Iron Maiden master recordings made available as downloadable content for Rock Band Music Store for the first timeMetal lovers take notice! Harmonix Music, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, along with distribution partner Electronic Arts announce that 12 tracks from Iron Maiden, one of the world’s most successful rock bands, will be added June 9 to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and the Wii system.
The release of these downloadable tracks coincides with the U.S. release of Flight 666 on Blu-ray and DVD as well as a double-CD soundtrack album and limited edition double-vinyl picture disc. Flight 666 documents the first leg of Maiden’s legendary SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WORLD TOUR, which took them 50,000 miles around the planet, playing 23 concerts on five continents in just 45 days. One of the stars of the movie is the band’s customized Boeing 757, Ed Force One, which carried the band, all their crew and 12 tons of stage equipment and was piloted by Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, a fully qualified and active Airline Captain with Astraeus Airlines.
Live recordings of “Aces High,” “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Fear of the Dark” and “Iron Maiden,” featured on Flight 666, are among those available for download in the Rock Band Music Store June 9. The other eight songs were amongst those featured on the band’s Somewhere Back in Time World Tour during the first leg of which Flight 666 was filmed. This will mark the first time master recordings from Iron Maiden have been made available on Rock Band games.
"Metal fans have wanted this one for a long time, and we've answered them with some of the greatest Maiden songs, both live and recorded," said Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President of Electronic Games & Music for MTV. "Iron Maiden is one of the most successful and widely recognized metal bands of all time, with more than 75 million albums sold, and counting. We're very excited to offer these tracks, and we know fans will be thrilled."
“Fans have been asking us to do something with Rock Band for some time and this seemed to be a perfect opportunity," said Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. "Our recent Somewhere Back in Time tour was perhaps the most enjoyable one we have ever undertaken, and certainly the most successful with almost two million people catching the shows round the World. So it just seemed a good idea to make some of the songs we played available now so fans can play along with the band on the tour. Then we shall see if they can keep up with the band!”
Flight 666, directed by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen with the award-winning Banger Productions team (“Metal; A Headbanger’s Journey” and “Global Metal”) contains some of the most spectacular live footage yet seen of the band, taking you on a visual global tour from Mumbai to Sydney, Tokyo to L.A., Mexico City to Costa Rica, Bogota to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago to New York and Toronto and places in-between. Filmed in stunning Hi Def, the thunderous 5.1 soundtrack was specially mixed by Iron Maiden producer Kevin Shirley to complement the picture quality as an ultimate attack on the senses. Flight 666 was recently awarded this year’s 24 Beats per Second prize for Best Music Documentary at the SXSW Film and Music Festival.
(All tracks are original master recordings)
Track Album
Aces High (live) Flight 666 (2009)
2 Minutes to Midnight Powerslave (1984)
The Trooper Piece of Mind (1983)
Wasted Years Somewhere in Time (1986)
The Number of the Beast The Number of the Beast (1982)
Run to the Hills The Number of the Beast (1982)
Can I Play With Madness Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
The Clairvoyant Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Powerslave Powerslave (1984)
Fear of the Dark (live) Flight 666 (2009)
Hallowed Be Thy Name (live) Flight 666 (2009)
Iron Maiden (live) Flight 666 (2009)
The Iron Maiden tracks will be available for purchase as part of the “Iron Maiden Pack” or as individual tracks for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system. These tracks will be available for purchase as individual tracks only for Wii.
Release Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2009
(Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® and in-game Rock Band 2 Music Store for Wii)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
(PlayStation®Store)
** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **
Price: $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) for Xbox 360 per track
$19.99 (1600 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Iron Maiden Pack”
$2.00 (200 Wii Points) per track
Locations: Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360
PlayStation®Network
In-game Rock Band 2 Music Store for Wii