Bruce Dickinson tells This Is Rock that it was Steve Harris who came up with the idea of basing the next Iron Maiden opus on the Mayans but it was Dickinson himself who wrote the opening track ‘If Eternity Should Fail’. In fact, he’d written it for an upcoming solo album, but when Harry heard it he knew he wanted it to open ‘The Book Of Souls’. And it’s so perfect, because if ‘The Book Of Souls’ is Maiden marching upon the Mayan ruins of Mexico, then it’s this opening number that will take them there with its eerie introduction, luring you once more to “Speak with the Shaman again”, travelling down a desert path to the Mexican border, through desolate Texan ghost towns, followed by a supernatural mariachi band. This is Iron Maiden perhaps at their bluesiest, this is their crossroads, this is where they swap their souls for passage to their next great achievement (of which there have already been so many). When the guitars kick in and that infamous galloping rhythm takes control you are immediately entranced by the Shamanistic Eddie of the album’s front cover. Iron Maiden have always been magical, possessing the voodoo to make … Read More