Iron Maiden released a new live version of “Sign of the Cross,” taken from their upcoming live album Nights of the Dead.

The song was recorded in Mexico in 2019, with Bruce Dickinson leading the band through the opening track from 1995’s The X Factor, an album recorded when Blaze Bayley was fronting the the group.

You can listen to the new version of "Sign of the Cross" below.

Bassist Steve Harris said he was “very pleased” with the new concert album, “especially as this set list includes songs which have never made it to a live CD before, such as 'For the Greater Good of God,' and other older songs like 'Where Eagles Dare,' 'Flight of Icarus,' 'The Clansman' and 'Sign of the Cross,' which haven’t been included in our live set releases for many years.”

He explained that the album was prepared as a result of the band's tour schedule being interrupted by coronavirus restrictions. “We’d been really looking forward to bringing the show to even more countries,” he said. "And although we’ve been able to reschedule most of our European shows for 2021, we thought we’d take a listen to the recordings from the tour so far and see if we could create a definitive live album souvenir that everyone, everywhere could enjoy."

In 2018 Dickinson said he had no problem with performing certain Bayley-era tracks. “They were all songs which a lot of Iron Maiden fans bought, and some of them – in particular 'The Clansman' and 'Sign of the Cross' – I think we really nailed those songs and I thought it was great material," he said. "Blaze's voice, obviously, was quite different than mine; it was a slightly lower register. … I wasn't complaining, because I could use this kind of lower baritone tone and get quite kind of robust on it all. And I really enjoyed singing those songs.”

Nights of the Dead will be released on Nov. 20.

 

Iron Maiden Albums Ranked

More From Ultimate Classic Rock