Maiden fans unite!!!

UP THE IRONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trotsky wrote: I love Maiden too ... but I'll admit that if asked to pick my Top 20 or 25 songs ... I can't think of anything post-Fear Of The Dark ... And I'm a little burnt out by the live albums ... Live After Death is surely the mother of 'em ... also got A Real Live One, A Real Dead One, heard Donnington ... suddenly decided enough was enough ..

Try the brave new world album besided a real live and a real dead one and donnington is pretty much crap and really the only maiden live albums you must own is rock in rio and live after death but the death on the road is also really really great

maidenrulez wrote: Trotsky wrote: I love Maiden too ... but I'll admit that if asked to pick my Top 20 or 25 songs ... I can't think of anything post-Fear Of The Dark ... And I'm a little burnt out by the live albums ... Live After Death is surely the mother of 'em ... also got A Real Live One, A Real Dead One, heard Donnington ... suddenly decided enough was enough .. Try the brave new world album besided a real live and a real dead one and donnington is pretty much crap and really the only maiden live albums you must own is rock in rio and live after death but the death on the road is also really really great

The odd thing is I've actually got X Factor, Virtual XI, Brave New World and Dance Of Death ... but don't derive that much joy from them ...

As for the live albums ... I do remember Steve Harris saying something about the three guitar line-up in Maiden ... you might be interested in this story I did, when I interviewed him, way back in 1999  ... BTW, he lied about coming to Malaysia!

"New" blood in Iron Maiden

Byline: MARTIN VENGADESAN

OVER a year ago, Iron Maiden's third lead vocalist Blaze Bayley was talking enthusiastically to Section 2 about how comfortable he was being in the legendary metal band.

Having completed his second album as Maiden's lead singer on the Virtual XI album, Bayley declared that he felt that he was gradually moving out of the shadow of the group's definitive frontman Bruce Dickinson (original vocalist Paul Di'anno left in 1981).

The well-loved Dickinson was responsible for classic Maiden albums like Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, the man virtually guided the band to the pinnacle of heavy metal success for more than a decade (1981-1994). In Bayley's own words, ``I've had a lot of support from the guys in the band. Getting into Iron Maiden is a dream come true and I'm having the time of my life.Ó

Well, how things can change in a short space of time. All it took was one phone call from Bruce Dickinson a couple of months ago to Maiden's management, a snap decision was made and it was au revoir, Blaze Bayley.

Dickinson, who has a colourful life outside Maiden as a fencing champion who nearly made Britain's Olympic team, a romance novelist (The Adventures Of Lord Iffy Boatrace and The Missionary Position) and a licensed pilot, had obviously tired of his life outside the spotlight and decided to play the prodigal son.

He also had four popular solo albums and was lead singer of one-off band Skunkworks. But Dickinson must have missed all the top action being part of the Maiden clan.

His return also sees Maiden expanding to a three-guitar line-up with Adrian Smith, who left the band in the late 80s, joining his replacement Janick Gers and Maiden ever-present Dave Murray in a fearsome trio of six-string stingers.

During a recent phone interview from Amsterdam, Maiden stalwart and bass player Steve Harris, skirted around the issue of Bayley's surprise departure but did his best to answer all other enquiries.

``Blaze asked us not to mention anything about his departure from the band until he felt ready to talk to the press about it, so I'd like to respect that wish,'' he says.

``I can say that we're still good friends. Blaze is busy making a solo album and he's recording it at my studio. We still share the same management, so there's no bad blood.''

Iron Maiden fans have often claimed that Bayley's work with the band on The X Factor and Virtual XI resulted in some of its least impressive recordings, but Harris emphatically disagrees.

``I think the last two albums have been very strong, and when we go on tour, we'll definitely be doing songs from those albums.''

The return of Dickinson should not be seen as a negation of the last two albums. Not at all.

In terms of fresh dimensions, Maiden's new three-man guitar line-up brings with it a wealth of possibilities. According to Harris, a lot of guitar lines are multi-tracked in the studio, so having three guitarists will simply give Maiden a fuller live sound.

As the man who's written more Maiden classics than anyone else (Running Free, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, etc), Harris is uniquely qualified to offer hints as to what this new Maiden line-up might sound.

Unfortunately, at this moment he has ``absolutely no idea'' about the band's new sound.

``I don't write songs until just before it's time to make an album, and so I've got no idea where we're going to go.''

At the risk of provoking another Maiden rift, Harris offered his opinion on Bruce Dickinson's solo work.

``I thought Balls To Picasso (Dickinson's 1993 second solo oeuvre) was a decent rock album. I didn't really care for the Skunkworks project.

``Accident of Birth (1997) was very good, but then again it was probably the most Iron Maiden-like album.''

Harris is well-known in rock circles for three rather contrasting passions early 70s progressive rock music, West Ham United football club and computer games.

``I grew up listening to and playing music in the early 70s and I was really into a lot of progressive bands at the time,'' he notes, before namechecking favourites like Genesis, King Crimson, Yes and Jethro Tull.

``My favourite Iron Maiden albums are the ones that remind me most of progressive rock bands. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son and The X Factor both have a theme running through them, and there's something in the sound as well that reminds me especially of early Genesis when they rocked hard.''

Aside from having a soft spot for progressive rock, Harris reveals that his much of his bass-playing has been influenced by bassists like Chris Squire (Yes), Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash), Michael Rutherford (Genesis) and John Entwhistle (The Who).

When it comes to the subject of football, especially West Ham, Harris remarks excitedly on how this season's side is playing the best football of any Hammers team in a long while.

As for computer games, Iron Maiden has returned to the business with a ``shoot-em-up'' called Ed Hunter, the follow-up to last year's Virtual XI.

Fans of the band will be thrilled to learn that the star of the game is none other than Maiden's infamous mascot Eddie.

Harris elaborates, ``Each level of the game is based on a Maiden album, for example they are pyramid graphics to represent Powerslave. It's really fun to play, the background music, which can be chosen, consists 20 tracks voted by Maiden fans on the band's official web-site.''

The Ed Hunter game which will be released worldwide on May 17 on PlayStation and CD-Rom formats, with a special low-price tag. Could it be said that 25 years of success has turned Harris from a working-class London rocker into a major player cashing in on multi-million pound business deals?

``I've really tried to remain the same person. Of course, your lifestyle changes, and sometimes you think `I'm being rewarded too much, I don't deserve all this money' but you're not going to turn it down, are you?'' he laughs.

``I really don't think wealth has changed me as much as having children has. I've got five children and being a father has really made me a different man.''

So with the new line-up, Maiden is set for yet another lease of life. But how does Harris see it all ending?

``You know, I really, really don't want it (Maiden) to finish,'' he laughs again, ``but I suppose if I think about it, it has to end. You can't go on forever. But the end of Iron Maiden is something I just don't want to think about.''

Last year Blaze Bayley ended his interview by promising that Maiden would play Malaysia. Obviously, the line-up change has halted those plans, and Maiden will only tour next year after recording its 12th studio album.

But Harris swears that the band will make it to these parts. ``I really want to come to the Far East and play. I know we've got loads of fans out there.

``We really don't want to disappoint them, and you've got my word on it, we'll be there in 2000.''