Iron Maiden
The Book of Souls
2 CD Deluxe Edition | MP3 | 3 LP Vinyl
BMG Recorded Music
Release date: September 4, 2015

Very few things in the world surprise or excite a jaded old metalhead like myself. Iron Maiden releasing their best album in at least 23 years is an obvious exception. There, I said it right in the opening! There is no point beating around the bush on this one: The Book of Souls, in addition to being Maiden’s first-ever double studio album is easily their best effort since 1992’s Fear of the Dark. Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of great tracks among the band’s six studio albums that were released during that 23-year period, but not a single one of those records maintained the quality throughout that is so richly on display with The Book of Souls.

It’s been a long 5 year wait for Iron Maiden fans. The band’s last studio album, The Final Frontier, was released in 2010. In the interim, the band has been very busy with a litany of projects. They toured the globe on a massive world tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their landmark album Seventh Son of A Seventh Son, launched their own Trooper brand of beer, bassist and principal songwriter Steve Harris recorded and toured for a solo record, and singer Bruce Dickinson started an airline!