KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — Earlier this month, Iron Maiden released their 16th studio album The Book of Souls, which surprisingly is the band’s first-ever double studio album, despite forming in 1975.
It also features the 18-minute song “Empire of the Clouds,” their longest ever recorded.
From frontman Bruce Dickinson’s fondness for fencing to weird coincidences linked to their classic track “The Number of the Beast”, every proud Maiden fan can rattle off a whole list of crazy facts about the band.
And if you are, here are 10 more things that you might not know about the British metal gods:
1. The band are known for having incredibly dedicated fans, with one particularly committed chap going so far as legally changing his name to Iron Maiden. Whilst in other legal facts we find drummer Nicko McBrain became a born again Christian after having a religious experience in 1999 when accompanying his wife to church.
2. Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith bought his first guitar from fellow Maiden guitarist Dave Murray when he was 15 for £5. Smith fixed up the broken axe and sold it on for a profit. Who needs royalties?
3. The first time that long-time Maiden manager Rod Smallwood saw the band, then-singer Paul Di’Anno had been arrested for knife possession earlier in the day, forcing Steve Harris to sing lead vocals for the first and only time at a Maiden gig.
4. In the early days, when touring, the band used to travel around and sleep in a truck that they had bought which they dubbed “The Green Goddess”.
5. Iron Maiden’s passion for swordplay is not restricted to their lyrical content. Bruce Dickinson is a skilled and enthusiastic fencer who was once listed seventh in the rankings for Great Britain.
6. Steve Harris is an enthusiastic footballer who was offered a trial with West Ham as a teenager. He has a full-sized football pitch in his back garden, which is the home ground of Iron Maiden’s own football team consisting of members and associates of the band.
7. The Book of Souls is their first double album.
8. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson, who is also a commercial airline pilot for British airline Astraeus, took the controls of Ed Force One, the band’s nickname for the customized Boeing 757 and G-STRX.
9. Mascot Eddie started out as a papier-mâché mask. The band’s ubiquitous mascot, the grinning, skeletal Eddie, was originally incorporated in their backdrop which would squirt fake blood during their live show.
10. Maiden guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were childhood friends. Smith bought his first electric guitar from Murray for £5, and the pair formed some of their first bands together.
