Correct. There is another Guy here on youtube by the name of Didier Gerome who in detail explains Steve's technique. He also playes like Steve and does a ton of really cool Iron Maiden Covers
Absolutely 2 fingers and in an interview he talked about his attack....he said he tickles the strings and has pretty low action. I say that's "a" secret to that speed and endurance....tickling the strings.
Scott Ian said it best. “Metal is Steve Harris’ right hand”. I had front tickets back in 91 and his fingers were NON-STOP! Incredible dexterity and stamina
@@t.v.studios3503it helps if you know the poem and hence the story to know why the changes in the song and you get what it is portraying. His saying its similar to NOTB means a lack of knowledge of what he should be seeing in his mind.
This band just got mixed sooooo well, i still cant get over how big the guitars sound, while remaining 'compact' in the mix, not cluttering it, perfect decay etc. This whole band is masterful. And the solo is 2 players, Adrian Smith at first who is more blues based, and Dave Murray after that who is renowned for his smooth legato style:) Love this channel, im learning and jamming
I said this above but I'll repeat it. There is so much about this that stands in stark contrast to modern metal. 1) Steve's bass is relatively clean. It's bright, but you don't get that ubiquitous "smacking a chain link fence with a baseball bat" sound that every metal bassist has nowadays. 2) The song isn't overstuffed with layers. You can really hear everything because the production is relatively sparse. 3) The bass is way up in the mix. It's also EQ'd in such a way to be very audible. As opposed to modern metal bass, which is super scooped and is all low end and highs, Steve's bass is mostly midrange. 4) There's not a ton of low end in the mix in general. For some reason, all modern producers are obsessed with massive low end, even when it doesn't make sense for the genre. You'll hear subsynths and 808 drops in almost all metal songs these days. I really think having a midrange-prominent mix with a sparse arrangement allows the brilliance of the playing and the songwriting to shine.
@@rome8180 Good points. I prefer the older sound. If I go straight from a modern metal song to this, it sounds tinny for a moment, but the clarity and musicianship quickly win me over again.
I just got done listening to it last week, for the first time in probably 25 years, it's incredible, after that I listen to piece of mind, wow!!!!! It's OK, but nothing like powerslave now that's the tour I will see if they bring back the Power Slave not Somewhere in Time, definitely their best effort
Rime of the Ancient Mariner is in my Desert Island Discs. No song does a better job of taking you on a journey. Credit to Coleridge as well of course. I think I was about 12 or 13 when I got Powerslave. I went on to become an oceanographer and I played this song plenty when in the Antarctic.
My first Maiden concert was Powerslave! They keep up this intensity and energy for the whole show. They take you on a journey, and even watching videos of them today, is incredible to watch! Up the Irons!
It must have been at least 10 years since I last heard this song, but I still know it inside and out: the effect of hearing a song hundreds of times, when you had just money for the one album a month at most, and when you got it, you'd play it to death. Also, this track is indirectly responsible for me studying English Lit. And yes, there are two verses lifted directly from the poem: the one you wondered about, and one earlier on, which starts with "day after day, day after day, we stuck no breath nor moriion". Such a sound of my youth and early adulthood
This is THE song that made me pick up the bass guitar! One of the first « hard song » I learned when I was 15 years old! I’m now almost 54 and I still enjoy playing this song!
I've been happening across a lot of these music appreciation videos but until now they've been focused more on the vocals. I personally don't have a musical bone in my body, but this video was easy to follow and give me, a longtime Maiden/metal fan, more of an appreciation of songs which are embedded in my soul.
My absolute favourite Iron Maiden song! The live version of this from their album “Live after Death” is so good and it’s a bit faster paced than the original album version 🤘
Up the Irons!!! This song, along with many others is why Iron Maiden is my favorite band. Steve Harris is the reason I started playing bass when I was 12 or so. I heard "The Trooper" at a friend's house, went out, bought the debut album and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (which was the newest album they had out, I'm old, ok?) and I haven't stopped loving them since.
