When the members of Iron Maiden's fan club opened this year's Christmas card from the band, they may have received an early hint of what Maiden have in store for 2015.

The card, which has been uploaded to a Maiden collector community's Facebook page, depicts the group's mascot Eddie running out of a remote shack with a "studio" sign hanging over the door -- and ninjas lurking on the roof. (Don't they know you can't kill Eddie?) Off to the side of the building, just past a bunch of empty beer bottles tossed in the snow, is a sign reading 'UROTON 51.'

So how does this pertain to Maiden's plans for next year? Well, possibly not at all. But Eddie leaving the studio sure does seem like it might hint at a new album in 2015 -- and the band's fans have picked up plenty of other clues that suggest they're back at work with producer Kevin Shirley. Given that the most recent studio effort in their catalog is 2010's 'The Final Frontier,' we're definitely due for some new music.

And as for that 'UROTON 51' sign, well, it doesn't take a codebreaking genius to figure out that those characters can easily be rearranged to say 'ON TOUR 15.' Again, this isn't exactly an official announcement ... but we'd be very surprised if one didn't follow fairly quickly. Merry Christmas, Maiden fans!

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