IRON MAIDEN - Maiden's Man Of Mad Motion Speaks
by Martin Popoff

Been thinking recently that Maiden have been doing great with their new record, and with their new tour. But really, even though record sales can't be expected to be anywhere near where they were in the glory days, attendance at their live shows is actually back at those heady numbers of yore. You put 13,000 in Montreal and a similar number in Quebec City, and then follow that with 11,000 or so in Toronto, and man, it's 1985 all over again.

Such was the case a few nights ago when I saw the boys at that bespoken Toronto show. Heck, we were all waiting in cringe to hear Bruce repeat his previously spouted sentiments about low attendance in Canada's biggest burg, how piddly Quebec City kicked our ass, but instead, well, he enthused - somewhat with a betrayed sense of surprise - o'er the nearly packed hockey barn, even going so far as to promise a more extensive than usual Canadian jaunt next time - "and I promise there will be another Iron Maiden tour," says he of the oddly low-key casual business suit get-up on the eve.

All this blather and bluster from the supercharged new Maiden V.2006 is in support of what most are calling the greatest of the three Bruce-returned Maiden spreads, A Matter Of Life And Death, which the band is playing in its entirety to open the show, causing melted internet wiring all o'er the world as discussion boards crash and burn like a Pat Travers album with too much reggae on it.

"To me, it's got a natural progression to it," begins Janick "Crazy Legs" Gers, trying to suss up this vital latest from the NWOBHM's greatest. "The songs are slightly longer, they're more thematic. I mean, what you do, really, is when we come to an album, it's a point in time. It's where you're at at that particular moment. I enjoyed Dance Of Death; it's a great album. You know, I hate when bands come along and go, 'This is the best thing we've ever done.' Well, what about the last one? And they always go, 'Oh man, this is better than the last one!' They do this all the time. I don't think that way. I was really pleased with Dance Of Death, and I'm very happy with A Matter Of Life And Death. Because it's a progression from it. It's pretty much down to a different stage, a different page, down a new avenue. Longer songs, it's a little bit deeper and there's a lot of subtlety in the framework of the words and the vocal ideas, I think. And I think it's just a really interesting departure for the band, and I'm very proud of it."

IRON MAIDEN - Maiden's Man Of Mad Motion Speaks Page 2