Heavy metal icons Iron Maiden have announced their 2016 U.S. tour dates. The Book of Souls World Tour kicks off on February 24 at the BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and wraps up on April 15 at The Forum in Los Angeles. While there are only a handful of dates booked, the band is planning to return to North American later in the year. The tour will see Maiden hitting several countries around the world. In addition to the U.S. dates listed below, a string of dates in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have been officially announced as well. The Raven Age will provide support for the tour. The band is led by George Harris, son of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris.
The massive tour is in support of the band’s brand new album The Book of Souls which dropped on September 4 via Parlophone Records (Europe)/BMG (U.S.). The band recorded the album in Paris with long-time producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Journey, Rush). The cover art was created by Mark Wilkinson, and because of it’s 92-minute running time, it will be Maiden’s first-ever double studio album.
“We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously,” said bassist Steve Harris. “A
lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs, they have almost a live feel to them, I think. I’m very proud of The Book Of Souls, we all are, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear it, and especially to take it out on the road next year!”
“We’re really excited about The Book Of Souls and had a fantastic time creating it,” frontman Bruce Dickinson states. We started working on the album in late summer 2014 and recorded it at Guillame Tell Studios in Paris, where we’d done the Brave New World album back in 2000 so the studio holds special memories for all of us. We were delighted to discover the same magical vibe is still alive and very much kicking there! So we immediately felt at home and the ideas just started flowing. By the time we’d finished we all agreed that each track was such an integral part of the whole body of work that if it needed to be a double album, then double its going to be!”
The new record will be Iron Maiden’s 16th studio effort since their debut album dropped back in 1980. The band’s last album, 2010’s The Final Frontier, hit #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 in 28 countries around the globe. Throughout their career, Iron Maiden have sold over 90 million albums worldwide. Among their numerous awards is their Grammy win for Best Metal Performance for “El Dorado” in 2011. – by Matt Bishop
Feb. 24 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ BB&T Center
Feb. 26 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
Feb. 28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mar. 30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Apr. 05 – Detroit, MI @ Palace Of Auburn Hills
Apr. 06 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Apr. 11 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
Apr. 13 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
Apr. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum