GZA

In 2004 GZA released a greatest hits compilation titled Collection Of Classics, announced he was soon to be finishing work on a Wu-Tang Clan behind-the-scenes documentary, appeared opposite RZA and Bill Murray in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee & Cigarettes, toured first as a solo artist and then with the group throughout Europe and the US, and announced the forthcoming release of an album by his son. For the complete list of releases, please see Iron Maiden discography. GZA's last solo album was Legend of the Liquid Sword in 2002 (see 2002 in music), which was mostly well-received by critics. do not meddle with things you do not understand!", followed by a loud belch. The album received good reviews, but failed to live up to expectations. Reverse this track, and you will hear drummer McBrain clearly saying "'What Ho,' said the thing with three bonces.. After the Wu-Tang Clan's second album together, Wu-Tang Forever, GZA released Beneath the Surface in 1999 (see 1999 in music). The next year, on the Piece Of Mind album, an antagonistic backward message was placed at the start of the track Still Life.

GZA's first post-Wu-Tang solo album was Liquid Swords (1995, 1995 in music) and was widely acclaimed; it is still remembered as one of the pre-eminent Wu-Tang solo LPs. At the time, there was also a lot of controversy about Satanic messages in other bands music, normally discovered by playing the offending track backwards. GZA signed to Geffen Records. The bill for the repair came to $666, a figure which Birch refused to pay, instead opting for a higher amount. All nine members became a hot commodity and were allowed to sign with whatever record label they wished for a solo career, due to an unusual clause in their contract. On the tour to support the album, producer Martin Birch was involved in a car accident with a group of church-goers. Their debut together was Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), which took the hip hop world by storm. It was then decided that it would be better to smash the records up.

However, the trio of friends from All In Together Now soon formed the Wu-Tang Clan with six others. However, this resulted in pandemonium, with the activists running away because they were afraid of the fumes. The album was a flop, and GZA's experience with Cold Chillin, combined with a similar ordeal for his friend RZA at Tommy Boy, created a bitterness towards record labels that ensured the evils of the music industry would be a prominent theme in his music for the rest of his career. A group of Christian activists decided that the bands records (along with those of Ozzy Osbourne) should be destroyed - resulting in a mountain of vinyl records being burnt in a huge fire. The album's sound was heavily influence by the wishes of the label Cold Chillin, who were eager to make it a commercial success. Whilst the members of Iron Maiden tried to deflect this criticism by insisting that the lyrics were based on a dream by Steve Harris, the media sometimes thought otherwise. After recording as All in Together Now with future Wu-Tangers Ol' Dirty Bastard and RZA, GZA released a solo album, Words from the Genius, in 1991 (see 1991 in music). The title track had many people, particularly in the US, accusing the band of being Satanic.

GZA is, along with Ghostface Killah, widely considered the best rapper in the nine-person clan, and his solo work has been critically acclaimed. The release of the 1982 album, The Number Of The Beast, brought its fair share of controversy. GZA (pronounced The Jizza, aka The Genius, Maxi Million, Justice, born Gary Grice August 22, 1966 in Staten Island, New York) is an American rapper and member of The Wu-Tang Clan. The longevity of Iron Maiden has ensured a high number of accounts of the band making the headlines. Download sample of "Shadowboxing" from Liquid Swords. No new album is expected before the spring 2006, the band only entering the studio in November 2005, according to Nicko McBrain, the band's drummer. Documenting the 2003-2004 'Dance of Death' Tour, the release is in its final stages, as the mastering was finished at the end of February 2005 by Kevin Shirley.

Another DVD is expected to hit the shelves in 2005. Participation in the last Ozzfest ever in the USA during the summer of 2005 is also in the works. The band planned to hit the road to support the 2004 DVD entitled The Early Years, in which the band celebrates the music mainly from its 1980-1983 period. The band re-released the Number of the Beast single, which went straight to number 3 in the UK charts.

In 2005, Iron Maiden announced a tour to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of their first album and the 30th anniversary of their formation. In fact, many fans say that Dance of Death surpassed Brave New World in creativity, and remains their best album since 1988's landmark Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The album went platinum in several countries and left no doubts that the band was still a heavy metal sensation. The band continued with their progressive trend in the album Dance of Death released in 2003.

It was a return to glory for the band, as many of their older fans now had bands themselves, and their influence could be heard through several forms of rock music in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The world tour for the album ended in January 2001 with a show at the famous Rock in Rio festival. The band gained a new fan base when they began exploring the genre of progressive metal. Brave New World, by almost all accounts, was the best Iron Maiden album in over a decade. The songs were longer and the lyrics spoke about both dark themes and social criticism.

In 2000, a new period, known commonly as "the progressive years", began for the band when they released the album Brave New World. This led to a reunion tour that gathered huge audiences all over the world. Even more exciting was the announcement that Smith's replacement, Janick Gers, would remain in the band; Iron Maiden now had three guitarists. Months later, the band shocked the world when they announced that both Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith were rejoining the band, which meant the classic 1980s lineup was back in place.

In early 1999, Bayley was let go from the band. The album contained some jewels, especially "The Educated Fool" and the reflective ballad "Como Estais Amigos.", but seemed forced. Oddly enough, one of the very low points of the album was the hit single "The Angel and the Gambler," which was all many people heard of the album before deciding not to buy it! Virtual XI was not a high selling album, failing to reach the worldwide million mark in sales for the first time. The band spent most of 1996 on the road before returning to the studio for the happier Virtual XI (1998). It should be noted that chief songwriter Steve Harris was going through serious personal problems, and many of the songs were therefore melancholic and slow. The 11-minute epic "Sign of the Cross", opening the album, stands head-to-head with any of the band's classic extended pieces.

Now considered as a masterpiece by many, the album featured dark, brooding songs and seemed introspective. The album divided the fans at first, for it was very different from the traditional Maiden sound. After a three year hiatus, Maiden returned in 1995 with the hour-long album The X Factor. The band auditioned hundreds of vocalists and finally chose young gun Blaze Bayley in 1994, formerly of Wolfsbane. Bayley proved to be a worthy vocalist, but he did not have the range Dickinson possessed.

However, Bruce agreed to stay with the band until the end of the year, resulting in a pair of live albums released in the fall. In 1993, Iron Maiden suffered a huge loss when Bruce Dickinson left the band to further pursue his solo career. Still, Dickinson continued with his raspier vocals and much of the lyrics on Fear of the Dark were a downgrade from their previous successes. Even though metal was out of date in 1992 and grunge was ruling the airwaves, Maiden continued to sell out arenas in the US and throughout the world.

Released in 1992 it had several songs that were popular among fans, like the title-track and Afraid to Shoot Strangers. He continued to tour in 1991 before returning to the studio with Iron Maiden for the smash hit album Fear of the Dark. Before the release of No Prayer for the Dying, Bruce Dickinson officially launched a solo career to coincide with Iron Maiden (Gers was his guitarist). However, the album was a huge commercial success and spawned the number one hit single "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" from the horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 5.

Vocalist Bruce Dickinson also began experimenting with a raspier style of singing that was not well received by fans. This album went back to the heavy style of the band but the lyrics were more simple and the music was not as challenging as previous efforts. For the first time in seven years, the band suffered a line-up change with the major loss of guitarist/vocalist Adrian Smith. Former Gillan guitarist Janick Gers was chosen to replace Smith, and in 1990 they released the poorly received album No Prayer for the Dying. It was the most experimental Iron Maiden album to date, and is often regarded as the creative zenith of the band and the end of Maiden's "golden years.".

This was a concept album featuring a story about a mythical child who possessed clairvoyant powers based on the book The Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card. In 1988 the band tried a different approach for their seventh studio album, titled Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The band's music was often referred to as "intelligent metal," and is often considered to be on an entirely different intellectual plane than most other metal acts of the 1980s. The band's lyrics are steeped in English literature ("The Rime of the Ancient Mariner") and history ("Alexander the Great, 356-323 BC").