Masterpiece from Iron Maiden! It's been years since I've listened to this song. Took me back to seeing them play this live when I was a teenager. So good!
As a punk bass player since coming of age at the turn of the century, closed myself off to most metal for a lot of my teens and twenties. Just got into Maiden last year through a fan of my old band - where have they been all my life? Harris is amazing, galloping triplets a new challenge for me to take on. Powerslave hands down my favorite record - so many choice songs from it alone for this channel: “2 Minutes to Midnight”, the more approachable “Aces High”, and of course the title track. Any fans should def check out the 3/4 part doc on the band on RUclips - didn’t realize they were such a main touchstone for “Spinal Tap”!
One of my favorite songs ever, metal or otherwise. I saw Maiden many times from '86 to '03 and Harris is an absolute BEAST on stage. He reproduces their songs practically note for note. And his energy running around on stage for two + hours pointing his bass at the crowd like a machine gun. Truly awesome stuff.
I saw them live on father's day and back in 2008 and 2016. They're all in their 60s to 70s and still rock as good as they always did. Amazing band! UP THE IRONS!!!!! 🤘🤘
This album came out the year I had graduated high school. The 80s had everything music wise. Awesome album. Could never get enough of this particular track.
This was my first Maiden Album and it made me playing the bass guitar. I adapted Steve's style very much and I love when people pick that up in jamming sessions or concerts. Iron Maiden changed soooo many people's lives in 5 decades, it's just crazy to think about.
I know it just can't hit the same for anyone who grew up without hiding from a nuke under a public school desk, but "Two Minutes to Midnight" from the same album is pretty solid.
With the two guitar players, that allowed the bass to have its own sonic space -- sometimes doubling the guitars, sometimes playing counterpoint. You're right that he had so much control over the voice leading and the overall effectiveness of the band. Once they added the third guitar, that role was lost, and they were never the same. And in that middle section, they aren't all major augmented, sometimes he goes to the b iii chord first inversion and sometimes he plays second inversion minor and then he does that backwards three note arpeggio. So inventive, and effective for creating that "disoriented dream state." As for the solos following that section, that's both Adiran and Dave soling over the same changes, but in a different key -- which is smart. It keeps the listener's ears moving and allows for textural and stylistic movement. Again -- so clever.
I love where the bass is in the mix. Never appreciated it back in the day. I got my high school English teacher to play this for the class when we read the poem. Same with the Trooper when we hit Tennyson.
Dude! As a die hard Iron Maiden fan and automatically a Harris fan I just love how you pick his part of this apart. I'm no baseplayer whatsoever, so this gives me a completely different view on this song (which I've heard a thousand times). I bow for you, good sir. I bow for you a thousand times.
17 December 1984 - Kansas City - Kemper Arena, I was e few days from turning 16 and went and saw this (World Slavery Tour) after doing exactly what you're doing now. Awesome time to be a teenager
That's one of the best THINGS ever, in general........, i don't give 2 fucks what others say or whether it's "popular" or "mainstream" or "hit" or they don't loike it........ "hit" is what hits me very much
You should also check out the Maiden song “To tame a land”, which is the long song off of piece of mind album. That song is based off the book “Dune”. Another fantastic song!
Man, I love your comments and analysis, more and more. It's beautiful to watch how you listen to Iron Maiden song for the first time (song which I long know 🙂) and "decode" Steve's complicated (but always interesting) bass lines.
Watch some of Maiden's Live videos to see Steve's plucking technique. He anchors his forearm at the top of the bass and lets his hand free float over the strings (he seldom anchors his thumb on a string or top of pick up.) He uses a two finger attack, and his hand and wrist also moves up and down towards the strings as he is plucking.
Harris is a machine, maybe not the best bass player in all of metal but he knows what he is capable of, knows how to push his own boundries but he knows how to drill it home, redefined pocket-playing bass guitar for heavy metal, he created a new blueprint
Let's define what it means to be "the best bassist in all of metal." I don't know any metal bassist who is better than Steve, and being more technical doesn't make you better. That's an absolutely superficial and ignorant assessment.
