rom Gkouliator and me...

Different Worlds
The Smith/Harris song that opens the record, and according to the latest maiden tradition, is the first single as well. It is a fairly fast, typical opening track for Maiden, of the kind that creates the impression that Maiden can compose in a few hours but anybody else needs a lifetime to compose the intro alone. The sound is heavier and rougher in comparison to DOD, the refrain with the backing vocals sounds easy to remember but not extravagant, while Bruce sings in quite a high register, reminding us of his self of many years ago. Good start…

Brighter Than A Thousan Suns
It starts with bass followed by a very theatrical Bruce. The main riff sounds very monolythic while soon it is clear why they use three guitars. Very good orchestration (I think they reffer to the guitars and not any orchastral parts). The speed builds up while the guitars draw pictures (Greek matter of saying). After a labyrinth of music parts there is a sing along part (oh,oh,oh get my point) and endless solos. The song gets back to the basic riff.Very good. Maiden seem to embrase the Brit prog rock without being too epic and exotic about it. The track really stood out.

Out Of The Shadows
Dickinson and Harris have penned the sixth song of the album, a ballady composition of 5:35 minutes, with a steady rythm and without infinite time changes, wwhich certainly represents one of the album's most accesible / direct moments. Bruce's performance overshadows everything while the solos are moderate [my comment: meaning in length, not in quality]. It may be the 2nd single, although it's quite mellow and simple for Maiden's standards. If they perform it live on the next tour, it will surely be one of the highlights - sore throats are forecasted...

For The Greater Good Of God
Starting with an acoustic intro with some beautiful leads, the song progresses into an epic monster with dozens of time and speed changes, while Bruce seems to enjoy every word he sings.The bridges are very good-with great emotion,while the numerous solos sound fantastic... as if each of the guitarists seem to pay tribute to his guitar idols. The song is really majestic and seems to materalise the image that Steve has for maiden nowadays. As maiden as it gets.

General Description of the album:

Most of the other songs are based on the usual known to all motive of lenghty compositions, acoustic intros and intricate evolutions of the songs. That which stands out with the first listen is the unprecidented work from the 3 guitarists as well as Bruce's performances to the limit. In general, the album sounds a click heavier and dryer than the last one, with the songs having a more progressive approach, without lacking some direct moments, while the moments when the songs evolve to elevating epics are not few. Something else that needs to be pointed out are the lyrics, which often reffer to war and God.

Interview

On the album there are some direct songs but the biggest part of it seemed especially intricate and demanding. I am under the impression that you are trying to rediscover British prog rock from one album to the other…

[Dave : ] The truth is that there is a lot of stuff on the new album, many notes and many intricate passages. You know, it’s natural for us. Maiden are one of the few bands that have the luxury to do exactly what they want to. In our last 2 albums we came very close to progressive and that came out naturally, we didn’t intend it to be so. The same thing happened with this album. The majority of the songs came out long and intricate and naturally we kept them because they represent Maiden. Steve always was a big prog fan and if you look at every album, especially from NOB and onwards, song like that are there. I think some of our fans are going to be surprised when they listen to the new album, they will find new elements, but they will also find stuff that will sound like Maiden from the first note.

Once more you worked with Kevin Shirley, a fact that tightens your relationship even more. Would you say that Kevin is evolving into a new Martin Birch for you?

[Adrian : ] Yes, I would say so. With Martin we used to work great on every level, not just the technical one. He could conceive what Maiden is and he could get the best from each one of us to surface. Yes, I could say that the situation is comparable.

[Dave : ] I would agree, the spirit during the recordings was quite similar to that which was there when we were recording with Martin. The most important thing is that the music goes down unforced. Martin has retired many years ago, so we couldn’t work with him again. Kevin is the best choice we could have made.

In Kevin Shirley’s diaries, he wrote that when he played you the final mixes even Adrian was happy. May I presume that you’re the most “difficult” of the band members, Adrian?

[Adrian : ] (laughs) People say that I’m a perfectionist, that I want everything to be perfect. Sometimes I am very adamant on a passage and I want to work it out again and again until it sounds perfect to my ears – and sometimes that fixation ends up being silly. The last two albums were recorded quite fast and in some occasions I believed that some things were not perfect. You know, lengthy songs, 3 guitars, many solos, I was always under the impression that something slipped by me. So, when we finished working on the new album, I had a feeling that some things could have been done in a better way. Luckily, though, that changed when I heard the record, which I found flawless.

In the album there’s a song titled “The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg. Dave, you’ve cowritten this song with Steve. So who is this guy?

[Dave : ] Good question but I am afraid that I cannot give you an answer. Steve wrote the lyrics for this one and from what he told me, Benjamin is a person of his imagination, he is the mystery-man… We could run an internet contest to see who this guy could hypothetically be…

Did you use all the material that you compose for this album or were some of the songs rejected, which could be used in singles etc?

[Dave : ] Everything we wrote went on the record. We are not one of those bands which record 20-30 songs and then decide which will make it and which not. We work very hard on every song and we want everything to be perfect. For the new album we composed 72 minutes of music and nothing was left out…

[Adrian : ] …Except, of course, from the 4 covers we did which will end up in singles.

Well, which covers are these? You haven’t done something like that in a long time, even though in the old days you frequently covered songs from other bands.

[Adrian : ] Yes, what you are saying is true, but don’t ask me why, as I frankly don’t know. The songs we covered are “Tush” by ZZ Top, “Space Truckin’” by Deep Purple, “Angel Of Death” by Thin Lizzy and “Hocus Pocus” by Focus.

I’m am very curious as to Bruce’s performance on the last one…

[Dave : ] (laughs) This cover has no vocals, or better put, it doesn’t have the vocals one would expect to hear. Nicko handles some, but certainly not as you would expect to hear. You must hear it to understand. In general, we really like playing covers. We have our heroes and we want to honor them. When the recordings are over we jam on our favorite songs to relax, and if they end up sounding good, then we keep them…

This album, like all of your albums, is full of solos. Since you’re here, would you mind telling me how you decide who handles a solo and when?

[Adrian : ] It is not as difficult as it sounds. We all bring our suggestions, our solos and we try them all out. In the end we keep the best. There isn’t any kind of competition between us, for god’s sake… Solos are there to make the song sound more beautiful and we always have ideas as to how that will happen.

Steve Harris said that Maiden would cease to exist after they have released their 15th album. AMOLAD is their 14th; have you begun thinking about life after Maiden?

[Dave : ] Maiden’s break up is a reality that we will all have to face one day. We cannot close our eyes on this. In the old days, Maiden took up 100% of our time and for years on end we were in a cycle of “album-tour-album-tour”. In recent years this has changed. We have time for other activities as well and Maiden is only a part of our lives. Of course, I give us at least five years to come and don’t forget that there are the goodbye tours. The first, the second, the third and so on…

__________________________________________________
Meine Band:
http://www.wishingnightfall.de

Maiden sind Menschen!!!

The album can be catagorized in many ways, but if any adjective describes it well that would be "risky". "A Matter Of Life And Death" is generally complex, slow as well as epic, with very long songs and a lot of instrumentals, generally of a progressive vein, that will be very intriging to musicphiles, but that can be rather exessive even boring to those looking for a good riff and raw power. Maiden's new release is a continuity as far as "Dance of Death" is concerned (even though it takes the new sound to a new level) with production similar to "Brave New World's", very kevinshirlyish, and with little, if any, remnants of production a la Martin Birch. In other words the catchier and faster parts of the album have an air of "Brave New World", though its instrumental and ambient section follow in the steps of (and take it even further) "Dance of Death", specially in its more theater-epic-experimental cuts like "Paschendale", principal refrence and closer to the new "A Matter of Life and Death.

To put it in perspective, it is not an album that will satisfy those that call for a return to the bands classic sound, a ["glance"?] to short and direct compositions. The only example of an easy-listening hit is "Different Worlds" (and maybe "The Pilgrim), which was slated to be the first single though finally "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" seems to be the chosen track (awaiting confirmation from EMI). As soon as we recieve concrete information from the label pertaining to the chosen single we will let you know.

