Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
BMG are proud to announce the release of Voyage, the debut collaborative release from the acclaimed Iron Maiden guitarist and bassist team Janick Gers and Steve Harris. Set to be released on June 7th, the album is the product of a labour of love spanning several years, and features a blend of the songwriting duo’s iconic melodies across ten heavily prog-tinted tracks.
Mixed and produced by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley and Stephie “Persephone” Harris, the album also features the exacting vocal work of British Lion’s Richard Taylor and the extraordinary talent of Iron Maiden’s own Nicko McBrain on the drums.
Janick Gers says, “These tracks originated during Iron Maiden sessions as fragments that Steve and I liked but never seemed to be able to turn into full Iron Maiden songs. The earliest tracks started life as we were working on The Book Of Souls and more was written as we toured and regrouped for Senjutsu. Steve and I finally got the time to perfect these outtakes in January of this year and the results are amazing. There’s plenty of Iron Maiden’s DNA within these tracks, but the scope is like something we’ve never done before.”
Steve Harris continues, “Janick came up with some fantastic riffs and melodies that felt very much like ‘70s hard rock throwbacks, and I ended up pushing them to Yes lengths as is often the case. Lyrics weren’t initially important for us, but as we started writing I came up with some lines to flesh out a lot of the little stories within the songs. Some of them stayed mostly or completely instrumental, though. ‘The Highland’ was the result of a jam session during a rehearsal of ‘Death Of The Celts’.”
He credits the album’s strength to its thematic scope. “I was really in the zone as we came up with these tracks. These songs are larger than life to me, and the themes had to be equally large.” These themes include the Aztec Empire in "Shadow Of The Serpent" and the American painter Thomas Cole, whose Study For The Voyage Of Life: Old Age became the album cover - Steve calls it "doing a Dickinson". "Canterbury" is also a clear ode to Chaucer.
Nicko’s involvement was directly a result of his stroke in 2023. As Steve explains, “I really wanted Nicko to be present on this record because of his sheer determination in the face of terrifying odds. Not only did he bounce back from such a horrible, horrible event, but he continues to perform as though he’s drinking from the elixir of life. I wanted that energy on this album and he delivered, massively.” Richard's involvement was due to being the only singer Steve could find.
The full tracklisting is:
1. Gates Of Madness (4:57)
2. The Mirror (5:41)
3. Voyage (6:14)
4. The Highland (4:47)
5. Shadow Of The Serpent (9:12)
6. Awaken The Tribes (5:52)
7. Sea Of Life/Drawing Down The Stars (7:32)
8. The Pagan (5:46)
9. Lost Kingdoms (7:28)
10. Canterbury (12:31)
The album will be available in these formats:
Digipack CD
12” black double vinyl
Digital (streaming and download)
Limited edition 12” silver & gold coloured double vinyl
Manager Rod Smallwood has the final say: “If this proggy-arse shit fokken works I will personally set these old muthafukkas on a bus so you bitches will buy more tickets. Fuck you, send me money. #Rod4eva.”
You can preorder the album here.
