in Canada and No. 1 in 10 other countries, a feat defying all the physics of mainstream musicology. Surrounded by pop tarts like Justin Timberlake and new-wave stylists like The Killers, Maiden is a novelty: they’re a band completely removed from popular culture; they’re a band that’s largely ignored by the media; they’re a band that shuns reality TV instead of riding it to mega-success; they’re a band that’s sold more than 70 million albums; they’re a band with staying power.

“We’re very different and we do exist outside what you might call the mainstream of pop music. We even exist outside the mainstream of what is metal music,” Dickinson explains in his charming British accent. “Iron Maiden is a band that’s created from the street, and people scratch their heads and don’t understand that because very few bands are created from the street these days. Most bands are created by industrial light and magic in studios. Even musicians themselves, sadly, acknowledge if they want to make a living in this day and age, they have to tailor what they do, get the right haircut, wear the right clothes, all that kind of stuff. Maiden is fantastic because we’ve never given a shit.”

Dickinson says he feels sorry for bands raised in today’s “cult of celebrity,” but he’s even more disturbed by American Idol and reality TV trends that make a mockery of artistry and result in careers that last approximately 15 minutes.

“I just think reality TV showcases all the lowest forms of human nature. In effect, it’s a freak show,” he rants. “Creativity is bound up in being eccentric, being different, not just giving the people what they want. What you need to do is to elevate things, to take things beyond the norm. Reality TV shows don’t encourage that whatsoever. They dumb everything down to horrible, uniform level of acceptable talent.

“The only people with less talent than the worst performers are actually the judges … The sight of all the judges back-slapping themselves like a pack of smug hyenas does nothing for me whatsoever,” he continues. “I know people like it, but so what? I’m sure people would like watching snuff movies, too, but that doesn’t make it right.”

Dickinson’s distaste for freak-show voyeurism has landed him in hot water in the past: at last year’s Ozzfest, Dickinson made a joke about reality TV that ignited Sharon Osborne’s rage. The metal mistress and wife of Ozzy took the mic at one show, called Dickinson a “prick” and later allegedly enticed people in the crowd to pelt the band with eggs, bottles, beer cups and, yes, spit. But Dickinson doesn’t care to focus on those unpleasantries — he prefers to live by what he calls “the Maiden lifestyle,” a culture grounded in music, creativity and exploring the world.

“Iron Maiden lifestyle is having the band somewhere in you, having a little birdhouse in your soul, as the Talking Heads would say, where you keep something special,” he explains. “Someone can come along and go, ‘Right, I want to get into the Maiden lifestyle,’ so they go into some rock ‘n’ roll store and buy all the T-shirts and memorabilia and come out looking like some metal drag queen, but that doesn’t make you more into the Maiden lifestyle … You can go to work in a suit, but in your head, you can be humming Iron Maiden tunes, and that’s great — it’s fantastic! How subversive is that? I think it’s great.”

Part of the Maiden lifestyle for Dickinson also includes being sensitive to the world around him. On the band’s venomous new record, A Matter of Life and Death, he observes many of today’s most troubling issues in his lyrics, exploring the root of religious-fuelled wars in “For the Greater Good of God” and weapon’s races in “Brighter than a Thousand Suns.”

“As a band, we’ve all got kids, and they all talk about this stuff. They’re growing up in this world dominated by fear, possibly fear that may or may not be manipulated by governments for its own ends,” Dickinson says of the inspiration for the political songs. “The last time this happened was the Cold War, when we were told all these scary things about the Russians for years, many of which were manifest and untrue. They said they had so many bombs and weapons, but actually, they didn’t until the very end when they caught up. Then, yeah, they really were dangerous. By then, we’d had 25 years of the Americans telling the Russians how dangerous they were and the Americans telling them they were going to bomb them into the Stone Age, so no wonder they caught up. No wonder they built lots of bombs. ‘Brighter than a Thousand Suns’ is about that, and that track is strangely prophetic with what’s going on with North Korea at the moment. All these things we write about are just reflections of things going on around us. We didn’t plan it that way.”

