This is the title track of Iron Maiden's 16th LP. While not a concept album, references to the soul and mortality appear throughout the record. The loose theme is realized in the Mayan-themed cover artwork, created by Mark Wilkinson, who has also designed art for Marillion and Judas Priest.
The album cover features the original version of the Iron Maiden logo, not used on a studio album since 1995's The X Factor. Bassist Steve Harris explained to Kerrang! that the artwork ties in with this song, as the depiction of the band's mascot, Eddie, is based on the Mayan civilization, who "believe that souls live on [after death]."
The Book Of Souls debuted at #1 on the UK album chart. It was the fifth time that Iron Maiden had reached the top spot in their home country. Their previous sets to do were 1982's The Number Of The Beast, 1988's Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, 1992's Fear Of The Dark and 2010's The Final Frontier.
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