The Book of Souls

The Book of Souls
Studio album by
Publication (s)	4th September 2015
Label (s)	Parlophone , Sanctuary Records (US)
Format (s)	CD , LP , download
Genre (s)	Heavy metal
Title (number)	11
running time	92:11
occupation	Vocals , piano : Bruce Dickinson Guitar : Dave Murray Guitar : Adrian Smith Guitar : Janick Gers Electric bass : Steve Harris Drums : Nicko McBrain
production	Kevin Shirley
chronology The Final Frontier (2010) The Book of Souls -
Single releases August 14, 2015 Speed ​​of Light April 16, 2016 Empire of the Clouds

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

DE 1 09/11/2015 (32 weeks)   AT 1 09/18/2015 (10 weeks)   CH 1 09/13/2015 (24 weeks)   UK 1 09/17/2015 (12 weeks)   US 4th 09/24/2015 (6 weeks)

The Book of Souls ( English for " The Soul Book ") is the 16th studio album of British heavy metal - band Iron Maiden . It was released worldwide on September 4th, 2015. The album was again produced by Kevin ("The Caveman") Shirley, who has been responsible for all the albums since 1999 and was responsible for the mixing , while Steve Harris was co-producer .

The average running time of the pieces is almost eight and a half minutes and several songs that exceed ten minutes, the longest in the band's history so far; the song Empire of the Clouds beats the longest song Rime of the Ancient Mariner by over four minutes with 18 minutes.

The cover artwork is by Mark Wilkinson , who has already designed the covers of Live at Donington and Best of The 'B' Sides , among others : It shows the upper body of band mascot Eddie as a Mayan Indian baring his teeth against a black background. A Mayan theme was also chosen for the illustrations; one photo shows the band members in front of a Mayan pyramid in the background. For the first time since The X Factor , Iron Maiden use the original band logo again.

The publication took place through the label Parlophone . It is the first Iron Maiden album that was not released by EMI after both companies were bought by Warner Music Group in 2013 . With a gap of five years from The Final Frontier , The Book of Souls marks the longest period between two studio releases of Iron Maiden.

The album was critically acclaimed and a commercial success: The Book of Souls made it to number 1 on the album charts in 24 countries , including Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. It was the fifth number one album in their homeland after The Number of the Beast (1982), Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988), Fear of the Dark (1992) and The Final Frontier (2010). In Croatia, The Book of Souls was the most successful foreign album of 2015.

Emergence

Work on the double album began in late summer 2014. It was recorded in the Guillaume Tell studio in Paris, where Brave New World had already been created. Many of the songs were developed, rehearsed and recorded in the studio, an approach that, in Steve Harris' opinion, gives the songs a kind of live feel. For the first time since Powerslave , two songs are entirely by Bruce Dickinson , with If Eternity Should Fail originally planned for Dickinson's next solo album. Only Nicko McBrain is not listed as a co-author of any of the pieces. The keyboards were recorded by Michael Kenney, the orchestration by Jeff Bova. The first songs to emerge were Shadows of the Valley , Death or Glory and If Eternity Should Fail . According to Adrian Smith and Janick Gers , Dickinson wrote the piece Empire of the Clouds alone on the piano in a soundproof glass cabin. The making of the album was overshadowed by the lead singer's cancer, which delayed its release. Only after successfully completing the therapy in May 2015 did the band start working again. Regarding the length of the album, Dickinson said that at the end of the recording session the band agreed that every single song was such an integral part of the overall work that they accepted a double album.

Track list

CD1

1. If Eternity Should Fail (Bruce Dickinson) - 8:28
2. Speed ​​of Light (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) - 5:01
3. The Great Unknown (Adrian Smith, Steve Harris) - 6:37
4. The Red and the Black (Steve Harris) - 13:33
5. When the River Runs Deep (Adrian Smith, Steve Harris) - 5:52
6. The Book of Souls (Janick Gers, Adrian Smith) - 10:27

CD2

1. Death or Glory (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) - 5:13
2. Shadows of the Valley (Janick Gers, Steve Harris) - 7:32
3. Tears of a Clown (Steve Harris, Adrian Smith) - 4:59
4. The Man of Sorrows (Steve Harris, Dave Murray) - 6:28
5. Empire of the Clouds (Bruce Dickinson) - 18:01

Reviews

The album received generally positive reviews:

Matthias Weckmann from German Metal Hammer even gave it the highest rating with 7 points in the September 2015 issue, and it came in second on the magazine's soundcheck list.

