IRON MAIDEN – HALLOWED BE THY NAME – METAL REWIND

Happy Friday Metalheads! Hope you’re having a great week. Today we take a trip back to one of the most classic songs by Iron Maiden from their third studio album called “The Number of the Beast’ for the track “Hallowed Be Thy Name.”

The track written by Steve Harris documents a prisoner being hanged for his crimes. This is one of Iron Maiden’s most popular songs and a concert staple because it’s one of the band’s favorite songs to play live. “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is also one of the most covered songs in their catalog with versions by Cradle of Filth, Iced Earth and Dream Theater to name a few.

The band were sued twice over a section of the lyrics that were taken from the British band Beckett’s 1973 song “Life’s Shadow.” Both cases were settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

The song reached #9 on the UK music chart and #16 on the Irish music chart. Iron Maiden also re-recorded it for use in the UK on Channel 4’s 2007 series “Live From Abbey Road” as well as a version for BBC Radio which was used as a B side on the single of “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” from the “A Matter of Life and Death” album released in 2014.

Check out the original album track as well as a live version at Hammersmith Odeon in the UK from 1982 while the band were on the “Beast on the Road” tour for the album.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME  – ALBUM VERSION

HALLOWED BE THY NAME – LIVE IN THE UK 1982

IRON MAIDEN – HALLOWED BE THY NAME – METAL REWIND

Happy Friday Metalheads! Hope you’re enjoying this Halloween month. Today we take a trip back to one of the most classic songs by Iron Maiden from their third studio album called “The Number of the Beast’ for the track “Hallowed Be Thy Name.”

The track written by Steve Harris documents a prisoner being hanged for his crimes. This is one of Iron Maiden’s most popular songs and a concert staple because it’s one of the band’s favorite songs to play live. “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is also one of the most covered songs in their catalog with versions by Cradle of Filth, Iced Earth and Dream Theater to name a few.

The band were sued twice over a section of the lyrics that were taken from the British band Beckett’s 1973 song “Life’s Shadow.” Both cases were settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

The song reached #9 on the UK music chart and #16 on the Irish music chart. Iron Maiden also re-recorded it for use in the UK on Channel 4’s 2007 series “Live From Abbey Road” as well as a version for BBC Radio which was used as a B side on the single of “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” from the “A Matter of Life and Death” album released in 2014.

Check out the original album track as well as a live version at Hammersmith Odeon in the UK from 1982 while the band were on the “Beast on the Road” tour for the album.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME  – ALBUM VERSION

HALLOWED BE THY NAME – LIVE IN THE UK 1982

 

IRON MAIDEN – FLIGHT OF ICARUS – METAL REWIND

Pictures courtesy of Discogs and Byebyedemocracy.org

Today we take a trip back to 1983 to the fourth studio album by Iron Maiden called “Piece of Mind” and the track “Flight Of Icarus.” This was the first Iron Maiden single released in the United States and the song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart. The song which is loosely based on the ancient Greek myth Icarus was rewritten by Bruce Dickinson to  reflect teenage rebellion against adult authority.

The song was not a favorite of bassist Steve Harris, who wished it had been played live more before it was recorded, because he thought it was more powerful, faster and heavier live. Bruce Dickinson however, felt that the song would get them onto American radio which proved to be true as the song received substantial airplay.  The single cover picture, in something of a parody of the original myth, shows a winged Eddie killing Icarus with a flamethrower.

In the video drummer Nicko McBrain portrays the blue faced grim reaper and director Martin Birch’s face is morphed with mascot Eddie.

IRON MAIDEN – WASTED YEARS – METAL REWIND

L to R: Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain, Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith

Today’s Metal Rewind takes us back to 1986 to a song from Iron Maiden’s sixth album, “Somewhere in Time” called “Wasted Years.”

Wasted Years was written solely by guitarist Adrian Smith and chronicles the band’s feelings of being homesick after being on tour for almost a year, but also reminds us that we should focus on the positive and enjoy the present day in our “golden years”.  The original working title for the song was “Golden Years” but was changed so that fans would not get confused with David Bowie’s “Golden Years.”

The cover of the single depicts the point of view of the band’s mascot Eddie as he flies a time machine, however only part of his face is seen as a reflection on the screen because the band was getting ready to reveal his new cyborg guise on their upcoming album release a few weeks later.

The video below for “Wasted Years” features black and white footage of the band playing in the studio entwined with scenes that chronicle the band’s life on the road and even showcasing singer Bruce Dickinson’s love of fencing. Definitely one of many classic songs by the band.