"The Book of Souls" is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 September 2015. It is the band's first studio double album and their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes and 11 seconds. The launch and supporting tour were delayed to allow vocalist Bruce Dickinson time to recover from the removal of a cancerous tumour in early 2015. It is also their first album to be released on Parlophone, marking the end of their 30-year relationship with EMI Records.
Produced by long-time Iron Maiden collaborator Kevin Shirley, the album was recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris from September to December 2014, a location previously used for 2000's Brave New World. The band wrote and recorded many tracks spontaneously in the studio, giving the album a live feel. The first single, "Speed of Light," was released as a music video on 14 August and was also available as a digital download and CD single exclusive to Best Buy. The album features the band's longest song to date, "Empire of the Clouds," which is 18 minutes long and was released as a single for Record Store Day on 16 April 2016. Although not a concept album, themes of the soul and mortality are prominent, reflected in the Maya-themed cover artwork by Mark Wilkinson.
The Book of Souls was both a critical and commercial success, topping the album charts in 24 countries. It earned the band their fifth UK No. 1 album and their first consecutive No. 1, following previous successes with The Number of the Beast, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Fear of the Dark, and The Final Frontier. In the US, it matched the success of The Final Frontier on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 4 until it was surpassed by Senjutsu in 2021. At the time of its release, The Book of Souls marked the longest gap between studio releases in the band’s career, with a five-year interval following The Final Frontier.
