Folder 128
UK & Europe
UK & Europe, 1998 enhanced remaster, EMI-Swindon-mastered but pressed at EMI Uden (Netherlands) - the disc's own mirror ring names both.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Photographed directly: four native-resolution frames of the inner mirror ring (IMG_2599-2602), read in sequence around the ring as 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-3-NL. No frame shows a Mastering or Mould SID hologram clearly enough to quote a code for either, so none is claimed here.
496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-3-NL — this copy's ring IS Variants 3, 9 of the 7 matrix entries Discogs records.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 4008292. Green: in my collection (1 of 7). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 1) | 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-5-NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 2) | 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-7-NL |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Variants 3, 9) | 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-3-NL — this copy |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 4) | 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-2-NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variants 5, 8) | 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-4-NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 6) | 496920 0 . 2:1:19 EMI SWINDON |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 7) | 496920 0 . 2:1:16 EMI SWINDON |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 9 of them
Front of jewel case, no front sticker, enhanced CD device on the spine
IMG_2553.jpeg
Rear tracklist and small barcode block: 1. Aces High 2. 2 Minutes to Midnight 3. Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) 4. Flash of the Blade 5. The Duellists 6. Back in the Village 7. Powerslave 8. Rime of the Ancient Mariner, SPECIAL MULTIMEDIA SECTION panel
IMG_2554.jpeg
Rear catalogue block at native resolution: barcode 7243 4 96920 0 8 (text) over 7 24349 69200 8 (scanned), boxed row F: PM 520 / UK: 496 9200 / Printed in E.U., and the vertical line Place of manufacture as stated on label Marketed and Distributed by EMI
IMG_2556.jpeg
Disc face at native resolution: round bel over BIEM device, boxed EMI STEREO logo, DIGITALLY REMASTERED, ©1998 IRON MAIDEN HOLDINGS LTD., ℗1998 THE COPYRIGHT IN THIS SOUND RECORDING IS OWNED BY EMI RECORDS LTD., MADE IN E.U., and catalogue 7243 4 96920 0 8 printed beneath the artwork
IMG_2558.jpeg
Booklet credits page: Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Martin 'Pool Bully' Birch, Recorded at Compass Point, Nassau, Bahamas, Mixed at Electric Ladyland, New York, Remastered by Simon Heyworth at Chop 'Em Out, Iron Maiden Fan Club address P.O. Box 3803, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0NZ, England
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Inner mirror ring at native resolution, partial: ...E920 0 and red EMI rim text
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Inner mirror ring at native resolution: 496920 0 then a separating dot then 2, confirmed on a second, sharper frame of the same span
IMG_2599.jpeg
Inner mirror ring at native resolution: EMI SWINDON, in plain etched capitals
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Inner mirror ring at native resolution, continuing the same etched band: 1-1-3-NL
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The photographs
IMG_2553.jpg1 of 24READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Standard jewel case, clear tray, no front hype sticker.
- 24-page booklet - lyrics, band photography, 'Slave Notes' tour timeline, credits and fan club page, consistent with the 1998 enhanced-CD reissue's known booklet.
- Rear inlay reads
Printed in E.U., with theF: PM 520price code andUK: 496 9200distribution code printed beside the barcode. - Disc - the international sand-and-mummy Powerslave artwork used across the 1998 EMI remaster family, boxed
EMIlogo, no Parlophone branding anywhere on case or disc.
What distinguishes this pressing
- The run-out's stamper suffix,
1-1-3-NL- the actual discriminator. Read directly off the disc across four native crops:496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-3-NL. Fetching the ten Discogs rows that share this catalogue number and barcode found this exact string recorded only against release 4008292, as its documented Variants 3 and 9. - Every sibling row's matrix differs. 4634626, 4001864, 16210635, 6889439 and 10846480 all read
EMI SWINDONwith either no suffix or a 6-digit numeric one (010205,010206…), never a letter-country suffix; 6302759, 9963349, 380219 and 3694548 carry an entirely different manufacturer's etch (Optimal Media GmbH, Mediamotion, IMS Manufacturing). - Discogs' own company credits for 4008292 name EMI Swindon 'Glass Mastered At' and EMI Uden (Netherlands) 'Pressed By' - the only row in the ten with a split plant credit, which is what the
-NLletter in the run-out is recording. - Barcode
7243 4 96920 0 8,UK: 496 9200,PM 520,Printed in E.U.- the match axis, shared identically by all ten candidates and not discriminating on its own. - No Parlophone branding on case or disc - excludes 7314968, the only other row sharing this exact catalogue number that carries a different (Parlophone) label credit.
Eight tracks, and the recording credits
Tracks 1-4
- 1Aces High
- 22 Minutes To Midnight
- 3Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)
- 4Flash Of The Blade
Tracks 5-8
- 5The Duellists
- 6Back In The Village
- 7Powerslave
- 8Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar · Steve Harris - bass · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch, assisted by Bruce Buchhalter and Frank Gibson. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau; mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York. Sleeve illustration by Derek Riggs; sleeve and design concept by Derek Riggs, Iron Maiden and Rod Smallwood. Photography by Moshe Brakha. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 1846534, the UK original, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing. Where this copy's own packaging carries the producer, publisher or copyright lines, they are quoted in the evidence above.
Condition, from the photographs
A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.
- Case/inlay: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no cracks or splits visible in these shots.
- Disc: light surface marks and handling sheen catch the light. No visible deep scratches or disc-face damage in these photographs.
Nothing on this page comes from playing the record. No Goldmine grade is claimed for it, or any other. I have no record of where this copy came from.
What is settled, and what is not
Confirmed. Barcode and catalogue number 7243 4 96920 0 8 / 496 9200 are certain from the rear inlay and disc face, but that catalogue number and barcode are shared identically across ten 1998 EMI 'UK & Europe'/'Europe' rows in the cached master version list - matching on them alone would only narrow, not confirm. The inner mirror ring, read at native resolution across IMG_2599 through IMG_2602, carries the full string 496920 0 . 2 EMI SWINDON 1-1-3-NL. Fetching /releases/{id} for all ten same-catalogue candidates found that exact string - the 1-1-3-NL stamper suffix included - recorded against exactly one of them, release 4008292, as its own documented Variants 3 and 9; none of the other nine candidates' matrix variants carry that suffix or anything resembling it. Discogs' company credits for 4008292 corroborate it independently: EMI Swindon 'Glass Mastered At', EMI Uden (Netherlands) 'Pressed By' - the only split-plant credit among the ten, and the reason this one variant's run-out carries a country letter its UK-pressed siblings do not.
Standing caveat: the version list is incomplete by construction, so this is the best match among catalogued releases, not proof no other pressing shares this exact stamper run.