Songs
Stylistically, Bayley states that Virtual XI "was a more upbeat album, because we'd survived the 'X-Factour'... we were a band and, I felt, we were on our way." According to Harris, "Futureal," whose lyrics were written by Bayley, is "about being locked up in virtual reality," and describes it as "a quite straightforward rocker but done Maiden style." The album's second single, manager Rod Smallwood claims that he "had a bit of a battle with Steve" over releasing "Futureal" instead of "The Angel and the Gambler" as the album's lead single, but "Steve put his foot down." According to Harris, "The Angel and the Gambler" "is the story of these two characters, one guy who's been a bit of a rogue, a fly by night, and an angel who gets sent down to try and put him right - except he isn't having it."
Of the album's remaining songs, "Lightning Strikes Twice" is, according to Harris, "a never say never-type song... It's a very positive, hopeful song which you can read in lots of different ways." "The Clansman" was inspired by the film Braveheart which Harris states is "about what it's like to belong to a community that you try and build up and then you have to fight to stop having having taken away from you." Speaking about "When Two Worlds Collide," Harris says that "Lyrically, I think Blaze was trying to write about the different sort of worlds he's lived in and maybe about how his world has had to change and adapt to the world of being Iron Maiden's singer." "The Educated Fool" is, according to Harris, about "growing older and everyone expecting you to be wiser but how somehow the older you get and the more you know, the less you have the answers for any of it." "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger" is inspired by Steve Harris' observation, from a parent's point of view, that "every stranger is a possible threat," while "Como Estais Amigos" is a tribute to the soldiers on both sides in the Falklands War.
After Bruce Dickinson rejoined the band, Iron Maiden continued to play both "Futureal" and "The Clansman" in concert. While "Futureal" only was performed live in 1999, "The Clansman" appeared in the group's setlists until 2003. Live versions of both songs with Dickinson on vocals can be found on "The Wicker Man" single and the Rock in Rio album respectively, while that same live version of "The Clansman" was later re-released on Iron Maiden's 2011 compilation CD From Fear to Eternity.
Blaze Bayley recorded solo versions of "Futureal" and "When Two Worlds Collide" on his live album As Live as It Gets.
The track "The Clansman" was sampled by singer Brandy in her song "I Tried".
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