Kingfisher Heavy Metal Blogger Meet / Iron Maiden in Bangalore

Ok, all ye Maiden fans - and I mean Iron Maiden fans - put on your best black Maiden T-shirts, start a blog somewhere, register on Indiblogger and make it to the Kingfisher sponsored Heavy Metal Blogger meet.

Ah, well, dammit all! Just make it for the Heavy Metal Blogger meet!

Kingfisher premium is sponsoring the meet this time - so you know what that means! You will get Kingfisher Premium Bottled Water! Wink wink! Love the Indiblogger poster on that site!!.

Anyways, this is to be held the day before Iron Maiden blows the town to smithereens. So get down on your knees - assume an attitude!

The first time Iron Maiden came to India, I went bonkers and started an Iron Maiden week on my blog.

I started off the series of posts with 6 days to go for the Maiden concert.

My next post - with 5 days to go was about the album Killers and especially "Murders in the Rue Morgue". Di'Anno at his best.

Another day and 4 days to go got me more pepped up. I realised that I cannot cover a song from a Maiden album a day - so pushed it to 3 albums a day!. Wrote about songs from "Number of the Beast", "Powerslave" and "Piece of Mind".

3 days to go and I think I lost my math somewhere - X Factor was covered - one of my favourite Maiden albums!.

Got down to some of the latest albums with the last 2 days.

The last post was post the Maiden concert! Even at that time, I was waiting for the next Maiden concert with all the old songs. Sometimes, dreams come true!

Kingfisher Heavy Metal Blogger Meet

14/02/2009 at 16:00

Iron Maiden back in India

Who is up for another Iron Maiden concert in India - thankfully in Bangalore this time? From Iron Maiden's official tour dates page....

Maiden Heaven

I came across this bit of news from my daily staple diet of Metal news - Headbanger's Blog. Brit metal mag Kerrang! is giving out a copy of the album - Maiden Heaven - A tribute to Iron Maiden with its next issue. Some cool metal bands have covered Iron Maiden songs and you can listen to some of them on the Kerrang! site. Check it out.

Rock concerts

Well, well. Iron Maiden were here last year for the first time and we all had an amazing time preparing ourselves and to herald the coming of the rock gods. They are back this time, but only to Mumbai and they are kicking off their world tour from there. Even better, they will be playing only their old songs. But hell, I can't make it even though all my friends are going. Damn!! But have fun guys and rock on!!!

But a small consolation, planning to make it to the "Rock In India" festival featuring Megadeth and Machine Head.

Iron Maiden announce Tour schedule for 2008

Well, well. Looks like we all have to travel to Mumbai for the next Iron Maiden concert. The tour dates are out on their official web-site.

Full Schedule for the first leg
SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME World Tour 08
February
Fri 1st - Mumbai, India - Bandra Kurla Complex
Mon 4th - Perth, Australia - Burswood Dome
Wed 6th - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
Thu 7th - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
Sat 9th - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
Sun 10th - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
Tue 12th - Brisbane, Australia - Entertainment Centre
Fri 15th - Yokohama, Japan - Pacifico Yokohama
Sat 16th - Tokyo, Japan - Messe
Tue 19th - Los Angeles, USA -The Forum
Thu 21st - Guadalajara, Mexico - Auditoria Telmex
Fri 22nd - Monterrey, Mexico - Arena M......

Metal : A Pick Of Destiny

(Devilish laughter in background)

....what fucking awesome movies!!. If you are a true rock/metal fan, you gotta watch "A Pick Of Destiny" and "Metal : A Headbanger's Journey". While the first one is more comedic and good fun, the second one is all in-your-face truth about the metal culture.

Tenacious D star in APOD as themselves and its really good fun. I enjoyed the part where JB gets high on some mushrooms and trips like mad!! The best parts are where Dio comes to him in a vision after he is locked in his room as a kid!. And the scenes with the sasquatch!! Hahaha..

