Iron Maiden is back with their first new song in six years.
The song’s called The Writing on The Wall and according to Pat Courtenay, the video is, “like so many pandemic-era videos, animated…but really well. It’s the work of two former Pixar guys who are massive Maiden fans” and you can watch it here.
The song was written by Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith & lead singer Bruce Dickinson, produced by Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Maiden bassist and founder-member Steve Harris and which features the very first glimpse of a stunning new incarnation of Eddie in spectacular 3D form.
Bruce Dickinson’s concept for the video came to fruition in collaboration with the two Award-winning former Pixar executives and long-standing Maiden fans Mark Andrews & Andrew Gordon. The pair have over 50 years of animation industry experience between them at the very top-level including work on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Brave, Monsters Inc & Finding Nemo.
Bruce said, “I had a pretty clear idea of the concept to accompany the song and when I met Mark and Andrew, on Zoom, it quickly became clear we were all very much on the same wavelength, and this was reinforced with the addition of Nicos and his young BlinkInk team. Our weekly team Zoom meetings were then usually both highly creative and a lot of fun! I’m very proud of the way the video turned out, it’s more like a mini-film really. I knew it was going to work out as soon as Mark brought my treatment to life with his incredible storyboards – I thought we could make something very special together. I think we did and hope our fans will agree. In fact it’s pretty much created by Maiden fans!! ”
“We quickly found the expertise we wanted, and people were literally throwing themselves at me to work on a Maiden video – we had more than 60 people in 13 countries from Brazil to France, & Romania to the USA to add something to the clip and I’d say their love, passion and understanding of the band shines through every frame. They were a dream team for the producers and myself to manage,” Director, Nicos Livesey said.
The news follows weeks of online speculation amongst Maiden fans and the rock and metal press after posters emblazoned with ‘Belshazzar’s Feast’ first appeared at the Download Pilot Festival. Since then fans have been avidly following clues and sightings from around the World, with many sites seemingly linked to Maiden’s rich history, such as Long Beach Arena in LA and The Cart & Horses in London as well as 22 Acacia Avenue.
Bruce Dickinson wore the same image on his shirt during a Sky TV News piece, further heightening speculation, before he formally invited everyone to ‘Belshazzar’s Feast’ following a Twitter Listening Party of Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album on Friday night.
Thursday 15/07 – You are invited to Belshazzar's Feast – https://t.co/3kOoYIW30N#BelshazzarsFeast #IronMaiden pic.twitter.com/S7qdR36d7v
— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) July 14, 2021