@@evil_chuckand he compose most of the songs brilliantly and uniquely, and his bass is very prominent, essential and musical, not just a dependent or company......., most bassists are just a "company"
Such an epic song. I remember being so mesmerized the first I listened to it. And when you realize this masterpiece comes as the last track of the Powerslave album, oh shit!! It was the time when we used to listen to a full album. Getting all this right in your face was quite an experience ! Looking at you discovering it for the first time brings me back to that precious memory.
Look Steve is a VERY underrated songwriter. I loved the album art as a kid and listened to this album over and over again. It wasnt until later as a young adult that I revisited this album and figured the draw for me was the bass playing. It just hits hard.
Epic stuff. Caught them several times on this tour alone. Harris is just above and beyond. Pure talent. Thank you for posting this and the breakdown. Mark, hope you and the family are doing safe and well with all this crazy weather. We got hit hard here in SC. Steph and the Frenchies also say hi LOL.
Great reaction of real bassguitarist ! I heard the song hundred times…but just today you explained and commented it fanastically…yes it is bass tour around IM. Thank you
IMO one of the best Maiden songs! Great video! I heard the song a thousand times and it was great to see your feedback that points out things I didnt really pay attention to
It's worth checking out the "Live After Death" version from their 1985 tour, for two reasons. a) you get to visually appreciate just how much of a physical feat the section at 7:17 is, and b) the explosions. Seriously, the spectacle of this being played live to a hungry audience is pretty much the reason I took up guitar.
I actually prefer the Flight 666 version as the definitive live version of the song. The vocals sound better (Bruce was unfortunately sick during the Live After Death version), the instruments are mixed better, and the live energy is through the roof good. And the band absolutely looks like they’re having a great time playing it.
@@Rikrik1138 Bruce was sick during the recording of Maiden England, not Live After Death. Live After Death will always win for me, because it was the first time I got to see a live version of it (this would have been 1991).
I love the way you analyze this tune, Steve in parcticular. It's such a great song. I can really recommend watch the Flight 666 live performance of this song. You'll get a whole new appreciation of the whole band. Bruce as an incredible singer and the best story teller out there. The energy they have on stage and how the guitarists Adrian, Dave and Janick completes each other. And ofcourse Nicko as a phenomenal drummer. They spread so much joy on stage and you can tell how much they love playing for their fans.
My very first concert was Iron Maiden on the Somewhere In Time tour in 1987 and they played this that night. A huge backdrop came down that made them look like they were on the deck of a ship and there were lights that gave an effect of waves passing across the stage. It was an incredible show!
The cordal and pedaling on the open D sections are awesome. I love playing those parts.The atmosphere it creates makes you feel like you're on a journey. 👍
The first of the “epic” songs released by Iron Maiden, which started the tradition of a long song to be included in every album subsequently released by Maiden, which includes Alexander the Great, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Empire of the Cloud, to name a few.
I've been listening this song for (checks notes) 40 years. It's great to see someone who's not heard it before appreciate it for the amazing music it is...not least Steve, but Bruce's vocal performance must be one of the all time greats. They toured this album for 11 months - imagine playing this every night. Nico tells a tale where they played an outdoor arena in the US where it was like 80 deg C. He had a small swimming pool behind stage and sat in it during the middle slow section. The band had to wait for him to come back before they could move on to the next section :) #Legends
My first concert ever was seeing them on the tour for this album in 1985. This song was epic that night. The fog spilling off the stage during the interlude section only seeing fans forearms and hands peeking through as if souls from beneath the sea reaching out to the heavens, amazing effect. I've seen them many times since, but nothing will surpass that World Slavery Tour!
Going to see them live in a couples of days. I was never a maiden fan as a teenager but i am listening to them to know their stuff. Very impress with the story telling and variance in riff and playing with the gallops. I like the drum a lot on their songs. This song is a very interesting discovery; i like it a lot. Thanks for the video it really made me appreciate the bass part. I never pay much attention to the bass in songs but iron Maiden is quite interesting the bass really drive and cuts through.
