▄▄▓▓▀▀▀▀▓▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ██▓▌ ▀█▄▄ ▄█████▀▀▀▓▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀█▄▄ ▀███▄▄▄ ▄ ████▀ ▀▓▄ ▄▄▄▄▓▓▓█▀▀▀████████▓▄ ▄▄■▀▀▀ ▀████▓▓▀ ▀██▌ ▐▌▀▓██████▀▀▀▄▄▄█▀▀▀ ▀█▓▓▄ ▄▓▓▓▓▄ ██▌ ▄▄██▄▄▀███▌ ▀▓▄ ▄▀ ▀▀█▄▄▄▀▀▓▀▀ ▄▄▄ ▐████▄ ▐▌ ▀▀▓▓▄██ ▄▄██████ ▀█▓███▄▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀ ▄▄▄██████▀ ▄▄██████▄▄ ▄██████ ▀■▄ ▀▀ ▄▄█▄▐███████▌ ▀▀▀▓████▄▄▄▄▄▄███▓▓████████ ▄██████▀▀███▀▄████▀▀█▄▓ ▄▄▓▓▓▀▀███▓▓██████▄▄ ▀▀▓███▀▀▀ ████████▀▄██████▀ ▐█▓█▓▀▀▄▄████▀ ▄▓▓▓▀▀▄▄▓▓███▌ ▀▀▓▓██████▄ ▄▄█████▄ ▐███████▌▐██████ ▐▓█▄▄██▀▀▀ ▄████ ███████ ▀▓███████▄▐██████▓ ███████ ██████▌ ▄▓█▀▀▀ ▄▄▄▄ ▓████▌ ▐██████▌ ▐███████▓▌███████▄ ▐██████ ▐██████▄ ▄▄▓▓███████▄ █████▌ ▐██████▌ ▐███████▀▐▓███████▄ ██████▌ ▀██████████▀▀▀▀████████▓ ▀████▓▄ ▐██████▓ ▄██████▀ ▐▓████░████▄ ▐██████ ▀▀▀▀ ▄▄ ▀██████▓ ▀███▓▓▄▄████████▄▄█▓▓▓▀▀ ▓▓████▌ ▀█▓▓█▄ ▓█████▌ ▄▄██▀ ▐██████ ▀▀▀█████████▓▓▄▄▄ ▄█▓████▌ ▀████▄▐██████ ▄▄▄███▀ ▐██████ ▐████████▀███████▓▄▄▄ ▀▀▀██ ▀▀██▓█████▌█████▌ ██████ ▄▄▄███████▀ ▀▀▀████████████▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀█▓███▄▀████▄ ▄████▓▓ ▄██▀▀ ▀▀▀▓▓▓▄▄ ▀▀▀▀████████████████▄▄▄ ▀▀▀▓▄▄▀▀█▓▓▄▄▄████▓██▓▓ ▓██▌ ▀▓▄ ▀▀▀█████████████▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄███████▄▒▓███▀▀▀ ▀▓▓▄ ▐██▄ ▄▄██▓▀ ■▄▄ ▀█████████████▓▀▀ ▀▀▀▀██████████▄▄ ▀██▓▄▄ ▄████▌█▓███▌ ▀▓▓▄ ▐████████▀▀ ▒ ▄▄■ ▀▀███████▌ ▄▓▓▓███████████████▀ ▀█████▄▄ ▐██████▓▓▀▀ ░ ▄▄▄▄▓▓▓▌ ▐█████▀ ▀ ▄▓▀▀▀▄▓▀██▓▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄████▀▀▀ ▀▀▓▄ ▄▓▓▓▀▀ ▄██▀ ▓████▄ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀▄▄▄ ███▌ ▐██▌▀▓█▄ ▄▓▓▓▓▀ ▄▄▓▓█▀▀▀▓▀▀████▄▄ ▀▀███▄▄ ████▄ ▄▄██▀ ▀▀▓▄▄ ▄▄▓▓▓▀▀ ▄▄▄▓█▓▀▀░░ ▀▓████▄ ▀████▄ ▀████████▀ ▄▄▄▄ ▀▀▀▄▄████▀▀▄▄▄▄███▓▀▀ ▀████▄ ▐█████ ▄█▓███▓▓▄▓▀▓▀ ▄▄▄▄▄██████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▄▀██▄▓██▀▀ ▄▓▀▀ ▀████▓▄█▓▓▓███▓█▓▀▀▀ TEAM RNS PRESENTS ▄■ ▐█▄▓██ ▀ ▀██░▐██▀▀ ▐█▄ ▄██▌ ▄██▌░█▌ ▀ ▄▄ ▀█▄▀██▄▄████▌ARTIST: Iron Maiden ▐████▄███▀▄█▀ ▄▄ ▄██▌ ▀▓▄▀██▄▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▄██▀▄▓▀ ▐██▄ █████▄ ▐█▌▐███▄ TITLE: Dance Of Death ▄███▌▐█▌ ▄█████ ███████▄▄▄▓░ ▓█████ ██████▄░▓▄▄▄███████ ▀█████▓▄▄▄█▐▓█████▌ LABEL: EMI ▐█████▓▌█▄▄▄▓█████▀ ▀▀████▀▀▄██████▀ ▀██████▄▀▀████▀▀ ▄▄▀▀ ▄██████▀ RIPPER: Team RNS ▀██████▄ ▄ ▀ ▄██████▀ ▀██████▄ ▄█▓▀ ▄██████▀ ▀██████▄ ██▌ ▐██████▌ ▐██████▌ ▀██▄ ▐██████ 192kbps - Metal ▐▓█████▌ ▀██▄ ▀█████▌ 1hr 07min total- 98.0mb ██████▀ ▄▄▀▀███▄▄▀▀███▄ ███▓▀▀ █▓ ▀▀██▄ ▀██▄ RELEASE DATE: 2003-09-08 ██▀ ▀▓▄ ▐██▌ ▐██▓▄ RIP DATE: 2003-09-02 ▄██▌ ▀▀▄▄▄▄███▀ ▄▓▓█▓██▄ ▄▄▓▓█▓▓▄ ▀▀▀ ▄█████▀ ▀▀██▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄███████████▄ ▄█████▀▄ ▀▀▀███▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄███████▀▀▀▀ ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ █▄ ▀▀▀▀█████████▀▀▀▀▀ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐▓█ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ▄█▓█ ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▄▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ track list ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ---------- ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ 01 Wildest Dreams 3:52 ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ 02 Rainmaker 3:48 ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ 03 No More Lies 7:21 ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ 04 Montsegur 5:50 ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ 05 Dance Of Death 8:36 ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ 06 Gates Of Tomorrow 5:12 ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ 07 New Frontier 5:04 ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ 08 Paschendale 8:28 ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ 09 Face In The Sand 6:31 ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ 10 Age Of Innocence 6:10 ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ 11 Journeyman 7:07 ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ release notes ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Formed in London, England, in 1976, ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Iron Maiden was from the start the ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ brainchild of Steve Harris (b. 12 March ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ 1957, Leytonstone, London, England; ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ bass), formerly a member of pub rockers ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ Smiler. Named after a medieval torture ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ device, the music was suitably heavy ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ and hard on the senses. The heavy metal ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ scene of the late 70s was widely regarded ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ as stagnant, with only a handful of ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ bands proving their ability to survive ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ and produce music of quality. It was at ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ this time that a new breed of young ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ British bands began to emerge. This ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ movement, which began to break cover in ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ 1979 and 1980, was known as the New ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Wave Of British Heavy Metal, or NWOBHM. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ Iron Maiden was one of the foremost ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ bands in the genre, and many would say ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ its definitive example. Younger and ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ meaner, the NWOBHM bands dealt in ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ faster, more energetic heavy metal than ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ any of their forefathers (punk being an ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ obvious influence). ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ There were several line-up changes in ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ the Iron Maiden ranks in the very ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ early days, and come the release of ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ their debut EP, the band featured ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ Harris, Dave Murray (b. 23 December 1958, ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ London, England; guitar), Paul Di'Anno ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ (b. 17 May 1959, Chingford, London, ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ England; vocals) and Doug Sampson ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ (drums). The band made its live debut at ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ the Cart & Horses Pub in Stratford, east ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ London, in 1977, before honing its ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ sound on the local pub circuit over ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ the ensuing two years. Unable to ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ solicit a response from record ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ companies, the band sent a three-track ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ tape, featuring "Iron Maiden", "Prowler" ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ and "Strange World", to Neal Kay, DJ at ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ north London's hard rock disco, the ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Kingsbury Bandwagon Soundhouse. Kay's ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ patronage of Iron Maiden won them an ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ instant welcome, which prompted the ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ release of The Soundhouse Tapes on the ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ band's own label. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ In November 1979, the band added second ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ guitarist Tony Parsons to the line-up ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ for two tracks on the Metal For Muthas ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ compilation, but by the time the band ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ embarked on sessions for their debut ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ album, he had been replaced by Dennis ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ Stratton (b. 9 November 1954, London, ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ England), and Sampson by Clive Burr ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ (b. 8 March 1957; drums, ex-Samson). A ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ promotional single, "Running Free", ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ reached number 34 on the UK charts and ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ brought an appearance on BBC ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Television's Top Of The Pops. Refusing ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ to mime, they became the first band ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ since the Who in 1973 to play live on the ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ show. Iron Maiden was a roughly produced ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ album, but reached number 4 in the UK ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ album listings on the back of touring ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ stints with Judas Priest and enduringly ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ popular material such as "Phantom Of The ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ Opera". Killers boasted production ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ superior to that of the first album, and ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ saw Dennis Stratton replaced by ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ guitarist Adrian Smith (b. 27 February ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ 1957). In its wake, Iron Maiden became ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ immensely popular among heavy metal ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ fans, inspiring fanatical devotion, ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ aided by blustering manager Rod ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Smallwood and apocalyptic mascot Eddie ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ (the latter had been depicted on the ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ cover of "Sanctuary" standing over Prime ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Minister Margaret Thatcher's decapitated ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ body). ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ The release of Number Of The Beast was ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ crucial to the development of the band. