Album
Virtual XI
Virtual XI is Iron Maiden's eleventh studio album, released on 23 March 1998 in the UK and Europe, with the US following a day later through EMI. Its title is pronounced "Virtual Eleven". It is the second and last record to feature Blaze Bayley on vocals, following The X Factor in 1995.
It also closes a chapter for the band's line-up. This was the final Maiden album as a five-piece, before Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned. Janick Gers, who had replaced Smith, stayed on. The sleeve introduced a slightly modified logo, with the R, M and N now the same size as the other letters. That version stayed in use until The Final Frontier in 2010. For fans tracing the band's story, it is the end of the Bayley era.
Virtual XI: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 53:14Tracklist
- 1FuturealBlaze Bayley and Steve Harris2:56
- 2The Angel and the GamblerSteve Harris9:53
- 3Lightning Strikes TwiceSteve Harris and Dave Murray4:50
- 4The ClansmanSteve Harris9:00
- 5When Two Worlds CollideBayley, Harris, Murray6:17
- 6The Educated FoolSteve Harris6:45
- 7Don’t Look to the Eyes of a StrangerSteve Harris8:04
- 8Como estais amigosBlaze Bayley and Janick Gers5:30
- Produced by
- Nigel Green, Steve Harris
- Recorded at
- Barnyard (Essex, England)
- Recorded
- 1997 – February 1998
- Mixed by
- Nigel Green, Steve Harris
- Mixed at
- Barnyard Studios
- Engineered by
- Nigel Green
- Label
- EMI
- Length
- 53:14
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
Singles
- “The Angel and the Gambler” · 9 March 1998
- “Futureal” · 28 July 1998
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1998 | 16 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1998 | 124 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1998 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums · 1998 | 6 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1998 | 7 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1998 | 10 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1998 | 10 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1998 | 12 |
| German Albums · 1998 | 16 |
| Swedish Albums · 1998 | 16 |
All 22 charts
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1998 | 19 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1998 | 23 |
| Austrian Albums · 1998 | 24 |
| Scottish Albums · 1998 | 25 |
| Dutch Albums · 1998 | 26 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1998 | 28 |
| Swiss Albums · 1998 | 39 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1998 | 44 |
| Italian Albums · 2017 | 58 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1998 | 60 |
| Spanish Albums · 2017 | 92 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1998 | 98 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2017 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
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Also released on 23 March
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1992
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1993
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1993
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1993
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1995
Best of the Beast
1996
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1998
A Real Live Dead One
1998
Ed Hunter
1999
Brave New World
2000
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2002
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2002
Edward the Great
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2002
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No More Lies: Dance of Death Souvenir EP
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Powerslave
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Iron Maiden · 1992
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13
Black Sabbath · 2013
Queen II
Queen · 1974
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1998-03-18 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 18 March 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 March 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 23 March 1998 | |
| US release | 24 March 1998 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 23 March 1998 | earliest UK or European date |
14 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | GB | EMI | 724349399228 | other |
| 18 March 1998 | — | EMI United Kingdom | 724349391512 | original |
| 18 March 1998 | JP | EMI | 4988006738829 | original |
| 23 March 1998 | GB | EMI | 724349391529 | other |
| 24 March 1998 | US | CMC International Records | 060768624023 | other |
| 26 March 2002 | US | Sanctuary Records | 696998631724 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Sanctuary Records | other | |
| 2015 | XW | Parlophone | 0825646128334 | remaster |
| 21 April 2015 | US | BMG | 881034122186 | other |
| 21 April 2015 | XW | Parlophone | 190295524128 | remaster |
| 19 May 2017 | US | BMG | 075597937602 | other |
| 19 May 2017 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295851996 | other |
| 26 July 2019 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295567637 | other |
| — | — | Sanctuary Records | 4050538463842 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1650x1650
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1650×1650 | native: native 1650x1650 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 500×500 | upscaled |