Thanks for doing this! Always enjoyable to watch you dissect things - especially Steve. Speaking of, he only uses 2 fingers. It’s documented in at least 2 historical issues of Bass Player magazine; as well as video footage explaining as much. I started off on bass loving Maiden and Steve, and like everyone else was certain he used 3 fingers. Even slowing video down seems to display 3 fingers but - 2 it is. Very interesting to contrast Steve’s technique with someone like Billy Sheehan, who definitely uses 3 fingers. Good job as always! PS I consequently play with 3 primarily because I erroneously got it wrong. Check out “The Duellists” on Powerslave. What a triplet workout that is!
Steve is THE MAN. I still remember how I got into metal. Maiden weren't my first band, but I discovered them while playing a videogame called Carmageddon 2 and I was immediately captivated by them. Of course what impressed me the most at that time were the guitar riffs (perfectly accompanying the game) and then Bruce's voice, but I gradually became a metalhead ever since. The more I dived deep into music and metal, the more things I started to notice in between the music, and the more things I started to notice, the more things I found out in Maiden's song that left me in awe and utter respect for them. How can I put it... It's like a constant journey where, even after dozens of listenings, you find new things, like, when the whole picture is clear in my mind i start to notice previously overlooked details. And in that aspect, Steve's bass has been the more prolific in termis of these details. Absolutely impressed by his skills.
This is a rendition of a long verse poem by Samuel L Coleridge. the eeriness is definitely to portray the verses from the poem. I did this song as an English project way back in high school. The Live after death tour was my first time seeing Maiden live and this song live is phenomenal
thank you for the breakdown. i am trying out their the bass lines of the first 2 albums and stuff like murders in the rue morgue, Transylvania are way off the charts. Steve is just insane. Horse on steroids and crack. Thanx to songsterr plus i can slow the tempo down and loop the songs section by section and am happy with that. You sir are gifted to play the songs by ear. I play it by year.
A cool deep-dive into Steve's work. I've been playing guitar as an amateur for a few years now - though I don't practice all that regularly. A few years ago, I started playing bass and I've already reached my limit with Accept's 'Balls to the Wall,' but this piece-by-piece isolation makes me believe I can do it too.
That's the problem with listening to only Iron Maiden's most commercial songs. They're very good, but their real gems, their true works of art, the ones that really make you fall in love with the band, are the hidden songs on the albums. The ones that don't appear on the compilations because they're not promotional singles. The songs where they really put all their compositional power into the music that really represents them. PS: It would have been nice to see this version on Live After Death in 1985.
Seems like you got out of Maiden right as they entered their most interesting, arguably proto prog-metal, phase. That stretch they had from Powerslave to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was their best (IMO), and it's a direction they continued with their comeback, Brave New World, in 2000. Pretty much all of their releases since Powerslave have had one (if not several) proggy epics.
Steve has said himself that he has only ever played with index and middle unless he's arpeggio picking where it becomes thumb, index and middle. There are people who have said he uses three because of the way he holds his ring and pinky finger but from his own mouth it's not the case. He's only using two in this song until that crazy three finger bit in the middle where it's basically just him and a bit of guitars.
Nice bass point of view. Many good remarks. World Tour of Maiden sound, very well put. I tend to check reactions to this song on regular basis, as this is my favorite song of everything ever recorded, your analysis is one of the better ones, enjoyed it very much.
Maybe the best way to say it, Steve Plays Two Finger technique, but often reinforces his middle finger with his ring finger, so using three fingers in the two finger technique.
There is so much about this that stands in stark contrast to modern metal. 1) Steve's bass is relatively clean. It's bright, but you don't get that ubiquitous "smacking a chain link fence with a baseball bat" sound that every metal bassist has nowadays. 2) The song isn't overstuffed with layers. You can really hear everything because the production is relatively sparse. 3) The bass is way up in the mix. It's also EQ'd in such a way to be very audible. As opposed to modern metal bass, which is super scooped and is all low end and highs, Steve's bass is mostly midrange. 4) There's not a ton of low end in the mix in general. For some reason, all modern producers are obsessed with massive low end, even when it doesn't make sense for the genre. You'll hear subsynths and 808 drops in almost all metal songs these days. I really think having a midrange-prominent mix with a sparse arrangement allows the brilliance of the playing and the songwriting to shine.