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ Without it, Iron Maiden might never ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ have gone on to be such a force in the ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ heavy metal arena. The album was a ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ spectacular success, the sound of a band ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ on the crest of a wave. It was also the ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ debut of former infantryman and new ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ vocalist Bruce Dickinson (b. Paul Bruce ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ Dickinson, 7 August 1958, Worksop, ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ Nottinghamshire, England), replacing Paul ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Di'Anno (who went on to front Dianno, ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone and Killers). ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ Formerly of Samson, history graduate ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Dickinson made his live debut with Iron ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ Maiden on 15 November 1981. Singles such ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ as "Run To The Hills" and "The Number Of ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ The Beast" were big UK chart hits, Iron ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Maiden leaving behind their NWOBHM ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ counterparts in terms of success, just ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ as the movement itself was beginning to ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ peter out. Piece Of Mind continued their ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ success and was a major hit in the UK ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ (number 3) and USA (number 14). Clive ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Burr was replaced by Nicko McBrain (b. ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ 5 June 1954) on the sessions, formerly ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ drummer with French metal band Trust, who ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ had supported Iron Maiden on their 1981 ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ UK tour (he had also played in ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ Streetwalkers). Piece Of Mind was not ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ dissimilar to the previous album, ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ showcasing the strong twin-guitar bite ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ of Murray and Smith, coupled with ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ memorable vocal lines and a sound that ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ perfectly suited their air-punching ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ dynamic. Single offerings, "Flight Of ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ Icarus" and "The Trooper", were instant ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ hits, as the band undertook two massive ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ tours, the four-month World Piece jaunt ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ in 1983, and a World Slavery retinue, ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ which included four sell-out dates at ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ London's Hammersmith Odeon a year later. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ With the arrival of Powerslave in ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ November, some critics accused Iron ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Maiden of conforming to a self-imposed ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ writing formula, and playing safe with ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ tried and tested ideas. Certainly, there ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ was no significant departure from the ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ two previous albums, but it was ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ nonetheless happily consumed by the ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ band's core supporters, who also purchased ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ in sufficient quantities to ensure UK ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ chart hits for "Aces High" and "Two ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ Minutes To Midnight". Live After Death ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ was a double-album package of all their ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ best-loved material, recorded live on ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ their gargantuan 11-month world tour. By ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ this time, Iron Maiden had secured ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ themselves an unassailable position ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ within the metal hierarchy, their vast ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ popularity spanning all continents. ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ Somewhere In Time was a slight ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ departure: it featured more melody ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ than previously, and heralded the use ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ of guitar synthesizers. Their ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ songwriting still shone through and the ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ now obligatory hit singles were easily ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ attained in the shape of "Wasted Years" ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ and "Stranger In A Strange Land". ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ Reaching number 11 in the USA, this was ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ another million-plus seller. Since the ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ mid-80s Iron Maiden had been staging ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ increasingly spectacular live shows, ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ with elaborate lighting effects and ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ stage sets. The Somewhere In Time tour ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ (seven months) was no exception, ensuring ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ their continued fame as a live band, ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ which had been the basis for much of ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ their success. A period of comparative ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ inactivity preceded the release of Seventh ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Son Of A Seventh Son, which was very ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ much in the same vein as its ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ predecessor. A concept album, it ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ retained its commercial edge (giving ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ the band their second UK number 1 album) ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ and yielded hit singles in "Can I Play ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ With Madness", the surprisingly ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ sensitive "The Evil That Men Do" and ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ "The Clairvoyant". After another ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ exhausting mammoth world trek, the band ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ announced their intention to take a ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ well-earned break of at least a year. ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ Speculation abounded that this ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ signalled the dissolution of the band, ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ exacerbated by Dickinson's solo project, ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ Tattooed Millionaire, his book, The ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Adventures Of Lord Iffy Boatrace, and ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ EMI Records' policy of re-releasing ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Iron Maiden's single catalogue in its ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ entirety (on 12-inch). ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ After a considerable hiatus, news of ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ the band surfaced again. Steve Harris ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ felt that the direction pursued on the ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ last two albums had been taken as far as ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ possible, and a return to the style of ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ old was planned. Unhappy with this game ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ plan, Adrian Smith left to be replaced ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ by Janick Gers (b. Hartlepool, Teeside, ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ England), previously guitarist with White ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Spirit and Ian Gillan (he had also ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ contributed to Dickinson's solo ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ release). The live show was also ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ scaled down in a return to smaller ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ venues. No Prayer For The Dying was ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ indeed much more like mid-period Iron ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ Maiden, and was predictably ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ well-received, bringing enormous UK hit ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ singles with "Holy Smoke" and "Bring ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Your Daughter To The Slaughter". The ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ latter, previously released in 1989 on ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ the soundtrack to A Nightmare On Elm ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ Street 5, had already been awarded the ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Song ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ that year. Nevertheless, it gave Iron ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ Maiden their first ever UK number 1. The ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ obligatory world tour followed. Despite ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ being denounced as "Satanists" in ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ Chile, 1992 also saw the band debut at ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ number 1 in the UK charts with Fear Of The ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ Dark, which housed another major single ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ success in "Be Quick Or Be Dead" ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ (number 2). However, it was ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ Dickinson's swansong with the band, who ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ invited demo tapes from new vocalists ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ following the lead singer's announcement ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ that he would depart following current ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ touring engagements. His eventual ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ replacement was