Unlike many of their contemporaries, Iron Maiden generally avoided songs about drink, drugs, sex, or women (with the odd noteable exception). All of these albums contained complex riffs, multiple time changes, and classically based themes. The band gathered huge audiences everywhere they went, especially in South America, Asia, Australia, and the United States, where they still draw huge audiences on tour. Before heading back into the studio in 1983, they replaced Clive Burr with heavy drummer Nicko McBrain and went on to release four albums which went multi-platinum world-wide: Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984), Live After Death (1985) and Somewhere in Time (1986).

After the enormous success of The Number of the Beast, the band became worldwide superstars. (The live box set "Eddie's Archive" does, though, as does the "Two Minutes To Midnight" single). The band denied these rumours and no Iron Maiden studio album to date has ever carried an "explicit lyrics" stamp. In actuality, it was only one song ("The Number of the Beast"), an anti-Satanic song about a bad dream, that referenced such dark theologies.

However, the tour was marred by controversy coming from religious groups that claimed Iron Maiden were a Satanic group because of their dark lyrics which supposedly spoke of Satan. For the first time the band went on a world tour, visiting the United States, Japan and Australia. This album was a world-wide success providing definitive songs such as The Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills. Dickinson's debut with Iron Maiden was 1982's album The Number of the Beast, which is recognised as a classic of the heavy metal genre.

Dickinson provided a much better interpretation of their songs and possessed an astonishing vocal range. In 1982 the band replaced Di'Anno with former Samson vocalist Bruce Dickinson. Just as the band were beginning to achieve large-scale success in America, Di'Anno exhibited increasingly destructive behaviour, and his performances began to suffer. As a group, Maiden were never into partying or drug use, being extreme perfectionists both on the road and in the studio - with the noteable exception of vocalist Paul Di'Anno.

Killers remains one of the bands fastest and heaviest albums, and remains a favourite among hardcore fans. It was at this time that the band was the star attraction of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, in which bands from England flooded the market of the United States. This new album contained the first hit songs for the band and they were introduced to audiences in the United States. In 1981, Maiden released their second album, titled Killers.

One of Iron Maiden's trademarks is the double "twin lead" harmonising guitar stylings of Murray and Smith, a style pioneered by Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy, but taken to a whole new level by Iron Maiden. His bluesy, experimental style was the complete opposite of Murray's speedy yet bluesy style. Smith brought a sharp, whimsical sound to Iron Maiden. Finally, the timing was right for the arrival of Adrian Smith.

After the Kiss tour, Dennis Stratton was fired from the band as a result of creative and personal differences. The band went on to open for KISS on their 1980 Unmasked tour, as well as opening select dates for the legendary Judas Priest. Iron Maiden was released in 1980 to critical and commercial success. Initially, the band wanted to hire Dave Murray's childhood friend Adrian Smith, but Smith was busy singing and playing guitar for his band Urchin.

Shortly before going into the studio, Parsons was replaced by guitarist Dennis Stratton. In November 1979, the band landed a major record deal by signing to EMI, a partnership that would last for nearly 15 years. Drummer Doug Sampson was also replaced by the dynamic Clive Burr. This changed with the arrival of Tony Parsons in 1979.

In several of the early Iron Maiden line-ups, Dave Murray was joined by another guitarist, but for most of 1977 and all of 1978, Murray was the sole guitarist in the band. Two of the tracks on the demo, "Prowler" and "Iron Maiden", went straight to number one on the English metal charts. Featuring only four songs, the band sold all 500 copies immediately, and did not reprint the demo again until 1996 (original copies sold for thousands of dollars). On New Year's Eve 1978, the band recorded one of the most famous demos in rock history, Soundhouse Tapes.

The band had been playing for three years and gained a tremendously loyal following, but had never recorded any of their music. Iron Maiden was a sensation on the English rock circuit by 1978. For years, the band had been pressured by record labels to cut their hair and sacrifice their complex metal sound in favour of a more punk image, but with Di'Anno at the forefront, the band could mix the two into a potent stew of classical themes, galloping metal rhythms, and speedy hardcore riffs. If the band had sounded punk before, they did even more so with the arrival of the short-haired, fiery Di'Anno.