"A Matter of Life and Death" will convince few people at a first listen, it could even be considered boring, but it has very good songs that allowing them to grow on you will end up pleasing old and new fans alike. It frequently uses the formula intro-passage, slow-verse, mid tempo-chorus, fast-passage, long instrumental y slow-chorus, fast-passage, slow-outro, but if listened to carefully it has many hidden treasures. In fact, putting aside the fact that I'm a die hard Maiden fan for a second, I'll venture to say that it is possible many will lose their patience before the last song.

IRON MAIDEN have been able to surprise me in a way I never thought they were capable of doing with the 72 minutes of "A Matter of Life and Death", not only because of their compositions (we even find a ballad with acustic guitars in the vein of "Journeyman", that is reminecent of the music of trobadors),but also for Bruce's voice, experimenting with his voice, surprising for its smooth and delicate tones. It is precisely in the songs where he contributed to the writing is where he plays with his vocal chords the most and where his musical details or noticed more than ever. Bruce's shadow is extended, and its prescence is very palpable in "A Matter of Life and Death".

Another detail is the great prescence of keyboards, used in the most atmospheric moments as well as acompanying certain choruses. It is also curious (and a shame in my opinion) to see that Dave Murry only participated in the writing of one of the best songs on the album, if not the best, "the Reincrnation of Benjamin Breeg". It is also interesting to note that the only song he wrote is susceptable to being chosen as the single, in my opinion, there should be more Murray in future releases (which surely there will be). If the band led by Steve Harris entered progressive waters with "Dance of Death", en "A Matter of Life and Death" they have charged head on into that territory. Without a doubt this album is as risky as its title anounces, a matter of life and death. It will be loved or hated, a see little room for middle ground or indifference, a must have for die-hard fans of the band , that have followed its evolution since the beginning and don't complain about "Dance of Death (or in general of their post-Birch sound). I already side with the "Love it" camp which I'll join once I'm amazed on future listens.

As far as the songs go, we can't coment on more than four in detail (that is why I've practically refrained from citing song titles in this pre-chronicle of the album). Here go the chosen few:
"Different Worlds": It really is a different world from the rest of the album, it is the key to the entrance to an album which it hardly represents. The motive for it being selected as album openner (and not one of the ones nominated to be singles) is clear, for it is the shortest track on "A Matter of Life and Death", just a little over four minutes, and it is the track that opens the album in fresher and more accessible way to the listener whether old or new. it is also simply the best choice for radio. Quick hit, of powerfull riffs and characteristic double guitars, "Different Worlds" has a sound and style that can be found in the catchier songs of "Brave New World". In fact, both structure and chorus are very reminecent of the song "Brave New World". It oddly presents a rather "happy" chorus, not common for Maiden, that contrasts with the more sober and greater portion of the album. Attention to Bruce Dickinson's voice, huge.
"The Longest Day": Epic, like most of th album, describes the landing at Normandy. It starts with the usual sound of galloping guitars,that along with a repetitive bass shrouded in an atmospheric air remembers the moments of tension prior to the attack. The landing seems succesful in a catchy chorus, which will surely be sung a lot live, where Bruce Dickinson is once more unsurpassable. Like in the rest of the album, the song makes room for a long intrumental section, with progressive touches and a melodic cut. A mid-tempo song and majestic.
"Out of the Shadows": Without a doubt Iron Maiden's song where Bruce Dickinson's influence is more notisable. He is the main writer on this track. It is decieving at firstk for it promises to be very heavy with clean riffs, but it ends up detouring into a balad, where we again discover a Dickinson of unedited registers, as a minimum in an album of the Beast. Bruce must feel very happy and proud that he was able to sneak in a track more in the vein of his solo work than what one would normally find on a Maiden album. Similar, very similar to "Tears of the Dragon". His experimental character is also noticeable, demonstrating great originality and again surprising in guitar play in which we have never heard the current trio (nor the duos before that), impressive as background on the final chorus of the song.
"the Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg": Chosen (almost certainly, awaiting official confirmation from EMI) as the first single of the album, which, like I've said before, is the only song in which Dave Murray has taken part in the writing. With one of the most atmospheric and slow beginnings in the history of the band, "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" is a counterpoint of the darkest, decadent even, of the band with the most impressive riffs of the album. It is this contrast that gives magic to a song of perfect choruses, sensitive and that gives goosebumps. A song that stands out for achieved ambience, an exceptional musical journey, captained by the pilot Bruce Dickinson and his vocal experimentations. Imagen a rollercoaster of incredible ups and downs, that in its mid sections passes through a dark tunnel slowing down almost to a halt only to speed up from 0 to 100 as soon as it reaches the light again. That would be the perfect metaphor to describe "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". In its more than 7 minutes thre is also room for mid tempos, galloping riffs and for the tradmark dual guitars in the instrumental interludes. In a later interview I'll complete the rest of the songs. Even though the album deserves more than one listen to take it all in, my first impression is very positive, cheerful and I'm still surprised at the risk the band decided to take. Keep in mind that I'm the registered fan #14829 of Iron Maiden's Fan Club. After listening to the album the band made its way to the press room very calmly. The groups for the interviews were, since they couldn't be any other way, Bruce Dickinson by himself, Steve Harris by himself, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith together and to finsih up Janick Gers and Nicko McBrain. I had the privilege and pleasure to interview Steve, Dave and Adrian one on one. the content of said interviews will be published August 1st. Till then, Up The Irons!
Hector Prat
__________________________________________________
Meine Band:
http://www.wishingnightfall.de

Maiden sind Menschen!!!

Quelle: IMOC Autor: Ellie 'Little Trooper' Howlett (die hat die Competition gewonnen und konnte 4 Tracks vom neuen Album hören)

Little Trooper's Iron Maiden Report

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Competition winner Ellie 'Little Trooper' Howlett writes for IronMaiden.com...

After being collected by Laz & Sue at Cockfosters underground station in North London, we got onto the M25 to start the final part of our journey to the recording studio. As we tore down the motorway with the dulcet tones of Ken Bruce on Radio 2 in the background (Laz's CD player wasn't working) I was pretty sure I had never been so terrified in my life! Nothing to do with Ken Bruce obviously, but because I was on my way to interview Janick and Nicko!

We arrived at Hook End Sarm Studios just before lunchtime - a huge board featuring the crossed-guns Eddie told us we were in the right place! Once inside, we were lead into the studio to special 'listening points' where I was priveleged enough to hear the first 4 tracks of 'A Matter of Life and Death' (Different World, These Colours Don't Run, Brighter Than A Thousand Suns and The Pilgrim). By this point my brain was only functioning on a very basic level in anticipation of the upcoming interview (which was by now only about an hour away), so most of the details of the songs have escaped me. However, I do remember being completely blown away by how heavy the album was! It was nothing like what I had expected. Reading Kevin Shirley's Studio Diaries, I had expected something very progressive and maybe a little bit too soft for my taste, but the tracks I heard were seething raw power from every pore. This isn't to say that the songs were not progressive, because they were - maybe more than anything Maiden have done previously. It's just that the progressiveness was combined with a full frontal metal assault!

Whilst I sat outside enjoying the sun with Laz, Sue and my partner Alex, I was told the time for the interview was nigh. As I walked through the hall I noticed a board with all the Maiden member's names at the top, and their schedules underneath. Wait a minute - the other guys were here too? Surely not! But I had more important things to think about at that particular moment!

As I entered the room where the interview was to take place to say I was nervous would have been the understatement of the century! But the guys immediately put me at my ease, Janick shaking my hand and Nicko kissing me on the cheek. After a very nervous start, the interview began to progress very well - it became more of a sort of informal chat about the new album. Jan and Nicko were so friendly and down to earth it was impossible to carry on being frightened. Anyway, Nicko was loud enough to make up for any quietness on my part! So to all those who say you should never meet your heroes, I say you're wrong! You just need to have the right heroes!

After the interview we all posed for photos and then I went back outside to enjoy the free arcade games (yes, there were many perks to the day!). However, I hadn't long been out when suddenly Bruce appeared! He came over to say hello and have a quick picture taken with me, which was a complete surprise. But a good surprise, needless to say.

The biggest shock of the day had to be meeting Steve though! For those of you who know me this will come as no surprise, but to those of you who dont, I am a HUGE Steve fan! Meeting him was an absolute honour, and I am very pleased to say I did not babble incoherently or laugh hysterically, but managed to remain composed!

