Maiden Voyagers

Well, well, well. Look who's come crawling back. ...us. It's us. We're crawling. Do you forgive us? We're finally ready to kick off a new season. Sort of..! Being completely honest, we can't guarantee any kind of regular cadence for this one, but we decided that - after sitting on this for a while - we'd get it in your ears all the same, in all it's comically outdated glory.  Uh, enjoy? --- In the...

You didn't think we were going to make you wait two weeks, did you? Oh, you. No, this time we're being uncharacteristically ahead of time and jumping back in to Iron Maiden's A Matter of Life and Death. No albums left behind! This is the last episode for this "season", we're going to regroup a little and figure out what's coming next (other than The Final Frontier, of course). It's been lovely hea...

They said it'd never happen! They said it couldn't be done! They said the podcast was dead! They were wrong!   ...ahem. Yes, faithful listeners, we are finally back to tackle Iron Maiden's 2006 album, A Matter of Life and Death. For whatever reason, recording these episodes was completely cursed but we finally got a chance to sit down at the end of last year and crack on.  And boy, do we waffle on...

This week, your voyagers continue their trip into Bruce Dickinson's solo discography with their second part exploring Balls to Picasso and its recent reimagining, the imaginatively titled More Balls to Picasso. Join them as they dive in to the material proper this time, both in its original and gussied up 2025 forms, along with some other nonsense. -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers commu...

With its recent reimagined re-release, it seemed only fitting that Bledd and Sam take a look at Bruce Dickinson's idiosyncratic second album, Balls To Picasso. Join the Maiden Voyagers in the first of this two part side-quest as they look at the album's troubled development and discuss the two other albums that could have been! -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media:...

Is it just me or does it feel like this season is lasting forever? But hey, after another impromptu break for unexplained reasons (blame life), we are back to provide your regularly scheduled Iron Maiden-themed idiocy. Well, sort of..! This week, Bledd and Sam recount their pilgrimage down to That London to catch the lads play one hell of a homecoming show. They also take a little bit of a detour...

Let's rewind the clock a bit. We've covered Brave New World already - but in the immediate aftermath of Bruce Dickinson's return to Iron Maiden, what happened to Blaze Bayley? Well, who better to tell us than the man himself. Determined to forge onwards, Blaze immediately got to work putting together his solo debut, Silicon Messiah. A slab of heavy and traditional metal, the album has seen a real...

Yes, yes, these episode titles are getting bad. What do you want from me? This week, we're joined by Adam Blackwood, vocalist of gnarly death metal band Angron . Join us as we chat all things guttural and the influence of Maiden's songwriting, while Sam says 'like' far too much. There's a lot of laughs, too. Lovely stuff. You can find Angron's music on Bandcamp and Spotify , plus follow them on In...

It's an unexpected bumper bill of an episode! With the Run For Your Lives tour in full swing and Maiden marking their 50th anniversary, we thought what better way to mark the occasion than jump all the way right to the studio beginning with 'The Soundhouse Tapes'? We dive into the EP's history, its legacy and of course the music itself. But that's not all! We've got a hype check on the current tou...

This week, our Maiden Voyagers find themselves dancing with the dead as they leap in to... well, 'Dance of Death'. Join Bledd and Sam as they go through the album itself proper, bask in their collective nostalgia and offer some unsolicited advice on how you could make the album better. Oo-er. -- Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpod Bluesky: @mai...

Sam's tonsilitis be damned, we are finally back on air! And we are also finally ready to tackle Iron Maiden's 2003 album 'Dance of Death'. The second since Bruce's reunion, does it measure up to the loft bar set by 'Brave New World'? With Bledd and Sam's views so coloured by nostalgia, does it even matter? Find out all this and more!   Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social m...

Before voyaging back in to the albums proper, Bledd and Sam continue their detour with another special guest interview. In this week's episode, we welcome Serena Cherry, vocalist of post-metal band Svalbard and mastermind of black metal outfit Noctule. Join the three of us as we cover everything from difficult midsize band syndrome, the unfair stigma surrounding power metal and how it wasn't cool...

In another slight change to the usual proceedings, we're taking a bit of a detour on our Maiden voyage. This time, we're joined by our first ever guest - Graeme Farmer, guitarist of heavy metal band, Seven Sisters. Join Bledd and Sam as they interrogate Graeme about Seven Sisters, Iron Maiden and how his experience with the band has impacted his own musical journey. Enjoy! The new Seven Sisters al...

Despite our slightly chaotic release schedue, this is arbitrarily the start of a new season (there is some kind of logic to it, I promise). So with that out the way, join Bledd and Sam as they catch up on all things Maiden from departures to tours, before they get started on a whole new slew of albums.   Enjoy the show? Join the Maiden Voyagers community on social media: Instagram: @maidenpod Blue...

Okay, okay, we're finally back to round out "Season 3" with our definitive* history of Iron Maiden's first venture in to the world of gaming, Ed Hunter. Or is that Melt?  Join Sam and Bledd as they go in to the troubled development of the game and use the term "zeitgeisty" so often that it loses all meaning. *May not actually be definitive

In our last episode of the year, Bledd and Sam get to grips with what really matters about 'Brave New World' - the music. Join them as Bledd swoons over the album and Sam complains that every song is too long. (Spoilers, much?)

It's the new millennium and, yet again, it's all change in the Maiden camp. Goodbye Blaze and hello Bruce... and Adrian.  Yes, this week Bledd and Sam start delving in to the "reunion" album, 'Brave New World'. But is it a reunion if the band never broke up? All these questions and more answered in this episode of Maiden Voyagers.

The scene is set for Iron Maiden's next foray in to the late '90s music scene. Join Bledd and Sam as this week they go through 'Virtual XI' in agonising track-by-track detail. It can't be as bad as it's rep, can it? ...can it?

It's 1998. It's nearly the new millennium. Virtual reality is all the rage (sort of). France '98 (the footie world cup) is imminent. And who else is better placed to bring all these disparate elements together in to one cohesive artistic statement? Why, only Iron Maiden of course. This week, Sam and Bledd start exploring the second album of a new era of Maiden - Virtual XI. Join them as they take...

Alright, time to get down to brass tacks (or whatever the expression is). This week, we continue our look into one of Iron Maiden's most maligned albums - the first featuring young upstart, Blaze Bayley. Join Bledd and Sam as they reflect on Blaze trying to fill some of the biggest boots in heavy metal and whether 'The X Factor' deserves its negative rep.

It's all change in the Iron Maiden camp... again. Exit Bruce Dickinson and enter Blaze Bayley of Wolfsbane. Recorded way back in the distant past (well, okay, spring this year), you can finally join Bledd and Sam as they jump in to the next chapter of Maiden history. New singer, new album, same old hijinks?

After a... longer and slightly more sudden hiatus than planned, Bledd and Sam are coming home to talk about all things Iron Maiden. Before we get stuck in to The X Factor and Virtual XI (and boy, do we get stuck in), join us for a bit of a chat about current band events* and Bruce Dickinson's UK tour. (*Not that current, as this was recorded just before the 'Run For Your Lives' tour announcement....

This week, we're continuing our foray into Bruce Dickinson's swansong with Maiden, 'Fear of the Dark'. How does it compare to the album before? And is it a fitting note for Maiden's iconic frontman to end on (for now)? Join us and find out!

Right. No more detours. We're charting the good ship Maiden Voyagers on a course back to the band's studio albums. But what about Iron Maiden themselves? After the uh... mixed 'No Prayer For The Dying', can the band course correct with 'Fear of the Dark'? Join Bledd and Sam as they fare the rising tides of the '90s and Bruce Dickinson hops out on a life boat.