TEAM RNS PRESENTS

ARTIST: Iron Maiden

TITLE: Dance Of Death

RIPPER: Team RNS

1hr 07min total- 98.0mb

RELEASE DATE: 2003-09-08
RIP DATE: 2003-09-02

03 No More Lies                   7:21

05 Dance Of Death                 8:36
06 Gates Of Tomorrow              5:12

09 Face In The Sand               6:31
10 Age Of Innocence               6:10

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

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album, he had been replaced by Dennis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

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

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

The next chapter of their remarkable
career has only just begun...