What is it that makes Iron Maiden special? Well, many things. One thing is the vastness of material adapted, re-interpreted, and commented upon within their songs. As a rule of thumb, every Maiden song can be traced back to a novel, a film, a poem, a historical event, a current event… In case you would like to read about the one or other Maiden song, this is your place. In case you are looking for interpretations of Bruce Dickinson’s solo album The Chemical Wedding (1998), this is your place. Check in the index whether your favourite song is in here. However, I do not see myself as an encyclopedia and I am sure that there are enough sources of that kind already.
I do things like trying to group songs together to see how they correspond to each other or comparing adaptations with their originals to see how and why the narratives have been changed, such as “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Le Fantôme de l’opéra etc. etc. etc. You will find the answers for questions like: Which three titles of Maiden songs are actually Shakespeare quotes? How does Dickinson interpret the events that lead to the death of the Red Baron? Who is Thel? Why are there “Revelations” when the Bible contains a book called “Revelation?” Where does the hype about the spitfire come from? Who is the brother of the Beast?
I hope to reach many other Maiden fans and to give you something for a rainy day while drinking a hot beverage. This blog is for free because I do not intend to monetise this interest of mine. I want to share it. Please feel free to enter your e-mail address in the respective box if you want to stay updated on my newest articles. Alternatively you can use #aircraftalbatrossandabeast on Twitter and Facebook.
Who am I?
I’m Kath. I hold a doctorate in English literature and I am very pleased to say that one of my research articles deals with Bruce Dickinson’s solo album The Chemical Wedding and its reference to the (art) work by English poet and painter William Blake.
Follow me on Twitter: @Kath08384789
Aircraft, an Albatross, and a Beast - (British) Literature and History Turned into Heavy Metal 
Excellent read, thank you. I have followed them since 84 & am always wondering where they gee their next ideas from. Looking at history & their songs, maybe you could submit a significant period or event, asking them to draft some lyrics?
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If you really leave this to me it will be another Blake-album by Bruce Dickinson. 😉 If you think about it, they have covered a lot of British history and it is difficult to add one specific period / event. I still try to come up with something. But, going by my own methods, I am always more productive when I find a topic by myself instead if being requested to write about XY. I assume that it will be similar for them, even more so considering that they are artists.
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I think it should be English pirates / privateers. I have been wondering why there is nothing about Sir Henry Morgan, Calico Jack Rackham, Mary Read, and Anne Bonny or Captain Kidd. Not to forget Edward Teach / Thatch aka Blackbeard. All British, all part of British history. In fact you’d need a song about each and every one of them. “The Golden Age of Piracy” with its entanglement in British hegemony and colonialism and the resistance against it (by plundering the fat merchant ships) is truly what they are missing. And it has, in honesty, all a Maiden song would need. Gore, adventure, battle, and, endless possibilities of visuals, from cover sleeves to stage productions (an no, the “Ghost of the Navigator”-pirates do not count!) And I do not mention that someone might re-use his rapier on stage…(Captain and fencer, we have a perfect candidate here to play a pirate). What more could you possibly want?
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