Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death
NME.COM feature on Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death album including album review, artwork, tracks, listen now, tour dates, discography and more.
Album Review
Release date: 17 February 2009
Brave New World
...they still want to rattle your grey matter.
Fashion was never a consideration. Metal always existed outside the realms of time anyway, and Iron Maiden were its prime old-skool sorcery'n'riffs exponents. They survived everything the '80s threw at them, but now, with sports metal prowling, this is no time to go soft. For the most part they haven't. With longest-enduring singer Bruce Dickinson back in...
- Jun 13, 2000
Tracklisting click track to read more
- Different World
- These Colours Don't Run
- Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
- The Pilgrim
- The Longest Day
- Out Of The Shadows
- The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
- For The Greater Good Of God
- Lord Of Light
- The Legacy
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Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death Videos
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Iron Maiden News
Sales of Iron Maiden's beer halted in Sweden due to controversial label design
Concerns raised over label's skull design
OAP couple get revenge on noisy neighbour by playing Iron Maiden until 4am
The Swedish pensioners were arrested for harassment following the incident
Brewer of Iron Maiden beer moves to six-day week to meet demand
Over 100 countries have applied to stock the cask ale
Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death: Wikipedia Album Entry
A Matter of Life and Death is the 14th studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 25 August 2006 in Italy and in Finland, 28 August worldwide, and 5 September 2006 in the United States, Canada and Japan. It is the first heavy metal album to debut at #4 in India, and made it to #2 in the Indian charts. It is also one of the few rock/metal albums to go platinum in India. It is the first album in Iron Maiden's almost 30 year career to enter the U.S. Billboard charts in the top 10, and has seen significant chart success in many other countries.
While the album is not a concept album, war and religion are recurring themes in the lyrics throughout the album, as well as in the album's artwork. The title "A Matter of Life and Death" is also linked with the war theme, as it titles a 1946 movie whose primary character is a WWII Royal Air Force pilot.
The band, still consisting of the same lineup as their previous two studio albums (making it the second most stable lineup; see Powerslave), started to write the songs near the end of 2005 after their hugely successful appearances in the U.S. and Europe. By the end of the year, the songs were done and they started rehearsing at Sarm West Studios in London.
At 72 minutes, A Matter of Life and Death is the band's longest album to date (exceeding 1995's The X Factor by approximately one minute) and its average song length (7:12) also makes it the longest Iron Maiden album by song average.
This is the band's fourth studio album that is not named after a specific song on the album, following Piece of Mind, The X Factor and Virtual XI.
The album cover was created by Tim Bradstreet, an American artist, currently best known for his covers on the Punisher comics.
During their North American, Japanese and European tours, they performed the entire album in full. They announced after the show at Earl's Court, London on December 23rd, 2006, that the album would never be played in its entirety again. A Matter Of Life And Death Tour was the tour supporting the album.
The first single to be released from the album was "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". It was released on 14 August 2006. On 10 August 2006, "Different World" was put on the official website for everyone to hear. The following day "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" was also put on the official site for public streaming.
"Different World" was the second single released from the album. It has already been receiving airplay on many rock radio stations. The song also features an animated video, similar to that of "Wildest Dreams".
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Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death Lyrics
Iron Maiden - Different Worlds Lyrics
You lead me on a path
Keep showing me the way
I feel a little lost
A little strange today
Iron Maiden - Lord of Light Lyrics
There are secrets that you keep
There are secrets that you keep
There are secrets that you tell to me alone
Iron Maiden - For the Greater Good of God Lyrics
Are you a man of peace
Or a man of holy war?
Too many sides to you
Donât know which anymore
Iron Maiden - The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg Lyrics
Let me tell you about my life
Let me tell you about my dreams
Let me tell you about the things that happened
Always real to me
More Iron Maiden - The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg Lyrics
Iron Maiden - Out Of the Shadows Lyrics
Hold a halo 'round the world, golden is the day
Princes of the universe, your burden is the way
So there is no better time, who will be born today?
A gypsy child at daybreak, a king for a day
Iron Maiden - The Longest Day Lyrics
In the gloom, the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet, eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide, throw evil to its fate
Iron Maiden - The Pilgrim Lyrics
The keys to death and Hell
The ailing kingdom doomed to fail
The bonds of sin and heart will break
The pilgrims' course will take
Iron Maiden - Brighter Than a Thousand Suns Lyrics
We are not the sons of God
We are not His chosen people now
We have crossed the path He trod
We will feel the pain of His beginning
Iron Maiden - These Colours Don't Run Lyrics
It's the same in every country
When you say you're leaving
Left behind the loved ones
Waiting silent in the hall
Iron Maiden - The Legacy Lyrics
Tell you a thing that you ought to know
Two minutes of your time, then on you go
Tell tale of the men, all dressed in black
That most of them, not coming back
