The lifespan of Eddie - your fave Maiden artwork?

[JayKeeley]

I was looking through the Maiden artwork for their single releases, and I noticed the following:

Iron Maiden / Killers era
Eddie emerges from the shadows, and he looks like a London punk!

Number of the Beast era
Eddie looks like a traditional metaller with long hair, playing with the devil etc

Piece of Mind / Powerslave / Somewhere in Time / Seventh Son era
Eddie's bald! He goes to war (Trooper, Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight), time travels as a cowboy (Stranger in a Strange Land), and then ends up in some icy Dante's Inferno type purgatory being smashed to pieces (Can I play with Madness).

No Prayer for the Dying / Fear of the Dark
Eddie's reborn as a punk again! Artwork begins to suffer. Derek Riggs loses all inspiration.

X Factor
Eddie looks like some rubber face mask built in CGI. Artwork is disasterous. Derek Riggs loses his mind.

Virtual XI
Doesn't seem like a single was released, but the album artwork wasn't so bad...

Brave New World
Eddie's non-existent! (The Wicker Man)

Dance of Death
Eddie turns gay. Possibly the worst artwork in the history of album covers.

SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR EDDIE?

Anyhoo, here's some of my favourite artwork:

SANCTUARY

I just think the light coming off the streetlamps, the skanky east end streets, the London early hours fog, Thatcher laying there with skirt up to her waist, Eddie clutching 12" knife...."so give me sanctuary from the law..."!!!!!

 

[Demonspell]

I'll have to nitpick and say that it wasn't Riggs who did the cover of XF and FOTD. Anyway, here's my ranking of the best Eddies of all time:

1. Somewhere In Time (a no-brainer for the awesome self-referential gatefold, they need to do a post-SIT version)
2. The Trooper (another obvious one)
3. Powerslave
4. The Clairvoyant (being played on the 2003 tour and having the backdrop behind it certainly helped)
5. Purgatory (along with Killers, best of the early Eddies)

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

The Trooper and Aces High, just because of their "classic-ness." NOTB is another classic, as is Powerslave.

 

[JayKeeley]

I'll have to nitpick and say that it wasn't Riggs who did the cover of XF and FOTD.

Oh I didn't know that. Riggs turned to shit nevertheless.

 

[NAD]

Which one has Eddie playing bass? Or is that just on a t-shirt. That's the best one, no contest.

 

[JayKeeley]

'Tis a DVD that one....

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

'Tis a DVD that one....

I actually have that. It's ok. I think it's Bruce's final show in 1992.

 

[NAD]

Look at that, he has his power foot up on the monitor even! That's fucking metal.

 

[MadeInNewJersey]

Look at that, he has his power foot up on the monitor even! That's fucking metal.

That's classic Steve Harris. Hell, they probably just had him pose for the picture, and then drew Eddie's head onto him.

 

[Hell Mike]

den här... den e ju så metal att det sprutar ur den tamejfaan

 

[lizard]

the best one is clearly the one where he's just offed Thatcher.

 

[JayKeeley]

the best one is clearly the one where he's just offed Thatcher.

Clearly.

 

[lizard]

seriously, its got it all....menace...the societal taboo of the implied rape...murder....

 

[Black Winter Day]

I agree with Sorath.

 

[lurch70]

the documentary on the new DVD rules ... gives a lot of insight on the creation of Eddie and his role in the band.
i gained a lot more respect for Maiden after watching that ... i liked how that doc was very insightful about the management and business side of "making a band" ... some of you BM freaks should learn something from it.

Maiden stayed true to themselves even though there was this huge machine working it's magic behind the scenes.

 

[Hell Mike]

lurch70: Making money and staying true IS possibly but VERY VERY VERY highly unlikely in music, especially in the more extreme forms thereof. Add to this that at least I personally don't really want that kind of attention and the risk that any of my bands will make megazillions isn't very big.

 

[Tranquillian]

I think I'll dedicate my christmas break to listening through all my Maiden vinyls (all 40-50 of them) and watch the new DVD again.

 

[matt99_crew]

Wow, hard to decide. Live After Death is way up there, as is The Trooper and Killers.

 

[JayKeeley]

Remember that there is a TON of Maiden artwork, not just album covers....you have singles, t-shirts, DVDs, posters...

 

[lurch70]

i'll vote for the Aces High one ... just because it was the first Metal Tee I bought ... 1 month after coming off the boat