By 1978, Harris and Murray had estabilised the Iron Maiden line-up with the addition of drummer Doug Sampson and vocalist Paul Di'Anno. Original singer Paul Day was much punkier than the man who replaced him, the outlandish Dennis Wilcock, a huge KISS fan that used fire, makeup, and fake blood onstage. Though Maiden were a metal band influenced by Deep Purple, Yes, Wishbone Ash, and Black Sabbath, they did possess a fast, punkish style in the early days. Harris and Murray went through a ridiculous number of band members throughout the 1970s, paying their dues on the mostly punk club circuit in London's rough East End neighbourhood.

Thirty years later, the two remain at the helm of Iron Maiden. The long and twisting road from formation to the current day started in 1975, when Steve Harris and Dave Murray met up. The band have been confirmed to headline several major events in 2005, and are rumoured to be one of the main acts of this years Reading Festival, where the group last performed in 1982. Touring has slowed down recently, with the band opting to play the larger festivals instead of numerous smaller venues.

Iron Maiden have so far released 13 studio albums, 2 "best of" compilations, 5 live albums and some limited boxed-set. Eddie also featured in a first-person shooter video game, Ed Hunter. The band's mascot, Eddie, is a perennial fixture in the horror-influenced album cover art, as well as in live shows. They are cited as major influences by (amongst others) the thrash metal band Slayer, pop-punk band Sum 41 and jam band Umphrey's McGee.

Iron Maiden's work has inspired other sub-genres of heavy metal music, including power metal and speed metal. They are one of the most successful and influential bands in the heavy metal genre, having sold more than 50 million albums world-wide. Iron Maiden are a heavy metal band from east London, England, formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, formerly a member of Gypsy's Kiss and Smiler. 2004).

Run to the Hills: Iron Maiden, the Authorized Biography by Mick Wall and Chris Ingham (3rd ed. 2002). Run to the Hills: Iron Maiden, the Authorized Biography by Mick Wall and Chris Ingham (2nd ed. 1998).

Run to the Hills: Iron Maiden, the Authorized Biography by Mick Wall and Chris Ingham (1st ed. What Are We Doing This For?: A Photographic History by Ross Halfin (3rd ed. ????). What Are We Doing This For?: A Photographic History by Ross Halfin (2nd ed. ????). 1988).

What Are We Doing This For?: A Photographic History by Ross Halfin (1st ed. 1985). Running Free: The Official Story of Iron Maiden, by Gary Bushell and Ross Halfin (2nd ed. 1985).

Running Free: The Official Story of Iron Maiden, by Gary Bushell and Ross Halfin (1st ed. Blaze Bayley - vocals (1994-1998). Clive Burr - drums (1979-1982). Dennis Stratton - guitar (1980).

Tony Parsons - guitar (1979-1980). Paul Di'Anno - vocals (1978-1981). Paul Cairns - guitar (1977). Paul Todd - guitar (1977).

Doug Sampson - drums (1977-1979). Tony Moore - keyboards (1977). Barry "Thunderstick" Graham - drums (1977). Terry Wapram - guitar (1977).

Bob Sawyer ("Bob Angelo") - guitar (1976). Dennis "Den" Wilcock - vocals (1976-1978). Ron "Rebel" Matthews - drums (1975-1977). Terry Rance - guitar (1975-1976).

Paul Day - vocals (1975-1976). Dave Murray - guitar (1976-1977, 1977-present, replaced Dave Sullivan after only two months). Steve Harris - bass (1975-present). Nicko McBrain - drums (1983-present).

Steve Harris - bass (1975-present). Janick Gers - guitar (1990-present). Adrian Smith - guitar (1980-1990, 1999-present). Dave Murray - guitar (1976-1977, 1977-present).

Bruce Dickinson - vocals (1982-1993, 1999-present).