893. Iron Maiden / Virus [Single]. 1996. 5/5

I understand why people had a natural aversion to Blaze Bayley and by association Iron Maiden when he replaced Bruce Dickinson as lead vocalist of the band in the 1990's. But really, if those same people had given the two albums that were released during this period the time of day, they would have discovered some pretty good material.

This single came out when Maiden released their first (but somewhat sadly not last) greatest hits package, Best of the Beast. The double disc version took two songs from each album released to that time, and a couple of other songs. As a sweetener, a new song was also produced, which led off the greatest hits package and was released as this single.
"Virus" would be one of the best Maiden songs ever, if only they had abandoned the first two minutes and twenty seconds of the song, and even the last 30 seconds. The "short" version of the song that can be found on certain versions is actually the best version of the song, as it does exactly that, removing the useless first part of the track. I love this song, and I love Blaze's vocals on it.
The other two songs are the original tracks that were found on the Metal for Muthas album from 1979. These versions of "Sanctuary" and "Wrathchild" both feature Tony Parsons on guitar, a treat for the die hard fans, but perhaps not so exciting for those that just want to listen to the band and not care about its history.

Rating: "Without a conscience they destroy, and that's thing that they enjoy". 5/5