If only planet Earth was a little more like planet Maiden, maybe then music wouldn’t be an industry, the lowest-common denominator wouldn’t be the norm and everyone wouldn’t be so close-minded about the world. And, of course, metal would rule all. Who wouldn’t want to live there?

The Wild Side of Planet Maiden..

Not everything about Iron Maiden’s world is exactly ordinary. Here’s what singer Bruce Dickinson had to say about some of his stranger experiences living a crazy rock ‘n’ roll life:

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever signed?

"Somebody’s pet rabbit. Live, I might add. I thought they were joking because they produced this pet rabbit and asked if I could sign it. I signed its fur with a marker."

What has been your most embarrassing onstage moment?

"Somebody in Spain had actually stolen my trousers out of my dressing room. We were shooting a video at these shows, and we’d filmed all the close-ups the first night and the second night we were shooting all the far-away shots. I had to wander around and try to find myself a pair of stretchified, leathery-type rock star pants, which chances were about zero of getting. We found some women’s clothing store that had some patent-looking PVC things that you would wear to some cheesy Saturday-night disco. We thought we’d take those and put some crap on them and from a distance, it might look alright. So, I barely squeezed into them — they were tight. I got on stage and everyone was looking at me, just staring. I looked down and, well, they had split in just such a way that all my equipment was hanging out. We were in the middle of the show, so we had to carry on. The best I could do was put a piece of black gaff tape over myself. I’ll tell you, I’ve never had a Brazilian wax, but after the show, it came close."

Want to visit Iron Maid’s world? Enter http://www.dose.ca/contests/maiden/ for your chance to win a trip for two to see the band live in Stockholm — and get there on a private jet piloted by Bruce Dickinson himself. Dickinson tells us he's looking forward to meeting the winner and that he'll "have to invite them up to the cockpit and take some pickies," which we're guessing means pictures.

IRON MAIDEN - New World Tour Photos Posted

Norwegian IRON MAIDEN site Maiden Norway ( www.maidennorway.com ) has just published some photos from Iron Maiden's ongoing World Tour.

Check out the following photos from
Nassau http://www.maidennorway.com/content/view/390/1/
New Jerse http://www.maidennorway.com/content/view/391/1/

IRON MAIDEN - BRUCE DICKINSON Audio Interview Available

IRON MAIDEN vocal legend BRUCE DICKINSON was on with Meltdown of 101 WRIF in Detroit, MI earlier this month, where he talked about the band's new album A Matter Of Life And Death. The singer discussed its political overtones, what to expect from their new tour, his influences, the Ozzfest incident, and more. Listen to the 12-minute interview here. http://www.wrif.com/media/2006_10ironmaiden.asx

deux video clips live au Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York il y a peu, le 12 octobre, on été mises en ligne sur YouTube.com: "For the Greater Good of God" , "The Longest Day" (video) :

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKg9-9W-sk
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCeROfT3SEU

IRON MAIDEN fan site MaidenNorway.com has posted a couple of recent entries in MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood's online diary, which is available only to Iron Maiden Online Club members (official IRON MAIDEN fan club). Check it out:
Los Angeles, http://www.maidennorway.com/content/view/400/1/
Japan. http://www.maidennorway.com/content/view/401/1/
As previously reported, IRON MAIDEN's official video for its forthcoming single "Different World" has been posted online at this location https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caMBtJbnpIA . The stunning animated video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh — best known for SOUNDGARDEN's "Black Hole Sun".

Sanctuary Records will release "Different World" as a single in the U.S. on November 14, featuring Radio 1 Zane Lowe's "Legends" session of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "The Trooper" as B sides. These tracks have previously been used as B sides to "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg", which was released in Europe in August and although it was not eligible for the U.K. chart it reached No 1 in Spain, Sweden, Finland and Hungary.

IRON MAIDEN's new album, "A Matter of Life and Death", has sold 118,000 copies in the United States since its Sept. 5 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

IRON MAIDEN Promo Takes Flight With Bird Studios

4RFV ( www.4rfv.co.uk ) has issued the following report:

Animation production company, Bird Studios, has completed the latest promo for veteran rock band IRON MAIDEN.