Probably getting the quote wrong, but someone once said something like "what is the definition of heavy metal?" and the answer was "Steve Harris's right hand!"
You can just watch live concerts with them plenty of zoom ins on him and he does play both with 2 and 3 fingers. I have seen them live 2 times amazing live band. Worth knowing is that he is also the bands main songwriter which to me makes him extra cool as a bass player. Peace
Steve is phenomenal bassist. 🔥 Also a great songwriter. ❤️ Every member of this band is really very very talented & energetic. Btw in this song first solo played by Adrian Smith & second Dave Murray. Try to react on live version of this song. Up the irons from India. 🤟🏻
That was great, I never studied chords or music theory while I learned Maiden bass lines etc, great to hear why the parts work so well lol. Would love to see/hear your take on The Red and the Black from The Book of Souls. Or even the title track! Up the Irons! ⚒️
You need to listen to flash of the blade AND the duelists ….a must do if you want a lesson in finger crushing bass…..I played it for my audition to music school in 1989 and it got me in
To me when I listen to Iron Maiden, they actually play a movie in my head with the best soundtrack ever. They’re real big on history. You should check out Alexander the great next.
This isn't the only Samuel Coleridge poem adapted into an epic musical voyage by legendary musicians . Rush, 'Xanadu' - absolute monument of a song from their earlier days. "To stand within the pleasure dome decreed by Kublai Khan..."
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the jury isn't out, Steve absolutely only uses 2 fingers. He and the rest of the band have said it multiple times
I have worn out the VHS tape of Live After Death, the whole show it is only 2 fingers and when it breaks down, he is using his thumb
Correct. There is another Guy here on youtube by the name of Didier Gerome who in detail explains Steve's technique. He also playes like Steve and does a ton of really cool Iron Maiden Covers
Steve uses 2 fingers to gallop, but he plays with all 5.
Lock the middle finger with the other one aside it makes a big finger and gallops with the index and the locked ones
Absolutely 2 fingers and in an interview he talked about his attack....he said he tickles the strings and has pretty low action. I say that's "a" secret to that speed and endurance....tickling the strings.
Scott Ian said it best. “Metal is Steve Harris’ right hand”. I had front tickets back in 91 and his fingers were NON-STOP! Incredible dexterity and stamina
This is one of the greatest maiden songs ever...
I know it's your gig. But. This is probably the one Maiden song that should not be analyzed. Just put it on and enjoy. 'Nuff said.
@@t.v.studios3503it helps if you know the poem and hence the story to know why the changes in the song and you get what it is portraying. His saying its similar to NOTB means a lack of knowledge of what he should be seeing in his mind.
It is the greatest Maiden song ever!
The reason why people say, Steve "joins in" with the guitars riffs sometimes, is because he wrote the song and the riffs.
Yup. It's more like the guitars play around what Steve has already written, instead of the other way around.
This band just got mixed sooooo well, i still cant get over how big the guitars sound, while remaining 'compact' in the mix, not cluttering it, perfect decay etc. This whole band is masterful. And the solo is 2 players, Adrian Smith at first who is more blues based, and Dave Murray after that who is renowned for his smooth legato style:)
Love this channel, im learning and jamming
I said this above but I'll repeat it. There is so much about this that stands in stark contrast to modern metal.
1) Steve's bass is relatively clean. It's bright, but you don't get that ubiquitous "smacking a chain link fence with a baseball bat" sound that every metal bassist has nowadays.
2) The song isn't overstuffed with layers. You can really hear everything because the production is relatively sparse.
3) The bass is way up in the mix. It's also EQ'd in such a way to be very audible. As opposed to modern metal bass, which is super scooped and is all low end and highs, Steve's bass is mostly midrange.
4) There's not a ton of low end in the mix in general. For some reason, all modern producers are obsessed with massive low end, even when it doesn't make sense for the genre. You'll hear subsynths and 808 drops in almost all metal songs these days.
I really think having a midrange-prominent mix with a sparse arrangement allows the brilliance of the playing and the songwriting to shine.
@@rome8180 Good points. I prefer the older sound. If I go straight from a modern metal song to this, it sounds tinny for a moment, but the clarity and musicianship quickly win me over again.
Finally! Powerslave is my favourite album, there are no bad tracks on it. I'm going to see them live for the fifth time next summer.
Fully agree . One of the best albums ever
I just got done listening to it last week, for the first time in probably 25 years, it's incredible, after that I listen to piece of mind, wow!!!!! It's OK, but nothing like powerslave now that's the tour I will see if they bring back the Power Slave not Somewhere in Time, definitely their best effort
The first two and the last two are great to amazing. 3-6 are good to so-so.
This followed by Live After Death was so totally overwhelmingly good.
Yip one of my favourite albums ever
Saw them a few weeks ago Auckland
Nz
Still awesome
This whole album is just perfection.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner is in my Desert Island Discs. No song does a better job of taking you on a journey. Credit to Coleridge as well of course.
I think I was about 12 or 13 when I got Powerslave. I went on to become an oceanographer and I played this song plenty when in the Antarctic.
Brilliant, I wish that were true
My first Maiden concert was Powerslave!
They keep up this intensity and energy for the whole show.
They take you on a journey, and even watching videos of them today, is incredible to watch!
Up the Irons!
What a chance!
It must have been at least 10 years since I last heard this song, but I still know it inside and out: the effect of hearing a song hundreds of times, when you had just money for the one album a month at most, and when you got it, you'd play it to death. Also, this track is indirectly responsible for me studying English Lit. And yes, there are two verses lifted directly from the poem: the one you wondered about, and one earlier on, which starts with "day after day, day after day, we stuck no breath nor moriion". Such a sound of my youth and early adulthood
This is THE song that made me pick up the bass guitar!
One of the first « hard song » I learned when I was 15 years old! I’m now almost 54 and I still enjoy playing this song!
"Dude must have a bionic arm"! For real. It's nuts.
I've been happening across a lot of these music appreciation videos but until now they've been focused more on the vocals. I personally don't have a musical bone in my body, but this video was easy to follow and give me, a longtime Maiden/metal fan, more of an appreciation of songs which are embedded in my soul.
My absolute favourite Iron Maiden song! The live version of this from their album “Live after Death” is so good and it’s a bit faster paced than the original album version 🤘
100% 2 fingers for Steve. His unique technique is what makes it possible. Very relaxed positioning.
Up the Irons!!! This song, along with many others is why Iron Maiden is my favorite band. Steve Harris is the reason I started playing bass when I was 12 or so. I heard "The Trooper" at a friend's house, went out, bought the debut album and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (which was the newest album they had out, I'm old, ok?) and I haven't stopped loving them since.
Seeing these guys live is always amazing.
By far the best Maiden album. I believe everyone was at their peak for this album.
Masterpiece from Iron Maiden! It's been years since I've listened to this song. Took me back to seeing them play this live when I was a teenager. So good!
As a punk bass player since coming of age at the turn of the century, closed myself off to most metal for a lot of my teens and twenties. Just got into Maiden last year through a fan of my old band - where have they been all my life? Harris is amazing, galloping triplets a new challenge for me to take on. Powerslave hands down my favorite record - so many choice songs from it alone for this channel: “2 Minutes to Midnight”, the more approachable “Aces High”, and of course the title track. Any fans should def check out the 3/4 part doc on the band on RUclips - didn’t realize they were such a main touchstone for “Spinal Tap”!
Amazing comment, we are in good family. Steve and Cliff Burton!
If you like punk don't over look the first 2 albums with Paul Di' Anno.
