IRON MAIDEN til ROSKILDE 2011

Iron Maiden to Roskilde Festival 2011

the world’s biggest rock band returns to the first gig at the festival since 2003.

With over 85 million albums sold, Iron Maiden is the heavy metal champions of the world. Today the band has announced that they will continue The Final Frontier World Tour into 2011, hitting Roskilde Festival next summer.

Iron Maiden has visited Roskilde Festival before. The British heroes of heavy metal played gigs at Northern Europe’s biggest festival in 1991, 2000 and 2003, and their thunderous return is announced while they are reaching a new peak in their already impressive career.

Iron Maiden signals rock attitude
Danish rock fans love a brutal injection of Iron Maiden, and Roskilde Festival is happy to light up rock lovers’ expectations for next summer at this early stage of the festival season.

"We are as proud and happy as can be. Having Iron Maiden on the festival poster signals rock attitude, music history and tons of party energy at the same time. It is so great to have them back," says head of music Rikke Øxner.

Steve Harris of Iron Maiden says:

"Roskilde Festival has always been very special for Iron Maiden. There’s an amazing atmosphere about the place and the crowd are real party animals! We’ve heard the festival vibe is now better than ever, and as we’ve not been there since 2003 we’re really looking forward to finding out if that’s true."

The Final Frontier as No. 1
Iron Maiden has recently released The Final Frontier, the band’s 15th studio album, to great critical acclaim. The album hit number 1 on the national charts in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Danish press was also thrilled about the latest release from Iron Maiden:

"Is it ok not to renew your sound in 30 years? Of course. When you have a firm grip on the genre and the compositions are still interesting and intelligent," Danish music magazine Soundvenue writes.

Danish newspaper B.T. agrees:

"Damn, afraid of missing out on something during the first many listens, I didn’t even dare go to the kitchen for a cup of coffee while the album was spinning. A majestic and impressive achievement," Steffen Jungersen, one of Denmark’s most enthusiastic heavy rock critics, writes in a 5-star review.

The Final Frontier is a huge success all over the world. In the first week of its release, it has so far reached no. 1 in 27 countries all over the globe: from Arabia and India in the East to Canada in the West, throughout Europe and all through Latin America. In the Nordic countries the album has been an amazing hit:

Denmark
#1 on the album chart, it’s their first ever top album in Denmark.

Sweden
Two weeks as #1 and 1 week as #2, and then back to #1 on the album chart. The album has already sold Gold. This is Maiden’s 4th consecutive #1 album in Sweden.

Finland
Three weeks as #1 on the album chart. The album already sold Platinum and is their third album in a row to hit the top spot.

Norway
Three weeks as #1 on the album chart, already a Gold album and the band’s first Norwegian #1.

An impressive career
30 years, 85 million album sales, 17 world tours, close to 2000 live performances and 15 studio albums, Iron Maiden is still on top. Formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, the band’s debut album was released in 1980 and they have enjoyed continued success ever since, thanks to the increasing family of loyal fans worldwide. The band became a six-piece in 1999 when singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith rejoined the group, and with this line-up of Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers, Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain (and of course not forgetting Eddie, the band’s mascot who adorns every album cover and tour backdrop!) their first album together was the highly acclaimed Brave New World in 2000.

With both 2003’s diverse and ingenious Dance Of Death album and the follow-up, 2006’s A Matter Of Life And Death, they dazzled fans and critics alike. Years of touring followed the album releases. In 2008 Iron Maiden’s world tour "Somewhere Back in Time" began. The band then did 89 live performances in front of two million fans in 38 countries. They flew in their own specially chartered Boeing 757 that was named Ed Force One and piloted by Bruce Dickinson himself. In 2009 the award-winning Flight 666-movie was released on DVD and the release topped the music DVD charts in 25 countries.

   

Tickets to Roskilde Festival 2011 are available through the festival’s online ticket sale from 1 December 2010.

See you at Roskilde Festival 30 June – 3 July 2011.