Towards the end of the day I was also lucky enough to meet Dave and Adrian and get my photo taken with each of them (by this point I'd had so many pictures taken I had begun to feel like a rock star myself!) After a last listen to the 4 tracks from the album, we set off for home, thus concluding the most exciting and unforgettable day of my life!

JANICK AND NICKO - INTERVIEWED BY ELLIE HOWLETT

EH: The title of the new album ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. I wanted to know who decided on the name and where the idea came from?

NM: I think it was Steve. We had two or three ideas which we were kicking a round, one of which was ‘A Matter of Life and Death’, and then Bruce came up with a title which we all thought was brilliant at the time. Then we decided to sleep on it for a few days but in the end we all decided that ‘A matter of Life and Death’ was the better title and so, it was a working title originally, which ended up being the best one. But it was either Bruce or Steve who came up with it. The content of the record is dealing with a lot of the issues of war - ‘The Longest Day’ is a well known account of war and ‘Brighter Than a Thousand Suns’ is about the H Bomb. Then there are other songs which deal with kind of the lighter side, but we all know that war generally means death, and death is the ultimate sin. But at the end of the day we’ve got other things to think about – life experiences etc. But in final answer to your question I think it was between Steve and Bruce…..

JG: It might have been Rod!

NM: It could have been. I dunno, it was just one of those situations where nobody really knows, it was just floated around waiting for approval. It could have been Drew (engineer at Sarm West Studio).

JG: It could have been Eddie!!LOL

NM: The titles are important….

JG: In the past we’ve tended to pick a song title as the name of the album, because sometimes a title will just leap out at you as the obvious choice, but it didn’t this time for some reason.

NM: Yeah, I think this is one of the first albums that we’ve not used a song title as the name of the album.

EH: Yes, I think that’s been mentioned on the chat forum.

NM: Yeah, so maybe it’s quite a historical fact from that point of view. But we did discuss about using a song title and went through all the names – ‘What about The Pilgrim? No, That doesn’t really work, sounds like Pilgrims Progress, can’t have that. What about The Legacy….mmm The Legacy, that’s not a bad idea, but we thought somebody else did an album called The Legacy….’

JG: I think calling it The Legacy would have hinted at this being the last album, and we definitely didn’t want that!

NB: Yeah, so that got dropped like a big pile of you know what!!! Then going on through the other titles we thought well we couldn’t call it ‘For the Greater Good of God’…. That would really be pushing the envelope. We can’t really call it ‘Lord of Light’, that’s a bit too much. There wasn’t really anything that would lend itself to a visual situation.

EH: OK, so you’ve got an album which reflects the good and bad side of life, is it something of a ‘concept’ album then?

NM: No it’s not! The only way I think that it’s got any kind of concept is the running order of the songs on the record is conceptual. But it’s not a message. It’s just a really great piece of music. From the beginning every song kind of lifts you up and when you get to the middle song which is a bit of a ballad, and kind of gives you a bit of respite, and you think phew, thank God for that for a minute, and then the onslaught of the final four or five songs really lift you up again. So to me that’s the only concept of the album.

EH: Are there any instrumental or acoustic songs on this album?

NM: Absolutely not. Although there are some acoustic passages.

EH: The ‘B’ sides are all covers. Am I right in saying that?

JG: Who told you about that?

EH: Oh, I just heard it somewhere.

NM: No that’s just rumour control.

JG: No. If we told you we would have to kill you!!

NM: No, seriously, I don’t really like to call them ‘B’ sides. I prefer to call it just an extra track. But the secondary track to a single release will always be a cover. Unless we do another ‘Sheriff of Huddersfield’ or ‘Black Bart Blues’ or ‘Roll Over Vic Vella’. Obviously ‘Twilight Zone’ is one exception, but I don’t think we would do that again.

JG: We are not a covers band, so when we cover someone else’s song, we don’t go away and learn it exactly. What we do is we listen to the track once and then go away and try to recreate what we felt from the track, so we’re not trying to out-do the band we are covering, but trying to do it in a Maiden way.

NM: And we always try to do the song justice. Obviously we don’t want to do someone else’s song and not do a good job of it. ‘Cos obviously we don’t want the person who wrote it to be thinking ‘Oh my God, what have they done to my song?’ We just go into the studio and have a good time.

JG: Yeah. It’s all for fun.

NM: We will sit in the studio and come up with some ideas of which songs to cover. Once we’ve decided, we will get hold of the tracks and then have a proper listen. Then everyone will go away and learn their own parts and then record it. 80% of the time it’s done in one take and we don’t spend a lot of time mixing it, other than maybe whack an extra guitar solo on and a bit of this or that here and there.

JG: Actually the covers we’ve done this time, there were no overdubs.

NM: That’s right. There wasn’t was there? Whereas the album was mixed as we went along and then just needed a bit of fine tuning, these cover songs were mixed as we played them, and Kevin Shirley said ‘Right, that’s it, that’s the mix for this song.’ All done and dusted.

EH: Do you have a personally favourite song from the album?

NM: My personal favourite right now is ‘Lord of Light’, but I can’t get ‘For the Greater Good of God’ out of my head. All the way round the golf course this morning, I just couldn’t stop singing it! (immediately launching into pub singer mode!)

EH: Perhaps you should have sung the song on the album…..

NM: I did!! LOL

JG: Yeah but the thing is. If we brought Nicko down the front to sing, all the women would go like wow. He would then straight away become the focal point of the band….the band would fall to bits….Bruce would have to be put to the back and that wouldn’t really work so….we let Bruce do all the live singing but Nicko really does it all in the studio!

NM: Yeah, Tom Jones would have to start worrying!!

EH: So Janick, which is your favourite off the album?

JG: It changes day by day. It really does.

NM: Also Janick wrote a couple of songs which are really excellent and my favourite one of those is ‘The Legacy’. The acoustic intro is just, how can I say, ehm, it’s a concerto! It’s a work of art. The last chord, I mean THE last chord is just ‘fuck my old boots, is it finished now! Can I have a rest!?) (Janick falls about laughing) Just listening to Jan’s guitar work is so super intense, I think.

JG: It’s an intense album.

EH: Yeah, from the four tracks I’ve heard I would agree. I think it is more progressive and far more heavier than previous albums.

NM: You’ve only heard the first four songs? Blimey you’ve got to hear the last six tracks!

EH: I wish I could!!

JG: Only the first four?!!!

NM: Blimey, the first four are just a teaser!! From those first four I think ‘Brighter Than a Thousand Suns’ is absolutely brilliant.

JG: It just gets better and better the more you hear it. It’s a very very intense experience to listen to it, I think. But the whole album gets better and better every time you listen to it. I don’t think many bands do that any more. People tend to want ‘instantaneous’ and then after a week they forget about it and then want the next instantaneous thing. But this album is deeper than that. There’s a lot of depth to it. It totally works as an album. It all finishes with some acoustic stuff, and as Nicko said, the last chord just makes you go pheeeww! And you feel you’ve listened to a piece of music which has lasted over 70 minutes long. It’s almost classically inspired.

NM: Yeah, that intro to ‘The Legacy’ definitely. I mean it sounds like there’s loads of guitars but it’s just the way Jan put the whole thing together, and then the whole band come in with a huge wall of electric guitar and you think whooaa, it just blows you away. It’s as though the overture has kicked in and it sounds frighteningly good!

EH: Nicko, how come you didn’t write any songs on this album?

JG: He did!! Ha Ha

NM: My writing contribution was more musical, like the drum parts to these songs etc. I really had a lot of input on this album. Usually the guys would come to and say ‘…..this is the sort of thing I would like you to do etc.’ But that didn’t really happen so much on this album. Although Steve had a couple of specific things he wanted from me. But a lot of the way I constructed the drum patterns and beats was my contribution to the writing aspect I suppose. In terms of bringing a song to the band, I flew over quite late into the writing period. And what had happened was, the guys already had ten songs ready to go. They had been getting together in various combinations to put the songs together. If we had needed eleven songs then I would have put my song into the mix as it was already mainly complete and it may or may not have been used. But the point is, we had these ten phenomenal songs! Jan had a couple more ideas, Adrian had a couple more songs ready and Steve had another three already written. So what is amazing is that we had too much material! Whereas normally we get to about eight songs and it’s ‘……er, anyone got any more ideas?’ So it wasn’t because of any other reason than we had enough songs already. But to be honest with the standard of the songs already there, I wouldn’t have even considered putting into the pot!

