A Matter of Life and Death

Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 10, 2015 in 2015, English Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 269 comments

On October 5th, 1930 while flying over France on its maiden voyage, the airship R101 crashed, killing 48 of the 54 people on board. The ship was the jewel of the British empire and had been built with increased lifting capacity, and was (at the time) the world’s largest flying vessel. Much like the Titanic, the R101 is a story of hubris—particularly as told by Dickinson on the track “Empire of the Clouds,” The Book of Souls’ 18-minute closer. The R101 never was put through its paces, having not done full endurance and speed trials, before it undertook its maiden voyage for India, and on that voyage it tragically crashed. As a closer, “The Empire of the Clouds” is an epic which pushes Iron Maiden into territory never before explored. As an analogy for The Book of Souls, it strikes a little too close to home.

Iron Maiden from Worst to Best: 6-4

By Angry Metal Guy on September 7, 2015 in Blog Posts, 155 comments

On September 4th, Iron Maiden released its 16th studio album. This new platter is a double-disc monstrosity by the name of The Book of Souls, and now that I’ve received my physical copies, I’m going to be re-listening to it a dozen times with lyrics in hand. So, while we’re waiting on this I’m taking advantage of the moment to do something I’ve wanted to do for a very, very long time: a huge Iron Maiden retrospective, spanning the band’s entire studio discography.

Are you not entertained!?

Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier Review

By Angry Metal Guy on August 16, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Record o' the Month, Reviews, 26 comments

Iron Maiden is the greatest heavy metal band to ever live. Thirty years after the release of their self-titled album, they are arguably just as relevant as they ever have been, not resting on their laurels and imitating a hits jukebox, but instead touring the world playing their new material to the joy of fans everywhere. After what was a rousing success with their most recent record, the 2006 release of A Matter of Life and Death, there is actually maybe a bit more pressure on the band to produce something that is quality, memorable and, frankly, classic. Especially with the rumors floating around that this is Maiden’s final album, spurred even further on by the fact that Steve Harris helped write every song on the record, the pressure cooker of fan scrutiny is reaching fever pitch. And so it falls to this Angry Metal Guy to try to put all of this into some sort of context; to try to listen to my favorite band with fresh ears, and I’ve come to some realizations about the band in the process.

Iron Maiden Moons the US

By Angry Metal Guy on June 10, 2010 in 2010, Blog Posts, Heavy Metal, 1 comment

In an attempt to not re-post Blabbermouth’s news like many of the blogs out there (since yes, I, too am unfortunately tied to Blabbermouth for my news), I try to do a bit more analysis and opinion on certain things. Think of me as the pundit to your regular news hour. Anyway, I have often given Iron Maiden shit about their American tours. Now once again they’re skipping the midwest in the US for the most part, and unfortunately they’re not coming to Sweden except for the stupid Sonisphere festival which costs way too much to just see Maiden (RIP Dio.). But one of the things I’ve often complained about is Maiden’s reluctance to do new tours in the US or to play deep cuts on tours (can’t you play Alexander the Great JUST ONCE!?).