MetalSucks' Emperor Rhombus gave 4 out of 5 Metalhands, stating that the album was not perfect and not a masterpiece, but damn good.

The Internet site Metal.de wrote in a first impression: “ The Book Of Souls manages the balancing act between the Iron Maiden since the reunion and the traditional Iron Maiden surprisingly well. Time and again you feel reminded of various band classics, and this spirit is supplemented by progressive elements that shape today's band sound. ”In a later, detailed discussion, 8/10 points were awarded, which made it a recommendation of the editorial team . In the editorial team, however, opinions differed widely: between 5 and 8 points were awarded.

The album received 9/10 points from Classic Rock with the comment that it would be difficult to find another band of this age that was able to sound just as vital and inspired.

The American Rolling Stone gave 3.5 out of a possible 5 stars in its review and stated that it was impressive how singer Bruce Dickinson still sounded like a cross between an air raid siren and Maria Callas and that the band is still ambitious.

The New Musical Express rated The Book of Souls 8 out of 10, describing the album as a sinewy beast, rich in creativity, and while on the surface it sounded like most other Iron Maiden albums, there might be subtle - or not so subtle - differences.

Yan Vogel from laut.de awarded 4 out of 5 possible stars and stated that there is “a good to very good record to be heard that not only quotes the charisma of the classics, but develops it further.”

The site Plattentest.de gave a rating of 7/10 points and wrote: “While the previous album The Final Frontier suffered from sometimes unstructured songwriting, from song threads that were not knotted together to form a whole, Iron Maiden succeeds in the supposed contradiction between compactness and epic breadth in a sometimes impressive manner. "

Peter Kubaschk from Powermetal.de stated: “Nobody will expect a generation-defining classic like the one in the eighties, and maybe Iron Maiden shouldn't be measured against it. But The Book Of Souls turned out to be a good, in places very good album, which will convince all fans of the albums after Brave New World in large parts and which is superior to The Final Frontier in all respects. Nevertheless, the soul book also has weaknesses that can hardly be discussed away. ”He awarded the grade 7.5 / 10.

On Metal-Injection , Jeremy Ulrey wrote, “By and large, The Book of Souls stands out in the Maiden catalog like a presumptuous monolith that basically challenges us to determine whether our traditional favorites are superior in weight and power. The extent to which it has lasting value to hold its own against the slimmer albums of the 80s can be debated, but the fact that the band has tried to create something of this range is amazing. "

Song information

While not a concept album , several of the songs are broadly centered around the themes of soul and mortality.

• In If Eternity Should Fail , the band uses a dropped-D tuning of the guitars for the first time .
• Speed ​​of Light was the first song that was released from the album. A music video was released on August 14, 2015, and the song was also available as a download and CD single.
• The song The Red and the Black is almost as long with 13:33 minutes as Rime of the Ancient Mariner (13:36).
• The title track The Book of Souls deals with Maya culture.
• In Death or Glory it goes according to Bruce Dickinson in the World War I used triplane aircraft.
• Tears of a Clown pays homage to the American actor Robin Williams, who died in 2014 . Bruce Dickinson described the song as his personal favorite on the album in an interview, although he would not have written it himself.
• With a length of (18:01), Empire of the Clouds is the longest song that Iron Maiden have ever recorded, and tells the story of the airship disaster of the British R101 , which at the time of its completion was the largest flying machine ever built was, and on the night of October 4th to 5th, 1930, crashed and exploded near Paris , killing 48 of the 54 passengers and crew. For the first time in the band's history, Bruce Dickinson plays piano on this piece . The stanza "She's the biggest vessel built by man / A giant of the skies / For all you unbelievers / The Titanic fits inside" (She is the biggest airship ever built by man / A giant of the sky / For all you unbelievers / The Titanic fits in) is historically incorrect: While the R101 was 237 m long , the RMS Titanic was 269 ​​m long. At the time of its construction, it was actually the largest airship, but was later replaced by the LZ 129 Hindenburg , completed in 1936 , which suffered a similar fate on May 6, 1937 when landing in Lakehurst , and its sister ship LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II at 9 Meters exceeded.

tour

The accompanying worldwide tour did not take place until 2016 due to Bruce Dickinson's illness. For this, the band toured with one of Transport Pilot Dickinson controlled to Ed Force One converted Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet. The 72-concert tour began in the United States on February 24, continued through Central and South America , before returning to the United States and Canada . It was followed by Japan , China , New Zealand , Australia and South Africa before end of May to August after Europe went. Iron Maiden performed for the preliminary finale of the tour on August 4, 2016 at the Wacken Open Air Festival.

