Iron Maiden takes us on a heavy metal trip through the history of classic video games.
The legendary British heavy metal band are getting ready to release their first single in five years and in order to promote their new song, they’ve put together an awesome video game-inspired music video to mark the occasion. Titled “Speed of Light,” the video features Iron Maiden’s zombie mascot Eddie traveling through cyberspace and getting sucked into an arcade machine which then forces him to play through four different gaming genres.
First up is a 2D platformer reminiscent of the arcade classic Donkey Kong (and inspired by the cover artwork for Iron Maiden’s album Killers), in which Eddie has to hack his way through some enemies with a hatchet in order to rescue a red leather-clad damsel-in-distress from the grasp of a hulking brute. Next Eddie travels to the 16 bit era to revisit the band’s Somewhere in Time imagery, as he blasts everyone in sight in a side-scrolling action shooter recminiscent of Contra. After that, Eddie pops up in a Mortal Kombat-style brawler wherein he battles The Beast (an allusion to the seminal LP The Number of the Beast). Finally, Eddie shifts into first-person 3D action in the vein of Call of Duty and slashes and shoots his way through reanimated skeletons until he reaches the Book of Souls.
Pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden are no strangers to video games. Many of the band’s songs including “The Trooper”, “2 Minutes to Midnight”, and “Run to the Hills” – have been featured in multiple iterations of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Not to mention, Iron Maiden once released a first-person rail shooter called Ed Hunter that’s built around their undead mascot Eddie the Head.
Iron Maiden are considered one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, with The New York Times reporting in 2010 that the band have sold over 85 million records worldwide. Well into their 60’s, the band doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
“Speed of Light” is taken from Iron Maiden’s forthcoming studio album, The Book of Souls.