@@adamrushka8096 for sure, and you can hear the influence
One of my favorite songs ever, metal or otherwise. I saw Maiden many times from '86 to '03 and Harris is an absolute BEAST on stage. He reproduces their songs practically note for note. And his energy running around on stage for two + hours pointing his bass at the crowd like a machine gun. Truly awesome stuff.
I saw them live on father's day and back in 2008 and 2016. They're all in their 60s to 70s and still rock as good as they always did.
Amazing band!
UP THE IRONS!!!!! 🤘🤘
This album came out the year I had graduated high school.
The 80s had everything music wise.
Awesome album. Could never get enough of this particular track.
Seeing the Powerslave tour as a teenager and hearing this song live blew my mind - EPIC!!
This was my first Maiden Album and it made me playing the bass guitar. I adapted Steve's style very much and I love when people pick that up in jamming sessions or concerts. Iron Maiden changed soooo many people's lives in 5 decades, it's just crazy to think about.
I know it just can't hit the same for anyone who grew up without hiding from a nuke under a public school desk, but "Two Minutes to Midnight" from the same album is pretty solid.
Love this. The Steve "hold my beer" bass clinic. I wore this cassette out all through highschool.
With the two guitar players, that allowed the bass to have its own sonic space -- sometimes doubling the guitars, sometimes playing counterpoint. You're right that he had so much control over the voice leading and the overall effectiveness of the band. Once they added the third guitar, that role was lost, and they were never the same. And in that middle section, they aren't all major augmented, sometimes he goes to the b iii chord first inversion and sometimes he plays second inversion minor and then he does that backwards three note arpeggio. So inventive, and effective for creating that "disoriented dream state." As for the solos following that section, that's both Adiran and Dave soling over the same changes, but in a different key -- which is smart. It keeps the listener's ears moving and allows for textural and stylistic movement. Again -- so clever.
I love where the bass is in the mix. Never appreciated it back in the day. I got my high school English teacher to play this for the class when we read the poem. Same with the Trooper when we hit Tennyson.
Dude! As a die hard Iron Maiden fan and automatically a Harris fan I just love how you pick his part of this apart. I'm no baseplayer whatsoever, so this gives me a completely different view on this song (which I've heard a thousand times). I bow for you, good sir. I bow for you a thousand times.
Really love your commentaries on Maiden and Steve. Keep ‘em coming!
Jeeezus dude. Another amazing job and one of the most epic songs of all time.
i was watching your other iron maiden videos just a minute ago this is such a treat, my personal favorite maiden song
17 December 1984 - Kansas City - Kemper Arena, I was e few days from turning 16 and went and saw this (World Slavery Tour) after doing exactly what you're doing now. Awesome time to be a teenager
this has got to be one of the best Maiden reactions I've seen on youtube. You actually broke the music down
That means a lot, thank you! This was a super fun one to do 🙏🏼
My cool high school English teacher (back in the 80s) played this record for the class when we were studying the poem 🤟🏼
Once again amazing analysis mate. Next "The Duellist" from the same album
My favorite off this album. The triplet Losfer words- flash of the blade-the duellists is simply magical
Yup, Bro. Duellist is my favourite Iron Maiden song.
That's one of the best THINGS ever, in general........, i don't give 2 fucks what others say or whether it's "popular" or "mainstream" or "hit" or they don't loike it........ "hit" is what hits me very much
Slow part is from the poem.
The creaking of the ship boards, the despair...
Great story telling
You should also check out the Maiden song “To tame a land”, which is the long song off of piece of mind album. That song is based off the book “Dune”. Another fantastic song!
Man, I love your comments and analysis, more and more.
It's beautiful to watch how you listen to Iron Maiden song for the first time (song which I long know 🙂) and "decode" Steve's complicated (but always interesting) bass lines.
They are machines. Consider they do a 2.5 hour set every other night!
Watch some of Maiden's Live videos to see Steve's plucking technique. He anchors his forearm at the top of the bass and lets his hand free float over the strings (he seldom anchors his thumb on a string or top of pick up.) He uses a two finger attack, and his hand and wrist also moves up and down towards the strings as he is plucking.
