IRON MAIDEN’s ‘The Book Of Souls’ Billboard Covered For Being ‘Offensive’ To Kids

According to Stern.de, a billboard promoting IRON MAIDEN’s latest album, “The Book Of Souls”, in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany has been covered by a mob of concerned parents who apparently claimed the image had no business being there due to the school and kindergarten near its location.

The artwork for “The Book Of Souls” was created by Mark Wilkinson, whose previous works for IRON MAIDEN include “Live At Donington” (1998 remastered version) and “Best Of The ‘B’ Sides” (2002 compilation). According to MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris, the cover art ties in with the title track, as the depiction of the band’s mascot, Eddie, is based on the Maya civilization, who “believe that souls live on [after death]”.

To check the accuracy of the artwork, the band hired Mayanist scholar Simon Martin, who also translated the song titles into hieroglyphs. According to Martin, although the civilization had no Book Of Souls, “the Mayans are very big on souls … So as a title, it’s appropriate to Mayan culture, but it’s very much IRON MAIDEN’s own thing.”

Released globally on September 4 through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.), “The Book Of Souls” was recorded in Paris, France with producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added earlier this year.

Source: Blabbermouth