Blaze Bayley (b. 1963, ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ Birmingham, West Midlands, England) from ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Wolfsbane. His debut album was The ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ X-Factor, and on this and at live gigs ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ (which they only resumed in November ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ 1995), he easily proved his worth. This ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ was a daunting task, having had to learn ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ Iron Maiden's whole catalogue and win ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ over patriotic Dickinson followers. In ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ February 1999 it was announced that ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ Dickinson and Smith (who had formed ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ Psycho Motel in the interim) had rejoined ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ the band, restoring the classic 80s ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ line-up. To the great delight of their ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ loyal fans, an excellent new studio ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ album, Brave New World, was not long in ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ following. ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ Dance Of Death, the hugely anticipated ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ new album by Iron Maiden, is released on ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ 8th September 2003, preceded by the single ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ Wildest Dreams on 1st September. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ 2003 has already proved a massive year ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ for the band. Their recent DVD 'Visions ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ Of The Beast' achieved Top 5 Chart ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ positions worldwide and the band have ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ just completed their most successful ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ European tour ever, headlining ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ virtually every rock festival around and ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ playing to 700,000 fans in just 26 shows ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ over the summer. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ Hailed as a massive influence by ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ everyone from established acts such as ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ Marilyn Manson to rising heroes Funeral ▀███████▀▓▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▀▀██▄ For A Friend, interest in the band is ▄██▀▀■ ▀████▄ ▄████▀▀▀▄ ▐██▓ exploding in all sections of the media. ▓██▌ ▐▌ ▐████ ▐████▌ ▄▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀█▄▄▄███▀ ▀████▄▄▄▄███████▀ Not bad for an act who have already sold ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▀▀███▀▄█████▀ over 50 million albums and had more than ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ 30 hit singles. ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ The next chapter of their remarkable ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ career has only just begun... ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ ▀█████████ ▀▀██▄ ▄██▀▀███ ▀ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓ ▓██▌ ████▄ ▄█▌ ▀ ▀▀███▄ ▄▓▓█▓▌ ▐▓█▓▓▄ ▀███████▀ ▐███▌▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀▀ ▄ ▄███▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▀▀███▀██████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▓██▓ ▓██▓ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ ▀███████▀▀ ▄█████▀ ▀█████▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀█████▄ ▐█████ ▐█▓ ▓█▌ █████▌ █████▌ ███▌ ▐███ ▐█████ ▀█████▄ ▄▓██▓ ▄███▓▓▄▄ ▄▄▓▓███▄ ▓██▓▄ ▄█████▀ ▀▀███████▀ ▄▄██▀ ▀██▄ ▄██▀ ▀██▄▄ ▀███████▀▀ ▄███▀█▄██▀▀ ▄██▀▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▀██▄ ▀▀██▄█▀███▄ ▄████████▀▀▓▓▓▄▄▄█████▓██▀▀▀▀██▄ ▄▄██▀▀▀▀██▓█████▄▄▄▓▓▓▀▀████████▄ ▄█████▀▄██▌ ▀▀▀▀▀███▄ ▀████▀ ▄███▀▀▀▀▀ ▐██▄▀█████▄ ▄█████▌▐████▄ ▄▄▄███▀▀██▄▄▄███▀████▄▄▄██▀▀███▄▄▄ ▄████▌▐█████▄ ██████▌ ▀█████▄▄▄█████▀ ███▀▀ ▀▀███ ▀█████▄▄▄█████▀ ▐██████ ▀▀████▄▄ ▀▀███████▀▀ ▄▄█▀▀ ▀▀█▄▄ ▀▀███████▀▀ ▄▄████▀▀ ▀▀███▄▄▄ ▄▄▄█▓▀▀ ▀▀▓█▄▄▄ ▄▄▄███▀▀ ███▌ ▐█▌ ▄▄█▀ █ ▀█▄▄ ▐█▌ ▐███ ▀██▄ ▄█▀ ▄▄▄██▀▀ ███ ▀▀██▄▄▄ ▀█▄ ▄██▀ ▀▀██▄██████▀▀▀ ▓████ ▀▀▀██████▄██▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▐██████ ▀▀▀▀ ████████ █████▄███▌ ▐█████▌▐███ ██████▄████▌ █████▌▐█████ █████▌▓█████ ▀█▓▀▄▄▄▄▄ █████░██████ ▀▓▓████████▄▄ ▐▓███░██████ ▄▄▄▄▄▀▓█▀ ▀███████▀▀███▄▄ ▓██████████ ▄▄████████▓▓▀ ▀████████▄█▀▀██▄▄ ▀███▌▐███▓▌ ▄▄███▀▀███████▀ ▀███████████▀███▄ ▓██▌▐██▓▓ ▄▄██▀▀█▄████████▀ ▀██████████▄▄▀▀█▄ ▓██ █▓▓▌ ███▀███████████▀ ▀███████████▀██ ▓▓ ▓▓▄██▀▄▄██████████▀ ▀▀█████████▄█▌▐▓█▓▌█▓▓██████████▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀█████▄ ██▓▓█▄█████████▀▀ ▄▄▄▄███████████████████▄▄▄▓▓▀▓▄████▄█████▀▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄██████████▀▀▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▓▓▓█████████▓▓▓▄▓▀▓▓▄▄▄███████████████████▄▄▄▄ ▀███▓▓▓████████▓▓▓████████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀█▀█▄▄██▀█▀▓▓▓▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀█▀██████▄▄ ▀▀▀▓▓▓███████▓▓▓▓███████▀▀▀ ▄▄▀▄██████▄▀█▄▄ ▀▀▀████████████████████▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▄▄██▀███▀▀███▀█▄▀████▄▄ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▄████████ ███ ██▄▀█████▄ ▄███████▀ ██▌ ▀████████▄ ████▀▀▀ ▐██▌ ▀▀▀████ ▐███ ██▓ ▐█▓▌ ▀▓█▄ ▀▀