Iron Maiden test strength of heavy metal

Thursday, April 4, 1996

By John Sabatini

Daily Bruin Contributor

During the 1980s, Iron Maiden dominated the wildly popular heavy
metal scene with flashy guitar strokes, impressive pyrotechnics and
the band’s morbid mascot, Eddie T. Head. But with their return to
the U.S. for the first time in four years, the metal icons have
discovered an American music scene that has changed
dramatically.

In particular, heavy metal has declined sharply in popularity
over the last few years. Now, in the same cities where they once
consistently sold out multiple arena shows, the veteran British
rockers are back playing the small club circuit.

Despite the four-year gap and metal’s decline, fan response in
the United States has been surprisingly strong for every show so
far. Since September, the band has sold out at most venues.
Tonight’s show at the Palace in Hollywood sold out immediately, and
a second show has been added for tomorrow.

Actually, the selection of smaller venues was a strategic
decision. Given Iron Maiden’s lengthy absence, no one knew how
American listeners would respond to the tour.

"We didn’t really know what to expect on this tour, to be
honest," says bassist and founding member Steve Harris. "We didn’t
even know if we were going to sell out these kinds of places.

"At least we know where we stand now. We’ve got some hardcore
fans over here, and we can come back and do some reasonable size
places next time."

Another major concern in preparing for this tour was how
American fans would react to the band’s new vocalist. After 10
years of service, frontman Bruce Dickinson left the band in 1993 to
pursue a solo career. The current tour marks vocalist Blaze
Bayley’s concert debut as the new voice of Iron Maiden.

Bayley, formerly of the British rock band Wolfsbane, was chosen
from an applicant pool of more than 1,000 aspiring singers.
Although they wanted a vocalist who matched the band’s established
style, the band members specifically avoided applicants who sounded
too much like Dickinson.

"There were a few people who actually sent in tapes that sounded
very much like Bruce, and we didn’t choose them for auditions
particularly because of that," Harris says. "In fact, there was one
guy from the States who was so much like Bruce, we (joked) that
Bruce was reapplying for the job."

Ultimately, Bayley was selected because the band members felt
his style was unique but consistent with the Iron Maiden sound. In
addition, having toured with Wolfsbane six years ago in the United
Kingdom, Iron Maiden was already acquainted with Bayley and knew
that personality clashes would not be a problem.

As a result of this comfort and comraderie, everyone involved
has found the transition to be relatively easy. Immediately after
Bayley was chosen, the band began working together on Iron Maiden’s
10th full-length album, "The X Factor," which was released in
1995.

"The hardest part, we found, was actually in between vocalists,"
says Harris. "We were in limbo, really. We just felt a bit strange
not having a full band. But once Blaze joined, it was no problem at
all. We just started writing straight away for the album, started
recording the album, and then went out on the road and did the
shows."

Actually, this is not the first time Iron Maiden has faced the
difficult task of replacing its lead singer. Most recently, Paul
Di’anno left the band in the early ’80s after the release of Iron
Maiden’s second album, "Killers." Bayley is actually the fifth
vocalist since the band’s inception more than 15 years ago.

Many other band members, including drummers and guitarists, have
also come and gone over the years. But instead of the wrathful
split-ups that characterize most rock group relations, Iron
Maiden’s personnel changes have been quite congenial.

"Most of them, we don’t really see too much of. If we do bump in
to them, it’s no problem. We’ll have a pint of beer with them,"
says Harris. "I saw Paul Di’anno like that a few months ago, around
Christmas time. He’s the same as ever. We had a chat and a beer
­ no big deal."

One relationship that has come into question, though, involves
long-time Iron Maiden artist, Derek Riggs. After creating the
character Eddie T. Head, supplying the cover art for Iron Maiden’s
first eight albums and providing countless other illustrations,
Riggs seemed as indispensable to the band as the musicians
themselves.

But in 1992, the work of another artist graced the cover of the
album "Fear of the Dark." And on "The X Factor," Riggs’
characteristic work is again missing from the cover. Harris
explains that the relationship is just fine, but Riggs is now
pursuing his own music career and Iron Maiden simply wanted to find
fresh ideas and new artists.

"Derek still does stuff from time to time for us," says Harris.
"It’s just that lately, he’s been more into doing his own music and
stuff. Lost his concentration a bit on Eddie, which is fair enough
after a long period of time.

"But we used some of his stuff for the cover of a couple of live
albums a couple years back. And if he comes up with good designs in
the future, we’ll use them. But we’re picking up other people to
try different stuff, as well."

Actually, this experimentation should not be very surprising
given Iron Maiden’s strong appetite for new experiences. Few bands
anywhere in the world can even claim to challenge Iron Maiden’s
adventuresome spirit.

Throughout its career, Iron Maiden has tirelessly scoured the
world, frequently playing in countries where audiences had never
seen a heavy metal concert before. In 1984, for example, Iron
Maiden blasted through the Iron Curtain for unprecedented shows in
Moscow.

The current tour includes shows in such disparate locations as
South Africa, Israel, Bulgaria, India and Thailand. In fact, the
band had another momentous ground-breaking concert scheduled for
Beirut, Lebanon. Unfortunately, the band was denied entrance
despite having already sold 5,000 tickets in advance.

"It’s a real shame that we weren’t able to go," Harris says.
"But red tape and stuff like that. They just wouldn’t give us the
visas. Maybe next time around.

"Last tour, we weren’t allowed to play Chile, and this time,
they’re going to let us play there," he continues. "It took us 10
years to play Moscow. So sometimes these things happen, and you
just have to accept it and keep trying until hopefully the politics
don’t get in the way."

Although such situations are frustrating, Harris suggests the
personal rewards from finally playing in such locations far
outweigh the difficulties of the bureaucratic obstacles.

For example, Iron Maiden has returned to Moscow several times
since 1984, getting an opportunity to witness the sweeping
political and social changes firsthand. But as major as these
changes have been, Harris notes that crowds still go wild for the
Iron Maiden sound.

"We’ve been there before and after the events of the last few
years. So, we’ve seen a lot of the changes going on," says Harris.
"But at the end of the day, the audience has not really changed
that much. They’re all out just to have a good time."

CONCERT: Iron Maiden at the Palace, Thursday and Friday. Doors
open at 7 p.m. TIX: Sold out. For more info call (213)
462-3000.