EH: So the Eddie with the crossed guns logo. Is that going to be the album or a single cover?

JG: No. But it will be used as part of the general concept of the album. But if we told you we would have to kill you again!! The artwork is pretty close but still not finalised. There are changes being made all the time, even with the stage production.

EH: Do you have much input into the artwork etc?

JG: Yes if you want to. Normally what happens is Rod will present us with all the ideas. We then discuss what’s good and what’s not so good. Then Rod will collate all the ideas we have all thrashed out and then he will sit down with Steve to thrash out the final look etc. Steve is the main man for that as he is very specific about what he wants, like colours and detail. With the stage set though, we all have our little likes and dislikes. For instance Nicko might say that the drum riser needs to be a bit bigger, or Bruce might have something wrong with the walkways etc. But they are things easy to change and we can even do it once we are on tour if a certain part of the production doesn’t work quite right within the look of the stage set.

EH: Are all the backdrops and scenery all finished yet?

JG: No. They are almost finished being designed but not painted yet. Things change all the time. In fact only yesterday we were still talking to our production manager about the stage flooring design. It’s very much an ongoing process. Alan and Chrissie Chesters who run Hangman, who have done our stage production for so many years now, do a fantastic job. They really know where they are going with Maiden stage sets, and always get things done at the witching hour after many last minute changes. We can always rely on them. Even down to the pre-production rehearsals when we saw the Eddie it just didn’t look or work right. It looked great as a model but it just didn’t work when it was full size. So they had to make another one which was used after a couple of gigs into the tour.

NM: We are pretty much set on where we are going with it. It’s really quite adventurous and I think people will be quite stunned when they see it.

JG: Actually I quite like it when it sometimes goes wrong. If everything is too slick it becomes too cabaret and polished for me. We shouldn’t be too polished. I think we should always walk that precipice, because when things go wrong that’s what makes it exciting.

EH: Yeah, the fans love that sort of thing.

JG: It gives them something extra to remember.

EH: So, Trivium are supporting you this time. How was it decided to use them as support act?

JG: I think it depends on who is touring at the time. Who’s got an album out etc. Then you look at what is available and who we think will fit the bill the best. I don’t really mind anyone supporting us, as long as it’s the right time for that band. Trivium tick all the boxes, so it’s good for us and good for them.

EH: Do you think they will pull in the younger fans? They definitely have a young fanbase.

JG: I hope it does. It should be great.

NM: We can’t just take a band out just because we might like them. You have to look at what they can bring to the tour. So the younger kids that might come to see Trivium may not have originally come to see us, but hopefully we can win them over as well. They are a good band, so if we are going on tour we may as well have a good band in support.

EH: Can you say what the first single is going to be?

JG: Not really ‘cos we haven’t fully decided yet.

EH: Big question. Will this be the last studio album?

NM: Absolutely not!

JG: If that was the case we would probably have called it ‘The Legacy’.

NM: There you go. I hadn’t thought of that but you’re probably right. We are not young kids anymore but this record has proved to me that we have still got immense music left in us. So it definitely won’t be the last. We will have the usual time off after the tour and then take things from there.

EH: One last question. Who is Benjamin Breeg?

(Loads of laughter from Jan and Nicko)

NM: We are not the two people to ask. You need to talk to Steve………………

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Fuck Trends! Fuck Posers!"
Jon Schaffer

Auszug aus einem Rod Smallwood-Interview (Quelle: Iron Maiden Fan Club, weitere Fragen/Antworten gibt es hier: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabber...ewsitemID=54681)

Question: What do you think about the new IRON MAIDEN album?

Rod Smallwood: "I am immensely proud of our new album. Steve [Harris] always says l am like an expectant father whilst they are recording and l always dread hearing a new album for the first time — in case l don't like it!! And they will never let me hear it until it's finished. No one hears a MAIDEN album before it's finished except the band, Kevin [Shirley, producer] and the studio engineers. Of course, l always have thought some of our albums are stronger than others, as one would, but that varies person to person. What l found difficult first time with this was that there was no real standout track — because they are all so strong, so well played, so interesting and so well arranged. Every time you play it you get more into it and find a new favourite. And there are no fillers. On most of our albums, l have thought a certain track was weaker, although l would sometimes find it was someone else's favourite. We all have differing tastes. On this one it really is a fantastic ride for the whole 70-minutes-plus, and l always get off most on the long tracks where the band can really extend themselves musically — and there are loads of long tracks on this album. Also the sound quality is stunning presumably as its now Kevin's third album with us and it just gets better as the band and Kevin get to know each other more and work more instinctively. This was recorded fairly quickly — we finished well before the expected time — and that's partly because it's so live. l guarantee it, you are gonna love it. But l suppose l would say that, wouldn't l?! But believe me, it's true."

Ich poste das einfach mal hier und im Thread für den Sound:

Der Iron Maiden-Boss und Bassist Steve Harris hat beschlossen, dass neue Album "A Matter of Life and Death" im Studio-Mix und ohne ein abschließendes Mastering zu veröffentlichen. Producer Kevin Shirley sagte dazu in einem Interview: "Einige Tracks könnten in den Höhen und Bässen noch ein paar Korrekturen vertragen, aber man weiß ja, wie misstrauisch Steve gegenüber Außenstehenden ist..."

http://forum.maidenfans.com/index.php?topic=12480.0

Da gibts Scans von einem Interview mit Steve im französischen HardRock Magazine...

auf der letzten Seite sind Lyrics-Ausschnitte von einigen Songs zu sehen

Aus dem Metalheart, Dank an Sascha:

Different Worlds ist ein typischer, kurzweilger Maidenopener. Bonanza läßt Grüßen. Die präsente Produktion überrascht. Dann geht es weiter mit Brighter Than A Thousand Suns, der ein schleppender, fast doomiger Song ist, sich aber nach einger Spielzeit als sich typisch steigernde Nummer entpuppt. Sehr schweres Riffing.
Nun folgt die 1.Single, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, wieder eine schwere Nummer mit Ohrwurrefrain. Guter Song, der bleibt haften. Als letztes folgt The Legacy, der auch den Schlußpunkt setzt. Auch dieser Song geht wieder in die Länge, beginnt mit ruhigen Gitarren, steigert sich in einem langen Instrumentalabschnitt. Erinnert stark an Paschendale vom letzten Album Dance of Death.

Unser 1.Eindruck ist gut,Iron Maiden wirken moderner aber dennoch klassisch, es wurde aber bewußt mit Riskio kalkuliert. Aber wer Maiden kennt weiß, dass man hier immer gute Qualität serviert bekommt.
Maiden sind Menschen!!!

