Final Studio Diary from Kevin Shirley
"Iron Maiden Recording Diary - April 29, 2006 *Greetings - winging my way to Germany to go and see the last show in Joe Bonamassa's European tour in Lorsch, Germany tonight. Had another very productive week with Maiden, and some hedonistic nights out with long-time Maiden photographer, Ross Halfin, but that's another story!!
Mixed another two songs this week - the first (and #8 on the album) is one of my favorite mixes so far, it's almost 10 minutes long and sounds huge and very cinematic and I am very happy with it. The lads came in and 'Arry says that's the way he thinks Maiden should sound - and wished he could remix some older material - but I think older stuff is to be celebrated because of it's chronological perspective, and should be left alone! Wing Commander Biggles rushed in on Monday to pick up a CD, as he was piloting a commercial flight to India later that day and wanted to listen to some mixes, and got back on Wednesday after a visit to the Taj Mahal and is ecstatic about the album's sound. I'm sure all you anoraks out there will find plenty of stuff to keep the bulletin boards and forums on fire for a while to come!!!
Adrian was in and played a killer solo over Song #9, sounding a little like Trevor Rabin meets Pat Thrall - with an octave divider - and then finished off with some kinda theramin sounding histrionics, over the solo section reserved for Janick - but it sounded so great, and Janick was away with his family, so we're decided to keep it!! Hope Jan doesn't mind............
Landing now - more later!
* Thursday, May 4 *
This will, in fact, be the last recording diary, as I finish the final mix today! And I love the album. Bruce was in again on Monday to do the last vocal track, which is so high, only dogs can hear it - and then we painstakingly compiled the early verses - as Steve has a very particular thing he wanted to hear on the vocals. Maiden do-all-chap Dave Pattenden came to the studio to do a recce for new Maiden pix with the photographer - Adrian called in to see how things were coming along - Davey's wife emailed me about their flat in London where I'm holed up (although no word from Davey, who's work on this record is stellar!), and on Tuesday, as I entered the studio I was suprised by the sight of Nicko in neon pyjamas, just landed from Florida, who embraced me very warmly (well, you could if you would, old boy - shouldn't you!). I love that man, but not as much as he loves me! It's true! Haha! 0h, that's an "in" joke, sorry! * To stop him talking, so I could work, I stuck my iPod into Nicko's ears, and played him the final mixes. He was very impressed, and so we sent our assistant Alex out to get Nicko his own iPod (which they no doubt put on the recording budget so now I'll never recoup!), and I dumped the Maiden tracks onto his iPod, along with some Alison Krauss and Miles Davis, before he went to see the Queen review, We Will Rock You, for the umpteenth time! There's no accounting for taste, really! After that, Wing Commander Biggles cycled in on his bike to pick up a CD before flying a sortie to Sierra Leone, as 'Arry looked over gigs for his gorgeous and talented daughter Lauren, who's becoming a star in her own right! Must be in the jeans.. er .. genes! Check her out at www.myspace.com/laurenharrisuk * So, it's like a bustling train station in there!
Jan was in on Tuesday, and we started the long and laborious process of overdubbing guitars onto the last song on the album. It's a lengthy process, because it's a song that he has written a lot of the music for, and has demo'd it with a very straight drum machine program, and not at all like the skip and galloping that Nicko and 'Arry have played on the track - and so we had to find the middle ground between the versions, which is ultimately how Iron Maiden sound! There are also layers af acoustic guitars - 6 and 12 strings - and after the lead solo Jan added late last night, all we have to add today are a few keyboard washes and then I'll finish the mix! Album done!!! And the title is............... I don't bloody know, and if I did, I couldn't tell you anyway, could I? Tomorrow I'll get the B side mixes started and then next week, I'll be mixing some surround sound live material for later use - before i head off to Barcelona on the weekend or the Formula 1 race, and then back to California.
And so, that's it folks - hope you've enjoyed the little I've managed to write for you on our studio shenanigans - and I hope you love the album, as much as I've loved being part of it again! See you at a show sometime - come up 'n say hi!!
Up The Irons!!"
