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The X Factor (album)

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The X Factor
Studio album by
Iron Maiden
Released2 October 1995 (1995-10-02)
Recorded1994 – August 1995
StudioBarnyard (Essex, England)
GenreHeavy metal
Length70:54
LabelEMI
Producer
Iron Maiden studio albums chronology
Fear of the Dark
(1992) 		The X Factor
(1995) 		Virtual XI
(1998)
Alternative cover
Reverse side of the cover, deemed "less graphic" for retailers
Singles from The X Factor
  1. "Man on the Edge"
    Released: 25 September 1995
  2. "Lord of the Flies"
    Released: 2 February 1996[1]

The X Factor is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 October 1995 through EMI Records.[2] CMC International released the album in North America. It is the first of two albums by the band to include Blaze Bayley, formerly of Wolfsbane, as vocalist, replacing Bruce Dickinson who left the band following their previous tour to pursue a solo career. It also saw the departure of the band's longtime producer Martin Birch, who retired shortly after the release of their previous album, Fear of the Dark (1992). The album takes a darker tone than the band's first nine releases, due to the lyrics being based on personal issues surrounding Steve Harris at the time, who was in the midst of a divorce.[3] This is reflected in the cover artwork, which graphically depicts the band's mascot, Eddie, being vivisected by a machine.[4]

Background

[edit]
This was the band's first album with vocalist Blaze Bayley.

The album title came about at the start of the recording. According to producer Nigel Green: "We all felt that the way things were progressing – the songs, Blaze's new involvement, the sound, the commitment – the new album really would have that extra quality, that bit of magic, that 'X Factor'. This became the working title for the album and we liked it, so we kept it. It is also very apt as this is our tenth studio album and "X" can bring up many images."[5]

The cover art, depicting Eddie undergoing another lobotomy, was created by Hugh Syme.[6] Due to the cover's "lifelike" style,[4] the band was forced to release the album in a reversible sleeve,[7] with a less graphic view of Eddie from a distance.[8]

The album was the last until 2015's The Book of Souls to use the classic variant of the band's logo: every studio release from Virtual XI to The Final Frontier used an alternate that removed the extended ends of the "R", "M", and both "N's".

The X Factor is also unusual in that it yielded several band compositions that did not make it onto the album. "We actually ended up doing 14 songs and we used eleven," said Steve Harris, "which is very unusual for us."[3] The three songs that did not make the cut, "I Live My Way", "Justice of The Peace" and "Judgement Day," were released as B-sides to the album's singles. The latter two would also be featured on the Best of the 'B' Sides collection.

The X Factor was Maiden's tenth consecutive UK top ten album but spent only four weeks on the chart – making it their shortest-staying studio album.[9]

The band supported the album by touring. Much like the tour for the following album, Virtual XI, several dates in the United States were canceled as Bayley suffered from occasional vocal issues from the band's heavy concert schedule.[10][11]

Song details

[edit]

"Man on the Edge" and "Lord of the Flies" were released as singles. Both of these songs, and "Sign of the Cross," remained in Iron Maiden set lists following Bruce Dickinson's return. Live versions of these songs with Dickinson on vocals can be found on "The Wicker Man" single and the live albums Death on the Road, Rock in Rio and Nights of the Dead respectively, while the same live takes of "Man on the Edge" and "Sign of the Cross" were later re-released on Iron Maiden's 2011 compilation album From Fear to Eternity.

"The Edge of Darkness" is based on the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, adapted from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness,[12] "Man on the Edge" is based on the 1993 movie Falling Down,[13] and "Lord of the Flies" is based on the William Golding novel of the same name.[4] "Sign of the Cross" is based on the Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose.[4] Live recordings of "Blood on the World's Hands" and "The Aftermath" from the X Factor were issued as B-sides and also on the Best of the 'B' Sides compilation.

