VIDEO: If You Like Retro Video Games, You’ll LOVE Iron Maiden’s ‘Speed of Light’

GaymerX is a gaming convention that takes place every year in San Jose, CA. GaymerX is a “queer space”; a convention where panels center on queer themes, but all are invited and welcomed. As a proud media sponsor of GaymerX, Unicorn Booty covers gaming issues of all sorts.

English metal legends Iron Maiden are back, along with their beloved undead mascot Eddie The Head. In the animated video for “Speed Of Light”, we find Eddie at an arcade, where he speeds his way through about thirty-five years’ worth games, from Donkey Kong through Call of Duty. Eddie’s the main character in every game, and there’s a boatload of references to Iron Maiden art that serious fans will be studying for days. The clip was directed by first-time video director Llexi Leon, writer of the comic Eternal Descent. It’s not the band’s first foray into gaming. Way back in 1999, they released their own shooter game called Ed Hunter as a tie-in to a greatest hits collection they put out that year. But speaking of greatest hits, “Speed Of Light” sadly isn’t one of them. Lyrics like, “I’ll say a mass for you and wave, shooting plasma from my grave” are better slightly better sung than written, but only slightly. “Speed of Light” is the band’s first single in five years, released in advance of their new album The Book Of Souls (out September 4). The album was recorded late last year but its release was delayed so that singer Bruce Dickinson could recover from radiation treatments for head and neck cancer (perhaps he was eating too much cooch). The band’s self-titled first album was released in 1980, just a year before Donkey Kong was first introduced, so the video’s like a trip in the wayback machine for metal gamers. Stops along the way include Maiden-specific variations on Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty and Halo. In the end, Eddie sets the scoring record, ripping out his own heart for a total of 666,666 points. If that’s not the most metal thing you’ll see today then I’m not sure what to tell you.

This story was originally published on 8/17/2015.

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GX3: Everyone Games marks the third year of the GaymerX convention, a meeting of LGBTQ tabletop and console gamers with panels, meet-ups, parties and more! The convention takes place December 11 to 13 in San Jose, California. This year’s Bosses of Honor include RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Trixie Mattel, Mass Effect’s Jennifer Hale, and many, many more! Tickets are available at GaymerX.com.