Iron Maiden have teamed up with besopke not-for-profit UK jewellers The Guitarwrist to launch a range of bracelets, necklaces and rings made from actual strings Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers have played on tour. And 100% of the profits from each item sold will go to the Heavy Metal Truants, the charity cycling club set up by Maiden's manager Rod Smallwood and former Metal Hammer editor-in-chief Alex Milas.
There are ten items in the collection, with the most expensive item being a Sterling 925 Silver ring made with strings played during Maiden's record-breaking Legacy Of The Beast world tour, yours for £199. The cheapest item in the range is the "Test Tube" necklace, retailing for £90, which is a guitar string coil pendant necklace created using strings played by Murray, Smith and Gers during the same world world tour.
Other items in the range include the "Distortion" bracelet, which uses twisted bass strings played by Steve Harris, leather chord, spacer beads and an Eddie skull (£175), the "Riff" guitar strings bracelet (£160), the "Riff" bass string bracelet (£150), the "Reverb" bracelet, which features twisted bass strings and an Eddie skull (£160) and "Melody" sterling silver earrings (£100).
The full range can be viewed here.
The Heavy Metal Truants also want your help to make 2023 their biggest and most successful year ever. The total money raised by the headbanger philanthropists across the past decade is a straggering £1,208,500: now they're looking to go one louder.
"We now begin our eleventh year," says Alexander Milas, "and so a Spinal Tap reference felt unavoidable. The Heavy Metal Truants go to 11 is now officially underway and accepting cyclists for our physical, 150 mile ride to Download next year. Supporters can also join our virtual challenges, which include a variety of walking, running, and cycling challenges."
For more information on the group's 2023 activities, and to sign up for next year's ride, point your wheels of steel towards the HMT website.
Over the past decade, musicians who've participated in the rocking ride include Saxon's Biff Byford, Thunder guitarist Luke Morley, Orange Goblin frontman Ben Ward, Amon Amarth vocalist Johan Hegg, Paradise Lost leader Nick Holmes, Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto and metal super-producer / Judas Priest touring guitarist Andy Sneap.
"Heavy Metal Truants wouldn’t exist without huge support from the rock and metal community at all levels," says Milas, "and to keep doing what we do we need your support."
Iron Maiden will embark upon The Future Past Tour at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland on June 3. The setlist for the tour will focus on previously unperformed songs from the band’s 2021 album, Senjutsu and choice cuts from 1986’s Somewhere In Time, plus a selection of timeless classics from Steve Harris' band.
