On October 20th in the UK, Orion Books released the photographic documentary compiled by official IRON MAIDEN photographer John McMurtrie, entitled On Board Flight 666. In a new interview with The Quietus, John Doran speaks to McMurtrie about the book. An excerpt follows:

Q: When did you first hear Iron Maiden and what it was that impressed you about them?

A: "Back in '88 I was in a band and the drummer was a Maiden nut! He used to play the Live After Death video all the time. I liked them a lot but it wasn't until I saw them live that I really got it. They are great value for money. They make epic music and put on the mother of all stage shows and have never ripped off the fans. They have an honesty that rarely exists elsewhere these days."

Q: When did you first see Maiden live?

A: "I first saw Maiden at Castle Donington in 1988. I was 18 at the time and it was the best thing I had ever seen."

Q: When did you first meet the band?

A: "15th September 1998. I was commissioned by Metal Hammer magazine to shoot a cover feature in Germany. I had a nightmare journey and just made it to the venue in time to shoot a session with them. When I arrived I was looked after straight away . Given a beer, a triple AAA pass and a burger. I remember thinking these guys are alright. That was during the final stages of the Blaze Bailey era. I had a great chat with Steve about photography and felt very at ease with them all. Considering it was probably a difficult time for the band they didn't show it."

Read more at this location.

McMurtrie discusses the book in a new video, posted below:

John's unrestricted access has allowed him to capture exclusive images and moments both onstage and off, in over 300 photographs accompanied by his personal insights and anecdotes in more than 250 glossy pages of photographs

On Board Flight 666 charts the extraordinary journey of Iron Maiden in their specially customised Boeing 757, piloted by lead singer and airline Captain Bruce Dickinson. Travelling across 5 continents, twice around the globe to undertake two World Tours, John's pictorial odyssey maps their progress from Ed Force One's historic take-off in January 2008 on the groundbreaking Somewhere Back In Time Tour through to 2010/11's The Final Frontier World Tour in support of their fifteenth and most successful chart studio album to date, The Final Frontier (August 2010) which reached #1 in at least 28 countries.

With a personal foreword by Bruce Dickinson, On Board Flight 666 takes you up close with Iron Maiden as they circumnavigate the planet to play to their loyal legion of fans giving an inside look into what makes this band so special and so adventurous in their unique touring plans.

The hard back version of On Board Flight 666 is available now to pre-order on Amazon, Waterstones, Book Depository, Play or WH Smiths. Details of overseas editions will be announced when known.

Click here to download an 18 page preview of this book.