Scripted by Howard Greenhalgh, ‘Different World’ is a bleak take on the Nature vs Science story and features an animated BRUCE DICKINSON, as he struggles to out-run the evil ruling power.

Built entirely in Maya and with a running time of over four minutes, it could be argued that the music plays second fiddle to the story that unfolds within Bird Studios’ detailed and complex work which takes the viewer on a roller coaster journey.

Bird explained: “The treatment from Howard [Greenhalgh] was extremely detailed – almost a film script – and required a very narrative led piece which gave us enormous scope to work with. We needed to present a grim and dark vision of the world, and create scenes that would hold the viewer as a‘real’ action thriller would do.”

Reminiscent of ‘Soylent Green’, ‘The Matrix’ and even bits of early ‘StarWars’, ‘Different World’ opens on a massive Eddie (Maiden’s archangel ‘mascot’), holding a planet in the palm of his claw. The camera then zooms into that world where Ian Bird and team have created a harsh, monochromatic and incredibly detailed cityscape, which seems to be growing before our eyes.

Howard Greenhalgh, Director, commented: “Whenever I walk through the door at Bird Studios, Ian and his team always know there is a challenge coming up. The brief was to create a future world that would (courtesy of Eddie) destroy itself. I referenced stylistic movies such as ‘Metropolis’, and ‘Soylent Green’, but stressed that we had to create a contemporary version of these, not simply emulate them. I hadn’t originally intended Bruce to be the star of the video, but the animators thought they could deliver him as the protagonist and I think it really helps the audience (fans) to engage with the storyline, and I’m sure Bruce had a laugh when he saw his awesome agility (although he’s one hell of an athlete in real life). The guys at Sanctuary gave us enormous freedom to ‘go with it’. This kind of confidence is very rare in these controlling days within our industry. They wanted the next step from ‘Wildest Dreams’ – the previous promo from Ian and his team – and Bird Studios have pulled off a miracle to deliver so much in so little time. Not just a small step, in my opinion they jumped a whole staircase.”

Beautifully paced, the film consists of a number of complex shots, such as Dickinson throwing himself through a tiny hatch, before the camera pulls away and we see him swinging 1,000ft off the ground, clinging to the side of a colossal skyscraper, then falling to bounce in the top of a Zeppelin air ship. Equally impressive is the level of detail and texture within the piece – as in one particular instance where the camera is speeding over an open sea.

‘Different World’ was produced using MAYA 8.0, Shake, Z-Brush, Paint and Photoshop and it took the animation team 8 weeks to complete.

Taken from the album A Matter Of Life And Death, ‘Different World’ will have its worldwide release on MTV and Karrang! on November 1st, 2006.

As previously reported, the official Iron Maiden website has been updated to include the video for 'Different World'. Check it out in the following formats:
Windows High, http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=4aee6f06-7681-43f8-a3bb-46b90e9f458e&delivery=stream
Windows Low, http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=7d680106-8da4-4265-9010-e02123234f88&delivery=stream
Real High http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=d5de3000-9c94-4471-b324-5374701dc1ff&delivery=stream
Real Low. http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=c77e0713-84a8-464a-917d-9c8d65913948&delivery=stream

IRON MAIDEN - A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The 'Different World' Video

Courtesy of Maidenfans.com, the following is an article from Digit Magazine on the concept behind IRON MAIDEN's new video for the song 'Different World':

Animation production company, Bird Studios, has completed the latest promo for veteran rock band Iron Maiden.

Scripted by Howard Greenhalgh, Different World‚ is a bleak take on the Nature vs Science story and features an animated Bruce Dickinson, as he struggles to out-run the evil ruling power.

With a running time of over four minutes, the promo for Different World was produced using Maya 8.0, Shake, Z-Brush, Paint and Photoshop – and took the animation studio eight weeks to complete.

"The treatment from Howard was extremely detailed – almost a film script – and required a very narrative led piece which gave us enormous scope to work with. We needed to present a grim and dark vision of the world, and create scenes that would hold the viewer as a real‚ action thriller would do," explains Ian Bird, animation director and producer at Bird Studios.

