page_title: Iron Maiden
section_title: Dance of Death and A Matter of Life and Death (2003–2007)
hierarchical_section_title: Iron Maiden / History / Dance of Death and A Matter of Life and Death (2003–2007)
caption_attribution_description: Español: Bruce Dickinson, cantante de Iron Maiden, durante un concierto en Barcelona (A Matter of Life and Death World Tour). Detrás de él se puede ver a Eddie, la mascota de Iron Maiden. English: Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden's lead singer, during a show in Barcelona (A Matter of Life and Death World Tour). Behind there's Eddie, Iron Maiden's mascot. Polski: Bruce Dickinson, wokalista Iron Maiden, podczas koncertu w Barcelonie (A Matter of Life and Death World Tour). Za nim znajduje się maskotka Iron Maiden – Eddie.
context_page_description: Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The band's discography has grown to 39 albums, including 16 studio albums, 12 live albums, four EPs, and seven compilations.
  Pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal, Iron Maiden achieved initial success during the early 1980s. After several line-up changes, the band went on to release a series of UK and US platinum and gold albums, including 1982's The Number of the Beast, 1983's Piece of Mind, 1984's Powerslave, 1985's live release Live After Death, 1986's Somewhere in Time, and 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Since the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, the band has undergone a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and tours. Their 2010 studio offering, The Final Frontier, peaked at No. 1 in 28 countries and received widespread critical acclaim. The sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls, was released on 4 September 2015 and debuted at number one in the album charts of 43 countries.
context_section_description: Following their Give Me Ed... 'Til I'm Dead Tour in the summer of 2003, Iron Maiden released Dance of Death, their thirteenth studio album, which was met by worldwide critical and commercial success. Produced by Kevin Shirley, now the band's regular producer, many critics also felt that this release matched up to their earlier efforts, such as Killers, Piece of Mind and The Number of the Beast. As usual, historical, and literary references were present, with "Montségur" in particular being about the Cathar stronghold conquered in 1244, and "Paschendale" relating to the significant battle which took place during the First World War. During the following tour, the band's performance at Westfalenhalle, in Dortmund, Germany, was recorded and released in August 2005 as a live album and DVD, entitled Death on the Road.
  In 2005, the band announced the Eddie Rips Up the World Tour, which, tying in with their 2004 DVD entitled The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days, only featured material from their first four albums. As part of this celebration of their earlier years, "The Number of the Beast" single was re-released and went straight to No. 3 in the UK Chart. The tour included many headlining stadium and festival dates, including a performance at Ullevi Stadium in Sweden to an audience of almost 60,000. This concert was also broadcast live on satellite television all over Europe to approximately 60 million viewers. Following this run of European shows, the band co-headlined the US festival tour, Ozzfest, with Black Sabbath, their final performance at which earned international press coverage after their show was sabotaged by singer Ozzy Osbourne's family, who took offence to Dickinson's remarks against reality-TV. The band completed the tour by headlining the Reading and Leeds Festivals on the 26–28 August, and the RDS Stadium in Ireland on 31 August. For the second time, the band played a charity show for The Clive Burr MS Trust Fund, which took place at the Hammersmith Apollo. The same year, the band were inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.
  At the end of 2005, Iron Maiden began work on A Matter of Life and Death, their fourteenth studio album, released in autumn 2006. While not a concept album, war and religion are recurring themes in the lyrics, as well as in the cover artwork. The release was a critical and commercial success, earning the band their first top ten in the Billboard 200 and receiving the Album of the Year award at the 2006 Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. A supporting tour followed, during which they played the album in its entirety; response to this was mixed.
  The second part of the "A Matter of Life and Death" tour, which took place in 2007, was dubbed "A Matter of the Beast" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Number of the Beast album, and included appearances at several major festivals worldwide. The tour opened in the Middle East with the band's first performance in Dubai at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival, after which they played to over 30,000 people at the Bangalore Palace Grounds, marking the first concert by any major heavy metal band in the Indian sub-continent. The band went on to play a string of European dates, including an appearance at Download Festival, their fourth headline performance at Donington Park, to approximately 80,000 people. On 24 June they ended the tour with a performance at London's Brixton Academy in aid of The Clive Burr MS Trust fund.
caption: Vocalist Bruce Dickinson during A Matter of Life and Death World Tour. Throughout the tour's first leg, the band played the A Matter of Life and Death album in its entirety.
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