Dave Grohl is also in the movie - as Satan. Great acting I should say.

A more in your face movie about Metal is "Metal : A Headbanger's Journey". An incredibly awesome movie, the only thing I would have loved would for the movie to have been longer, much longer. Like say, 10 hours or so....interviewing more bands!. Its really a great documentary done by Sam Dunn meeting a cross section of metal-stars, both young and old. One of the most interesting parts was where he meets Dio in his house! I love the interview with Bruce Dickinson too.

Hehe, heres what Bruce had to say about metal - "It really gets inside the mind of a 15 year old. If you ever lose that 15 year old kid inside of you, then it won't make any sense at all!. And then people will start saying - 'Cough!, Cough, That was just a part of my life I'm really embarrassed about y'know. Those stupid trousers and long hair.' People are ashamed of what they were when they were young!!."

Sam Dunn ends the documentary at a concert, surrounded by other metal fans with these words - "Ever since I was 12 years old, I've had to defend my love for metal from those who said its a less valid form of music. My answer now is - you either feel it or you don't!. If metal doesn't give you that overwhelming sense of power or make the hairs at the back of your neck stand up, you might never get it. And you know what, that is ok!. Cause judging by the 40,000 other metal fans around me, we're doing just fine without YOU!."

Iron Maiden coming back!!

Hehe...(rubbing hands in glee). Iron Maiden is coming back again to India!!. Though this might be sometime next year, MTV's Headbanger's blog mentions that this time, they will be playing all their older material. Steve Harris mentions about playing songs from their latest album - "We thought we needed the challenge and it proved the right thing to do. However, it can be hard on the fans playing so much new material. So now l guess it’s payback time". Hell, I love this kind of a payback!!! Looking forward to the real Iron Maiden now!!!.



Damn, the tour is appropriately named - "Somewhere Back In Time". Fucking hell!!!

Iron Maiden banner

Well, you people might remember that we guys created a banner for the Iron Maiden concert reading as "FUCK. WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!". This was done the night previous to the Iron Maiden concert and there is a whole Flickr set that I have up on my Flickr Photo collection. Damn, was really glad to see this banner caught on one of the Youtube videos out there....Hit Go on the video link to watch. You can see us unfurl the banner in 30 seconds and see another set of people raise it up in 1 minute. Now, I can die in peace!!....

Iron Maiden Concert

Well, its true when they say time flies by fast when you are having fun!. Damn, these 3 days went by in a flash and we all had a great time. We ended Friday and started Saturday by painting a banner to take to the Iron Maiden concert. It simply read - "Fuck. We've been waiting for you". What happened to the banner when we tried to unfurl it and pass it along during the concert is another story. But we had fun planning the banner and painting it. Saturday came bright and early and we missed our tickets at home and went halfway through. Finally managed to reach the venue and we weren't able to push into the front rows like we usually do!. Well, the opening act was a fucking joke and Lauren Harris - can you sing?

Maiden came on stage and everything else is a blur cause I was fucking having a great time!. The best part is that they are coming again - and this time no Eddfest. Old Maiden songs!!. Great time guys!!.

Iron Maiden Countdown - Tomorrows the day!!

Yoohoo!!! Maiden will be here tomorrow. Damn, haven't decided on the logistics of getting 10 guys out to the concert but Anoop and Anwin working on that. Might have to even hire a cab. Manu and Joel turning up from Vellore and Nagercoil. Renie from Chennai. Then its me, Anwin, Anoop, Abhilash and Karthik. Damn, looking forward to the concert!!. Going to be one hell of a party!.

Moving on to my daily quota of Maiden, we move on to another Maiden era. The return of Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson. This new album was quite apropriately named "Brave New World". This ones got some great songs. My favourites are "Ghost Of the Navigator", "Blood Brothers" and "The Nomad". Somehow Maiden started sounding a little different from now.

And we "arrive" at "Dance Of Death". The cover is lousy. Plain and simple. Damn, what were they thinking? You look forward to Maiden covers and this one is a dissapointment. Oh well, lets move onto the music. One of the best songs on the album is "Montsegur". Beautiful lines...

