Who are Iron Maiden?

There are a few names that spring to mind whenever we think about the core bands of Heavy Metal. Iron Maiden, along with others like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Motörhead, Saxon and Rainbow, form what is now seen as a central idea that exploded in rock history around 1975. For very good reason, Iron Maiden are usually considered the kingpin band that held the movement together, with their trademark ferocious guitar and eclectic sources of inspiration. Named after a medieval instrument of torture, Iron Maiden blitzed their way into the minds of the public with a series of searing metal hits that rocked the roof off wherever they played. It was soon apparent that something very powerful and unique was taking place, and with band leader Steve Harris spurring them on, Maiden hit number 4 in the album charts with 1980’s eponymous Iron Maiden – and so the New Wave of British Heavy Metal had begun. The band went from strength to strength; 1982’s The Number of the Beast was a major milestone for Iron Maiden, as they hit the British Number One spot – their first album to do so, and as Christian activists tried to ban them, the bad boys of metal plowed ahead with Piece of Mind, which made number 3. Such monumental fame for a heavy metal band was virtually unprecendented, especially the power-chord and crazy solo-oriented breed of metal that Maiden brought to their fans. Needless to say Iron Maiden tickets were manna from heaven for the faithful, of which there were now millions.

Somewhere in Time: Iron Maiden Evolve

Iron Maiden have always been at the fore of musical evolution, and they rose to the challenge in the late-80s, when they embarked on an experimental trip-cum-album entitled Somewhere in Time. The theme was time travel and time itself. A single called “Wasted Years” was first to make its way out to the world, and the song remains a classic of metal as well as a testament to the mutability of this awesome band. There followed solo tours (notably Bruce Dickinson in 1991), movie soundtracks (A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child) and even dissolution, but in 1994, Blaze Bayley, formerly of heavy metal band Wolfsbane, passed an audition and became Iron Maiden’s vocalist. Bayley had a different style to previous Maiden singers and many tut-tutted, as their next album charted at the lowest position since 1981 for a Maiden album. Bayley didn’t last long, and at the end of the 90s Iron Maiden reformed and embarked on a massively sucessful reunion tour.

Sharon Osbourne Controversy

Iron Maiden tickets were selling out in 2005 when they played their last Ozzfest performance. Ozzfest took place at the Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen in San Bernardino, California, where an estimated 50 000 people banged their heads to the wild guitars and gritty vocals that knew and loved. At one point, Ozzie’s wife Sharon disrupted the Maiden performance when she switched the PA system off and the MC began chanting “Ozzy! Ozzy!”. Objects, later identified as eggs, were thrown at Iron Maiden, soiling the drumkit and Dickinson’s mic stand. Further inquiry revealed that Ozzie’s daughter Kelly and some others had been the ones throwing the material. Maiden halted their performance while roadies cleaned the drums, the microphone stand, and the stage floor, which was coated in slippery eggs.PA-based interruptions continued, though, so Iron Maiden called it a day. Sharon Osbourne took the stage and accused Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson of insulting Ozzy and Black Sabbath in general. She heaped praise on the rest of Maiden’s musicians, but the Iron Maiden fans present jeered her offstage, chanting “Maiden, Maiden, Maiden”. An amazing 10,000 people heavy metal fans protested by leaving Ozzfest right there and then. Many made official complaints.

Iron Maiden Final Frontier World Tour

Several lineup changes haven’t blunted Iron Maiden’s assault on the ears of the music-buying public, and Heavy Metal fans will forever point to them as one of the true greats. Buy Iron Maiden tickets 2010 for the Final Frontier World Tour. Be there in the flesh to see the band who’s journey has been both fractious and cohesive, contradictory and consistent. Iron Maiden tour tickets will disappear like Maiden fans at Ozzfest, so make sure you are an early bird – that way you’ll be aces high, and know that somewhere in time you will see Maiden live! These guys ain’t copying anybody; they’re the real McCoy, and the heart and soul of metal…