Iron Maiden Release 'Speed of Light' Arcade Inspired Music Video
Iron Maiden released a new song from their upcoming double album on August 14 titled 'Speed of Light', accompanied by an arcade and gaming inspired music video to celebrate 40 years of extreme musical excellence.
A behind-the-scenes video has been produced from the making of the 'Speed Of Light' music video, which Maiden fans can download when pre-ordering the new double album 'The Book Of Souls' on iTunes. It can also be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music.
The video centers on Iron Maiden's main man (or skeleton guy), Eddie, who is going on an epic "Herculean" adventure through space and time. He plays through 4 major milestones in gaming history - the 8-bit pixel era, the 16-bit scrolling shooters of yore, the beloved beat 'em ups with specific reference to Mortal Kombat (p.s. the fatality Eddie performs on The Beast is beautiful), and the currently popular trend of first person shooters.
The video pays homage to Iron Maidens' 40 years of rock and roll glory, juxtaposed against four decades of video gaming.
Director, Llexi Leon told Metal Hammer: "It seemed a perfect fit — 40 years of metal explored alongside four decades of video games.
"I pitched this idea to [IRON MAIDEN manager] Rod Smallwood and the guys in the band. They loved the concept and asked if I could pull it off. I figured it was IRON MAIDEN, so I had to pull it off — and it had to be the best thing I've ever done."
He continued: "The video is littered with nods to IRON MAIDEN artwork — whether it's the poses of the characters at certain key moments, or imagery woven into the background art. There's a lot to look out for in the video."
The 'Speed Of Light' video was produced and directed by Llexi Leon with animation and visual effects by The Brewery Production Company. This is the first music video for Llexi Leon, who is reportedly a huge Iron Maiden fan.
'Speed of Light' was written by guitarist Adrian Smith and vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and the track is taken from the new double album, 'The Book Of Souls', due out on September 4, 2015 through BMG in the U.S.A. (Parlophone Records in the rest of world).
Below is the 'Speed of Light' music video, courtesy of Iron Maiden and published on August 14:
Below is the Behind-the-Scenes video for 'Speed of Light', courtesy of Iron Maiden and published on August 19:
