Album
The X Factor
The X Factor is Iron Maiden's tenth studio album, released on 2 October 1995 through EMI Records, with CMC International handling North America. It arrived at a moment of real change: Bruce Dickinson had left to pursue a solo career, and Blaze Bayley, formerly of Wolfsbane, stepped in as vocalist. Longtime producer Martin Birch had also retired after Fear of the Dark.
The mood is darker than anything the band had made before. Steve Harris wrote the lyrics while going through a divorce, and the personal weight shows in the songs. The sleeve says as much, with mascot Eddie being vivisected by a machine. It is the first of two albums with Bayley, so it is worth hearing for a very different chapter in the Maiden story.
The X Factor: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 1:11:07Tracklist
- 1Sign of the CrossSteve Harris11:18
- 2Lord of the FliesJanick Gers and Steve Harris5:04
- 3Man on the EdgeBlaze Bayley and Janick Gers4:13
- 4Fortunes of WarSteve Harris7:24
- 5Look for the TruthBayley, Gers, Harris5:10
- 6The AftermathBayley, Gers, Harris6:21
- 7Judgement of HeavenSteve Harris5:12
- 8Blood on the World’s HandsSteve Harris5:58
- 9The Edge of DarknessBayley, Gers, Harris6:39
- 102 A.M.Bayley, Gers, Harris5:38
- 11The UnbelieverJanick Gers and Steve Harris8:10
- Produced by
- Nigel Green, Steve Harris
- Recorded at
- Barnyard (Essex, England)
- Recorded
- 1994 – August 1995
- Mixed by
- Nigel Green, Steve Harris
- Engineered by
- Nigel Green, Les Lambert
- Mastered by
- Ronal Whelan
- Length
- 1:11:07
Line-up
- Janick Gers · electric guitar
- Steve Harris · electric bass guitar, keyboard
- Michael Kenney · keyboard · guest
- Nicko McBrain · drums (drum set)
- Dave Murray · electric guitar
- Blaze Bayley · lead vocals
- The Xpression Choir · choir vocals · guest
Singles
- “Man on the Edge” · 25 September 1995
- “Lord of the Flies” · 2 February 1996
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1995 | 8 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1995 | 147 |
| Finnish Albums · 1995 | 2 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1995 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1995 | 4 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1995 | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1995 | 6 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1995 | 8 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1995 | 11 |
| Scottish Albums · 1995 | 15 |
All 21 charts
| German Albums · 1995 | 16 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1995 | 17 |
| Austrian Albums · 1995 | 19 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1995 | 19 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1995 | 21 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1995 | 23 |
| Swiss Albums · 1995 | 27 |
| Dutch Albums · 1995 | 29 |
| Italian Albums · 2017 | 55 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1995 | 64 |
| Spanish Albums · 2017 | 75 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2015 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
66.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
116k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
16k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 2 October
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1986
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1986
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1990
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1990
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1992
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1993
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1993
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1993
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1996
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1998
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 2 October 1995 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 2 October 1995 | |
| Wikidata | 2 October 1995 | |
| US release | 10 October 1995 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 2 October 1995 | earliest UK or European date |
15 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Parlophone | 724383581924 | other |
| 1995 | — | — | other | |
| 2 October 1995 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724383581924 | original |
| 10 October 1995 | US | CMC International Records | 060768800328 | other |
| 13 October 1995 | JP | EMI | 4988006708969 | other |
| 1996 | US | CMC International Records | 060768622524 | other |
| 1998 | BR | EMI | 724383581924 | other |
| 26 March 2002 | US | Metal-is Records | 696998622326 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Parlophone | 0825646128341 | remaster |
| 2015 | XW | Sanctuary Records | other | |
| 19 May 2017 | XW | Parlophone | 190295524135 | remaster |
| 19 May 2017 | US | BMG | 075597937596 | other |
| 19 May 2017 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295852009 | other |
| 19 May 2017 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4050538463828 | remaster |
| 26 July 2019 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295567651 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1650x1650
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1650×1650 | native: native 1650x1650 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |