At the end of 2005, Iron Maiden began work on A Matter of Life and

At the end of 2005, Iron Maiden began work on A Matter of Life and Death , their fourteenth studio album, which was released in autumn 2006. War and religion are recurring themes in the lyrics and the cover artwork. The release was a critical and commercial success, marking the band’s first top ten on the Billboard 200 and debuting at number one in the album charts of 13 countries. The supporting tour saw mixed critical reception, but included the band’s first performance in Dubai at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival for 25,000 people, followed by a concert in Bangalore Palace Grounds, the first of any heavy metal band in India. The band then played a string of European dates, including an appearance at Download Festival , their fourth headline performance at Donington Park , to approximately 80,000 people.