Blaze Bayley later recorded a re-arranged version of "Sign of the Cross" on the live album As Live as It Gets.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal2/10[15]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[16]

The X Factor was met with lukewarm responses from critics. AllMusic rated the album two stars out of five, stating that "suffering from a lack of powerful riffs and tightly written songs, The X Factor is a lackluster latter-day album from Iron Maiden. Although the band doesn't sound particularly bad on the record, they don't sound inspired and there's a noticeable lack of energy to the performances which makes the lack of imagination all the more apparent."[14]

Sputnikmusic were somewhat more positive about the release, deeming the album "a change for Iron Maiden, and a very important one at that" as it "paved the way for future albums of similar length".[16] They also praised the "often criticized" Blaze Bayley, whose voice they claimed "was perfect for the new release."[16]

Track listing

[edit]
The X Factor track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sign of the Cross"Steve Harris11:16
2."Lord of the Flies"
5:02
3."Man on the Edge"
4:10
4."Fortunes of War"Harris7:25
5."Look for the Truth"
  • Bayley
  • Gers
  • Harris
5:10
6."The Aftermath"
  • Harris
  • Bayley
  • Gers
6:20
7."Judgement of Heaven"Harris5:10
8."Blood on the World's Hands"Harris6:00
9."The Edge of Darkness"
  • Harris
  • Bayley
  • Gers
6:39
10."2 A.M."
  • Bayley
  • Gers
  • Harris
5:37
11."The Unbeliever"
  • Harris
  • Gers
8:05
Total length:70:54
Japanese edition bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Justice of the Peace"
3:34
2."I Live My Way"
  • Harris
  • Bayley
  • Gers
3:48
3."Judgement Day"
  • Bayley
  • Gers
4:02
Total length:11:24

Personnel

[edit]

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[17]

Iron Maiden

[edit]

Additional musicians

[edit]
  • Michael Kenney – keyboards
  • The Xpression Choir – Gregorian chants on "Sign of the Cross"

Production

[edit]
  • Nigel Green – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Ronal Whelan – mastering
  • Mick McKenna – assistant engineer
  • Les Lambert – assistant engineer
  • Hugh Syme – digital illustration, sleeve design, art direction
  • Ross Halfin – photography
  • Simon Fowler – photography
  • Tony Frederick – photography
  • Rod Smallwood – management
  • Merck Mercuriadis – management
  • Andy Taylor – management
  • Aky Najeeb – management
  • Harry Mohan – management

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 64
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 29
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 2
French Albums (SNEP)[24] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 16
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[26] 23
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 5
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 15
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[31] 21
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 8
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[35] 2
US Billboard 200[36] 147
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Italian Albums (FIMI)[37] 55
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] 75

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Silver 60,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Lord of the Flies – Commentary". ironmaidencommentary.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. ^ Saulnier, Jason (30 April 2010). "Blaze Bayley Interview: Iron Maiden Singer talks Wolfsbane". Music Legends. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 311. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  4. ^ a b c d Popoff, Martin (2005). "The X Offender". Metal Hammer Presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 63.
  5. ^ Paterson, Lawrence (2009). Blaze Bayley: At the End of the Day. Blaze Bayley Recordings Ltd. pp. 41–42.
  6. ^ "The X Factor". Discogs. 2 October 1995. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  7. ^ James, Darren (2005). "Art of Darkness". Metal Hammer Presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 59.
  8. ^ "The Art of Iron Maiden – The X Factor (1995)". Planet Rock. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  9. ^ The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums, 1996 edition
  10. ^ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 322. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
  11. ^ Paterson, Lawrence (2009). Blaze Bayley: At the End of the Day. Blaze Bayley Recordings Ltd. p. 55.
  12. ^ Popoff, Martin (2005). "Maiden at the Movies". Metal Hammer Presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 104–105.
  13. ^ Paterson, Lawrence (2009). Blaze Bayley: At the End of the Day. Blaze Bayley Recordings Ltd. p. 44.
  14. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen. Iron Maiden – The X Factor at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  15. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  16. ^ a b c Stagno, Mike (2 August 2006). "Iron Maiden – The X Factor". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  17. ^ The X Factor (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 2 October 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 138.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Iron Maiden – The X Factor" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Iron Maiden – The X Factor" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Iron Maiden – The X Factor" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Iron Maiden – The X Factor" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Iron Maiden: The X Factor" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – I". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Iron Maiden from the menu, then press OK.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Iron Maiden – The X Factor" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1995. 41. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  27. ^ "History" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved 16 June 2024. With "Ricerca per" set on "Titolo", search "The X Factor" and then click "Classifiche".
  28. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  29. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Iron Maiden – The X Factor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  31. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  32. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Iron Maiden – The X Factor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  33. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Iron Maiden – The X Factor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  35. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  36. ^ "Iron Maiden Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  37. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Iron Maiden – The X Factor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  38. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Iron Maiden – The X Factor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  39. ^ "British album certifications – Iron Maiden – The X Factor". British Phonographic Industry. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
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