32 Comments
i'm waiting for the leak, thanks
I hope it sounds more defined and fine grained than DoD. Then I wouldn't mind that Kevin stole MY balls! BNW sounded hot..and much better than NPftD and FotD.
Cool. Can`t wait for new Maiden album! Maiden rules! If you made something like last two albums- then it is going to be great!
If you made something like in Blaze era - then it is going to be great!
If you made something more polished, like on Somewhere In Time and 7th Son - then it is going to be great!
If you made something like old, raw albums - well you guess it!
no use of making something like blaze era ! it was stevie's productions : why hiring kevin for that shit !! stevie can -with ease- product 5-times-worse albums, and with the half price____no5
no5: youre a number, you are not a free man. NPFTD & FOTD are masterpieces cvomparing to BNW & DOD. im giving last chance for kevin
this is the 5th hour of the 5th day of the 5th month, and I ve just had today 66600 km written to the tableau of my car, so now is one spirit thats talking, and his words are : "bullshits, NPftD can't compaire not with BNW, not with DOD its far weaker....FotD, to some people represents maiden's most accomplished album, and I understand, because it's very strong in a way, but for me BNW is the best maiden work since '84......."____no5
If you ask me, the Maiden albums from the Blaze era were severely underrated, especially "Virtual XI" and they walk all over NPFTD and FOTD. Further, I'd say after a couple of pretty weak albums ("No Prayer..." and "Fear..."), Maiden got better and climbed back to the top with every album they released since X-Factor until Dance Of Death... and beyond, as we may find out this year - Nicko JR
Virtual Eleven is fantastic but has a too clean and thin production
come on boys and girls, virtual XI has just some good moments, that's all.....only furureal is without something ungly inside : 1) angel & gambler = a shame of song, out of competition, 2) worlds collide = stupid refrain that distroyes the song 3) clansman = very banal, nothing really special 4) lightning strikes = nice melody, stupid refrain for kids 5) educated fool = as of title, stupid lyrics for 12 year olds 6) don't look to the eyes = incredible moment in the middle /end, but not well worked as totality, very repetitif 7) como estais = intresting just interesting......come on boys and girls, this is a crap, blaze era doesn't deserve to be considering as "iron maiden", but as "iron buggery of maiden".......you can't compaire nothing
of blaze era even with NPftD, the comparasion with FotD is even blasfemy !!____no5
Well said No5. Except maybe for Clansman but I really prefer the Rock in Rio track so...same thing for Sign Of The Cross and Lord Of The Flies, i prefer the air raid siren versions.
I like npftd, fotd is boring (except the few song we all love !), then X factor and Virtual XI are out of competition.
cheers. frenchfan.
Sorry to post this here, but for some reason the forums aren't up and running at the moment - anyone know why? Well I've all ready commented here anyway, so I'd like to ask: does anybody know where I can find live versions of Lightning Strikes Twice and The Educated Fool. I love the instrumental sections of these songs and reckon they'd work well live - Nicko JR
ah yeah, air raid clansman is ok, well said wedding guest !!.........nicko JR : there are many bootlegs, that you can find these songs like 'montpellier '98', 'virtual lights over france', 'virtual insanity', brixton academy' etc_____no5
ah, j'allais oublier! pourquoi 'frenchfan', ekse tu es français ?.....t'habites à paris ?
Acoustic guitars again... melancholy again... it's enough!!!!!!!!
ici frenchfan, je suis effectivement français mais je vis à lens. Ceci dit, j'ai déjà ma place pour bercy en novembre prochain !
Cheers bud, help much appreciated. Now, any idea how I can get my hands on any of these bootlegs? Thanks again - Nicko JR
Right then, acording to the Iron Maiden Commentary, "Madrid '98" is "probably" the best bootleg from the Virtual ZI tour. Anybody know where I may find it? Cheers - Nicko JR
ici___no5, je vois la region mais je connais pas lens...c'est marrant par là, les gens sont un peu rigolots ....ouais, mon aussi j'en ai déjà acheté des billets
c'est vrai que c'est marrant : j'ai l'habitude d'entendre les gens parler ch'ti mais çà me fait toujours sourire. ce n'est pas pour me payer leur tête, c'est juste que je trouve toujours çà rigolo, même après tant d'années ! Sinon Lens n'est pas vraiment une ville touristique ! Frenchfan.
