Lego
Ancient Mariner
No that is perfect, thank you!
I just wanted more information regarding your source.
"The Book of Souls" - Official pre-release thread (CONTAINS ALBUM SPOILERS)
- Thread starter Perun
- Start date
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No that is perfect, thank you!
I just wanted more information regarding your source.
Has anyone tried this: http://www.ironmaiden.com/contact-iron-maiden.html ?
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Why?
Lego
Ancient Mariner
"Dear Steeve,
Can I here the new ablum already pleas? I'm you're number one fan!!!!1!
Love,
Lego"
Via the shop?!! Charming!
I can tell. 
.Nothing more romantic than listening to the Empire of the clouds while making out.
Riiiight. So, back to those rumours about Maiden playing in Europe next year...anyone find out anything concrete?
Travis The Dragon
AFTERGLOW!!!
Just 3 little old weeks to go to Speed Of Light!
That'sHowYouGetAnts
Invader
Eagerly anticipating this and checking Google every day for new information. This will be my third album since I became a fan (which was in 2004, so I just missed Dance of Death by about a year).
Travis The Dragon
AFTERGLOW!!!
Just throwing this out there again because I know new people check this thread all them time and they might have missed this post.
Ariana
Black-and-white leopard
I have no clue how we've missed that! Some interesting information about the cover of the album and the topics in it. I'm copying this from the Team Rock radio website, but the full story will be featured in Metal Hammer on 18 August.
The story behind the art of Iron Maiden's new album, The Book Of Souls!
It’s time to get very, very excited.
In the wake of Bruce Dickinson’s first public appearance since his cancer scare – a visit to charity Nordoff Robbins’ London HQ in support of Music Therapy Week – and Iron Maiden’s well-deserved receipt of an O2 Silver Clef award honouring their vast contribution to the music industry over the last 30 years, news about the imminent return of the UK’s greatest ever metal band is coming thick and fast.
Their 16th studio effort, 92-minute double album The Book Of Souls, is due for release on September 4. But dig beneath the surface of the new Maiden record and there is much more going on than even the most obsessive fans might expect, particularly with regard to the album’s stunning artwork, which draws from the iconography of ancient Mayan civilisations.
In the process of assembling the concept and artwork for The Book Of Souls, Iron Maiden have recruited noted British historian, writer and Mayanist Simon Martin to ensure that every aspect of the album’s art is true to the ancient Mayan language and culture that inspired it. Having studied the history and legacy of the Mayans for the last 30 years, Simon is the perfect man for what is, in typical Maiden fashion, the meticulous job of translating songtitles into authentic Mayan hieroglyphs.
“I am pretty much the only person in Britain who does this, so they didn’t have a lot of choice, really!” Simon tells Metal Hammer. “I got together with Maiden’s representatives and they talked a bit about the concept. They didn’t want it to be bullshit, they wanted the real thing, so that’s why they came to me. Many of the words they have in the songtitles don’t appear in the existing hieroglyph system. There are about 500 signs in the system and about 150 of them are syllable signs... the rest of them are whole words, for example, the word ‘clouds’ appears in one of the new Maiden songs [Empire Of The Clouds – The Book Of Souls’ epic final track] , and so ‘cloud’ could be a whole-word sign that depicts a cloud, but for most of the titles I had to use phonetic signs to create the words. What I did is basically translate the titles into Spanish and then into Mayan language, so we ended up with proper grammar and a proper Mayan translation that could then be turned into hieroglyphs.”
Although not a concept album in the traditional sense, The Book Of Souls does return frequently to themes suggested by its title and underpinned by that stunning artwork. As Simon points out, the album title has no specific origin in Mayan culture, but the album’s preoccupation with the human spirit and its perceived destiny is certainly something the ancient Mayans would have recognised and appreciated.
“Oh yes, the Mayans are very big on souls,” he explains. “They thought that people make a passage through the surface of the earth and into the Underworld, where they then have to battle with the gods of the Underworld, before your soul leaves the earth and goes up into the sky. So as a title, it’s appropriate to Mayan culture, but it’s very much Iron Maiden’s own thing.”
