Iron Maiden are featured on the cover of the current (September 2000, this is not a typo) Metal Maniacs.

I braved hail, rain and wind today to get my copies of The Wicker Man. I bought both CD singles and the 12" picture disc. The Wicker Man sounds great in it's final version. The live tracks are real energetic, hopefully they will release more! Excellent sleeve by Mark Wilkinson of Marillion fame.

The 12" is a picture disc in a cardboard sleeve. One of the CD singles comes with a poster, and the other comes on a clear CD single.

Well, it's been an exciting week for Maiden fans. The sound clip of the new single, "Wicker Man" is online at the official website. To my ears it sounds a bit more like solo Dickinson, than recent Maiden, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Raising Hell, has been officially released on DVD. I picked up a copy yesterday, and while it is certainly no-frills, the picture and sound both appear to be excellent.

It's official, Maiden's new album "Brave New World" is scheduled for a late May/early June release. The track listing is to be:

1. THE WICKER MAN (Smith / Harris / Dickinson)
2. GHOST OF THE NAVIGATOR (Gers / Dickinson /Harris)
3. BRAVE NEW WORLD (Murray / Harris /Dickinson)
4. BLOOD BROTHERS (Harris)
5. THE MERCENARY (Gers / Harris)
6. DREAM OF MIRRORS (Gers / Harris)
7. THE FALLEN ANGEL (Smith / Harris)
8. THE NOMAD (Murray /Harris)
9. OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET (Gers / Dickinson / Harris)
10. THE THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE (Murray / Harris)

See the Official Maiden Website for the latest news.

The new Maiden single is due to be released in the UK on May 8 and will be called "The Wicker Man." The tentative b-sides will be live tracks from last year's Ed Hunter tour. Other tracks to be on the album include "Ghost of the Navigator," "Blood Brothers" and "Brave New World." Surf on over to the Official Maiden Website for the latest news.

Eddie or The Wicker Man? Hmmm...guess we'll have to wait for the new video to be sure.

Thanks to Jadd over at Meteor City for hooking me up with a copy of Slave To The Power, their new Iron Maiden tribute. I heard some pretty cool stuff on there, it's my favorite of the tributes so far. Stand out tracks for me would be: Solace-"Another Life", Wardog-"Purgatory", Conquest-"Evil That Men Do" & Las Cruces-"The Prisoner". Some bigger names feature as well, like Kamelot, Iron Savior, Crowbar, Sebatian Bach & Chris Caffery from Savatage. I also LOVE the cover painting!

Maiden have announced they will be going out for a full world tour in 2000. The first dates are in Europe in June and July. September will see them in South and Central America, and then on to North America. Japan and more will follow after.

According to the Official Fan Club Maiden are currently in the studio in Paris recording the new album for a 2000 release. The producer is Kevin Shirley who has worked with Judas Priest, The Black Crowes, Bon Jovi, Silverchair, Journey, Aerosmith and Dream Theater.

I've just received my Fan Club mag #59. It's a real great issue chock full of info, with some help from the guys over at Neighbour of the Beast. Some cool new merchandise items as well. Along with the mag, I received a new autographed photo and the '99 Christmas Card.

Iron Maiden's video game/greatest hits package, Ed Hunter has just been released in the US. It is on Maiden's new label, Sony/Portrait and features the same track listing as the UK version, with the addition of a "hidden" bonus track. The extra track featured is a version of "Wrathchild" with Bruce on vocals. It appears that the producer took off Paul's track and added a new vocal from Bruce over the original backing track.

The reports are just coming in, but it appears Dave Murray fell off the stage at a recent gig and broke his pinky finger. It is likely from what I am hearing that the San Jose and Las Vegas shows were cancelled. To all the fans on the West Coast I send my regards, as it seems they have taken it on the chin in quite a few of Maiden's recent tours.

Best wishes to Dave for a speedy recovery.

With the US tour coming to a close, Maiden has generated a fair amount of interest in the US press.

Maiden are featured on the cover, and in a 5-pg. color article in the current (Oct. 1999) Metal Edge.The band discusses the "reunion", the tour and Ed Hunter. Also included is an interesting section on Bruce Dickinson speaking about the aborted Samson reunion, and the reissue of several Samson and solo releases on his own "Air Raid" label.

They are also feature in the October US issue of Metal Hammer (a reprint of the 5-pg. May 1999 article from the European Metal Hammer) and in the October issue of Metal Maniacs (5-pg. article).

''[Our label] Sony is convinced there is a real place for Maiden, that we can get on radio with what we do. If Maiden gets a sniff of getting a record on radio, it'll go stratospheric. We're all only getting started.'' If that happens, Dickinson promises ''the mother and father of all Maiden tours.''

