After a two-year hiatus (as well as a three-year hiatus from studio releases – a record for the band at the time), Iron Maiden returned in 1995. Releasing their next studio album, "The X Factor", the band had their lowest chart position since 1981 for an album in the UK (debuting at No. 8), although it would go on to win "Album of the Year" awards in France and Germany. The record included the 11-minute epic "Sign of the Cross", the band's longest song since "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", as well as the singles, "Man on the Edge", based on the film "Falling Down", and "Lord of the Flies", based on the novel of the same name. The release is notable for its "dark" tone, inspired by Steve Harris' divorce. The band toured for the rest of 1995 and 1996, playing for the first time in Israel and South Africa, and ending in the Americas. After the tour, Iron Maiden released a compilation album, "Best of the Beast". The band's first compilation, it included a new single, "Virus", in which the lyrics attack the critics, who had recently written off the band.