Background
The band first confirmed that they would be working on a follow-up to 2000's Brave New World with producer Kevin Shirley on 27 November 2002, announced alongside a small set of European tour dates for the following year. On 6 January 2003, Shirley confirmed via his website that the band would begin recording that month, followed by the announcement that the basic tracks had been completed on 5 February and that the release was to be mixed in April. On 31 May, the band announced that the album, recorded at Sarm West Studios, would be entitled Dance of Death, after which the release date was issued on 17 June.
The Dance of Death World Tour was the tour supporting the album, which included many theatrical elements inspired by the record's songs. During "Dance of Death," Bruce Dickinson would wear theatrical masks and a cape while moving around the stage; at the end he would dress as the Grim Reaper for the final chorus. During "Paschendale", Dickinson would wear a traditional British Infantryman trench coat and helmet (although he revealed in the Death on the Road documentary that it was actually Hungarian), as worn during World War I, and the set would be decorated with barbed wire. The tour led to a live album and DVD, entitled Death on the Road released in 2005 and 2006.
The computer-generated cover art was provided by David Patchett, who allegedly asked for his name to be removed from the album's credits after the band decided to use an uncompleted version, which was received negatively.
Read more about this topic: Dance Of Death (album)
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Pilate with his question “What is truth?” is gladly trotted out these days as an advocate of Christ, so as to arouse the suspicion that everything known and knowable is an illusion and to erect the cross upon that gruesome background of the impossibility of knowledge.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)