The day has finally come! Iron Maiden have released the first single from their upcoming 16th studio album, The Book of Souls. The band's fresh cut "Speed of Light" goes back to the roots of Maiden's legendary career while brandishing a music video saluting the evolution of video games.

At five minutes in length, "Speed of Light" is one of the shortest songs on the massive Book of Souls double album. The track definitely follows the classic Maiden style of their memorable singles, sounding almost like it's been dug up from the Number of the Beast or Piece of Mind sessions.

The music video is somewhat of a departure for Iron Maiden despite the fact they put out their own Ed Hunter video game in 1999. Maiden mascot Eddie the Head makes his way through different generational styles of video games from the classic 8-bit climb 'n' dodge, to slick side scrollers and first-person shooters.

In a recent interview with the BBC, vocalist Bruce Dickinson addressed how his recent battle with cancerous growths on his tongue and neck affected his voice on The Book of Souls. "Well, I mean, speaking voice-wise, everything is fine," says Dickinson. "I mean, the whole thing is still healing up, so, you can imagine, to get rid of that with radiation has given it… The inside of my head has been cooked, pretty effectively. So, you know, that will all take a while to heal up and it's coming back. But, I mean, I've got… I can sing, I can talk… I haven't gone out and done the equivalent of trying to run a hundred meters in the same way that I used to sing before. 'Cause let it all calm down. I only finished coming out of treatment two months ago, for God's sake, and the doctor said, 'It'll take a year for you to be better.' Well, we've beaten that by about six months so far, but I'm not gonna try and push things to prove a point. We've got loads of time."

Watch the official music video for Iron Maiden's "Speed of Light" above! The Book of Souls will hit music stores on Sept. 4. To download "Speed of Light" or pre-order The Book of Souls, visit iTunes. Those who pre-order The Book of Souls will receive a download of "Speed of Light" immediately.

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