According to the unwritten laws of concert etiquette, it's generally unacceptable to wear a band's T-shirt to their performances. It just makes you look as if you're trying a tad too hard. A notable exception to this rule, however, is the legendary Iron Maiden, who just so happen to be taking over the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday.
Why is that, you ask? Simply put, it's because Maiden has given its fans what is bar none the most righteous collection of band T-shirts in heavy-metal history over the past 30-plus years. A lot of the credit has to go to artist Derek Riggs, whose striking portraits of band mascot Eddie the Head have graced album covers, shirts, posters, tapestries and a million other things for you to buy.
As a result, Eddie has become an instantly recognizable icon the world over, while the actual members of Iron Maiden have remained comparatively anonymous.
If history is any indication, a dizzying panoply of Iron Maiden T-shirts are sure to be on display in the crowd on Saturday, and you'd better buy, borrow or steal one if you want to fit in. Since most of you still have trouble dressing yourselves, Rocks Off has done you the solid of picking out the 10 coolest Iron Maiden T-shirts from God knows how many in existence for your convenient perusal. We've even included shopping links to each of them.
Just be sure to choose the overnight shipping option when it comes time to check out. For the hour draws near...
10. Live after Death
Artwork: Combining elements of Eddie's appearance from Maiden's Number of the Beast, Powerslave and Piece of Mind album covers, this portrait by artist Derek Riggs features Eddie bursting forth from the grave to terrorize headbangers anew. His headstone borrows a quote from H.P. Lovecraft's Nameless City: "That is not dead which can eternal lie; yet with strange aeons even death may die."
What It Says About You: "I know all their greatest hits, bro. You know...from the '80s."
Artwork: Another piece by Riggs, the cover art for 1986's Somewhere In Time imagines Eddie as some sort of cyborg replicant stalking the streets of a futuristic London. Or something. That smoking gun pretty much eliminates any hope that the years have mellowed him out.
What It Says About You: "My high school years may or may not have been entirely wasted on heavy metal and science fiction."
8. Powerslave
Artwork: The Egyptian-themed art from 1984's Powerslave album casts Eddie as an immutable monument to evil flanked by Jackal-headed idols. Pretty bitchin,' right? The deeply mysterious messages "Bollockz" and "What a load of crap" are hidden in the pyramid's hieroglyphics.
What It Says About You: "I'm very much open to the possibility that aliens built the pyramids."
