The X Factor is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 October 1995 through EMI Records. CMC International released the album in North America. It is the first of two albums by the band to include Blaze Bayley, formerly of Wolfsbane, as vocalist, replacing Bruce Dickinson who left the band following their previous tour to pursue a solo career. It also saw the departure of the band's longtime producer Martin Birch, who retired shortly after the release of their previous album, Fear of the Dark (1992). The album takes a darker tone than the band's first nine releases, due to the lyrics being based on personal issues surrounding Steve Harris at the time, who was in the midst of a divorce. This is reflected in the cover artwork, which graphically depicts the band's mascot, Eddie, being vivisected by a machine.
Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 May 2000. It was their first studio release since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, as well as the band's first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers, who replaced Smith in 1990, remained with the band.
Maiden Japan, released as Heavy Metal Army in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album Made in Japan.
Fear of the Dark is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Released on 11 May 1992, it was their third studio release to top the UK Albums Chart, and the last to feature Bruce Dickinson as the group's lead vocalist until his return in 1999.
Blaze Bayley is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994. He was also the lead singer of Iron Maiden during Bruce Dickinson's absence from 1994 to 1999. Since then, he has pursued a solo career and has released eleven studio albums. Blaze was voted number 67 in Sweden Rock magazine's top 100 singers of all time.
Virtual XI is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 23 March 1998. It is the band's second and final album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. It also marks the first album to utilise a slightly modified logo, with the letters R, M, and N the same size as the other letters as opposed to them being extended. This goes on for the next few albums, until The Final Frontier, in 2010.
Best of the Beast was Iron Maiden's first "best of" album, released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track vinyl, a 27 track CD, a 16 track CD and MiniDisc. The vinyl edition is, to date, the band's longest record release, running for over three hours.
Wolfsbane are an English heavy metal band, active from 1984 to 1994, and again since 2010, following two brief reunions. To date, the band has released five studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, two EPs and three demos. Wolfsbane are now notable for being vocalist Blaze Bayley's band before he went on to replace Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden and then pursue a solo career. In addition to Bayley, the band's current lineup includes guitarist Jason "Jase" Edwards, bassist Jeff Hateley and drummer Steve Danger.
Ed Hunter is a greatest hits album and video game released in 1999 by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden and Synthetic Dimensions. The game objective consists of following Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, through various levels depicting the band's past album covers. The accompanying CDs have the group's most popular songs, as selected by fans on the band's official website.
"The Wicker Man" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 8 May 2000 as the first single and opening track from their twelfth studio album, Brave New World (2000). It preceded the release of Brave New World by three weeks. It is also the first single by the band since 1989's single "Infinite Dreams" to feature "The Trooper"-era lineup with vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith returning to the band in 1999. It was co-written by Smith, Dickinson and Steve Harris. It was co-produced by Kevin Shirley and Harris. The title is inspired by the British cult film of the same name. The song should not be confused with "Wicker Man" from Dickinson's solo career, the lyrics of which are more closely themed around the film. The latter song can be found on the 2 disc edition of The Best of Bruce Dickinson.
"Fear of the Dark" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Written by Steve Harris, the band's bass player and primary songwriter, it serves as the title track to Iron Maiden's 1992 album Fear of the Dark.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released as the second single from their sixth studio album, Somewhere in Time (1986). The song is unrelated to Robert A. Heinlein's novel by the same name.
"Man on the Edge" is a single from the Iron Maiden album The X Factor released in 1995. The song is based on the film Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas. It was the first single the band released with Blaze Bayley on vocals.
"Lord of the Flies" is an Iron Maiden single and second track on their 1995 album The X Factor. The song is based on the book and film of the same name.
"Virus" is a single from Iron Maiden, released in 1996. It is the first single since 1980's "Women in Uniform" that does not appear on any official Iron Maiden studio album. It was, however, featured as a brand new track on the band's first ever career retrospective – 1996's double-disc Best of the Beast. It is the only Iron Maiden song to be credited to both of the band's guitarists. It has never been performed live by Iron Maiden, but Blaze Bayley performed it several times in his solo career. Lyrically, the song warns of rising business and government corruption in an increasingly Internet-dependent world.
"The Angel and the Gambler" is a single from the Iron Maiden album Virtual XI, released in 1998. It preceded the release of Virtual XI by two weeks.
Alive in Poland is the fifth release and second live album by English heavy metal band Blaze Bayley, released in 2007. It features mostly the band's original material, though they also play some Iron Maiden and Wolfsbane covers, as lead singer Blaze Bayley used to be in both bands.
From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990–2010 is a compilation album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, containing a selection of songs originally released on the eight studio albums from No Prayer for the Dying to The Final Frontier. The title is lifted from the 1992 single, "From Here to Eternity", although it is not featured in this release.
Thomas Zwijsen is a Dutch/Belgian (Flemish) classical acoustic and heavy metal guitarist. He is known for his arrangements of Iron Maiden songs for classical guitar both on YouTube since 2007 and with his 2013 and 2014 albums "Nylon Maiden", "Nylonized" and "Nylon Maiden II". Since 2011, he has worked closely with ex Iron Maiden and Wolfsbane frontman Blaze Bayley, co-composing Bayley's 2012 album The King of Metal and 2013 released Russian Holiday EP. In 2015, he released an album in Flamenco/fusion style consisting entirely of his own compositions, entitled "Divide & Unite".