In der Rock Hard Ausgabe August 06 fand ich diesen Artikel: Auf Leben und tod
Nein, 2 Dance of Death" war keine Glanztat- auch wenn das gros der Rock hard Leserschaft Maidenalben schon aus Prinzip abfeiert, weil Steve Harris und co. eben die wichtigste metalband in Europa sind. Trotzdem gigt es deutliche Qualitätsunterschiede, und " Brave New World", das grossartige Dickinson Comback, war sicher stärker als der Nachfolger, den auch die Band im Nachhinein als "nicht so toll" einstuft...
Das neue Studiowerk " A matter of Life and Death", das wir in den londoner Sarm Studios im Beisein der gesamten band und ihres Managers Rod Smallfort hören durften, ist eine 72 min. lange, überraschend progressive und sehr starke Scheibe geworden. Besser als " dance of death" ist das Teil allemal; ob das Niveau von " Brave new World" ( immerhin ein Album, was kaum Ausfälle enthielt) erreicht worden ist, will ich nach zweimaligen Hören nicht beurteilen. Fest steht, das maiden diesmal nicht den einfachen weg gegangen sind, sondern ein paar Experimente gewagt haben, die es seit " seventh son of a seventh son" in dieser Kompromisslosigkeit nicht mehr gegeben hat. So sind die meisten neuen Songs überlang und zum Teil recht sperrigausgefallen, was sie nach kurzer Eingewöhnung aber umso interessanter machen dürfte. Die Schwachpunkte, die " A matter of Life and Death" sicherlich auch enthält , sind eher die kürzeren, maiden typischen Nummern ( von denen es 3,4 gibt), die im Vergleich zu den epischen,langen, verspielten Tracks relativ uninspiriert klingen.
Des weiteren fällt auf, das viele Songs - nach dem Muster von " hallowed be thy name"- mit den verhaltenen , ruhigen oder melodischen Intro beginnen, sich dann über mehrere Themen hinweg aufbauen, bevor sie ( Der Steve harris Kreis schliesst sich) mit den Anfangsmotiv enden. Ob man dies als einfallslos und vorhersehbar oder als kultig und maidentypisch wertet, ist natürlich geschmackssache.Ich musste mich vor dem Probehören vertraglich verpflichten, das Album nicht vor dem nächsten Heft Song für song zu analysieren, darf hier aber zumindest meine persönlichen Highlights herausheben. Als da wären:
The Legacy:Der über 9 minütige abschlusssong des Albums ist der ungewöhnlichste und überrascht mit vielen gelungenen , unvorhersehbaren breaks und Dehnungen. Ich musste an das erste mal denken, als ich Phantom of the opera mit seinem damals völlig originellen, nie dagewesenen Aufbau hörte: All die maiden- typischenParts waren ja absolut neu und überraschtenjeden Metalfan, der straighte Songs a la Priest, motörhead,Kiss , Scorpions oder AC-DC gewohnt war. maiden galoppierten mit ihren völlig genialen Arrangements alles bisher dagewesene über den Haufen und waren von der ersten Minute an die neuen Helden.`the legacy`( tolle gesangsleistung von Bruce, der auf den neuen Album sämtliche Schattierungen seiner Stimme einsetzt)ist auf seine ganz eigene Art genauso mutig und innovativ wie seinerzeit " Phantom of the opera" und wird in Kürze ein neuer lieblingssong aller maiden fans sein. endlich hört man auch, das die Band mit 3 Gitarren aufgenommen hat!
'Out of the Shadows': Diese tolle Kitsch-freie powerballade erinnert von der Atmosphäre her etwas an das Dickinson- Solo- Highlights wie Tears of the dragon oder Man of sorrows und lebt von bruce ausdrucksstarker, enorm wandlungsfähiger Stimme. Ein relativ klar struckturierter song, der auf Anhieb begeistert.
' the reincarnation of benjamin Breeg': teile dieses für maiden Verhältnisse düsteren, wieder sehr abwechslungsreichen songs erinnern an Rime of the Ancient mariner. auch hier überragt Bruce, der sich im vergleich zu " Dance of death"enorm gesteigert hat, seine bandkollegen mit einer äusserst souveränen Gesangsleistung.
-------------------------------------------------

halb besoffen ist rausgeschmissenes Geld !

Cool! Schöner Text, danke fürs abtippen, Toby

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,845339,00.html

Scheiße, der erkennt das nicht als Link, die Kommas stehen aber wirklich in der Adresse. Wenn das mit dem Link nicht klappt, versucht es mal über das Maidenfansunited.com-Forum (Titel des Beitrag: "Some new info")

In der neuen EMP sagt Bruce (sinngemäß): Wir haben das Album in 9 Wochen aufgenommen. Der Sound auf AMOLAD ist der bisher beste von allen Maiden Alben.....

EMP sagt: Sehr progressives Album ! Maiden verdient Anerkennung für diesen mutigen und tollen Schritt !
__________________________________________________
Hand of Fate is moving and the Finger points to you!

Iron Maiden nehmen sich die Freiheit und zelebrieren ihre neuen Stücke in epischer Breite, stellen mehreren Nummern tolle Intros voran und lassen Sänger Bruce Dickinson die besten Linien seit weit über zehn Jahren singen.

EMP-Redaktion:
Wer den Vorgänger "Dance of death" aufmerksam studiert hatte, konnte ahnen, was Iron Maiden vorhaben. Der Titelsong und das fabelhafte "Paschendale" zeigte die NWOBHM-Legende bereits auf dem Weg in progressivere Direktiven. Diesen Schritt komplettieren Steve Harris & Co. jetzt allerdings in einer Konsequenz, die niemand von Iron Maiden erwartet hatte. Gerade mal zwei der neun Songs unterschreiten die Grenze von sechs Minuten, sechs Stücke dagegen lassen die gesamte Pracht über mehr als sieben Minuten erklingen, zwei sogar bis über neun Minuten. Die Musiker nehmen sich die Freiheit und zelebrieren ihre neuen Stücke in epischer Breite, stellen mehreren Nummern tolle Intros voran (die mitunter bis in die Tiefen von Wishbone Ash hinabtauchen) und lassen Sänger Bruce Dickinson die besten Linien seit weit über zehn Jahren singen. Krönende Höhepunkte des Albums sind das für Maiden ungewohnt harte "Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" und das finale "The legacy" mit monumentalem Ausmaß. Fazit: Ein Meilenstein-Werk! (Matthias Mineur / 03.07.2006)

Morgen kann man unter http://www.metal-hammer.de ab 13:00 die Beschreibungen aller 10 Songs des Albums abrufen. Im aktuellen Heft waren ja nur 4 Songs kurz besprochen worden.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Maiden and me on tour...

1998 - Essen Grugahalle
1999 - Essen Grugahalle
2000 - Birmingham NEC
2003 - Burgum Waldrock-Festival
2003 - Dortmund Westfalenhalle
2005 - Weert Bospop-Festival
2006 - Den Bosch Brabanthallen
2006 - Dortmund Westfalenhalle

to be continued...

So, wenn der Metal Hammer nicht aus dem Schuh kommt... Hier ein Review aus dem Kerrang:

1st things first,"maidentallica" on the offical board takes credit for this

THE GENERAL CONSENSUS SEEMS TO BE THAT THIS IS THE BEST MAIDEN ALBUM FOR A LONG TIME. WOULD YOU AGREE?
BRUCE:Yes. It's extremely good. We're really proud of it. It takes the band to a whole different level. There's lots of experimentation on it. It shows that we're not hostages to fashion. It's not like we've suddenly decided to go emo or anything like that. God forbid! It sounds like Maiden, but Maiden like you've never heard us before. It's really punchy. Nicko gets my man of the match award. His drumming is unbelievable.
THE ALBUM IS 70 MINUTES LONG AND VERY COMPLEX, BUT YOU FINISHED IN RECORD TOME. HOW DID YOU PULL THAT OFF?
STEVE:I don't know. It's been unbelievable. We booked the studio for three months and we finished within two. I think the preparation was good. The backingtracks went down like a dream. Working with Kevin Shirley was brilliant. He knows what he wants and what we want. We've tried so many recording techniques in the past that you wouldn't believe it, but I really think we found a way to recreate the live sound. It's taken us a few years hasn't it?
IT'S YOUR HEAVIEST AND ANGRIEST ALBUM IN YEARS. DID YOU MAKE A CONCIOUS DECISION TO GET MORE AGGRESSIVE THIS TIME ROUND?
STEVE:I can't really speak for anyone else, but not from my point of view. I think we have been edging that way anyway. On the last two albums there's been heavier and darker stuff.
BRUCE:It's heavy but without being self-parody. It's like all those gargling-with-razorblades bands, where each album sounds like a parody of the one before. It would be easy to go into "all men play on 10" territory but this album is so far away from that.It's pretty spectacular.
__________________

DIFFERENT WORLDS
Short, direct, bursting with catchy melodies and stronly reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, this is a classic Maiden album opener.
STEVEIt wasn't intentional when we sat down and wrote it but as soon as we finished it we thought, 'Thin Lizzy'. The vocals remind me a lot of Phil Lynott and the low melodies he used to sing. As soon as we finished this, I knew it was going to be a single.

THESE COLOURS DON'T RUN
This sombre paean to the soldiers of the frontline builds from a brooding intro into a series of dramatic riffs and a huge anthemic chorus.
BRUCEIt's positive, but in a sad way. We're putting a human face on people who fight wars for a living. It's about loyalty, integrity, not giving up and being prepared to sacrifice yourself for something that isn't selfish.

