Glacial Errata, No. 21

One: Sanctuary

Iron Maiden has begun their 50th Anniversary Tour, the Run for Your Lives Tour, and, just like Chuck D of Public Enemy, I’ve long been deeply influenced by their cover art. For the first eight albums, all of their artwork was done by Derek Riggs, and featured their iconic mascot Eddie (originally just a head on stage behind the drummer, he got the nickname “Eddie the ‘Ed,” which stuck). Here are some early images from various singles, some perhaps lesser known but all of which are great examples of 80’s heavy metal imagery, starting with the cover for their second single, “Sanctuary.”

Two: Twilight Zone

My brother had this poster on his wall when we were young. The cover for their fourth single, “Twilight Zone,” it’s a little less Eddie-forward (so to speak) than many of the others, but one that certainly made a deep impression on me. (It may seem at first that the woman here has drawn the Tarot card of “Death” and thus Eddie has come to claim her, but the actual lyrics of the song suggest that in fact what’s happening is Eddie is her dead lover, and he’s reaching out to her from beyond the grave—she still has his portrait right there, after all.) The number of strange little extras in this image: the silhouette of the Grim Reaper outside her window beneath the full moon, whatever that weird goblin is by her feet, the Cosmo in the trash, Mickey Mouse popping out from behind Eddie’s portrait to say hi, the alarm clock shattering—so much going on here. Some of Riggs’ best work (see also the cover to Somewhere In Time and the second single from that album, “Stranger in a Strange Land”) is just stuffed with little details like this.

Three: Flight of Icarus

A fun little take on Ovid! Also the inspiration for vocalist Bruce Dickinson’s (yes, THE Bruce Dickinson) use of a flamethrower during the Legacy of the Beast Tour.

Four: Aces High

I had this one on my bedroom wall growing up. One thing I appreciate about Riggs’ work is a commitment to the bit. For the Piece of Mind album cover, Eddie was shown lobotomized, his luscious metal locks replaced by a bolted-on skull cap. That became part of his permanent appearance, so that (almost) every subsequent Eddie was also lobotomized—note the little metal bracket between his eyes. (After the futuristic Somewhere In Time album, Eddie would get a red laser eye that would also stay with him.) Also note the clear evolution from the early punk vibe to the spooky scare-your-parents theatrics to Maiden’s final form: songs about military history and literature.

Five: Can I Play With Madness

This was the song that got me into Iron Maiden in the first place; the video (featuring Monty Python’s Graham Chapman in his final role) got me hooked, and there was no going back.

Another thing I appreciate about Riggs: by Maiden’s seventh album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Riggs had grown tired of painting Eddie, so he simply painted less and less of him. For the album cover, Eddie was just a torso and a head, but for the singles, he was just a head (returning to his true form, I suppose). I think we can all appreciate the work of a master who eventually starts half-assing it—and yet still manages to produce great work.