As we kill them all so God will know his own
The innocents died for the Pope on his throne
Catholic greed and its paranoid zeal
Curse of the grail and the blood of the cross

Templar believers with blood on their hands
Joined in the chorus to kill on demand
Burned at the stake for their soul's liberty
To stand with the cathars, to die and be free

The book of Old Testament crippled and black
Satan - his weapon is lust
Leaving this evil damnation of flesh
Back to the torture of lies

And the title track is a pretty good song too. Starts off with some pretty haunting lyrics..

Let me tell you a story to chill the bones
About a thing that I saw
One night wandering in the everglades
I'd one drink but no more

I was rambling, enjoying the bright moonlight
Gazing up at the stars
Not aware of a presence so near to me
Watching my every move

But the best song on the album has to be "Paschendale". Based on a battle of WWI, it takes you into it.

And I think i meet my deadline. The latest album from Maiden, much awaited - "A Matter Of Life And Death". To tell you, I liked this album more than the last two Maiden albums. This album is truly Iron Maiden!. The first song that hits you will be "These Colours Don't Run". Hmm, can't really write too much about this album except that you have to listen to it!!

Ok, I finally finished it.

Iron Maiden Countdown - 2 days to go

Well, if its 3 days to go, I seem to have lost the count somewhere. Or so you think. Wait for the grand finale!!. Damn, writing this bit of commentary/countdown has been very interesting. It has made me listen to Maiden all over again. I also am getting more hits on my site. But I would love to hear from all you people who visit my site. Just leave some comments. Feedback you see...

Moving on, its "Fear Of the Dark". Damn, this album is worth its cover itself!. What amazing artwork!. And the album has some great songs too. "From Here To Eternity" has some great lines...

She fell in love with his greasy machine
She leaned over wiped his kickstart clean
She'd never seen the beast before
But she left there wanting more more more

But when she was walking on down the road
She heard a sound that made her heart explode
He whispered to her to get on the back
"I'll take you on ride from here to eternity"

Haha, those are lines with innuendo. There are more songs that I love on the album, but I would love to hear them perform the title track. The live versions are killer!.

Skipping the live albums, we have finally reached another era in Iron Maiden, albeit a short-lived one. This is the one where Bruce Dickinson has left, replaced by Blaze Bayley. Too many Maiden fans really hate this album. They even go so far as to call it a joke. I say, bullshit!! This is another of my favourite Maiden albums. I pretty much like the whole album. It starts off with the "Sign Of the Cross". It starts off slowly but builds into a crescendo. The song just keeps playing in your head over and over again.

Another beautiful song on this album is "The Edge Of Darkness". If you have watched "Apocalypse Now", you can relate the lyrics to the movie. There are even lines that appear in the movie. Love the movie, love the song!. Fucking awesome lines....

He's acting like a god - an insane lunatic
Your mission - exterminate with extreme prejudice
The route is dangerous and your progress may be slow
Here is the file and it's all you need to know

Here I am the knife in my hand
And now I understand why the genius must die

Now I stand alone in the darkness
With his blood upon my hands
Where sat the warrior the poet
Now lie the fragments of a man

Errr, we move onto Virtual XI. Umm, err. No really, I even like this album. Though not really a strong Maiden album, it somehow feels a little undermade. If thats a word!. But whatever people might say, you can never find fault with Harris' songwriting abilities. Dude can really write some really great songs. Outstanding songs are "The Clansman", "Don't Look To the Eyes Of A Stranger" and "Como Estais Amigos". Even this album can grow on you.

Tomorrow, another era in Maiden. Bruce "Air-Raid-Siren" Dickinson is back!!.

For complete lyrics for Maiden and other "Dark" bands, visit DarkLyrics.

You can read more on this amazing site that has everything Iron Maiden - here.