BRIGHTER THAN A THOUSAND SUNS
Based around a monsterously heavy, off kilter riff, this nine-minute colossus may be the heaviest track Maiden have ever recorded. And one of the best, too!
STEVEAdrian came up with the main riff, and it's a heavy one. It's powerful, with a lot of light and shade.. It sohuld be good live. They should all be good live.

THE PILGRIM
A Punchy mid-tempo album with an almost Egyptian feel to some riffs. Contains at least two jaw-dropping lead guitar breaks.
DAVE It's got a strange Arabian feel to it and also a kind of medievil vibe. In a way it takes us back to the Powerslave era. Janick does a superb solo halfway through. It was a really spontaneous performance.

The Longest Day
Effectively equal to Paschendale, this is another intense war epic. Dickinson's macabre poetry will send shivers down your spine.
BRUCE:It's full of powerful imagery. We're all in our late 40s and we grew up during the Cold War, in the shadow of the bomb. Then in the 80s we all went potty and had a party,but now the world is a dark place again. We're just reflecting that.

out of the shadows
Redolent of acoustic-tinged classics such as Remember Tomorrow and Children of the Damned, this is a sublime chunk of shape-shifting prog-metal.
ADRIAN: This is my favourite track on the album. It's laid back and proggy with a big chorus and lots of atmosphere. Sometimes it's hard to recreate our live sound in the studio but I think we got it right this time

TROBB
It might seem like and odd choice for a first single, but this sprawling feast of of unsettling atmospheres and massive Zed Leppelin-esque riffs is a real grower.
STEVE: The intro should make you feel uneasy, which is good. Any emotions you get from listening to music are good,This is a really different sounding song for Maiden. Who is Benjamin Breeg? Ha ha I'm not telling you!

for the greater good of god
Great Track. The longest track on the album is also one of the most powerful. Nine and a half minutes of pinpoint twists and turns, poignant lyrics and lashings of that timeless Maiden gallop.
STEVE: I'm not pro or anti religion, but I think that religion is in everyones life every day, whether they like it or not. A lot of terrible things have been caused by different peoples ideas of how life should be. This song is just asking why.

Lord of light
An elegant, edgy intro leads into a bruising onslaught of thunderous riffs, cunning tempo changes and an unforgettable soaring chorus. Dickinson sings his arse off.
STEVE: it's got a lot of aggression and melody. It's got a really fast bit that reminds me of "Only the Good Die Young". Classic Maiden ending too!

& the legacy
The proggiest track on the album begins with a sinister, folk-influenced intro before erupting into a storm of elaborate drama and bombast.
BRUCE: There's a lot of atmospheric bits and quiet intros on this album. The beginning of this song is relly creepy. "A strange yellow gas has played with our minds...". It reminds me of the film "Jacob's Ladder". It's really eerie stuff.

Kerrang then go on to say: "'A Matter of Life and Death' is out in early September through EMi Hopefully it stays August.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Maiden and me on tour...

1998 - Essen Grugahalle
1999 - Essen Grugahalle
2000 - Birmingham NEC
2003 - Burgum Waldrock-Festival
2003 - Dortmund Westfalenhalle
2005 - Weert Bospop-Festival
2006 - Den Bosch Brabanthallen
2006 - Dortmund Westfalenhalle

to be continued...

Mit ihrem neuesten Album A Matter Of Life And Death vollziehen Iron Maiden jetzt einen vor drei Jahren auf Dance Of Death begonnenen Schritt in Richtung Progressivität, den die Fans begeistern, die Medien interessiert aufhorchen lassen und die Kritiker zu Lobeshymnen animieren wird. "Ich denke, dass dieses eines der gelungensten Maiden-Alben aller Zeiten ist. Ich bin wirklich sehr stolz darauf", erklärt Sänger Bruce Dickinson zu Recht. "Hinsichtlich des Sounds ist es sicherlich unsere bislang beste Scheibe, und was die Songs betrifft: Es herrscht eine Intensität, eine gefühlsmäßige Tiefe in den Texten, die wir seit sehr langer Zeit nicht mehr erreicht haben. Es ist beileibe nicht so, dass wir es nicht immer wieder versucht haben. Es muss wohl an der Konstellation aus Sonne, Mond und Erde gelegen haben, dass uns diesmal ein solches Werk geglückt ist."
Einzelne Stücke hervorzuheben verbietet sich eigentlich angesichts der packenden Dichte, die dieses Album durchzieht. Dennoch schreit die siebenminütige Single ´The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg` mit ihrer stimmungsvollen Einleitung und einem der stärksten Gitarrenriffs in der gesamten Maiden-Historie geradezu nach einer gesonderten Erwähnung. Die Dynamik dieses ungewöhnlichen Songs und die packenden Gesangsmelodien fesseln den Zuhörer vom ersten bis zum letzten Ton. Zudem zeigen sich die Gitarristen Adrian Smith, Dave Murray und Jannick Gers als homogen eingespieltes Team, das geschickt zwischen Powerchords, mehrstimmigen Leads und atmosphärischen Harmonieparts variiert und damit für den treibenden Motor des Songs sorgt. Oben drüber thront die Stimme von Bruce Dickinson, ein gar königlicher Gesang, der mal eindringlich und geheimnisvoll dann wieder entfesselt und druckvoll klingt. In der langen Reihe großer Maiden-Hymnen wird ´The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg` nicht nur wegen seiner opulenten Spielzeit eine ganz spezielle Position einnehmen, sondern auch aufgrund der überaus intensiven und hymnischen Stimmung des Songs. Ein Klassiker, schon heute!

http://www.promoshow.de
__________________________________________________
Hand of Fate is moving and the Finger points to you!

Hier is nochmal der Original-Artikel aus dem Kerrang mit Fotos:
http://www.ironmaiden.com/Kerrang050806.jpg

Zum Thema Rock Hard:
"Eine Rock-Hard-Analyse der Scheibe und ausführliche Interviews mit drei Bandmitgliedern findet ihr in unserem nächsten Heft, das am 16. August erscheint."

Bin noch nicht ganz mit TROBB durch, aber ich glaube (und hoffe!), dass man danach noch in "Different World" reinhören kann (Track-Skipping is nicht möglich).

EDIT: Gna gna gna... nur TROBB zum Reinhören! :-(

aus dem Metal Hammer, hätt ruhig ein bißchen mehr sein können.


A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

1. ‘Different World’ (Smith/Harris) 4:17 Min.

Der geradlinigste Song des gesamten Albums: Von der Machart her in die ‘The Wickerman’-Kerbe schlagend, brilliert die Nummer mit einem eingängigen Kinderlied-Refrain Helloween’scher Machart.

2. ‘These Colour Don’t Run’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 6:52 Min.

Zeichnet sich von Anfang an durch eine recht progressive Rhythmik sowie ein Zwischenspiel in ‘The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner’-Manier aus. Typisch Maiden-mäßige Motivauflösung nach dem Refrain – Referenz: ‘Revalation’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Dance Of Death’.

3.‘Brighter Than A Thousand Suns’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 8:44 Min.

Extoischer Beginn à la ‘To Tame A Land’. Knietief bis düster gestimmte Gitarren, Dream Theater’sche Prog-Einschübe – aber auch immer wieder melodische Passagen im schnellen ‘Powerslave’-Galopp: Diese Komposition bietet eine abwechslungsreiche Strukturierung, wie wir sie seit ‘Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner’ kaum noch zu hören bekommen haben.

4.‘The Pilgrim’ (Gers/Harris) 5:07 Min.

Ungewöhnlich heavy rockend beginnend, dann an Fahrt aufnehmend – schließlich werden Reminiszenzen an ‘Be Quick Or Be Dead’ (freilich in einer entschieden exotisch-progressiveren Variante) wach. Zum Schluss kommt die Mitgröl-Fraktion bei ‘Fear Of The Dark’-verdächtigen Chören auf ihre Kosten.


5.‘The Longest Day’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 7:48 Min.

