Iron Maiden Announces New Album ‘The Book of Souls’
The mighty Iron Maiden is set to return this year with a brand new album called The Book of Souls.
Iron Maiden front man, Bruce Dickinson, was diagnosed with tongue cancer earlier this year, and has since been receiving treatment. His doctor has now given him the ‘all-clear’, and the band is good to go.
‘Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls’ album cover
The new Maiden album, The Book of Souls, will be released worldwide on 4 September 2015. The album will feature 11 songs, and the physical copies will include 2 discs. This will be the 16th album by the band.
The album was recorded in 2014 in Paris with Kevin Shirley as producer. There was speculation of a new album last year, and now we have learned that the album was initially planned to be launched early in 2015, but due to Bruce Dickinson’s treatment the launch was delayed until it was deemed safe for Dickinson to perform live again. That time has now come.
The songwriting duties were divided amongst the members. Founding member and bassist, Steve Harris, wrote seven of the songs, six of which was co-written with the band’s guitarists. Bruce Dickinson wrote two of the songs, the most of any album since 1984’s Powerslave. The new album will also feature the longest ever Maiden track.
“We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously,” says Steve Harris. “A lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs, they have almost a live feel to them, I think. I’m very proud of The Book Of Souls, we all are, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear it, and especially to take it out on the road next year!”
Yes, that means Iron Maiden will be touring again real soon. *cough, Big Concerts, *cough!
“We’re really excited about The Book Of Souls and had a fantastic time creating it, “adds Bruce Dickinson. “We started working on the album in late summer 2014 and recorded it at Guillame Tell Studios in Paris, where we’d done the Brave New World album back in 2000 so the studio holds special memories for all of us. We were delighted to discover the same magical vibe is still alive and very much kicking there! So we immediately felt at home and the ideas just started flowing. By the time we’d finished we all agreed that each track was such an integral part of the whole body of work that if it needed to be a double album, then double it’s going to be!”
This will be Maiden’s first new album since 2010’s The Final Frontier, which received positive reviews.
Here is the track list for The Book of Souls:
Disc 1
1. If Eternity Should Fail (Dickinson) 8:28
2. Speed Of Light (Smith/ Dickinson) 5:01
3. The Great Unknown (Smith/ Harris) 6:37
4. The Red And The Black (Harris) 13:33
5. When The River Runs Deep (Smith/ Harris) 5:52
6. The Book Of Souls (Gers/ Harris) 10:27
Disc 2
7. Death Or Glory (Smith/ Dickinson) 5:13
8. Shadows Of The Valley (Gers/ Harris) 7:32
9. Tears Of A Clown (Smith/ Harris) 4:59
10. The Man Of Sorrows (Murray/ Harris) 6:28
11. Empire Of The Clouds (Dickinson) 18:01
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