Eddie, is that you?

Hello there! :)

After this post I'm going to make a break from blogging and this is why I decided to give you more information about my musical preferences. :) 

Some facts about the band:

Iron Maiden are a British heavy-metal band formed in 1975. The founding members were Paul Day, Terry Rance, Dave Sullivan, Steve Harris and Ron Matthes. After some changes in the band today’s formation is Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers, Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain.

Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and some other bands are all collated to the genre New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The band who have been in existence for 40 years released their first album Iron Maiden in 1980. Iron Maiden is considered to be one of the most successful metal-bands in the world.

The name:

It is presumed that the name Iron Maiden is connected to the homonymous instrument of torture. It may be also a reference to Margaret Thatcher who died in 2013 and was also known as The Iron Lady.

Musical style:

The songs are most likely to be building on heavy metal’s common rhythms.  The riffs, the power chords, the slow passages and the variation of rhythm make their arrangements so diversified.  Another stylistic characteristic is the constant repeat of a melodic phrase on the guitar, two-parted guitar solo and the gallop style in the songs “The Trooper” or “Run to the Hills”.

Some other characteristics are the crispy sounds on the bass guitar, the extremely fast passages in the songs played without a plectrum. The typical Iron-Maiden lead sound is the result of a phaser effect which helps to evolve a bluesy tone.  

Paul Di’Anno’s singing brought some punk elements to the style which changed when Bruce Dickinson joined the band. His singing is characterised by his ability to sing very high tones. This is why his nickname is “Air Raid Siren”. 

Content of the songs:

All the songs are either based on historical events, literary material or cinematic material.

Historical events

Run to the Hills:                        genocide against America’s Indians

The Trooper:                              attack of the Charge of the Light Brigade on the 25^th of October 1854

Literary material

Phantom of the Opera:               novel Phantom of the Opera

Flight of the Icarus:                    novel Flight of the Icarus

Cinematic material

Children of the Damned:            British horror film Children of the Damned from 1963

The Mercenary:                           the movie Predator from 1987

The Mascot:

The mascot of Iron Maiden, Eddie is pictured on every single album cover and a constant companion in form of a life-sized puppet on the concerts.

Example:

The song Aces High is based on the Battle of Britain during World War II. 

Aces High with lyrics

The Trooper with lyrics

I like classic music as much as I like metal music and so I want to show you also a version played by the band “2cellos”. The band members are Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser – yes, they are Croats, my compatriots. ;) The other videos are worth seeing too, believe me! 

The Trooper from 2Cellos

\,,/    Stay tuned!!   \,,/