Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Bruce from Times of India 2008


Maiden (not) over!

What they promise, they deliver! Heavy metal band Iron Maiden, best known to rock-a-holics for their deafening hits Fear of the Dark, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Two Minutes to Midnight and The Clairvoyant, are famous for their loud, energetic concerts and their onstage charisma.

The band promises to always put on a "spectacle" on stage, and blatantly states that if fans like their music, they'll keep coming back. Both promises, Iron Maiden has kept. After rocking Bangalore in March last year, they're coming to Mumbai on February 1st on their 'maiden' concert here. So all you heavy metal fans, get ready to enter 'A Brave New World'... but not if you have a 'Fear of the Dark'...

Iron Maiden has successfully lasted more than three decades. What has kept you'll going all these years?  
I think it really boils down to the fact that we all simply love what we do. Now, however, we've slowed down, so we get to spend time with our families and occasionally try out other projects in between too. Yes, there's always a little bit of pressure to make sure you deliver what's expected of you from fans, yet we can't wait to get going when we get back together. I think if any of us sat still for more than a month, we'd go insane. It's in our blood.

1975-2008, how has the band evolved over the years?

We have all evolved differently as individual musicians and artistes, but the formula which makes up the band's sound is still intact, so it still has 'our' sound.

Iron Maiden live shows are characterised by energy, vibrancy and volume. What is Maiden's secret to energetic concerts?

Well, it's actually a delicate balance as it essentially has to be about the music and not just a bunch of fireworks and lights. Yes, we do put on a spectacle; I suppose it comes from the old theatre mentality of sending an audience home happy and kind of awestruck by what they've seen.

One thing I can't stand is seeing artistes playing high energy music and just staring at their shoes. It makes no sense to me. But we are always sure not to go too far and let the show be overbearing on us; we never let the crowd's attention be turned away from the band for too long. The show should never be bigger than the artist performing it, it detracts from the music experience. I don't want to be performing to an audience that is looking at a TV screen or some fireworks going off.

How do you'll overcome creative conflicts when composing songs?

We don't have too many conflicts. Even the guitarists work out most of the parts between themselves and there's no ego between them. The writing process is a fairly democratic one too, where as we all get together a few weeks before we go into the studio to record a new album. We listen to each other's ideas and then piece together all the parts to come up with an album.

What's the story behind the name 'Iron Maiden'?

That goes back to the time when Steve (Harris) had just started the band. He was watching the movie The Man In the Iron Mask where the name of the torture device was Iron Maiden. We thought that was a great name for the band.

This is your second visit to India. What is it that fascinates you'll about India?

India is a massive place so without committing to a huge tour of the country — which we simply can't do — we wanted to get back as soon as we could.

It's simple, if we play in a country which loves our music, we will keep coming back. India is a vibrant and lively place, and although it's a bit of a shock to the system when you enter a completely different culture, I found the place very friendly and the people very respectful.

Read more: Maiden (not) over! - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/International_Buzz/Maiden_not_over/articleshow/2739935.cms#ixzz0zZLCTwwB

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