The arrival of the new Maiden album looks certain to inspire a lot of people to discover the arcane wonders and intricate imagery of Mayan civilisation. A regular visitor to the Mayans’ ancient sites and ruins in southern Mexico and elsewhere in Central America, Simon Martin has some shrewd advice to pass on to any Maiden fans considering following in his footsteps.
“I get a lot of bug bites!” he laughs. “It’s a different world down there. The wildlife is amazing. It’s like stepping into a David Attenborough documentary, and that’s pretty special. On the whole, there’s some sort of road that’s been cleared, but there can be elements of bushwhacking to see more remote places, and that’s when you need bug spray, plenty of water and good boots!”
For the full, exclusive story on The Book Of Souls, Bruce’s recovery and Iron Maiden’s triumphant return to action, don’t miss the next issue of Metal Hammer, on sale August 18.
It’s time to get very, very excited.
In the wake of Bruce Dickinson’s first public appearance since his cancer scare – a visit to charity Nordoff Robbins’ London HQ in support of Music Therapy Week – and Iron Maiden’s well-deserved receipt of an O2 Silver Clef award honouring their vast contribution to the music industry over the last 30 years, news about the imminent return of the UK’s greatest ever metal band is coming thick and fast.
Their 16th studio effort, 92-minute double album The Book Of Souls, is due for release on September 4. But dig beneath the surface of the new Maiden record and there is much more going on than even the most obsessive fans might expect, particularly with regard to the album’s stunning artwork, which draws from the iconography of ancient Mayan civilisations.
In the process of assembling the concept and artwork for The Book Of Souls, Iron Maiden have recruited noted British historian, writer and Mayanist Simon Martin to ensure that every aspect of the album’s art is true to the ancient Mayan language and culture that inspired it. Having studied the history and legacy of the Mayans for the last 30 years, Simon is the perfect man for what is, in typical Maiden fashion, the meticulous job of translating songtitles into authentic Mayan hieroglyphs.
“I am pretty much the only person in Britain who does this, so they didn’t have a lot of choice, really!” Simon tells Metal Hammer. “I got together with Maiden’s representatives and they talked a bit about the concept. They didn’t want it to be bullshit, they wanted the real thing, so that’s why they came to me. Many of the words they have in the songtitles don’t appear in the existing hieroglyph system. There are about 500 signs in the system and about 150 of them are syllable signs... the rest of them are whole words, for example, the word ‘clouds’ appears in one of the new Maiden songs [Empire Of The Clouds – The Book Of Souls’ epic final track] , and so ‘cloud’ could be a whole-word sign that depicts a cloud, but for most of the titles I had to use phonetic signs to create the words. What I did is basically translate the titles into Spanish and then into Mayan language, so we ended up with proper grammar and a proper Mayan translation that could then be turned into hieroglyphs.”
Although not a concept album in the traditional sense, The Book Of Souls does return frequently to themes suggested by its title and underpinned by that stunning artwork. As Simon points out, the album title has no specific origin in Mayan culture, but the album’s preoccupation with the human spirit and its perceived destiny is certainly something the ancient Mayans would have recognised and appreciated.
“Oh yes, the Mayans are very big on souls,” he explains. “They thought that people make a passage through the surface of the earth and into the Underworld, where they then have to battle with the gods of the Underworld, before your soul leaves the earth and goes up into the sky. So as a title, it’s appropriate to Mayan culture, but it’s very much Iron Maiden’s own thing.”
The arrival of the new Maiden album looks certain to inspire a lot of people to discover the arcane wonders and intricate imagery of Mayan civilisation. A regular visitor to the Mayans’ ancient sites and ruins in southern Mexico and elsewhere in Central America, Simon Martin has some shrewd advice to pass on to any Maiden fans considering following in his footsteps.
“I get a lot of bug bites!” he laughs. “It’s a different world down there. The wildlife is amazing. It’s like stepping into a David Attenborough documentary, and that’s pretty special. On the whole, there’s some sort of road that’s been cleared, but there can be elements of bushwhacking to see more remote places, and that’s when you need bug spray, plenty of water and good boots!”
For the full, exclusive story on The Book Of Souls, Bruce’s recovery and Iron Maiden’s triumphant return to action, don’t miss the next issue of Metal Hammer, on sale August 18.
Wow, great find!
And there's that picture again.
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