Are Iron Maiden About to Release New Music?
Iron Maiden are up to something, having dropped a series of clues both online and IRL in recent weeks. And according to some clever internet sleuths who spent a ton of time piecing it all together, all signs point towards new music arriving on July 15.
The series of clues and revelations is long and complex, and Loudwire have done a good job detailing all of it for those inclined to dive into the nitty gritty. But the quick hit version for the quick hit attention span is as follows:
- Flyers for ‘Belshezzar’s Feast’ were spotted on the grounds of Download Pilot, the 10,000-person mini version of the annual U.K. festival that took place earlier this month as part of a Covid-19 government study. “Live forever,” “man or beast” and “heaven or hell” were printed on the flyers, along with two sets of numbers: “15/07” and the Roman numerals “IMXVII.”
Fans speculated that the first number is a reference to the 15th of July and that the second stands for Iron Maiden 17. Iron Maiden’s next album will be their 17th.
2. Fans who emailed an address on the flyer got responses with lyric-like lines that work in the acronym “WOTW” with the first letter of each sentence, such as in the second paragraph here:
Belshazzar’s feast is a story from the Book of Daniel in the Bible commonly known as the story of the writing on the wall.
The phrase “WOTW” appeared on a recent Maiden tour flyer:
3. English singer-songwriter Frank Turner wore a “Belshazzar’s feast” t-shirt at a Download interview, slyly unzipping his hoodie to reveal it when the interviewer asked if Turner had heard anything about a new Maiden album:
4. Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson wore the same shirt during a Sky News interview. The shirt was overshadowed by Dickinson’s comments about how Brexit has made the touring situation throughout Europe more difficult for his band (Dickinson expressed his support for Brexit previously), but you can plainly see it here:
5. A newly created Twitter account, @bels_feast (displaying the name ‘Daniel’), has been circulating similar images. Some Reddit users (who else?) noticed that the account only follows 16 other pages, each of which corresponds to one of Iron Maiden’s 16 albums:
6. Iron Maiden’s official Twitter account made a sly “WOTW” reference, this time as “Walker on the wing:”
7. A video of what purports to be a new Iron Maiden song called “Writing on the Wall (Belshazzar’s Feast)” appeared on YouTube via an account titled Daniel Belshazzar. The music certainly sounds like Maiden — whether it is or it’s just some clever imposters is anyone’s guest — but the quality is more like a demo or pre-pro track than a finalized song. Have a listen:
And that’s it. Whoever is orchestrating all of this is doing a very good job! Pat on the rump.
What’s more, the timing lines up: as of December 2019, several firm clues from both the band members and long-time producer Kevin Shirley pointed towards Maiden being at Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, where Maiden recorded Brave New World and The Book of Souls. We all know how 2020 went, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the band held back a planned album release until touring became possible.
It’s now been nearly six years since The Book of Souls came out, so the time has certainly come for new Maiden… we’ll know on July 15, or possibly sooner. And you’ll know when we know!
