Everything I Need To Know, I've Learned From Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden is a kick-ass band with songs full of crazy guitar solos and high pitched vocals, but that's not all they offer. Almost every song is a history lesson, covering a diverse range of topics and times. This hilarious article about Maiden vs. high school history class is 666 kinds of awesome:

I am writing this letter in protest of the perverse travesty I have suffered at the hands of Mr. Bradley in the form of the horribly unjust "F" grade he has given me for last semester in his complete fraud of a class, World History 101. It calls into question the academic standards of this institution!

--snip--

100 B.C. The Roman Empire: The opening track "The Ides Of March" from the album Killers takes its name from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, in which the Roman Emperor is betrayed and murdered by Brutus after being warned to "beware the Ides Of March," which is March 15th. This song immediately reminded me of the time that asshole senior Zack threatened he's kick my ass if I didn't return his copy of Slayer's Reign In Blood before Christmas break, and my so-called "friend" Marty totally sold me out and told him that it was in my locker the whole time. This betrayal led to my tragic, Caesar-esque fall from grace. More specifically, this involved Zack wailing on me and duct-taping my buttcheeks together in the locker room after gym class. Et tu, Marte?

Read the whole thing!

BTW, the descriptions of the songs are 100% true! The lyrics really are about historical events.

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson rescues British citizens from Beirut

Bruce is an all-around cool guy in my book. He's got a big mouth, but that's a lead singer thing. Anyway, it's great to hear he's helping out:

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson reportedly came to the rescue of hundreds of British citizens stranded in war-ravaged Beirut. Dickinson who is also a jet pilot, flew a Boeing 757 to Cyprus where he scooped up the evacuees and flew them back to Gatwick. No word on whether Dickinson cranked “Run to the Hills” on the PA.

"Run to the Hills"? Wouldn't it be "Aces High"?! Or hell, even "Tailgunner"! But "Aces High" has that great line, "Got to get airborne before it's too late!" Hell, let me post the video in honor of Bruce's heroics.

Music video for Iron Maiden's new single The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg

What a weird song title - just who is Benjamin Breeg?

Here's the video, which will hopefully not get yanked offline:



Is it fuckin' cool?! I hope so; I haven't even watched it myself yet! That's how fast you're getting this.

Up the Irons!

Album cover for Iron Maiden's A Matter of Life and Death

I just found the cover artwork for Iron Maiden's upcoming concept album, "A Matter of Life and Death", which is rumored to be based on a British film of the same name. This is a very "Maiden" thing to do. They're all about putting cool stories to music and taking themes into their world.

Here's the cover art:

Fucking sweet, I love it! Can you spot Eddie? Looks don't mean shit in music, but from what I've seen so far it looks like a classic Maiden album. I don't wanna get my hopes up too high, but damn... can't wait.

The album's coming out in the U.S. on September 5th, 2006. If you missed the tracklist you can find it here.

New Iron Maiden album: A Matter Of Life And Death

I admit it; I am a total Iron Maiden fan. Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of though, as they totally fucking rock. And they still rule after all these years. Looking at the track list for the new album gave me shivers!

• Different Worlds (Smith/Harris - 4.17)
• These Colours Don't Run (Smith/Harris/Dickinson - 6.52)
• Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (Smith/Harris/Dickinson - 8.44)
• The Pilgrim (Gers/Harris - 5.07)
• The Longest Day (Smith/Harris/Dickinson - 7.48)
• Out Of the Shadows (Dickinson/Harris - 5.36)
• The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg (Murray/Harris - 7.21)
• For The Greater Good Of God (Harris - 9.24)
• Lord Of Light (Smith/Harris/Dickinson - 7.23)
• The Legacy (Gers/Harris - 9.20)

Fucking right! Up the Irons! Those song names sound really cool, and my God some of those songs are loooong! Gotta love epic Maiden songs; they usually rule. Nothing quite as long as Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which is 13 and a half minutes long, but not bad none the less.

I'm stoked. I hope it's a concept album. I can already see some themes emerging: Light and Darkness, Death and Rebirth, Time and Change....

Looks fucking great. I can't wait. But it looks like I will have to wait until it's released in September.

Maiden Rules!

Update 7-12-06: Here's the album cover!