The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg

The movie The Blair Witch Project struck marketing gold by creating a website and video purporting that the Blair Witch was in fact real. Iron Maiden followed a similar strategy for this song.

There was a buzz about who Benjamin Breeg was before Iron Maiden released A Matter Of Life And Death. The story tells of an individual who lost his parents in a fire in 1947. They said he grew up in many different orphanages and foster homes. It was told that he was an accomplished painter when he was young. Those close to him said he painted what he saw in nightmares. His paintings were very disturbing to anyone who viewed them. It was said that he disappeared in 1978 and that his family members knew nothing about him vanishing or his whereabouts. There were various posts on the internet that made it seem like family members were searching for him or looking for answers to what ever happened to him. The final chapter of the internet tale tells of a man from Romania that was to meet with Benjamin Breeg's cousin. That was to happen on August 18th, 2006, coincidentally the same date as the release of Iron Maiden's new single. It turns out that it was all an elaborate gimmick that was made up by the writer of the song, the bassist of Iron Maiden Steve Harris. There is even a website dedicated to the story of Benjamin Breeg. It made for interesting reading and gave the viewer some insight about the song.

This topped the singles charts in a number of European countries including Finland, Hungary, Spain and Sweden.

The Swedes must love Iron Maiden. In a May 2011 poll of the readers of Sweden Rock Magazine, the country's biggest-selling music mag, A Matter of Life and Death was voted the greatest album released in the past 10 years. Not only was Iron Maiden's 2006 disc named the greatest album of the last decade, but also 2003's Dance of Death came in at # 2, and 2010's The Final Frontierlanded at #5.