With a few exceptions, the opening act was The Raven Age , at the concerts in Latin America and Warsaw also Anthrax , as well as Ghost , Opeth and Amon Amarth , Stratovarius and Sabaton at some concerts .

On September 23, 2016, Iron Maiden announced that the Book of Souls World Tour would be continued in 2017 with initially nineteen indoor concerts in Europe, including five appearances in Germany, with Shinedown as the opening act . It started on April 22nd, 2017 in Antwerp , but the majority of the concerts took place in the United Kingdom with the end of the European arm on May 28th, 2017 in London .

From June 3, 2017 the tour continued with 25 more concerts in the United States and Canada, the first being in Bristow (Virginia) and the last on July 22, 2017 in Brooklyn (New York). The Swedish heavy metal band Ghost has been announced as the opening act .

With the live performance of The Great Unknown in 2017, a song from a new album was added to the regular setlist for the first time in the entire history of the band.

On November 17, 2017, Iron Maiden released The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter, a live album consisting of 15 recordings from various concerts on the Book Of Souls World Tour , together with a concert film, which is available as a stream or download.

For 2018, a further 34 European stadium and festival concerts were announced under the title Legacy Of The Beast World Tour , starting on May 26, 2018 in the Saku Arena in Tallinn and ending on August 10, 2018 in the O ₂ arena in London, The band pointed out that there should be no additional dates, but the tour should continue in 2019. Killswitch Engage was announced as the opening act for the majority of the concerts .

Trivia

Advertising posters for The Book of Souls , which showed the motif of the album cover, caused a controversy in Berlin-Kreuzberg in autumn 2015 : Parents who were concerned about the well-being of their children covered the head of band mascot Eddie with large pieces of paper, on which it was pointed out that there are several kindergartens in the vicinity of the location, which is why this poster has no place here. However, these notes were probably removed by fans within a few hours. The action sparked a discussion on Twitter in which mostly little understanding for the parents was expressed.

During the Book of Souls world tour, the Ed Force One collided with a ground vehicle at the airport in Santiago de Chile on March 12, 2016 and was so badly damaged that it was necessary to switch to other machines at short notice in order to continue the tour can. After a complete repair, during which both port engines were replaced, the Boeing 747-400 leased from Air Atlanta could be used again from March 22, 2016.

The song Empire of the Clouds was released on April 16, 2016 for Record Store Day as a limited edition 12 ”Picture Disc single, on the cover of which a newspaper clipping from the Daily Mirror is printed, which reports on the fate of the R101. On the B-side is an interview with Bruce Dickinson about the inspiration behind the creation of the song.

In Lithuania , where the band gave a concert on June 23, 2016 as part of their world tour in Kaunas , the tour posters showing Eddie as Maya with a torn-out heart in one hand and a bloody knife in the other also became more concerned Parents forbidden with the argument that children's eyes should be protected from sight. A similar motif can also be found in the album artwork.

