The Writing On The Wall is the first release of new music by Iron Maiden in 6 years.
The Writing On The Wall is written by Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson.
Iron Maiden released “The Writing On The Wall” on July 15, 2021. It was the first fresh music for the British metal trailblazers since 2015’s The Book Of Souls album.
The long-anticipated track came in the wake of a cryptic teaser campaign that began with posters and flyers emblazoned with “Belshazzar’s Feast” in tandem with the letters “WOTW.” A week before dropping the song, Dickinson called on fans to attend “The Feast” on July 15.
Bruce Dickinson wrote the song with Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith. Longtime producer Kevin “The Caveman” Shirley produced the track with bassist and founding member Steve Harris. Shirley previously worked with Iron Maiden on Brave New World (2000), Dance Of Death (2003), A Matter of Life and Death (2006), The Final Frontier (2009) and The Book of Souls (2015).
Dickinson came up with the initial concept for the epic animated video. It came to fruition in collaboration with Pixar executives and long-standing Maiden fans Mark Andrews and Andrew Gordon (The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo).
Dickinson, Andrews and Gordon hired Nicos Livesey, another longtime Maiden fan and director of the London-based animation studio BlinkInk, to helm the clip.
Livesey brought Dickinson’s treatment to life, helped by over 60 people in 13 countries. They created a dystopian story of four black-cloaked riders traversing the desert on motorcycles as they attempt to vanquish a political figure. From the “Pres 1” license plate and the convertible with upside-down American flags devoid of the 50 stars, it is clear their adversary is the American president.
The video, with its overweight political leader, suggests that Iron Maiden may have aimed at a certain sandy-haired former US president. The clip proposes he should have seen “the writing on the wall” and his end was inevitable.
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