Iron Maiden has always been a rock staple. The band has been around more-or-less for just a couple of years longer than I’ve been breathing and was one of the bands that my parents really wanted me to pay attention to. But you know how that goes…if the parents say it’s awesome, automatically the kids dive away and I was caught up in White Zombie, early Nine Inch Nails and a ton of nu-metal. Then I heard this particular song while driving one evening on the way home from work. Here’s what I remember from that moment: I blew my voice out trying to match Dickinson’s range (never, ever attempt that…the man is unreal) and I beat the steering wheel in my ’78 LeBaron into submission. This is the song that had me researching a back catalog twenty years old at that point in time.
There’s plenty about Iron Maiden’s work to like: the playing style of bassist Steve Harris, who treats the bass more like a guitar with his self-taught style, the combination of three different guitarists, Nicko McBrain’s drum work and of course, the four-and-a-quarter octave range of a man who has more energy than most men his age hope to have. And that’s before Eddie even makes an appearance. Keep in mind as you watch the music video that the average age of the guys in Iron Maiden was about 40-45 years. I know twenty year olds who would struggle to put this kind of energy into a performance, and this is subdued. Search for the Rio live footage if you really want to see the band at full tilt!
I love the song and I hope the neighbors do too..it’s been on regular rotation in the garage!
