Farewell Former Iron Maiden Singer Paul Di'Anno

The first singer for Iron Maiden, Paul Di'Anno, has died. Di'Anno sang on Maiden's first two albums. He has been sick for quite some time and passed at his home in the U.K. at age 66.

Di'Anno battled sepsis, MRSA and PTSD over the past decade. Despite this, Di'Anno performed a lot of shows in 2023 but he was in a wheelchair. Past drug and alcohol issues compounded the health issues.

After the news of Di'Anno's passing, Iron Maiden released an official statement:

Monday 21st October 2024

We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di'Anno earlier today. Paul's contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a… pic.twitter.com/pqskpLPBwc

— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) October 21, 2024

Here's Paul Di'Anno singing "Prodigal Son"

Iron Maiden Announce 2024 American Tour

Next year - Iron Maiden will tour America, Canada and Chile! The American dates run from October and November 2024.

This is all part of their Future Past World Tour which is going on right now in Australia. I wonder who will open the American leg? Killswitch Engage is on the bill for the Australian gigs. Tickets on sale soon! See poster below for dates.

2023 Rock Hall Of Fame Class Announced

Once again, Iron Maiden was snubbed and won't be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On the plus side, George Michael will be inducted and he is very deserving of the honor. Rage Against The Machine will also be inducted and they deserve it too.

I'm not exactly sure what the Rock Hall has against Iron Maiden, but it seems like there's an overt bias against them at this point.

Power Trip Festival Lineup Announcement Coming Today

Power Trip is a new metal festival and the rumored lineup is huge. Bands like Metallica, Guns n' Roses, AC/DC, Tool, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden.

Yep.

The promoter is Goldenvoice - they do Coachella, so we're talking deep pockets here. Power Trip will apparently take place October 6 - 8 at the same location as Coachella, which is the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California. That's not too far from Palm Springs.

At some point today, promoters will announce the official lineup and ticket prices. I expect both to be massive (ha).

Back to those "rumors." I'd consider them more confirmations when bands like Metallica and AC/DC literally tweet the same video as below with the saying "Are you ready for a Power Trip?" Then Sharon Osbourne was on Piers Morgan Uncensored and confirmed Ozzy's appearance and she also mentioned Metallica and AC/DC, so...

It will be interesting to see who rounds out the lineup. Will it be 70s and 80s metal or stray toward newer acts? I guess we will all know soon enough.

Are you ready for a Power Trip? https://t.co/9oGlfNjxW7 pic.twitter.com/ktC0ZWSi5i

— Power Trip (@Powertriplive) March 28, 2023

Throwback Wednesday - Maiden Memories!

Just mad respect, that's all: remembering the legendary The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. Released on this date back in 1982. Do you have a favorite Iron Maiden memory?

On this day in 1982, Iron Maiden released ‘The Number Of The Beast’. pic.twitter.com/LX0OXsY0So

— Monsters Of Rock® (@MonstersOfRock) March 22, 2023

Now You Can Order Iron Maiden Royal Mail Stamps

The UK is Metal, man. British heavy metal icons Iron Maiden are now featured on Royal Mail stamps and you can buy some as a collector's item. In the past, you could buy American stamps featuring Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis.

Pink Floyd, Queen and Led Zeppelin have also been featured on Royal Mail stamps. Completely fun!

We're very proud and excited to announce that Royal Mail are to honour Iron Maiden with a set of special stamps!

To pre-order and find out more, head to https://t.co/FKdfOA1BNx@RoyalMail @RoyalMailStamps#RoyalMail #IronMaiden #Stamps #Eddie #StampCollecting pic.twitter.com/qrGoKHFqxR

— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) January 5, 2023

Members of the iconic heavy metal group Iron Maiden have joined a select few musicians with the honour of having their own stamps. Formed in east London in 1975, Iron maiden are considered one of the most influential rock bands of all time.

📲https://t.co/BYFuUmyiKi pic.twitter.com/G8rrKmIPSL

— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) January 5, 2023

The Best Hard Rock Albums Of 2021

Overall, 2021 was a good year in heavy music. There were lots of releases, proving that Gene Simmons is definitely wrong about rock being dead. You just have to know where to find it these days. The following list are my favorite releases of 2021, in no real order. Hopefully you discover something new here. I bet we share a lot of favorites - a few videos are below. What do you think?

• The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood - Ice Nine Kills 

• Dirty Honey - Dirty Honey

• Mammoth WVH - Mammoth WVH 

• Smith/Kotzen - Smith/Kotzen

• For Those That Wish To Exist - Architects

• Senjutsu - Iron Maiden

• Bullet For My Valentine - Bullet For My Valentine

• Checkered Past - L.A. Guns

• Sacrifice - The Devil Wears Prada 

• The Gospel Truth - Gilby Clarke

• Detroit Stories - Alice Cooper