The Book of Souls is the sixteenth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 September 2015. It is the band’s first studio double album, and therefore also their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes. The album’s launch and its supporting tour were delayed to allow vocalist Bruce Dickinson time to recover from treatment which he received in early 2015 to remove a cancerous tumour.

The album was produced by long-time Iron Maiden collaborator Kevin Shirley and recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris from September to December 2014, which they had previously used for 2000’s Brave New World. The band wrote and immediately recorded many tracks in the studio, resulting in a spontaneous live feel. The first song to be released from the album, “Speed of Light“, was issued as a music video on 14 August, while simultaneously made available as a digital download and CD single exclusive to Best Buy. In addition to being their longest studio record, it also contains the band’s longest song, “Empire of the Clouds”, at 18 minutes in length. While not a concept album, references to the soul and mortality are prominent, realised in the Maya-themed cover artwork, created by Mark Wilkinson.

The record was a critical and commercial success, receiving critical acclaim and topping the album charts in 24 countries. It earned the band their fifth UK No. 1, following 1982’s The Number of the Beast, 1988’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1992’s Fear of the Dark and 2010’s The Final Frontier. In the US, it matched The Final Frontier’s success on the Billboard 200, repeating the group’s highest placement at no. 4. It also marks the longest gap between studio releases in the group’s entire career; at five years, following The Final Frontier.

Track listing

Lyrics

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