For the first time since Virtual XI (1998), the last album track was not written or at least co-written by Steve Harris.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chart placements:
   • The Book of Souls in the German album charts on OfficialCharts.de
   • The Book of Souls in the Austrian charts on AustrianCharts.at
   • The Book of Souls in the Swiss charts on Hitparade.ch
   • The Book of Souls in the Official UK Charts (English)
   • The Book of Souls on the US Billboard 200 chart
2. ^ Warner Music Group Acquires Parlophone . February 7, 2013. Accessed June 20, 2015.
3. ↑ Top 50 strana 2015 ( Croatian ) Croatian Music Channel . Retrieved January 13, 2016.
4. ↑ New Iron Maiden Studio Album “The Book Of Souls”. In: IronMaiden.com. June 18, 2015, accessed August 18, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson on "The Book of Souls" + 18-minute opus "Empire of the Clouds". In: Loudwire.com. September 2, 2015, accessed September 11, 2015 . 
6. ↑ CD booklet The Book of Souls (2015)
7. ↑ Tiphaine Lombardelli: Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden): la générosité dans l'âme ( French ) on August 12, 2015. Accessed August 12, 2015.
8. ↑ Harry Sword: Death Or Glory: Iron Maiden Interviewed. In: The Quietus. August 12, 2015, accessed on September 11, 2015 . 
9. ↑ Bruce Dickinson Update. In: IronMaiden.com. May 15, 2015, accessed September 4, 2015 . 
10. ↑ New Iron Maiden Studio Album "The Book Of Souls". In: IronMaiden.com. June 18, 2015, accessed August 18, 2015 . 
11. ↑ Emperor Rhombus: Iron Maiden's The Book of Souls: Not Perfect, But Pretty Damn Good. In: MetalSucks. September 4, 2015, accessed September 7, 2015 . 
12. ^ Colin Brinker: The Book of Souls: The First Impression. (No longer available online.) In: Metal.de. August 30, 2015, archived from the original on September 1, 2015 ; accessed on September 7, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ Colin Brinker: CD Review: Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls. In: Metal.de. September 9, 2015, accessed September 9, 2015 . 
14. ↑ Iron Maiden - This is what the editors say about "The Book of Souls". (No longer available online.) In: Metal.de. September 11, 2015, archived from the original on September 28, 2015 ; accessed on September 15, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ^ Dom Lawson: Iron Maiden: The Book of Souls. (No longer available online.) In: Classic Rock. August 11, 2015, archived from the original on September 1, 2015 ; accessed on September 7, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ↑ British metal gods keep raising hell on a wild double album. In: Rolling Stone . September 10, 2015, accessed September 7, 2015 . 
17. ↑ Jeremy Allen: Iron Maiden - "The Book of Souls". New Musical Express, September 8, 2015, accessed September 9, 2015 . 
18. ↑ Yan Vogel: The Book Of Souls. An old work with the charisma of the classics. In: laut.de. September 2015, accessed September 9, 2015 . 
19. ↑ Markus Bellmann: Exquisite Age. In: Plattentest.de. September 9, 2015, accessed September 10, 2015 . 
20. ↑ Peter Kubasck: The most anticipated album of the year. In: Powermetal.de. September 3, 2015, accessed September 12, 2015 . 
21. ↑ Jeremy Ulrey: Album Review: IRON MAIDEN The Book of Souls. In: Metal Injection. September 10, 2015, accessed on September 12, 2015 . 
22. ^ Dom Lawson : Heaven Can Wait . In: Metal Hammer . No. 274, September 2015, pp. 38–53.
23. ^ Luke Morgan Britton: Iron Maiden dedicate new song 'Tears Of A Clown' to Robin Williams . August 24, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
24. ↑ Iron Maiden and The Book of Souls Go Jumbo On Massive 2016 World Tour. In: IronMaiden.com. August 25, 2015, accessed September 10, 2015 . 
25. ↑ The Book of Souls World Tour 2016. In: IronMaiden.com. September 14, 2015, accessed on September 14, 2015 . 
26. ↑ Iron Maiden Continue The Book Of Souls World Tour Into 2017. In: IronMaiden.com. September 23, 2016, accessed September 23, 2016 . 
27. ↑ The Book Of Souls World Tour 2017. In: IronMaiden.com. October 11, 2016, accessed October 21, 2016 . 
28. ↑ The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter. In: IronMaiden.com. September 20, 2017, accessed November 14, 2017 . 
29. ↑ Iron Maiden Announce Legacy Of The Beast European Tour 2018! In: IronMaiden.com. November 13, 2017, accessed November 14, 2017 . 
30. ↑ How Iron Maiden zombie "Eddie" divides Berlin-Kreuzberg in two. In: stern.de. September 7, 2015, accessed September 8, 2015 . 
31. ^ "Ed Force One": Iron Maiden Jumbo in Chile badly damaged . Spiegel Online ,
32. ^ Ed Force One - Onwards and Up Again. In: IronMaiden.com. March 21, 2016, accessed March 25, 2016 . 
33. ↑ Empire Of The Clouds available this weekend at Record Store Day. In: IronMaiden.com. April 12, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 . 
34. ↑ Iron Maiden: "The Book Of Souls" tour poster banned in Lithuania. In: RollingStone.de. June 10, 2016, accessed August 18, 2016 .