PS : qu'est-ce que tu penses de Trivium ?
ok i m writing in english for the others to understand -trivium : a very promising band -very very young also!- with a lot of maiden elements !! I like them a lot, this mix of maiden-american influences !!! another maidenish group is iced earth, what do you think of them ? !!
Why is Kevin Shirley called the "Caveman"? Does he not shower or is hairy as balls?
WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE DRUNKEN SAILOR? / SLAVE
...is his secret but i'll tell you : he has a cave located to south kilimanzaro, and there he keeps in a chest all the balls he has stollen from people like you...it's not esay to reach the cave...[to be continued]______________hey, slave what about this : my lips were wet, my throat was cold, my garments all were dank; sure I had drunken in my dreams, and still my body drank_____________hé frenchfan, qu'est-ce que t 'en pense d' Iced Earth ?_____no5
in fact, i know the name but haven't heard yet (sorry). It seems to me that Tim Ripper Owens is in this band now. Tell me if i am wrong !
About Trivium, to everyone who like Maiden, Slayer, Pantera and Metallica, try Ascendancy, their 2005 album. You won't be disappointed !
Is there anybody waiting for the new Slayer album ?
Frenchfan
Is it lyrics or what? BRILLIANT NO 5 BRILLIANT!! / slave
its from the "rime of the ancient mariner", I f..king love this poem...in fact I love the romantic era of poesy (blake, baudelaire, coleridge, pushkin, poe, stagnelius, goethe, de musset....)___frenchfan : make a present to yourself and find quickly 'burnt offerings' Lp, or 'something wicked this way comes' of 'iced earth'......in fact all Lps are KILLERS !!.....iced earth : the ultimate maiden-influenced group, sometimes greater than maiden itself !!!.......yes ripper owens is with them now, he did one huge vocal album especially in the 30-minute !! epic song 'gettysbourg'......i'm very interested in slayer releases, yes i'm waiting for new album!!_____no5
iced earth.. have to check them out!! interesting../ slave
what ????? you also don't know them ? listen to me boys and girls : you have to discover this group (iced earth).....the only danger is to become earthfans instead of maiden fans !!!....burnt offerings (95), the dark saga (96), something wicked this way comes (98) are the golden albums (but all are nice).....in concept album horrorshow (01) guess which is the last song : transylvania !!......they made also a cover album titled tribute to the gods, and iron maiden is the only group with 2 songs featuring inside !!! ....make this present to yourselfs boys and girls and discover this group, you will thank me after !!____no5
ps : start from 'burnt offerings', a heavy (yet not discovered as I see) masterpiece !!
hey boys and girls take a look at this "May 9
Woke up this morning to several messages from a happy (drunk) Kevin Shirley. They'd been left at 2am. The Caveman was letting me know he'd finished a new Iron Maiden extra track called The Hunt For Red October. It's about a submarine (really, I'd never have guessed) and it's forty-nine minutes long. It's sung in Russian and English. He then proceeds to sing me most of the lyrics, including the bits in Russian, in a Waltzing Matilda voice. 'I'm not allowed to post this on the Maiden site, I've been censored by the band's communist management. I recorded some of it in the bath - I used cold water so you get a real feel of being in the Bering Sea...' His message then cuts off..."____from ross halfin diary, I think is nonsence, but you never know ;)_____no5
Has anybody heard the live versions of "Blood On The World's Hands" and "The Aftermath" on the B-sides album? I reckon they're brilliant and Blaze's voice really suits them. He sounds a bit tired on "Aftermath" if you ask me, but on "Blood..." he sounds awesome! Both songs are really good I reckon and "Blood..." has a very dark and chilling feeling to it, particularly on the bass solo at the beginning. Oh, and has anybody got/heard the "Madrid '98" bootleg? What do you think of it and where can I seize it? Grateful for any advice or directions - Nicko JR - cheers!
I actually did a work in school, (back in the days) using The Rime. . as subject for a rewiew. Got aa+ for it!! /slave (: