The Book of Souls
by Iron Maiden
- Type: Album
- Released: 4 September 2015
- Label: Parlophone, BMG
- Country: United Kingdom
- Length: 1:32:08
- Community rating: 3.5/5 from 10 ratings
Artists on this release: Nicko McBrain, Adrian Smith, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers
Album Notes & Community Reviews
As Iron Maiden's first studio double album, 'The Book of Souls' utilizes a spontaneous writing and recording process with producer Kevin Shirley that imparts a live feel to its expansive 92-minute runtime and varied compositions. Thematically focused on mortality and the soul with Mayan-inspired visuals, the record's songwriting is broadly collaborative, encompassing both direct, shorter tracks and Bruce Dickinson's 18-minute, piano-led epic "Empire of the Clouds".
Genres
Descriptors: progressive, atmospheric, long-form, gallop, harmonies
Tracklist
- If Eternity Should Fail (08:28)
- Speed of Light (05:01)
- The Great Unknown (06:37)
- The Red and the Black (13:33)
- When the River Runs Deep (05:52)
- The Book of Souls (10:27)
- Death or Glory (05:12)
- Shadows of the Valley (07:32)
- Tears of a Clown (04:58)
- The Man of Sorrows (06:27)
- Empire of the Clouds (18:01)
Credits
- Bruce Dickinson - vocals, piano
- Dave Murray - guitars
- Janick Gers - guitars
- Adrian Smith - guitars
- Steve Harris - bass, keyboards, co-producer
- Nicko McBrain - drums, percussion on "empire of the clouds"
- Michael Kenney - keyboards
- Stuart Crouch - art direction, design
- Jorge Letona - design [maya font design]
- Julie Wilkinson - drawing [maya codex drawings]
- Denis Caribaux - engineer [engineered by]
- Anthony Dry - illustration [disc illustration by]
- Mark Wilkinson - illustration [illustrations by]
- Simon Martin - illustration [maya hieroglyphs]
- Ade Emsley - mastered by
- Jeff Bova - orchestrated by
- John McMurtrie - photography by
- Kevin 'Caveman' Shirley - producer, mixed by