British rock veterans Iron Maiden have released The Writing On The Wall, their first new music in six years and it comes with an animated video starring the latest incarnation of band mascot Eddie in 3D form.
Front man Bruce Dickinson collaborated with award-winning former Pixar executives and long-standing Maiden fans Mark Andrews and Andrew Gordon, who have worked on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Brave, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo, for the new clip.
Dickinson said, "I had a pretty clear idea of the concept to accompany the song and when I met Mark and Andrew, on Zoom, it quickly became clear we were all very much on the same wavelength, and this was reinforced with the addition of Nicos and his young BlinkInk team. Our weekly team Zoom meetings were then usually both highly creative and a lot of fun!
"I'm very proud of the way the video turned out, it’s more like a mini-film really. I knew it was going to work out as soon as Mark brought my treatment to life with his incredible storyboards - I thought we could make something very special together. I think we did and hope our fans will agree. In fact it’s pretty much created by Maiden fans!"
The announcement of new music follows weeks of online speculation amongst Maiden fans and the rock and metal press after posters emblazoned with 'Belshazzar's Feast’ first appeared at the Download Pilot Festival.
Since then fans have been following clues and sightings from around the world, with many sites seemingly linked to Maiden's history, such as Long Beach Arena in LA and The Cart & Horses in London as well as 22 Acacia Avenue.
Bruce Dickinson, a keen Brexiteer, also wore the same image on his shirt during a Sky TV News piece during which he lamented the impact of Brexit on the future touring prospects of British touring acts.
