Folder 318
Europe
Ring 835819 2 @ 2 with hand-etched 2-1-2 and mould ifpi 1507: recorded only on 383568 (Variant 2) among the 42 versions checked
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Inner ring on the play side photographed close up under raking light in four frames. The laser-cut dot-matrix text on the dark inner band reads 835819 2 @ 2, preceded by a small solid square (a second, larger square sits just before it at the frame edge), with a faint dot or two after the final 2 that are not read as characters (IMG_7307.jpeg, IMG_7309.jpeg, IMG_7310.jpeg). The @ is the stylised dot-matrix glyph as it appears on the disc. A separate hand-etched group on the mirror band reads 2-1-2-N and then one upright stroke whose lower end runs onto the dark band, where any foot of an L would not show; it is left out of ring= because it cannot be called L or I from the frame (IMG_7308.jpeg). The two groups were photographed in separate frames, so their order around the ring is not shown; ring= gives the laser text first. The clear hub moulding reads ifpi 1507 (a mould SID code, kept out of ring=).
835819 2 @ 2 2-1-2-N — a partial reading, consistent with Variant 2 of the 8 matrix entries Discogs records, but not confirmed as an exact match.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 383568. Green: in my collection (0 of 8). Red: missing.
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 1) | 835819 2 (?) 2 2 -1 - 1-NI |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 2) | 835819 2 @ 2 2-1-2 NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 3) | 835819 2 @ 2 1-2-5 NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 4) | 835819 2 @ 2 2-1-20 NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 5) | 835819 2 @ 2 1-1-15 NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 6) | 835819 2 @ 2 2-1-1-NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 7) | 835819 2 @ 2 2-1-5-NL |
| ✗ | Matrix / Runout (Variant 8) | 835819 2 @ 2 2-1-3-NL |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 9 of them
Front of the jewel case: IRON MAIDEN logo plate and THE X FACTOR along the foot of the artwork
IMG_7301.jpeg
Back inlay: tracklist SIGN OF THE CROSS to THE UNBELIEVER, TOTAL RUNNING TIME 70:54, PRODUCED & MIXED BY STEVE HARRIS & NIGEL GREEN AT BARNYARD STUDIOS ESSEX, the EMI UNITED KINGDOM logo
IMG_7302.jpeg
Back inlay barcode block at native resolution: 7243 8 35819 2 4, barcode digits 7 24383 58192 4, price codes I: 070 and F: PM 520, UK:CDEMD 1087, Printed in U.K., and the sideways line Place of manufacture as stated on label Marketed and Distributed by EMI; Printed in U.K. is the line Discogs uses to separate 383568 from 6884825 (Printed in Holland)
IMG_7302.jpeg, IMG_7303.jpeg
Inner tray card with the inverted girder-X artwork and a second IRON MAIDEN plate; the spine, seen through the case, reads IRON MAIDEN · and 7243 8 35819 2 4
IMG_7304.jpeg
Disc face: EMI UNITED KINGDOM logo, bel BIEM, © 1995 IRON MAIDEN HOLDINGS LTD. ALL RIGHTS OF THE PRODUCER AND OF THE OWNER OF THE RECORDED WORK RESERVED ..., ℗ 1995 IRON MAIDEN HOLDINGS LTD UNDER EXCLUSIVE LICENCE TO EMI RECORDS LTD; at native resolution the rim ends OF THIS RERCORD PROHIBITED. MADE IN HOLLAND. LC0542 7243 8 35819 2 4
IMG_7305.jpeg
Clear jewel-case tray with the Compact Disc Digital Audio logo moulded in, printed tray card showing the electric-chair rig behind it
IMG_7306.jpeg
Mirror ring, raking light: laser dot-matrix 835819 2 @ 2, preceded by a small solid square
IMG_7307.jpeg, IMG_7309.jpeg, IMG_7310.jpeg
Mirror ring, raking light: hand-etched 2-1-2-N and one further upright stroke running off the mirror band
IMG_7308.jpeg
Hub moulding at native resolution: ifpi 1507 (reads 1607 downscaled; the native crop shows the flat-topped 5)
IMG_7309.jpeg, IMG_7310.jpeg
The photographs
IMG_7301.jpg1 of 10READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Standard jewel case with a clear tray; inlay and printed tray card with the girder-X artwork
- Disc face printed with Eddie in the electric chair against a cloudy sky, rim text running round the edge
- Play side with a dark inner band carrying the laser-cut matrix and a mirror band carrying the hand-etched stamp
- The disc rim text carries the misprint RERCORD for 'record'
What distinguishes this pressing
- Ring
835819 2 @ 2with hand-etched2-1-2and mouldifpi 1507: recorded only on 383568 (Variant 2) among the 42 versions checked Printed in U.K.on the inlay againstPrinted in Hollandon the other Uden-ring release, 6884825MADE IN HOLLANDon the disc with a UK-printed inlay is how Discogs describes 383568, so the two components agree rather than conflict
Eleven tracks, and the recording credits
Tracks 1-6
- 1Sign Of The Cross
- 2Lord Of The Flies
- 3Man On The Edge
- 4Fortunes Of War
- 5Look For The Truth
- 6The Aftermath
Tracks 7-11
- 7Judgement Of Heaven
- 8Blood On The World's Hands
- 9The Edge Of Darkness
- 102 A.M.
- 11The Unbeliever
Blaze Bayley - vocals · Dave Murray - guitar · Janick Gers - guitar · Steve Harris - bass · Nicko McBrain - drums · Michael Kenney - keyboards. The Expresion Choir sings the Gregorian chants on Sign Of The Cross.
Produced by Nigel Green and Steve Harris; engineered by Nigel Green, assisted by Les Lambert and Mick McKenna; mixed by Nigel Green and Steve Harris. Mastered by Ronal Whelan at Chop 'Em Out. Recorded and mixed at Barnyard Studios. Art direction, design and digital illustration by Hugh Syme. Photography by Tony Frederick; band photographs by Ross Halfin and Simon Fowler. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 388789, 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
Settled on the ring and mould code. A sharper raking-light frame of the end of the hand-etched group, tilted so the mirror band covers the last character, would show whether it is the NL Discogs records; it would not change the release.