The members of Iron Maiden may all be in their late 50s now, but that’s not stopping them from rocking and gaming. The heavy metal group released their first single in five years, Speed of Light, and the music video is an homage to video game history. Featuring the band’s longtime mascot Eddie the Head, the five minute track highlights some of the best hits from gaming from the ’70s to today.
The new video is in support of the band’s 16th record, and first double album, The Book of Souls, out September 4. The upcoming record is Iron Maiden’s first since 2010’s The Final Frontier and was recorded in the summer of 2014.
“We approached this album in a different way to how we’ve recorded previously,” said bassist Steve Harris to Rolling Stone. “A lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs. They have almost a live feel to them.”
Speed of Light is one of the shorter tracks on the double album, a 92 minute effort which includes an 18 minute cut — called Empire of the Clouds — to close it out. The band recorded The Book of Souls at Paris’ Guillame Tell Studios, where they previously recorded 2000’s Brave New World.
“We were delighted to discover the same magical vibe is alive and very much kicking there,” said Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson to Rolling Stone. “By the time we’d finished we all agreed that each track was such an integral part of the whole body of work that if it needed to be a double album, then double album it’s going to be!”
The record is the first since Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with cancer, although his doctor recently gave him the “all clear.” Iron Maiden plans to tour alongside The Book of Souls in 2016.
