Iron Maiden founder Steve Harris has gone to bat for two of his band’s most lambasted albums.
Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, the bassist, who launched the London heavy metal juggernaut in 1975, defends 1995’s The X Factor and 1998’s Virtual XI, which many fans and journalists have named as the weakest albums in the Maiden oeuvre.
The two are also the only releases to feature vocalist Blaze Bayley, who controversially stood in for classic frontman Bruce Dickinson following his departure in 1993. Dickinson returned to the Maiden fold to replace Bayley in 1999, and Bayley has since launched a solo career.
Harris tells us: “I said it at the time and I still believe it – those two are really strong, powerful albums and people will appreciate them later. And people are going back and discovering them and realising they’re good.”
He continues: “The X Factor in particular is really good, but it’s a dark album. Probably ’cos I was in a bit of a dark place with Bruce leaving and me going through a divorce at the time, all this stuff going on. But what came out of that was a powerful album. You take negative stuff and you turn it into a positive and those emotions come out, and that’s what you can do with music. Music’s such a powerful thing.”
The X Factor and Virtual XI were poorly received commercially as well as critically: The X Factor debuted at number eight on the UK album charts upon release, down from 1992 predecessor Fear Of The Dark’s number one position, and Virtual XI only made it to number 16. Hammer asks Harris if he came close to “knocking Maiden on the head” during this time.
“Only for a couple of hours,” he answers. “It’s like when [Harris’ favourite football team] West Ham lose – I sulk for two hours, but you have to pick yourself up, brush yourself down and get on with it. It’s the only way it’s going to work.”
On the flip side, Harris also tells us that he believes Maiden have never made a “perfect” album, despite the large number of fan-favourites to their name, including 80s UK chart-toppers The Number Of The Beast (1982) and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988).
“But I don’t think we’ve ever made the perfect album,” the bassist admits. “Number Of The Beast, people think that’s the perfect album, but there are two songs on there that are not as good as the others [referring to Invaders and Gangland]. Not everything’s going to be good, is it?”
The full interview with Harris will be available in Metal Hammer issue 405, which comes out on September 18. The bassist reflects on the band’s five-decade-long journey as they celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2025. During the summer, Maiden played the European leg of their Run For Your Lives world tour to mark the occasion, and further dates are expected to be announced for 2026.
Last week, Hammer published a video interview with Dickinson, who talks in-depth about the start of his solo career in the late 1980s, as well as his 1994 album Balls To Picasso, which was remixed and reissued in July. Watch via the player embedded below.
Through the Louder webstore, you can get your hands on an exclusive issue of Metal Hammer that looks back on 40 years of Maiden’s classic fifth album Powerslave. It comes with a cover you won’t find in the shops, as well as a t-shirt inspired by Powerslave. Buy your bundle now.
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