-Bruce Dickinson, from an article in The Boston Globe, pg. C16, 7/16/99.

Many people on the net have been questioning what merchandise Maiden have available at the shows on the Ed Hunter tour. Heres a quick rundown to the best of my memory of what was available in NY.

Shirts:
1. Ed Hunter Eddie from CD on Front/Ed Hunter Devil Head and Tour Info on Back.
2. Eddie Fighting Devil from Ed Hunter CD on Front/Ed Hunter Devil Head and Tour Info on Back.
3. Standing Ed Hunter Eddie on Front/Bat Style Eddie and World Tour Cities on Back
4. Standing Ed Hunter Eddie All Over Print on Front/Maiden Logo on Back
5. The Trooper on Front/Map With North American Tour Cities on Back.

Keychain: Metal Coffin with Mummy/Maiden Logo on Side.
Badge: Metal Ed Hunter Devil with Maiden Logo in Circle.

Coffee Mug: Ed Hunter and Maiden Logo
Mouse Pad: Ed Hunter Montage

Tour Poster/Program: Large Poster of Band that Folds Down into a Tour Program.

Bandana: Square with Multiple Maiden Logos

When my friends and I arrived in our cab back from a day of shopping in New York's Chinatown, we were amazed by the mob of rabid Maiden fans lining the streets in front of the Hammerstein Ballroom. As a television crew began filming the crowd, they started chanting "MAIDEN...MAIDEN...MAIDEN." It was clear that the crowd was just a bit excited about the show.

Show openers Clutch performed a competent, but somewhat boring set, with special guest Leslie West (of Mountian) joining them for the encore. I must admit that with my excitement building for Maiden not really much they could have done would have impressed me. The crowd seemed quite pleased in general with them.

The lights went down for Maiden and the intro began to play. A large screen flipped down from the lighting rig onto which images from the Ed Hunter game were projected. The crowd completely lost it when they followed that with the recording of Churchill's speech used on the Powerslave tour. After the taped intro of Aces High, Maiden ripped into the song proper, and there was no looking back. I haven't seen Maiden with this much energy since the Powerslave tour. Everyone joined in on the chorus of Aces High. Maiden followed with Wrathchild, The Trooper and 2 Minutes to Midnight. Bruce was in fine form and seemed genuinely excited about being back.

It was time to slow things down a bit, and I was very disappointed in the boos heard from some members of the crowd during the introduction of The Clansman. Bruce handled the crowd well, and put them in their place with a snappy reply and a mischevious smile. Probably the best song on theVirtual XI album, Bruce sang the song like it was written for him.Wasted Years, Killers and Stranger in a Strange Land followed to close out the first half of the set. Adrian sounded wonderful, really pointing out what we had been missing since 1988. He and Dave traded solos with a vengeance.

Without intro (a clever move) the band played the newer songs Futureal and Man on the Edge. Bruce sounded good, but didn't add as much to these songs as he did to The Clansman. The crowd seemed a bit lost for those two, and the songs that followed, Powerslave and Phantom of the Opera. The highlights of the evening for me, Powerslave and Phantom of the Opera, were two songs I hadn't seen live in a long time.

The excitement level built to massive proportions as Maiden performed The Evil that Men Do, Fear of the Dark and closed out with Iron Maiden. A huge Eddie appeared behind Nicko and loomed large over the stage. The 3-guitar setup worked great, the structure seemed to focus Janick Gers.

After a short break, the intro to The Number of the Beast sent the crowd into a frenzy. Steve's bass signaled the beginning of the encores. Followed up by Hallowed be thy Name and Run to the Hills, these three were the close of an incredible show. I was surprised and pleased to see the omission of Heaven Can Wait and Bring Your Daugther, two songs that for me have really worn out their welcome. I've seen Maiden a number of times and I have to say, this one was close to the top for me, no small feat. If you have the chance to see Maiden on this tour, please do, you will not be dissapointed!

Sadly Adrian will miss the forthcoming sold out shows at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston on Sun July 18 and Toronto's Massey Hall on Tues July 20 due to the sad death of his father. Adrian will return to England for the funeral on Sunday returning to continue the tour in Cleveland on Wednesday. He says "Tell the fans in Boston and Toronto l'm sorry not to be there but l'm sure they will understand. I'll see them next year ." The gigs will however go ahead with the 3 guitar onslaught being reduced to 2 for these shows only, with Dave and Janick fulfilling all the duties.

Best wishes to Adrian Smith and his family at this difficult time.