Grumpy old rock stars of the week Part 1. Oh this is just too cute! Iron Maiden have slagged off indie darlings Grizzly Bear who are about to hit Australian shores for a tour in their latest press release. The presser for the metal legend’s fifteenth album The Final Frontier, includes a paragraph in which they snipe at Grizzly Bear and music website Pitchfork. “[Iron Maiden’s] last record, ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’, sold a million copies worldwide in its first week, with 56,000 sold in the United States”, says the bitchy paragraph. “Compare that to, say, a Pitchfork darling like Grizzly Bear, whose 2009 release, the nearly unpronounceable ‘Veckatimest’, sold 33,000 copies in the U.S. in its initial week. It’s a metaphorical wedgie from metal fans to wussy indie kids everywhere”.
Not satisfied with their broadside at Grizzly Bear, they also take a swipe at Metallica and Wheatus. The presser continues: “[Maiden] don’t stop doing what they do best…That’s a good thing – where other bands muck around with their formula in an attempt to be progressive (see [Metallica’s] ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’, if you must), these dudes know what their fans want and how to do it well, ensuring that their legacy will be a lot more than being mentioned in that awful Wheatus song ‘Teenage Dirtbag’.” Awww, diddums. Considering Iron Maiden are all in their 50s now their prostates and gout must be playing up and making them grumpy.
