Legendary British heavy metal band Iron Maiden are preparing to release their first single in half a decade and have put together a video game-inspired music video to mark the occasion.
Speed of Light's official video sees the band's iconic mascot Eddie getting sucked into an arcade machine which then forces him to play through four different gaming genres. There's a first-person shooter segment, a Mortal Kombat-style one-on-one brawler and a 2D platformer which combines elements of RoboCop with Namco's gore-filled Splatterhouse.
However, the portion of the video which will be of particular interest to Nintendo fans is a homage to Donkey Kong, where Eddie has to rescue a female character from a hulking bouncer, who takes her to the top of a building and then hurls objects at the undead rocker. Eddie takes down the flaming projectiles with an axe before smashing the ape-like bad guy with a TV set. Very rock and roll.
Speed of Light is taken from Iron Maiden's forthcoming studio album, The Book of Souls. If you don't know who Iron Maiden are, ask your parents then watch this.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 24
One of the best band there is. What a tribute to arcade gaming. Their new record is preordered....
Up the irons!
Bruce still has a fantastic voice. \m/
Maideeeeeeennn!!!!!!
I've never liked Iron Maiden,even when i went through my 'mosher' period.Always loved their album covers and posters but never really gave their music a chance,instantly dismissed them as 'cheesy' rock.I think it was because of my big sis telling a young and impressionable me that after her 'death rock' period finished and she turned into a mad raver.
That video was wicked!
Ah. Iron maiden. Don't get enough attention these days. Loved their story telling lyrics like in The Trooper and Aces High. Fear of the dark is personal favorite.
Fun Fact an iron maiden is also the name of a torture device - the more you know
Up the Irons! Fantastic video! I hope to see them soon, I saw them two times in Bogotá Colombia, awsome band!
Well the video's kinda cool, if very cheesy and 90s pop video dated looking, but the song is frikin terrible, imo. There's a hint of Metallica's Enter Sandman in there though, which is about the only decent part of the tune, to my ear.
Fun fact, in a tribute to Maidens bassist, my cat is called Steven Harris.
I got a Turok vibe from that last FPS segment, what with that T-Rex.
Ok, weak connection at best, much like the rest of the video.
The first segment was clearly DK, but well, enough that it was obvious, but then a little jarring with how loosely it followed the well known formula.
The MK one followed the source material a lot more closely, even with what felt like a nod to X-Ray combos from the recent titles.
The contra style shooter… couldn't really place a reference at all.
With this kind of video, I think it's better to follow the reference material a little more closely. Like for the DK one: make the layout near identical to the original, include some barrel jumping.
I mean, I get part of the charm is when Eddie breaks away from the game mechanics to cheat and win, but that only works if they follow the mechanics initially (hence why the MK segment works perhaps the best).
Unless they wondered away from the source material so much to prevent being sued? As Nintendo might not be entirely happy with the tribute…
IRON MAIDEN!???
Omg that's awesome 😃 m/
Omg that's awesome 😃 m/
i liked the visuals but i wasn't crazy about the song.
also is there really a 2d sidescrolling shooter with no way to avoid bullets?
I love Iron Maiden so it's great to see some Maiden news mixed in with game news.
Awesome Tribute .... From The Greatest Metal Band of All Time !!!!!!! Up The Irons !!!!!! Maiden Rules !!!!!!! I grew up with and am still a fan of Nintendo & Iron Maiden ... New Song Kicks A** The Video is Incredible .... Nintendo needs to make an Eddie , Iron Maiden Game ... ED Hunter was Awesome on PC back in 1999 .... For Anyone who dosent know ... do yourself a favor & Check Out the Mighty Maiden .... Bruce , Steve , Nicko, Dave , Adrian & Janick will not let you Down!!!!!!! Thanx for this Article Damo
yessss!
I love Iron Maiden. This song is definitely better than their last two lead singles (El Dorado was terrible).
Too bad the song is not that great...
The song is pretty fun, and the video is worth a few chuckles. I have the album preordered, though I'm not impressed with the cover art. However, we all know this can't possible be as good as Powerslave, Killers, or Number of The Beast...
Anybody remember the Judas Priest video that had Rob Halford pop up during Pole Position? Lol
EDIT: I remember now! Its Freewheel Burning! Not sure if I got the game right.
Cool video-clip!
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...