Heavy metal icons Iron Maiden have announced their 2016 Book of Souls World Tour. The tour will kick off in the U.S. in early March. From there, the band will head to Mexico, Costa Rica and make their first-ever appearance in El Salvador. Then, Argentina, Chile and run of shows in Brazil are next on the docket before returning to North America. After some more American shows, the band will crush Canada in early April. Later that month, Maiden will hit Japan and perform in China for the first time in there career. So far, only a run of dates in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have been officially announced, and they can be seen below. 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
4/29 – Christchurch Horncastle Arena – Christchurch, New Zealand
5/01 – Auckland Vector Arena – Auckland, New Zealand
5/04 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre – Brisbane, Australia
5/06 – Sydney Allphones Arena – Sydney, Australia
5/09 – Melbourne Rod Laver Arena – Melbourne, Australia
5/12 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre – Adelaide, Australia
5/14 – Perth Arena – Perth, Australia
5/18 – Cape Town at the Grand Arena – Cape Town, South Africa
5/21 – Johannesburg Carnival City Festival Lawns – Johannesburg, South Africa