Iron Maiden have announced that they will be releasing a movie based around the first two legs of their ‘Somewhere Back In Time’ world tour, entitled ‘Iron Maiden: Flight 666′. Catch the trailer inside!

British heavy rock legends, Iron Maiden, in association with EMI Records, Universal (USA) and Arts Alliance Media, announce that they will be releasing a feature length documentary film into cinemas worldwide on April 21st 2009. Entitled ‘IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666′, the movie follows the band on the first leg of their “SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WORLD TOUR” in February and March of 2008 as they experienced the most ambitious and adventurous tour in rock history.

Click here for the Iron Maiden: Flight 666 trailer

The Maiden tour plan was something that had never been attempted before on such a grand scale. Circumnavigating the globe, the band flew in a specially customised Boeing 757 airliner with their crew and 12 tons of music and stage equipment on board, playing 23 sold out stadium and arena shows in Asia, Australia and North, Central and South America in just 45 days. They played in 13 countries, also landing in Azerbaijan and Papua New Guinea en route for fuel stops, travelling 70,000km and performing to almost half a million fans – a schedule that was only made possible by having their own “magic carpet” enabling them to go where they wanted with all the key elements of band, crew and equipment on board one plane, which was christened Ed Force One. Even more remarkable was that lead singer and Airline Captain Bruce Dickinson was not only to perform 23 shows, but piloted the plane for much of the way.

Relive Iron Maiden at Twickenham with our review of the show!

The band were accompanied everywhere by award winning documentary-makers Banger Productions from Toronto in Canada, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies “Metal; A Headbanger’s Journey” and recently “Global Metal”. Producer/presenter Sam Dunn and his team bring an intimate behind-the-scenes view of this remarkable journey, with a close look at the logistics involved and following Team Maiden in the cockpit, on the plane and on and offstage, getting to the heart of this innovative global adventure of a band that has very rarely even let cameras backstage before.

Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is an honest and revealing portrait of one of the world’s most successful rock bands, a must see for their millions of fans around the world and anyone else with an interest in Rock Music and World Tours, giving an inspirational account of the chaotic and often humorous world of a band touring the four corners of the world in the most extraordinary way.

Shot in High Definition, the movie will be screened in 2K digital cinema, with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the bands producer Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley.  IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666 brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time their Boeing 757 ‘Ed Force One’ touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows……and of course the fun had on the way!

Stay tuned to Metal Hammer for a list of participating cinemas.