Iron Maiden Countdown - 3 days to go

I would think there are some great songs in "Live After Death", but skipping it...Somewhere In Time and the song that comes upto your mind would be "Wasted Years". Obviously. This is probably the only Maiden song that creeps into those "Compilation" and "Best Of" CDs brought out by any and every music co on the planet. I kinda love the song for its fast phase and catchy lyrics. There are better songs on the album, my other favourite would be "Stranger In A Strange Land". The lyrics go like...

One hundred years have gone and men again
they came that way
To find the answer to the mystery
They found his body lying where it fell all that day
Preserved in time for all to see
No brave new world, no brave new world
Lost in this place, and leave no trace

To read more on the song, go here.

Woohoo!! and we come to probably my favourite Maiden album of em all. "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son". Damn, this whole albums a fucking trip!!!. Starts off with "Moonchild". Damn, great song. Beautiful lyrics.....

I am he the bornless one
The fallen angel watching you
Babylon, the scarlet whore
I'll infiltrate your gratitude
Don't you dare to save your son
Kill him now and save the young ones
Be the mother of a birth strangled babe
Be the devils own, Lucifer's my name

Moves onto "Can I Play With Madness". Damn, one cracker of a song. I love these lines.....

I screamed aloud to the old man
I said don't lie, don't say you don't know
I say you'll pay for this mischief
In this world or the next
Oh and then he fixed me with a freezing glance
And the hellfires raged in his eyes
He said you wanna know the truth son?
Lord, I'll tell you the truth
Your soul's gonna burn in a lake of fire

Aargh, go and listen to the complete album!!.

And we move to "No Prayer For the Dying". Damn, this was the first tape that I owned of Iron Maiden. I remember my sister buying it for me from some place in Madurai - of all places. She probably was chanting the Lord's Prayer all the way!! Hehe.... I still have that tape!. I don't know too many Maiden fans who really like this album, calling it pretty much a lame album. Well, to all you lame jokers, this is one heck of an album too!. Granted, Bruce sounds like he is reciting some songs, but still. I love the title track....

There are times when I've wondered
And times when I've cried
When my prayers they were answered
At times when I've lied
But if you asked me a question
Would I tell you the truth
Now there's something to bet on

You've got nothing to lose

If you play computer games, especially the sniper sorta games, you will love "The Assassin". And you can certainly expect this song to be played by Maiden....Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter. Damn, I remember singing that song in school. Me, Anand and Anwin chanting the chorus during maths class. Fucking hilarious!.

You can read more on this amazing site that has everything Iron Maiden - here.

Iron Maiden Countdown - 4 days to go

Ok, my time is running out and surely I cannot cover one song from every Iron Maiden album from now on. So moving onto 3 albums a day. Lets see how it goes.

What other album to start off other than "The Number Of the Beast". Bruce "Air-Raid-Siren" Dickinson's first album with Maiden. They were, for the very first time linked to stories of Devil-worship after this album. The title song is beautiful and starts off with a haunting set of lines from the Bible :

Woe to you, oh Earth and Sea,
for the Devil sends the beast with wrath,
because he knows the time is short...
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast
for it is a human number, its number is Six hundred and sixty six.

This song always brought about nightmares when I listened it to the first few times in school. I remember even my cousin asking why I listened to "Devil-music"!!. Haha, even a close friend of mine suggested that Maiden needn't have been so overt about the devil part of it. But if you closely follow the lyrics, you will see for yourself what Maiden try to say. The song ends with these gripping lines...

I'm coming back I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take it's course

For the complete lyrics, go here.

Next album, "Piece Of Mind". An outstanding song on this album is "The Trooper". This song has an amazing rhythm to it and is quite a fast one. You can pretty much imagine the war by listening to the song. I wouldn't know too much about the history on this one, but its a song I wish Maiden play on the 17th!.

For the complete lyrics, go here.

