A Matter of Life and Death (album) - Overview

Overview

Iron Maiden began writing new songs near the end of 2005, after a break following their hugely successful festival dates in the U.S. and Europe during the Eddie Rips Up the World Tour. After taking time off over Christmas, the songs were completed and the band began recording at Sarm West Studios, London, with their regular producer, Kevin Shirley.

In order to provide a more "live" sound, the album was not mastered. Producer Kevin Shirley said, "Spoke to 'Arry (Steve Harris) on Friday, who has decided against mastering the Iron Maiden album... It means that you will get to hear the new album exactly as it sounded in the studio, no added EQ, compression, analog widening, etc., and I must say, I am pretty happy with the end result."

Speaking to Metal Hammer in September 2006, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson commented that "Everyone was up for pushing things as far as they'd go, but the record was so easy to make." Dickinson went on to claim that they "finished the record with two months to spare," with bassist Steve Harris adding that "A lot of what you hear are first time takes." Speaking about the record's musical style, Harris states that "It is heavier than we've ever been, but also very progressive. And I don't mean that in the modern sense, but like Dream Theater, more in a 70s way."

This is the band's fourth studio record not to share its name with a song, following Piece of Mind, The X Factor and Virtual XI. Drummer Nicko McBrain and guitarist Janick Gers claim that the band originally intended to name the album after one of its tracks, with both "The Pilgrim" and "The Legacy" being considered. According to Gers, "sometimes a title will just leap out at you as the obvious choice, but it didn't this time for some reason," so they band decided on "A Matter of Life and Death," which, according to McBrain, was amongst "two or three ideas which we were kicking around." Neither Gers or McBrain can remember who came up with the title, which they state was thought up by either Steve Harris, Rod Smallwood (the band's manager) or "Drew" (an engineer at Sarm West Studios).

The album cover was created by Tim Bradstreet, an American artist, best known for his work on the Hellblazer and Punisher comics.

During the 2006 leg of the A Matter of Life and Death Tour, the band performed the album in its entirety, which received a mixed response. The band still supports their decision to play the record in full, with McBrain commenting that "I think that this is the best album I've ever made with this band" and that "a lot of people very happy to hear this album in its entirety," while Dickinson says that doing so contributed to the fact that "the fans are attracted to us because we are still an active musical force."