Booksology Reviewed: December, 2025Published: October 2025, Michael O’Mara BooksRating: 4.5/5Reviewer: JP
Q: How many Iron Maiden coffee-table books does one person need in their library?
A: All of them!
But seriously, I use this lame joke as a slight commentary about the preponderance of Iron Maiden coffee table books on the market. These comments are in no way a reflection of this particular Iron Maiden coffee-table book but I’ve wondered how many more the market can bear.
In the last ten years there have been nine Iron Maiden coffee-table books published (more if you count updates) and five of those in the last 12 months! Joel Shooman’s book is one of the latest. The title of IRON MAIDEN: 50 YEARS OF THE BEAST might give away the fact that this book was released to celebrate (capitalize is such a cynical word) the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s biggest Metal bands.
Published by the fine folks at Michael O’Mara this is one of their earliest forays into Metal and they have done a very fine job. This 304-page hard cover is nicely appointed and printed on nice glossy paper. Author Joel Shooman is no stranger to Maiden having previously, back in 2006, penned the entertaining and slightly off-beat biography of Bruce Dickinson called FLASHING METAL WITH IRON MAIDEN AND FLYING SOLO. My review of that book is available in this site if you wish.
IRON MAIDEN: FIFTY YEARS OF THE BEAST is an extended love-letter to the band. It starts with a pleasant, enthusiastic and sincere introduction by Shooman. He states that the band formed on Christmas Day and are the world’s most successful Heavy Metal band who have sold hundreds of millions of albums. While none of those three points are actually true there are close enough to be accurate and a little friendly hyperbole never hurt anyone, especially when preaching to the choir. In a clever move, he also acknowledges the multiple other websites and books about the band and concludes that this book while not definitive is a celebration of the band’s legacy.
I like how the book is organized into four broad sections; The Story, The Music, The Band, and The Frontmen. They are self-explanatory with the Frontmen… being every other singer except Bruce. Forgoing a standard chronological format it helps make this book stand apart.
The music section includes some interesting stories about famous bootlegs and a rumoured tape being the earliest recording of the band, pre-dating even the Soundhouse Tapes! The main part of the music section is an album-by-album review, one page per album, and an overview of the many live albums and lastly a look at the very collectible compilations. Shooman takes us across the highs (many) and the very few lows.
While I should be reviewing this book on its own merit, comparisons are warranted and in terms of the content and prose about the early incarnations of the band (1975-1980 or so) are covered in better detail than most books I’ve read. Shooman must have pulled out his Rolodex and dug deep into his contact list because he interviewed a large number of people that added life to story. I particularly enjoyed Doogie White’s and Damien Wilson’s audition stories! I also never knew Steve Grimmett of Grim Reaper auditioned for Iron Maiden but considering virtually every half-way decent Metal vocalist on the planet sent in a tape, I’m not surprised he auditioned.
As a side note; the myth about the band listening to 1000 vocalist audition cassettes when Dickinson departed has been proven false but I did enjoy Shooman’s attention to detail in that interesting chapter of the band. Various other non-musical events are detailed such as Trooper Ale, Flight 666, Steve Harris’ love of football and West Ham and Bruce Dickinson’s fencing. None of this is new information but it is all well presented with enthusiasm.
The visuals are quite good with several photos I had never seen before, especially pre-Dickinson era. The layout and design is simple and elegant and Shooman keeps the odd (but charming and very British media) tradition of making bad jokes in the photo captions, very much alive. There are quite a few live photos as well as various bits and bobs. Everything is sourced and cited and many of the interviews are new and exclusive to this book adding much value.
As stated in my introduction there are already about ten hard-cover Visual History/Biographies of the band and IRON MAIDEN: FIFTY YEARS OF THE BEAST is just as good, or in many spots better than any of them. I’d say this is a nice anniversary present for band and fans!
Note:
“Iron Maiden: Fifty Years of the Beast by Joe Shooman is published by Michael O’Mara Books US, 14 October 2025, $51.99CAD”
Iron Maiden