And we move on to another of my favourite Maiden albums - Powerslave. The album cover is really cool. An Egyptian theme and Eddie shown as one of them Egyptian kings. Damn, this album has some really cool songs. My closest favourites are "Rime Of the Ancient Mariner" and "Aces High". Aargh, I love the whole album.

The "Rime Of the Ancient Mariner" is a really haunting song. Based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, its also Maiden's longest song. Its best to just listen to the song on a good set of headphones and just go into it. Let your imagination run riot, listen to the lyrics and imagine you in the mariner's shoes. I suggest that you check out this link for the complete explanation - here. And for the complete lyrics - here.

Aces High speaks for itself. If you really cannot imagine the strength of this song, you really have not read any of the old WWII comics that was my staple diet when I was a kid. Just observe these lines..

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers
Let off a sharp burst and then turn away
Roll over, spin round and come in behind them
Move to their blindsides and firing again

Bandits at 8 o'clock move in behind us
Ten ME-109's out of the sun
Ascending and turning out spitfires to face them
Heading straight for them I press my guns.

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, goin' again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high.

My good deed for the day is done. You can read more on this amazing site that has everything Iron Maiden - here.

Iron Maiden Countdown - 5 days to go

Well, another day, another Iron Maiden song that we all love. I might have listened to lots of Iron Maiden songs, but the very first CD that I bought was Killers. The bloody cover itself was hypnotic. I love Eddie in that pose with an axe in his hand. Even though this album does not have the usual epic songs, it has a central theme - all dealing with "killers". Lovely, I say!. And I love the vocals by Di'Anno. The guy has a natural voice that suits this album and he does a great job. I wanted to write about one song, but I really love the whole album. The title song is obviously the best in the album and "Murders In the Rue Morgue" comes a close second. For all you Maiden fans who do not really like Di'Anno, this might be a boring album, but this ones a killer for me!.

In "Murders In the Rue Morgue", the lyrics are great.....

Murders in the Rue Morgue
someone call the Gendarmes
Murders in the Rue Morgue
run before the killers go free

There's some people coming down the street
at last there's someone heard my call
I can't understand why they're pointing at me
I never done nothing at all.
But I must have got some blood on my hands
because everyone's shouting at me
I can't speak French so I couldn't explain
and like a fool I started running away.

If you concentrate on the lyrics during the song, a chill runs down your spine. Foreign place, murder and blood on your hands!. Check out the complete lyrics for this song - here.

Killers - the song starts off with the perspective of the victim, beautifully portrayed in these lines....

You walk through the subway, his eyes burn a hole in your back,
A footstep behind you, he lunges prepared for attack.
Scream for mercy, he laughs as he's watching you bleed,
Killer behind you, his blood lust defies all his needs.

It then moves on to the perspective of the killer and ends with this beautiful set of lines. Watch out for the likeliness with the first few lines of the song itself.

You walk through the subway, my eyes burn a hole in your back,
A footstep behind you, he lunges prepared for attack.
Scream for mercy, he laughs as he's watching you bleed,
Killer behind you, my blood lust defies all my needs.
Oooh look out, I'm coming for you!
Ahahahaha!

Check out the complete lyrics - here. Just love this album. Gonna listen to it again.

You can read more on this amazing site that has everything Iron Maiden - here.

Iron Maiden Countdown - 6 days to go

Todays song is Phantom of the Opera. This is one of the best songs from Iron Maiden. Its based on the classic novel of the same name and primarily showcases Steve Harris' songwriting ability. The guy is such a great songwriter. You can read more about this song and more on the albums on the Iron Maiden commentary - here.

You can read more on this amazing site that has everything Iron Maiden - here.

Iron Maiden week

Wanted to start these series of posts yesterday itself, but as usual, no fucking time!!..

So here goes.....will try to post on some of my most favourite Iron Maiden songs for the coming week.....

As usual, no promises

Iron Maiden coming to India!!!

Finally, after all these years....Iron Maiden are finally coming to India..

Follow links, Yahoo! News India and from the horse's mouth - DNA Networks...