Maiden Voyagers

Well, well, well. Look who's come crawling back. ...us. It's us. We're crawling. Do you forgive us? We're finally ready to kick off a new season. Sort of..! Being completely honest, we can't guarantee any kind of regular cadence for this one, but we decided that - after sitting on this for a while - we'd get it in your ears all the same, in all it's comically outdated glory. Uh, enjoy? --- In the meantime, if you like what you do, why not support us in some way? You could join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpod (our main home)Bluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers All the more important with EddFest next week!

They said it'd never happen! They said it couldn't be done! They said the podcast was dead! They were wrong! ...ahem. Yes, faithful listeners, we are finally back to tackle Iron Maiden's 2006 album, A Matter of Life and Death. For whatever reason, recording these episodes was completely cursed but we finally got a chance to sit down at the end of last year and crack on. And boy, do we waffle on. Both episodes on the album are dead long, so join us as we make up for a few months of inactivity with a couple of bumper episodes - Part 2 drops next week! -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpodBluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers

With its recent reimagined re-release, it seemed only fitting that Bledd and Sam take a look at Bruce Dickinson's idiosyncratic second album, Balls To Picasso. Join the Maiden Voyagers in the first of this two part side-quest as they look at the album's troubled development and discuss the two other albums that could have been! -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpodBluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers

Let's rewind the clock a bit. We've covered Brave New World already - but in the immediate aftermath of Bruce Dickinson's return to Iron Maiden, what happened to Blaze Bayley? Well, who better to tell us than the man himself. Determined to forge onwards, Blaze immediately got to work putting together his solo debut, Silicon Messiah. A slab of heavy and traditional metal, the album has seen a real resurgence in recent years, but how Silicon Messiah received at the time? Blaze Bayley joins us to tell all as we delve right in to it. A huge thank you to Blaze for joining us and for his management making it happen - it was a real treat for us. You can keep up to date on everything Blaze at BlazeBayley.net -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram (our main home these days): @maidenpodBluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers

It's an unexpected bumper bill of an episode! With the Run For Your Lives tour in full swing and Maiden marking their 50th anniversary, we thought what better way to mark the occasion than jump all the way right to the studio beginning with 'The Soundhouse Tapes'? We dive into the EP's history, its legacy and of course the music itself. But that's not all! We've got a hype check on the current tour, some very exciting podcast news, a brief return of Pedant's Corner and of course Be Quiz or Be Dead. Get stuck in! SPOILER WARNING: We discuss the Run For Your Lives setlist between 06:10 - 14:25, so avoid that if you've somehow managed to avoid hearing what's on the tour so far! -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpodBluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers

Sam's tonsilitis be damned, we are finally back on air! And we are also finally ready to tackle Iron Maiden's 2003 album 'Dance of Death'. The second since Bruce's reunion, does it measure up to the loft bar set by 'Brave New World'? With Bledd and Sam's views so coloured by nostalgia, does it even matter? Find out all this and more! Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpodBluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers

In another slight change to the usual proceedings, we're taking a bit of a detour on our Maiden voyage. This time, we're joined by our first ever guest - Graeme Farmer, guitarist of heavy metal band, Seven Sisters. Join Bledd and Sam as they interrogate Graeme about Seven Sisters, Iron Maiden and how his experience with the band has impacted his own musical journey. Enjoy! The new Seven Sisters album, 'Shadow of a Fallen Star Pt. 2', is out 28 March and the lads are touring the UK in May. Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpodBluesky: @maidenpod.bsky.socialX: @maidenpod Or you can email the show on maidenvoyagerspod@gmail.com You can also help top up our Trooper fund on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/maidenvoyagers

Okay, okay, we're finally back to round out "Season 3" with our definitive* history of Iron Maiden's first venture in to the world of gaming, Ed Hunter. Or is that Melt? Join Sam and Bledd as they go in to the troubled development of the game and use the term "zeitgeisty" so often that it loses all meaning. *May not actually be definitive

It's the new millennium and, yet again, it's all change in the Maiden camp. Goodbye Blaze and hello Bruce... and Adrian. Yes, this week Bledd and Sam start delving in to the "reunion" album, 'Brave New World'. But is it a reunion if the band never broke up? All these questions and more answered in this episode of Maiden Voyagers.

It's 1998. It's nearly the new millennium. Virtual reality is all the rage (sort of). France '98 (the footie world cup) is imminent. And who else is better placed to bring all these disparate elements together in to one cohesive artistic statement? Why, only Iron Maiden of course. This week, Sam and Bledd start exploring the second album of a new era of Maiden - Virtual XI. Join them as they take a perhaps unsurprisingly skeptical glance at the band's follow up to The X Factor.

Alright, time to get down to brass tacks (or whatever the expression is). This week, we continue our look into one of Iron Maiden's most maligned albums - the first featuring young upstart, Blaze Bayley. Join Bledd and Sam as they reflect on Blaze trying to fill some of the biggest boots in heavy metal and whether 'The X Factor' deserves its negative rep.

After a... longer and slightly more sudden hiatus than planned, Bledd and Sam are coming home to talk about all things Iron Maiden. Before we get stuck in to The X Factor and Virtual XI (and boy, do we get stuck in), join us for a bit of a chat about current band events* and Bruce Dickinson's UK tour. (*Not that current, as this was recorded just before the 'Run For Your Lives' tour announcement. Classic.) We're excited to be back... again!

Right. No more detours. We're charting the good ship Maiden Voyagers on a course back to the band's studio albums. But what about Iron Maiden themselves? After the uh... mixed 'No Prayer For The Dying', can the band course correct with 'Fear of the Dark'? Join Bledd and Sam as they fare the rising tides of the '90s and Bruce Dickinson hops out on a life boat.