The X Factor (album)

Untitled

The X Factor is the tenth studio album by Iron Maiden, released in 1995. It is the band's first album 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 is considered Iron Maiden's darkest album due to the lyrics being based on personal issues surrounding Steve Harris and the band, mainly Dickinson's departure, at the time and the album cover, which depicts the band's mascot, Eddie the Head, being graphically mutilated through surgery.

The album title came about in the early part 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."

Supporting the album was the X Factour tour. Much like the tour for their following album, Virtual XI, it was cut short after Blaze suffered a violent allergic reaction to certain elements used on the stages where the band performed.

The X-Factor's cover art depicts the operation which left Eddie's head broken (first seen on the Piece of Mind album cover) and was created by Hugh Syme. In some releases, the cover was replaced with a less graphic alternative, showing Eddie from a distance, with the original artwork on the back of the booklet. The idea to bring Iron Maiden's longtime mascot Eddie into 'real form' came from band guitarist Dave Murray, up to that point having always been an animated caricature.

This is the second album (Piece of Mind being the first) that did not have a title track on it, as well as the first album to not feature the album title in any of the song lyrics. It is the first album since Powerslave to feature no songwriting from Dave Murray.

This album is also unusual for the band in that it produced several band compositions that did not make it onto the album. "Justice of The Peace" and "Judgement Day" would turn up on the Best of the 'B' Sides collection and the Eddie's Archive box set, but "I Live My Way" would not. All three were released at the time of the album as B-sides.

Song details

"Man on the Edge" and "Lord of the Flies" were released as singles. Both of these songs, and "Sign of the Cross," remained in Maiden set lists following Bruce Dickinson's return. Live versions of these songs can be found on the single for "The Wicker Man" and the live albums Death on the Road and Rock in Rio respectively.

"The Edge of Darkness" is based on the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now, which is based on Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, "Man on the Edge" is based on the 1993 movie, Falling Down and "Lord of the Flies" is based on the novel of the same name. "Sign of the Cross" is based on the Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose and is Iron Maiden's second longest song at more than 11 minutes long, the longest being "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" at 13 minutes (from Powerslave). Live versions of "Blood on the World's Hands" and "The Aftermath" can be found in Best of the 'B' Sides compilation album.

Critical Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Kerrang!
Sputnikmusic

Initially, 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."

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." They also praised the "often criticized" Blaze Bayley, whose voice they claimed "was perfect for the new release."

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sign of the Cross"	Harris	11:17
2.	"Lord of the Flies"	Harris, Gers	5:03
3.	"Man on the Edge"	Bayley, Gers	4:13
4.	"Fortunes of War"	Harris	7:23
5.	"Look for the Truth"	Harris, Bayley, Gers	5:10
6.	"The Aftermath"	Harris, Bayley, Gers	6:20
7.	"Judgement of Heaven"	Harris	5:12
8.	"Blood on the World's Hands"	Harris	5:57
9.	"The Edge of Darkness"	Harris, Bayley, Gers	6:39
10.	"2 A.M."	Harris, Bayley, Gers	5:37
11.	"The Unbeliever"	Harris, Gers	8:10
Total length:			71:01

Credits

• Blaze Bayley - vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Janick Gers – guitar
• Steve Harris – bass guitar
• Nicko McBrain – drums

with

• Michael Kenney – keyboards
• The Xpression Choir - gregorian chant on "Sign of the Cross"

Chart performance

Year	Chart	Position
1995	Austrian Albums Chart	19
	Finnish Albums Chart	2
	German Albums Chart	16
	Japanese Albums Chart	17
	Norwegian Albums Chart	25
	Swedish Albums Chart	4
	Swiss Albums Chart	27
	UK Albums Chart	8
	U.S. Billboard Hot 200	147