Die erstaunlich variationsreiche Rhythmusarbeit scheint in die Nähe von Dream Theater zu rücken – doch bevor dieses Stück zum „Proggie“ mutiert, bringt ein Stakkato-Riffing der ‘Where Eagles Dare’-Güte alles wieder ins richtige Lot. Eine bedrückende Stimmung (Referenz: einmal mehr ‘To Tame A Land’) lässt die Hommage an den D-Day (Landung der Alliierten in der Normandie) ausklingen.

6.‘Out Of The Shadows’ (Dickinson/Harris) 5:36 Min.

Geschmeidig-stimmungsvoller Beginn à la ‘The X-Factor’ oder ‘The edge Of Darkness’ – die sensiblen Lead-Gesänge versprühen hingegen sogar dezente Renaissance-Atmosphäre wie anno dazumal Rainbows ‘Temple Of The King’. Die Gitarrenarbeit wiederum ist vage vergleichbar mit der des Black Sabbath-Klasikers ‘Loneley Is The Word’ (von HEAVEN & HELL; 1980), wobei der Mittelteil von einer Jam mit erstaunlich viel Honky-Tonky-Flair dominiert wird.

7.‘The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg’ (Murray/Harris) 7:21 Min.

Die erste, am 14. August erscheinende Single. Eine von Glissando-Gitarren geprägte exotisch-düstere Atmosphäre mündet in einer stoisch durchmarschierenden Hymne, die immer mal wieder von pulsierenden Einschüben à la ‘Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner’ abgelöst werden.


8.‘For The Greater Good Of God’ (Harris) 9:24 Min.

Der ultimative ‘Paschendale’-Nachfolger mit einer stets hymnischen Auflösung der Motive im Refrain. Auch Fans des Titeltracks von BRAVE NEW WORLD dürften hier auf ihre Kosten kommen.
Persönlicher Favorit des Autors dieser Zeilen.

9.‘Lord Of the Light’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 7:23

Erhaben-majestätischer Beginn (in etwa wie bei ‘Children Of The Damned’) – man ahnt nichts Lautes … Doch dann: Virtuose Gitarren-Attacken, die alles niederknüppeln, was auch nur den Anflug von Widerstand leistet und die der Hörer ob ihrer Vehemenz eher von US-Metal-Kapellen wie Iced Earth erwartet hätte.

10.‘The Legacy’ (Gerrs/Harris) 9:20 Min.

Renaissance-Gitarren – die Geyers, Schandmäuler und Blackmore’s Nights dieser Welt scheinen im Intro zum Stelldichein zu laden. Nach einem plötzlichen Break wird’s äußerst episch-martialisch - ‘Alexander The Great’ setzt zum nächsten Feldzug an. Ständige Motivwechsel à la ‘Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner’ folgen bis zum dem Intro ähnelnden stimmungsvollen Outro, das einen würdigen, fast verträumten Schlusspunkt unter das Album setzt.

Maiden haben übrigens die Titelstory bekommen. Neben dem Bruce-Interview gibt es noch 2 Seiten Interview mit Adrian und Dave. Mir gefällt's sehr gut!
Und ich finde es auch legitim, dass Götz als echter Fan Kritik an manch einem Song äußert. Wenn dadurch das nächste Album noch besser wird, umso besser. Und unberechtigt is die Kritik nicht, manche Songs sind halt nicht so stark wie andere. Dass er die hohen Merchandising- und Ticket-Preise nochmals angesprochen hat, finde ich auch super. Bruce meinte dazu dann auch was von wegen, das wäre ihnen gar nicht bewusst und sie wollen nicht, dass nur noch Bonzen zu den Shows kommen. Vielleicht tut sich durch diese Kritik auch mal was.

Wer Metal sagt, meint auch Iron Maiden. Die Londoner haben den Stil entscheidend mitgeprägt und touren munter weiter. Bassist Steve Harris über Religion, loyale Fans und die böse Frau Osbourne.

Steve, «A Matter of Life and Death» ist ein ziemlich dramatischer Albumtitel. Welche Geschichte steckt dahinter?

Steve Harris: Sieben der zehn Songs handeln von Krieg oder Religion. Das ist teilweise auf aktuelle Geschehnisse zurückzuführen, ist aber ebenso davon inspiriert, wie die Menschen seit Jahrhunderten miteinander umgehen. Wir haben unsere Lektion noch nicht wirklich gelernt, religiöse Unterschiede bescheren den Menschen nach wie vor zu viele Probleme. Es wäre an der Zeit, das zu ändern.

In deiner Jugend hast du mit dem Gedanken gespielt, Fussballprofi zu werden. Hast du deine Entscheidung für das Musikbusiness jemals bereut?

Nein, denn dann wäre ja meine Karriere vor 15 Jahren zu Ende gewesen. Das Seltsamste ist, dass ich trotzdem in mehr grossen Stadien Fussball gespielt habe, als ich es als Profi je gekonnt hätte. Zudem werde ich oft zu Benefiz-Spielen eingeladen – so habe ich das Beste beider Welten.

Wunderst du dich manchmal darüber, dass ihr nach über 30 Jahren immer noch eine der gefeiertesten Metal-Bands überhaupt seid?

Nein, darüber denke ich eigentlich nicht nach. Natürlich haben wir eine eingeschworene Gefolgschaft, aber letztendlich ist man nur so gut wie das letzte Album. Nichts ist in Stein gemeisselt.

Apropos Gefolgschaft: Eure Fans tendieren gelegentlich zu Fanatismus …

Ja, das kann schon mal vorkommen. Ich finde das aber okay. Die Menschen brauchen etwas, dem sie sich voll und ganz widmen können. Bei manchen ist das Fussball, bei anderen Briefmarken und bei unseren Fans ist das halt Iron Maiden.

Fühlst du manchmal eine Verantwortung gegenüber diesen Leuten?

Nein, denn es ist ihre freie Wahl, unsere Fans zu sein. Wir denken auch nicht darüber nach, wie wir es ihnen recht machen können. Diesbezüglich sind wir Egoisten und machen das, was wir wollen.

Wie gross ist der Anteil von Eddie (das Iron-Maiden-Maskottchen, Anm. d. Red.) an eurem Erfolg?

Sehr gross! Wegen Eddie war der Fokus nie voll auf uns gerichtet, und so konnten wir uns immer im Hintergrund halten. Das nimmt natürlich sehr viel vom Druck weg, der auf einer normalen Band lastet.

Man hört von euch immer wieder, dass ihr vor allem eine Live-Band sein wollt. Ist das immer noch so?

Absolut. Aber man muss auch realistisch sein: Wir sind nicht mehr 20. Die Shows sind sehr anstrengend, und wenn wir mit voller Power auf der Bühne stehen wollen, können wir nicht mehr zehn Monate am Stück auf Tour sein. Mittlerweile nehmen wir es da ein bisschen ruhiger und legen nach drei, vier Monaten eine Pause ein, um uns zu erholen.

Gilt das alte Klischee von Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll auch noch nach 30 Jahren?

Ich glaube, während unserer ersten drei Touren haben wir jeden Nachtclub der Welt gesehen. Danach ist das Ganze ziemlich schnell langweilig geworden. Mittlerweile stehen wir am Morgen auf und sehen als Erstes nicht mehr das Innere einer Bar, sondern gehen uns die Welt anschauen.

Bei der letzten Show der Ozzfest-Tour 2005 hat euch Sharon Osbourne den Sound mitten im Konzert abgedreht, was zu einem handfesten Krieg der Alt-Metaller hochstilisiert wurde. Wie sah das Ganze aus deiner Sicht aus?

Das war einfach völlig unprofessionell. Sie dachte, wir würden beleidigt von der Bühne verschwinden, was wir aber nicht taten. Die Fans haben uns stimmgewaltig unterstützt – sie sangen in den Pausen einfach weiter, und so haben wir unser Ding durchgezogen. Eine seltsame, etwas unangenehme Geschichte, aber für mich ist sie gegessen.

Interview: Thomas Nagy

Datum: Dienstag, 5. Dezember 2006
Ort: Hallenstadion, Zürich
Zeit: 20 Uhr
Preis: CHF 70.– (Sitzplatz), CHF 60.– (Stehplatz)
Album: «A matter of life and death» (EMI, VÖ: 25.8.)



