If you were Iron Maiden, how would you celebrate the recent brilliant news that frontman Bruce Dickinson had received a clean bill of health following his recent brush with cancer? Well, it’s not entirely what we expected, but the facts are clear – we’re now on a two month countdown a new Iron Maiden album!! That’s the best way possible to celebrate as far as we’re concerned, and we’re sure legions of Maiden fans feel the same way.
The new album has a most intriguing title, “The Book Of Souls”, and is set for release on the 4th of September via Parlophone Records here in the UK. The album was recorded late last year in Paris, back where the phenomenal Brave New World was recorded at the turn of the millennium – so all Maiden fans will be hoping for similar results! The Book Of Souls also has something very unique about it; It will be the first Iron Maiden album thus far to be a double album, clocking in at approximately 92 minutes long. It also features the longest Maiden song to date, the closing track Empire Of The Clouds, written by Bruce Dickinson which is over eighteen minutes long – we wonder if Bruce has been listening to some Dream Theater during his recovery!
Mr Iron Maiden himself, Steve Harris, has had the following to say about the process for The Book Of Souls:
“We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously. A lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs, they have almost a live feel to them, I think. I’m very proud of ‘The Book Of Souls’, we all are, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear it, and especially to take it out on the road next year!”
Not to be outdone or outspoken on any topic, particularly his own band, a fit and healthy again Bruce Dickinson also wanted to offer his thoughts:
“We’re really excited about ‘The Book Of Souls’ and had a fantastic time creating it. We started working on the album in late summer 2014 and recorded it at Guillame Tell Studios in Paris, where we’d done the ‘Brave New World’ album back in 2000 so the studio holds special memories for all of us. We were delighted to discover the same magical vibe is still alive and very much kicking there! So we immediately felt at home and the ideas just started flowing. By the time we’d finished we all agreed that each track was such an integral part of the whole body of work that if it needed to be a double album, then double it’s going to be!”
The full details of the album including the magnificent artwork by long time Maiden collaborator Mark Wilkinson can be found below:
Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls 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
Iron Maiden have suggested that their current plans will be to be back on the road sometime in early 2016 to allow Bruce Dickinson to complete a full recovery allowing him to perform to the very high standards that both he and the band as a whole have for their live shows. Further updates on all things Iron Maiden will be reported here as soon as we know more!
