Iron Maiden began writing new songs near the end of 2005, after a break following their hugely successful festival dates in the US and Europe during the Eddie Rips Up the World Tour.

[3] After taking time off over Christmas, the songs were completed and the band began recording at Sarm West Studios in London, with their regular producer, Kevin Shirley.

"[8] A Matter of Life and Death is Iron Maiden's fourth studio album that does not have a title track, following Piece of Mind, The X Factor and Virtual XI.

Drummer Nicko McBrain and guitarist Janick Gers claim that the band originally intended to name the album after one of its tracks, with both "The Pilgrim" and "The Legacy" being considered.

According to Gers, "sometimes a title will just leap out at you as the obvious choice, but it didn't this time for some reason", so the band decided on A Matter of Life and Death, which, according to McBrain, was amongst "two or three ideas which we were kicking around".

Neither Gers nor McBrain can remember who came up with the title, which they state was thought up by either Harris, Rod Smallwood (the band's manager) or "Drew" (an engineer at Sarm West Studios).

The bonus DVD also features the full video promo for "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg", and a special filming of the band recording "Different World" in the studio.

"[30] Sputnikmusic also gave it full marks, commenting, "A Matter of Life and Death contains everything fans want to hear; be it exciting, Maiden-style story telling; aggressive riffs; impressive solos; or melodic harmonies."

[36] Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5, finding the music and lyrics "relevant", although also claiming that "the songs now march where they once galloped", implying that the band is "ageing gracefully".

[37] AllMusic were also less positive, rating it 3.5 out of 5 and commenting that it is "a more elaborate and meandering experience than [its predecessor] Dance of Death, but a rewarding one for fans willing to indulge the group's occasional excess".

[38] On 14 September, Iron Maiden released an update which stated that "in just the first week the new album has shipped over a million copies worldwide and impacted on the charts pretty well everywhere in the world".