Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden was founded in the year 1975 in London, England. They are a heavy metal band with a discography of nearly 70 albums of various sorts. Considered pioneers of New Wave British Heavy Metal, they are comprised of Steve Harris, bass and backing vocals, Adrian Smith, lead and rhythm guitars and backing vocals, Bruce Dickinson, lead vocals, Nick McBrain, drums and percussion, Janick Gers, lead and rhythm guitars, and Dave Murray, lead and rhythm guitars. Between the years of 1975 and 2012, many different members have come and gone. The aforementioned members consist of their current lineup. Since 1975, Iron Maiden has played almost 2000 live shows and sold more than 80 million records worldwide. Most of these albums have been sold without much radio or television play. This could be due to their 1982's album release entitled, The Number of the Beast. This was a very controversial yet acclaimed album that received a lot of bad publicity from Christian groups claiming they were Satanists. The band has always denied this fact. Iron Maiden has a mascot named Eddie the Head. He can be found on each and every album, cd, and single covers throughout the years. Eddie can also be seen at live concerts.  Iron Maiden even named their concert transportation, an Astraeus 757, "Ed Force One" after their mascot. During their long career, many awards and achievements have been claimed by the band. They were even inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Iron Maiden's heavy metal sound has influenced many bands over the last few generations. Some of these include: Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Anthrax, Slipknot and 3 Inches of Blood. You can catch Iron Maiden on a current tour worldwide starting in June 2012.