| "The Angel & The Gambler" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Iron Maiden | ||||
| from the album Virtual XI | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 9 March 1998 [1] | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 9:56 (Part 1) 6:05 (Part 2) | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Steve Harris | |||
| Iron Maiden singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| CD 2 cover | ||||
| Picture Disc | ||||
"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.
It is the first Iron Maiden single to feature a video as a B-side. It is also the first Iron Maiden single to use the band's alternate logo with the extended ends of the "R","M",and both "N's" removed. This variant would be used on all future singles until 2010's "El Dorado". The singles includes two audio tracks recorded live at Kåren,Gothenburg,Sweden in 1995 on The X Factour,their tour in support of The X Factor .
At 9 minutes and 56 seconds in length,it was the band's longest single at the time and the only one to exceed the 8-minute mark,until it was surpassed by the 18-minute "Empire of the Clouds",released 18 years later as the second single from their 2015 album The Book of Souls .
To support the single with more airplay,the band also released a music video,which featured the shortened version of the song. In an almost Star Wars fashion,the video features an entirely computer-generated world filled with aliens of varying quality. The concept for the video,particularly Blaze walking into the bar with a brown hat and a long jacket were taken from concept art designed for the Somewhere in Time album,specifically the single "Stranger in a Strange Land".
The single was released in four parts:CD part 1 contains a poster,with the "Virtual XI Fixture List 1998" on one side and the band posing in Maiden football gear with some of their favourite players on the other side. CD part 2 contains three double-sided cards with the musicians posing in Maiden football gear and also has a shortened version of "The Angel and the Gambler". The third was a 7" picture disc and the fourth was a CD maxi-single with both b-side live tracks on it. The picture disc and maxi-single both had the edited version of the title track.
The 7" picture disc had "Blood On The Worlds Hands" live;cd 1 had "Blood On The Worlds Hands" also and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" video;cd 2 had "The Aftermath" live and "Man on the Edge" video;the maxi-single had both live b-sides but only "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" video for some reason.
Production credits are adapted from the CD Single cover. [2]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles) [3] | 35 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [4] | 3 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) [5] | 61 |
| Italy (FIMI) [6] | 3 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Tipparade 40) [7] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) [8] | 52 |
| Spain (AFYVE) [9] | 5 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [10] | 29 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [11] | 18 |
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.
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 utilize 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.
"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 British 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.
"Rainmaker" is the 37th single by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 24 November 2003 as the second and final single from their 13th studio album,Dance of Death (2003). It was written by Dave Murray,Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson,and produced by Harris and Kevin Shirley.
"Holy Smoke" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the first single release to feature guitarist Janick Gers,who joined the band in mid-1990. It was released just weeks before the album,No Prayer for the Dying,and climbed to number three on the UK Singles Chart.
"Be Quick or Be Dead" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden,released as the first single from their ninth studio album,Fear of the Dark,on 13 April 1992. The single peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and in Finland while reaching the top 10 in Denmark,Ireland,and Norway.
"From Here to Eternity" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden,released as the second single from their album Fear of the Dark,released in 1992.
"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.
"Futureal" is a single from the Iron Maiden album Virtual XI,released in 1998. It is the last single by the band to feature vocalist Blaze Bayley,as he parted ways with the band in February 1999.
"Out of the Silent Planet" is a single from the Iron Maiden album Brave New World,released in 2000.
"Wildest Dreams" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 1 September 2003 as the lead single from their 13th studio album,Dance of Death (2003). It was written by guitarist Adrian Smith and bassist Steve Harris,and produced by Kevin Shirley.
"Different World" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the opening track from their 14th studio album,A Matter of Life and Death (2006),and was released as the second single from the album. It was released on 14 November 2006 in the United States,and 26 December 2006 in Europe. The song has been stated by the band to be a tribute to Thin Lizzy due to the low sounding melodies sung by Bruce Dickinson that are reminiscent of those Phil Lynott would sing. It was also played first every night on the band's A Matter of Life and Death Tour.
The Virtual XI Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 22 April 1998 to 12 December 1998. As with their previous tour,several of the band's U.S. shows had to be cancelled after vocalist Blaze Bayley had issues with his voice,this time reportedly from an allergic reaction to pollen and dust while the group were in Nevada and Arizona. The band later made up the Los Angeles and San Diego dates. This would be Iron Maiden's last tour with Bayley as then former vocalist Bruce Dickinson would return to the group the following year.
The X Factour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden which took place from 28 September 1995 to 7 September 1996. It was their first tour with vocalist Blaze Bayley,who debuted on The X Factor album.
From Fear to Eternity:The Best of 1990–2010 is a compilation album by British 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.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
