Iron Maiden-6.Blood On The World's Hands(Chile 1996)

Iron Maiden - Monumental Theatre, Santiago, Chile, Aug. 29, 1996, during '' The X Factour '' 1995-1996.

Blood On The World's Hands (Harris)

Blaze Bayley:Vocals
Steve Harris:Bass
Janick Gers:Guitar
Dave Murray:Guitar
Nicko McBrain:Drums

[Lyrics]

Sometimes it makes me wonder, sometimes it makes me question
Sometimes it makes me saddened, always it makes me angry
But when you can see it happening, the madness that's all around you
Nobody seems to worry, the world seems so powerless to act

It's out of control, blood on the world's hands
Each day a new toll

Another assassination, the same day a new creation
What are they coming into, security of a world that brings
One day another killing, somewhere there's someone starving
Another a savage raping, meanwhile there's someone laughing at us

It's out of control, blood on the world's hands
Each day it goes on

Blood on the world's hands, blood on the world's hands
Blood on the world's hands, blood on the world's hands

Blood on the world's hands, blood on the world's hands
Blood on the world's hands, blood on the world's hands

Brutality and aggression, tomorrow another lesson
Expecting another air raid, praying for a cease fire
They say things are getting better, no need to be complacent
There's chaos across the border and one day it could be happening to us

It's out of control, blood on the world's hands
It's our epitaph
It's out of control, someone should know
Blood on the world's hands
Someone should
.................................................
'Blood On The World's Hands' is a song from Iron Maiden's album '''The X Factor'',released in 1995.

Written about the Bosnian war (1992-1995), 'Blood On The World's Hands' describes the horror, injustice, and brutality that took place at that time in this little region of the planet, although this could - quite sadly - be applied to the rest of the world. It features an interesting bass intro whose closest counterpart is probably the intro to 'Innocent Exile' way back on the Killers album.

The song also questions the "Western lifestyle", which is supposed to be so safe that conflicts are thought to be nowadays impossible: "security of a world that brings one day another killing, somewhere there's someone starving, another a savage raping". This description suits perfectly well what was happening right before our eyes, and even "right next door"! The Bosnian War saw not only the massacres that most conflicts generate, but also the resurgence of concentration camps didn't the world learn the lessons of Nazi Germany? - where people were held and starved to death simply because they belonged to a certain ethnic group or had a particular faith. Besides, the "savage raping(s)", that have been part of warfare ever since the dawn of mankind, were used systematically during this conflit for the horrible purpose of "ethnic cleansing". The women of one ethnic group were either raped to death, or until they fell pregnant with their attacker's child, in which case they were detained until a termination was impossible, therefore giving birth to "the enemy's" children and being rejected by their own community, as well as developing such self-loathing that they would most often commit suicide.

'The X Factor' is the tenth studio album by Iron Maiden, released in 1995. It is the band's first album to include Blaze Bayley, formerly of Wolfsbane, as vocalist, replacing Bruce Dickinson who left the band following their previous tour to pursue a solo career.

The album title came about in the early part of the recording. According to producer Nigel Green:

"We all felt that the way things were progressing - the songs, Blaze's new involvement, the sound, the commitment - the new album really would have that extra quality, that bit of magic, that X Factor. This became the working title for the album and we liked it, so we kept it. It is also very apt as this is our tenth studio album and "X" can bring up many images."

Supporting the album was the X Factour tour. Much like the tour for their following album, Virtual XI, it was cut short after Blaze suffered a violent allergic reaction to certain elements used on the stages where the band performed.

This is the second album (Piece of Mind being the first) that did not have a title track on it, as well as the first album to not feature the album title in any of the song lyrics.