Reminiscent of Soylent Green‚ The Matrix‚ and even bits of early Star Wars‚ Different World‚ opens on a massive Eddie (Maiden's archangel mascot‚), holding a planet in the palm of his claw. The camera then zooms into that world where Bird and team have created a harsh, monochromatic and incredibly detailed cityscape, which seems to be growing before our eyes.

Howard Greenhalgh, director, continues "The brief was to create a future world that would (courtesy of Eddie) destroy itself. I referenced stylistic movies such as Metropolis‚ and Soylent Green‚ but stressed that we had to create a contemporary version of these, not simply emulate them. I hadn't originally intended Bruce to be the star of the video, but the animators thought they could deliver him as the protagonist and I think it really helps the audience (fans) to engage with the storyline, and I'm sure Bruce had a laugh when he saw his awesome agility (although he's one hell of an athlete in real life). The guys at Sanctuary gave us enormous freedom to go with it‚. This kind of confidence is very rare in these controlling days within our industry. They wanted the next step from Wildest Dreams – the previous promo from Ian and his team – and Bird Studios has pulled off a miracle to deliver so much in so little time. Not just a small step, in my opinion they jumped a whole staircase."

The film consists of a number of complex shots, such as Dickinson throwing himself through a tiny hatch, before the camera pulls away and we see him swinging 1000ft off the ground, clinging to the side of a colossal skyscraper, then falling to bounce in the top of a Zeppelin air ship. Equally impressive is the level of detail and texture within the
piece – as in one particular instance where the camera is speeding over an open sea.


As previously reported, the official Iron Maiden website has been updated to include the band's new video, for their track 'Different World'. Check it out in the following formats:
Windows High, http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=4aee6f06-7681-43f8-a3bb-46b90e9f458e&delivery=stream
Windows Low, http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=7d680106-8da4-4265-9010-e02123234f88&delivery=stream
Real High, http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=d5de3000-9c94-4471-b324-5374701dc1ff&delivery=stream
Real Low. http://exodus.interoutemediaservices.com/?id=c77e0713-84a8-464a-917d-9c8d65913948&delivery=stream

'Different World' is the second single from Iron Maiden's new album, A Matter Of Life And Death.

IRON MAIDEN, ROD SMALLWOOD Part Ways With Sancturary

Yahoo! Music ( uk.news.launch.yahoo.com ) report:

IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood has quit troubled music management firm Sanctuary and taken the iconic metal stars with him.

Sanctuary - which was named after an Iron Maiden song - will continue as the heavy metal group's merchandiser and has also signed the band to a new recording agreement in the US for their album A Matter of Life and Death.

Mr Smallwood, who co-founded Sanctuary in 1976 and discovered Iron Maiden in 1979, inspired their song 'Sheriff Of Huddersfield'.

He will continue to manage the group at his new company Phantom Music Management and will be retained as a consultant to Sanctuary for an initial six-month period.

"It's obviously a bit of a wrench leaving Sanctuary after all these years, but at this time in my career and with the band's ever-increasing international stature it makes total sense for me to concentrate on developing the band's huge potential in the many areas of what is now a very complex and time-consuming business," Mr Smallwood said.

Chief executive Frank Presland said he was sad to see the band and Mr Smallwood depart, but "delighted to be able to continue with the band long term as their world-wide merchandiser."

Iron Maiden are one of the biggest-grossing bands in the world thanks to successful merchandising. Distinctive T-shirts featuring their iconic mascot Eddie are worn by multitudes of fans around the world.

Sanctuary issued a profits warning in June after trading at its record label failed to meet expectations. Its other co-founder, Andy Taylor, was sacked in May following an investigation into the group's accounts.

Earlier this year, Sanctuary was saved from collapse by a £110 million rescue package to help it recover from the disastrous acquisition of Urban Records from Matthew Knowles, the father of R&B diva Beyonce. Its share price has collapsed from a 828p high to 14p.

Sanctuary was recently the subject of bid interest from smaller rival Mama, but rejected its approach.