Following their phenomenally successful new album and sold-out tour late last year of arenas around the world, IRON MAIDEN are announcing a series of headline stadium and festival appearances in March and June of this year.

Always keen to take metal to new places, MAIDEN will for the first time ever play in India, on the spectacular grounds of Bangalore's Palace on Saturday, March 17, marking the first time a major metal band has ever played in the subcontinent.

IRON MAIDEN's new album, "A Matter of Life and Death" reached No. 2 in the Indian album chart after debuting at No. 4, which is believed to be the highest chart position in India ever for any rock act. MAIDEN will be the first to bring in a full massive Western-style stage production — air freighting in almost 20 tons of backline equipment and their huge stage production for this one show.

MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson commented: "To say we're all really looking forward to going to Bangalore is something of an understatement. It's very special to us to be able play to new fans in countries we've never been to before, and we hear the Indian fans are very loud and into their metal. The whole trip will be an exciting time for us and we intend to enjoy every moment there. The fans should know that we are bringing the whole stage show we used in Europe and America and that Eddie will definitely be joining us! We are crafting a special set to include both songs from 'A Matter of Life and Death' and a load of other favorites. It promises to be an absolutely amazing atmosphere playing outdoors in front of the palace."

A spokesman from the promoters DNA Networks explained, "As this is the first show ever in India to feature three other acts in addition to an international headliner, it will be our first ever festival of sorts and as such an historic occasion. As the setting is the beautiful open site in the palace grounds we thought the occasion should be marked with a special name so we are calling the event 'Edd-Fest'. We are confident that MAIDEN and 'Edd-Fest' will encourage more Western bands in the future to join us and play here in India, something which would greatly please the huge number of rock fans in this country. The appearance on the bill of Britain's Lauren Harris will also be the first time Indian fans will have seen a rock band fronted by a girl."

Another new territory for the band to visit is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where they will headline the Desert Rock Festival on Friday, March 9. This is the fourth Desert Rock Festival and is an event which has grown steadily in stature and IRON MAIDEN will be the biggest act to headline the festival to date. It is expected to be the most succcessful yet. MAIDEN's new album was Top 5 in Arabia.

IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood comments: "Going right back to 1985 and tours behind the old Iron Curtain, particularly Poland, MAIDEN have always enjoyed blazing the trail taking metal to new fans all over the world. We have wanted to play in India for some time and the success of the new album persuaded us to interrupt our break and go there in March. We were also invited to play in Beijing and Shanghai in China but Eddie was concerned about restrictions relating to choice of songs and artwork so we are leaving that to a later time. In June we are going into some European territories we didn't get chance to play last time and to places like the U.K., Germany, Italy and Holland where the late 2006 arena shows got nowhere near satisfying the demand for tickets. As most of these dates are outdoors we will adjust the set to include more of the classics suited to an outdoor party atmosphere, along with selected songs from 'A Matter of Life and Death'. We will of course be taking the full stage production with us everywhere along with Eddie who has kindly agreed to delay his holidays! It promises to be a hugely enjoyable series of dates."

Upcoming IRON MAIDEN shows:

Mar. 09 - Dubai Desert Rock Festival, UAE
Mar. 11 - Faliro Pavilion Arena, Athens, Greece
Mar. 14 - Belgrade, Serbia
Mar. 17 - Bangalore, Bangalore Palace, India
Jun. 06 - Ostrava Banik Football Stadium, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Jun. 08 - Sudweststadion, Ludwigshafen, Germany
Jun. 10 - Download Festival, Donington Park, England
Jun. 14 - Heineken Jammin Festival, Venice, Italy
Jun. 16 - Fields of Rock Festival, Zwolle, Holland
Jun. 17 - MSV Stadium, Duisburg, Germany
Jun. 20 - Olympic Stadium, Rome, Italy
Jun. 23 - Graspop Festival, Dessel, Belgium

(Thanks: Adithya Ananth)