Quelle: http://www.20min.ch/whats_up/konzerte/story/28100403

Vielen Dank fürs Abtippen, Drake!

BRUCE DICKINSON: New IRON MAIDEN Album is Band's Best-Sounding CD To Date - Aug. 20, 2006

MusicMirror.net recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On the new IRON MAIDEN album, "A Matter of Life and Death":

"I think this is one of the finest MAIDEN albums we've ever done. I'm really proud of it. I think, sound-wise, it's probably the best album we've ever recorded. Obviously I'm a huge fan of Martin Birch and his work with us, but… you know, I think this is just a great-sounding record, and I don't think we've done as good as this, ever.

On why the new album is the best-sounding LP so far:

"I can't think of one other than that the sun and the moon and the planets were in the right place."

On how the new album compares to the previous CD:

"I think you could look at 'Dance of Death' as being a kind of preparation, stepping stone, if you like, towards this album. But I think this album has so much more than 'Dance of Death', and actually more than almost any other IRON MAIDEN record. Other IRON MAIDEN records up until this moment… there's a depth to some of the songs and there's depth of feeling to some of the lyrics on this album that I don't think we've managed to achieve for a long, long time. We've tried with other records, but this one, it's just… I mean, if you listen to a song like, say, 'Out of the Shadows', there's nothing about that song which sounds like we were making an effort to sound like that; it just sounds natural, and it's clear and natural. And so much of the album sounds like that. When it's getting complicated, it doesn't get out of control — it keeps the power. The intros, they are 'folkey', but without being kind of embarrassing. Everything is just pitched in the right place, and it's very rare that that happens. And it all happened very quickly."

On the songwriting and recording process for "A Matter of Life and Death":

"Well, it was three weeks to write it, three weeks to rehearse it, and three weeks to record it. The very shortest time was, actually, 'Number of the Beast', but we rehearsed this faster than any other album. I mean, we spent 15 days rehearsing it, we spent 15 days recording it, and then we spent an additional 15-20 days doing some overdubs and mixing. But to learn this album in 15 days and then go straight into the studio and play it live is incredible. I mean, for Nicko [McBrain, drums] alone to learn all the drum parts and then go and play them one by one and get it all done in 15 days is outstanding."

"We wrote some of the songs and everyone went away and had a think about their own parts individually and then we went into rehearsals. Every day we'd start with a rough tape and at the end of the day we had a song — written, run through, maybe some of the words finished, maybe not finished all the words, but we had the melodies and the arrangement. And then the next day we did a different song. So yeah, we rehearsed, learned each song, and then by the time we got to the end of three weeks, we just managed to learn all the songs, just managed to get through every song, and then we'd sort of forgotten the first one. But we had it on tape, so we went straight into the studio the first day, and went, 'Hey, let's listen to the tape. OK, it's coming back now.' Play it two or three times. Right, start recording. And that's how we recorded the album — each song at a time."

On the lyrical topics covered on the new album:

"It's not a concept album. But it doesn't mean that some of the subjects in the album aren't related — they are related, but they're related by the fact that we live in the world that we live in, and so, yes, there's a lot of songs about war, there's a lot of songs about religion, and things of that nature, because when we look at the world outside us, that's what's going on at the moment — there's lots of fear and paranoia about life and death and religion and war and things like that. So a lot of the album is about that."

"I think 'The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg' is gonna be the track we release, and if people say, 'Well, it's not a single,' we say, 'Well, we don't give a fuck.' 'Cause we wanna release something which is representative of the album, and that track, the first track ['Different World'], is really the odd man out of the album. It's the most normal sounding track on the album — probably my least favorite track on the album — so I think 'Benjamin Breeg' is such a great track — it's so heavy. What matters is what rock fans get when they listen to the track. We don't wanna appeal to… There's no point in playing to pop people, and expecting they'll buy an IRON MAIDEN album. Why bother? We're just going for the rock audience, because that's who our people are."

On how the IRON MAIDEN's sound has progressed since he rejoined the group:

"When I came back to MAIDEN, I was a very different singer to the guy that I was when I left. Having worked with a lot of different musicians, having done solo records — in particular, 'The Chemical Wedding' — I really expanded my range, not just vocally, but in terms of songwriting, and I brought that back, I think, into MAIDEN, and each album, I think, we've been moving towards really interesting territory. And I'm so pleased with this one. 'Brave New World' was good as far as it went. It didn't step into any really, really new territory. And then 'Dance of Death', yup, we tried a few things on 'Dance of Death' — some of them worked, some of them didn't work quite so good, but you know what? It gave us the confidence to do this album, and this album, I think, is really special. I think a lot of people are going to be, when they hear it, it's gonna take them a few weeks to get their heads around it. But that's all gonna be good."

On how the breaks between tours and recording sessions affect his passion for singing:

"The more I stay away from singing all the time, the more interest that I have when I sing. I'm one of these guys that if I do something absolutely every single day, I get bored very, very quickly. So to have a nice three- or four-month break from singing and then to go back to singing is to rediscover it every time, and I love that. The same with touring — to go on tour for two or three months is fantastic; it's like taking a holiday that you get paid for. But if you tour for much longer than that, I'm like, 'Oh, God. This is… I'm kind of bored now.' So it's just great to be able to create a record, to not be tired and bored while you're doing it, to make it, have fun, and then to go and tour it, it's great. It's a lovely, creative period."

On whether the recently issued "Anthology" set was his final solo release:

"No, absolutely not. I think the record company would be very disappointed 'cause they just signed a contract for another three records. [Laughs] The reason why we put the 'Anthology' out — the 'Anthology' was supposed to come out two years ago, but we kept putting it back because the MAIDEN thing came out, then 'Tyranny of Souls', and so this seems like a perfect time to put it out. It's a very interesting anthology — I mean, it's great value; it's nearly four hours of stuff. But I'm involved in a movie project which I am the writer of, and it appears that we might be involved in a movie in January. And so, if that happens, I will be doing the soundtracks, so, of course, there will have to be a solo album."

On whether he has a problem with former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno making a career out of singing MAIDEN songs:

"I'm not going to try and… I'm not going to annoy anybody by saying anything bad about Paul. He's trying to make a living like anybody else the best way he can, which is by singing, so good luck to him. People know the difference between Paul Di'Anno doing IRON MAIDEN stuff and IRON MAIDEN with me — it's not like he's pretending to be IRON MAIDEN or anything else like that, so I don't feel… I don't have any problem with him doing whatever he's doing."

On MAIDEN's future plans:

"2008 will be the big — probably the biggest — IRON MAIDEN festival tour that ever has been, and it will be the 'Powerslave' set. Whether or not we play all the same songs — because it will be the songs from the next four albums — but the actual stage set we're gonna rebuild, maybe even a bit bigger."

MusicMirror.net's entire interview with Bruce Dickinson can be downloaded as an 18-minute audio file at this location.

Source: Blabbermouth


kann da mal jemand bischen was übersetzen???


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Scream for me Switzerland

Amazon schreibt folgendes:

Produktbeschreibung

Aus der Amazon.de-Redaktion
Das starke Brave New World war für Iron Maiden ein Comeback nach Maß - umso enttäuschender fiel der Nachfolger Dance Of Death aus, der auch heute noch vor allem gepflegte Langeweile verbreitet. Quo vadis, Maiden? Doch es kann Entwarnung gegeben werden: A Matter Of Life And Death ist ein tolles Heavy-Metal-Album, das die Engländer zudem so progressiv wie schon lange nicht mehr zeigt. Kein Wunder, dass im Vorfeld des Öfteren von Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son die Rede war. Einziger schwächerer Song der neuen CD ist denn auch fast schon folgerichtig das kurze, kommerzielle „Different World“; der Rest überzeugt ausnahmslos. Höhepunkte: das eingängige „These Colours Don´t Run“, die Hymne „Brighter Than A Thousand Suns“, die erste Single „The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg“ (überraschend sperrig!), das Abschluss-Stück „The Legacy“ und vor allem die großartige Power-Ballade „Out Of The Shadows“. Neben Slayer und Motörhead zeigen also auch die „eisernen Jungfrauen“, dass mit den Alten nach wie vor zu rechnen ist. Gut so - und: up the irons! -- Boris Kaiser