Most of the songs were written before
The Ed Hunter Tour and were later recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris. It was the first album the band would record with producer
Kevin Shirley, and the first that they would record live in the studio. According to an interview with
Adrian Smith, "The Nomad", "Dream of Mirrors", and "The Mercenary" were originally written for 1998's
Virtual XI, and former vocalist
Blaze Bayley claimed to have provided some lyrics for "Dream of Mirrors", but was not credited. According to Steve Harris, work had also begun on "Blood Brothers" during that period, but it was not completed at the time. "Brave New World" was the release's only song to reappear on the
Dance of Death World Tour, the next tour in support of a studio release. None of the tracks from the album were played during the
A Matter of Life and Death Tour, although many returned throughout
The Final Frontier World Tour, with "
The Wicker Man", "Ghost of the Navigator", the title track, and "Blood Brothers" being played during the 2010 leg. "Blood Brothers" returned for
The Book of Souls World Tour and "
The Wicker Man" also returned for the
Legacy of the Beast World Tour. The song "Blood Brothers", written by Steve Harris for his late father, was dedicated to
Ronnie James Dio throughout the 2010 leg of The Final Frontier World Tour, following his death on 16 May. On the 2011 leg of the tour starting in Australia, "Blood Brothers" would then be dedicated to the victims and friends and family of the band members and audience who were affected by the
2011 Christchurch earthquake on 22 February. As the tour progressed, the song was also dedicated to the victims of the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as the revolts in
Egypt and
Libya and, later, the victims of the
2011 Norway attacks. A live performance of the song from 2012's
En Vivo! was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance on 6 December 2012. ==Critical reception==