The X Factor (album)
| The X Factor | ||||
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| Studio album by Iron Maiden | ||||
| Released | 2 October 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 – August 1995 | |||
| Studio | Barnyard Studios, Essex, England | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 70:54 | |||
| Label |
EMI CMC (North America) |
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| Producer | Steve Harris, Nigel Green | |||
| Iron Maiden studio albums chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
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Reverse side of the cover, which was deemed "less graphic" for retailers
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| Singles from The X Factor | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 2/10 |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.5/5 |
The X Factor is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 October 1995 through EMI. It is the first of two albums by the band to include Blaze Bayley, formerly of Wolfsbane, as vocalist, replacing Bruce Dickinson who left the band following their previous tour to pursue a solo career. The album takes a darker tone than the band's first nine releases, due to the lyrics being based on personal issues surrounding Steve Harris at the time, who was in the midst of a divorce. This is reflected in the cover artwork, which graphically depicts the band's mascot, Eddie, being vivisected by machine.
The release's title came about at the start of the album's recording. According to producer Nigel Green:
"We all felt that the way things were progressing – the songs, Blaze's new involvement, the sound, the commitment – the new album really would have that extra quality, that bit of magic, that 'X Factor'. This became the working title for the album and we liked it, so we kept it. It is also very apt as this is our tenth studio album and "X" can bring up many images."
The X Factor's cover art depicts Eddie undergoing another lobotomy and was created by Hugh Syme. Due to the cover's "lifelike" style, the band were forced to release the album in a reversible sleeve, including a less graphic alternative, showing Eddie from a distance. The album was also the most recent one until The Book of Souls in 2015 to use the classic variant of the band's logo, as every single studio release from Virtual XI to The Final Frontier used an alternate variant that removed the extended ends of the "R", "M", and both "N's".
This album is also unusual for the band in that it produced several band compositions that did not make it onto the album, with Steve Harris commenting, "We actually ended up doing 14 songs and we used eleven, which is very unusual for us." All three songs, "I Live My Way", "Justice of The Peace" and "Judgement Day," were released as B-sides, the last two of which would also be featured on the Best of the 'B' Sides collection.
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