Connection between Maiden's music and artwork

nuno_c said:
It's really tricky to say that... To me, the fact that Maiden are "hard to work with" means that they actually just have a very strong artistic vision, and that is certainly something i admire, regardless of the end result since that in itself is subjective...
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Well, it's not tricky to say that, when you've got the other side of the coin, Derek Riggs, in his official book Run For Cover telling everyone how hard he was pushed by Iron Maiden to come up with stuff at certain deadlines :D

Yes Maiden has their own artistic vision but so has a lot of artists, It's a miracle Riggs painted for Maiden that long, they must have payed him pretty well.
 
SixesAlltheway said:
Well, it's not tricky to say that, when you've got the other side of the coin, Derek Riggs, in his official book Run For Cover telling everyone how hard he was pushed by Iron Maiden to come up with stuff at certain deadlines :D
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For some reason i always thought Derek is really a moaner... I mean, Maiden worked at a VERY fast pace in the 80's, so it's only natural that they NEEDED things done at a very fast pace as well, you know what i mean? It's not exactly like they pushed poor Derek just because...
 
Well, I'm sure Derek was happy to be in business for a while too..but I think it's wrong to call him a moaner. Just because he's working for a metal band that we all love (and that he never gave two shits about for the record) doesn't mean he should just cash in his life to produce for Iron Maiden holdings ltd, does it? You demand respect, fair treatment and basic rights at your workplace too right?
 
SixesAlltheway said:
Well, I'm sure Derek was happy to be in business for a while too..but I think it's wrong to call him a moaner. Just because he's working for a metal band that we all love (and that he never gave two shits about for the record) doesn't mean he should just cash in his life to produce for Iron Maiden holdings ltd, does it? You demand respect, fair treatment and basic rights at your workplace too right?
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Obviously, and i think we all demand it, it's only fair ;)

What i mean to say is that over the years Derek has said some (i think unfair) nasty things about Maiden. And i was referring to the fact that Maiden did really need everything done fast around them at that time because they themselves were working extremely fast.

But btw, i never knew Derek disliked the band :eek: And also, was he THAT disrespected by the band?
 
Well, I agree, Derek has said some not too thoughtful things about Maiden in the last few years, mainly on his website, which was really unnecessary. And yes, Maiden needed things done fast and A LOT OF IT...Now, put yourself in the artists shoes of the Maiden merchandise machine, how hard do you think Riggs was pressured to come up with stuff and meet deadlines in the 80's??

He didn't "dislike" them, but he didn't care for Maiden. As in, he didn't listen to metal. At all.

He certainly felt so...He felt he was being used and he never had much contact with anyone in Maiden, save for Smallwood. All communication went through Smallwood.

Read the book, it will give you a broader perspective.
 
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I think SIT and FOTD covers are really connected to music on that albums.
The covers itself and of course booklets too.
Very suitable pictures and locations.
 
I think the artwork, being as strong as it is, tends to stick in your mind along with the music when looking and listening at the same time. It's the way I listen to albums mostly, but I'm a dinosaur.

I've noticed a pattern in Maiden's covers.
Thinking in terms of vinyl, the first 8 albums are single records. The following 8 are doubles except Book of Souls which is a triple.
You can couple the first single 8 records with the following 8 doubles(and triple) by listing them down(singles) then up(doubles).

Iron Maiden = Book of Souls (face on Eddie)
Killers = The Final Frontier (Eddie wielding implement over victim)
Number of the Beast = Matter of Life and Death (burning/burnt landscape)
Piece of Mind = Dance of Death (figures = chains)
Powerslave = Brave New World (not real Eddie in Godlike status)
Somewhere in Time = Virtual XI (Eddie controlling boy, band Eddie)
Seventh Son = X Factor (missing lower torso)
No Prayer = Fear of the Dark (reaching up/down)

I think there's a similarly between the covers here.
 
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Also :)

I see the singular vinyl albums as masculine and the double vinyl albums as feminine, as in Iron(male) Maiden(female).
As a 'story', I think the triple Book of Souls comes first, the Trinity if you will, then the split thus:
IM (m)

TFF-KILLERS (f-m)
AMOLAD-NOTB (f-m)

DOD-POM (f-m)
BNW-PS (f-m)

VXI-SIT (f-m)
XF-SSOASS (f-m)

FOTD-NPFTD ( f-m)

(f?)

Just a thought.

P.S. Red tops are important!
 
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SixesAlltheway said:
I don't know how the F*** the Dance of Death cover ever got released....Apparently a real fuck up by everyone.

"The cover, although it is not mentioned in the credits, was made by David Patchett, the artist behind the Cathedral covers. Reportedly, Patchett's cover only included Eddie and the monks, but Rod thought it was really empty, so he hired someone from ironmaiden.com to design the characters surrounding Eddie using the programme Poser. Then, he gave the roughs back to Patchett and asked him to work on the skin and mask textures. Patchett did so but was unimpressed with the result and asked not to be included in the credits. The masks used on the Dance of Death cover were made by Goblin Art, a company based in Portland, Oregon (USA). Although they bear a striking similarity with those that can be seen in Kubrick's 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut, Goblin Art never provided the masks for the film."
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would have been fine with that one tbh
 
Right. I'm going to make it my mission to redesign the Dance of Death cover art. The Lego one is cool, though.
 
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