Iron Maiden video director had to up his game

Iron Maiden video director Llexi Leon said he put himself under pressure to make the band’s Speed Of Light promo the best work of his career.

The track was released last week – the first material lifted from Maiden’s 16th album The Book Of Souls, which is launched on September 4.

Leon, the creative director at Phantom management, tells Metal Hammer: “It seemed a perfect fit – 40 years of metal explored alongside four decades of video games.

“I pitched this idea to Rod Smallwood and the guys in the band. They loved the concept and asked if I could pull it off. I figured it was Iron Maiden so I had to pull it off – and it had to be the best thing I’ve ever done.”

He continues: “The video is littered with nods to Iron Maiden artwork – whether it’s the poses of the characters at certain key moments, or imagery woven into the background art. There’s a lot to look out for in the video.”

Iron Maiden are the cover stars of the latest edition of Metal Hammer, out tomorrow (August 18). It features interviews with all the band, including frontman Bruce Dickinson who says he felt like his “own science project” during his battle with cancer.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.