He often records two Basslines, one higher than the other.
Harris is a machine, maybe not the best bass player in all of metal but he knows what he is capable of, knows how to push his own boundries but he knows how to drill it home, redefined pocket-playing bass guitar for heavy metal, he created a new blueprint
And knows how to write a song you want to hear more than once.
Let's define what it means to be "the best bassist in all of metal." I don't know any metal bassist who is better than Steve, and being more technical doesn't make you better. That's an absolutely superficial and ignorant assessment.
@@evil_chuckand he compose most of the songs brilliantly and uniquely, and his bass is very prominent, essential and musical, not just a dependent or company......., most bassists are just a "company"
80’s Maiden, can’t beat them. All those 80’s album amazing
Maiden blew my mind as a 7th grader in the 80s! They have always been iconic to me. Their music can take you to another time and place🤘🏽
My arm hurts from just one minute of this at half speed.... insane! Great break fown, dude!🎉
Such an epic song. I remember being so mesmerized the first I listened to it. And when you realize this masterpiece comes as the last track of the Powerslave album, oh shit!! It was the time when we used to listen to a full album. Getting all this right in your face was quite an experience ! Looking at you discovering it for the first time brings me back to that precious memory.
Look Steve is a VERY underrated songwriter. I loved the album art as a kid and listened to this album over and over again. It wasnt until later as a young adult that I revisited this album and figured the draw for me was the bass playing. It just hits hard.
Epic stuff. Caught them several times on this tour alone. Harris is just above and beyond. Pure talent. Thank you for posting this and the breakdown.
Mark, hope you and the family are doing safe and well with all this crazy weather. We got hit hard here in SC. Steph and the Frenchies also say hi LOL.
Great reaction of real bassguitarist ! I heard the song hundred times…but just today you explained and commented it fanastically…yes it is bass tour around IM. Thank you
IMO one of the best Maiden songs! Great video! I heard the song a thousand times and it was great to see your feedback that points out things I didnt really pay attention to
Will you do The Philosopher by Death?
It's worth checking out the "Live After Death" version from their 1985 tour, for two reasons.
a) you get to visually appreciate just how much of a physical feat the section at 7:17 is, and
b) the explosions.
Seriously, the spectacle of this being played live to a hungry audience is pretty much the reason I took up guitar.
I actually prefer the Flight 666 version as the definitive live version of the song. The vocals sound better (Bruce was unfortunately sick during the Live After Death version), the instruments are mixed better, and the live energy is through the roof good. And the band absolutely looks like they’re having a great time playing it.
@@Rikrik1138 Bruce was sick during the recording of Maiden England, not Live After Death.
Live After Death will always win for me, because it was the first time I got to see a live version of it (this would have been 1991).
I love the way you analyze this tune, Steve in parcticular. It's such a great song. I can really recommend watch the Flight 666 live performance of this song. You'll get a whole new appreciation of the whole band. Bruce as an incredible singer and the best story teller out there. The energy they have on stage and how the guitarists Adrian, Dave and Janick completes each other. And ofcourse Nicko as a phenomenal drummer. They spread so much joy on stage and you can tell how much they love playing for their fans.
Watch them live to see how masterful they are in concert. To do it for so long while maintaining the level of quality is pretty rare.
My very first concert was Iron Maiden on the Somewhere In Time tour in 1987 and they played this that night. A huge backdrop came down that made them look like they were on the deck of a ship and there were lights that gave an effect of waves passing across the stage. It was an incredible show!
If you want the ultimate Maiden, listen to "Hallowed be thy name." It is the definitive power metal song, to me, as a bass player.
The cordal and pedaling on the open D sections are awesome. I love playing those parts.The atmosphere it creates makes you feel like you're on a journey. 👍
The first of the “epic” songs released by Iron Maiden, which started the tradition of a long song to be included in every album subsequently released by Maiden, which includes Alexander the Great, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Empire of the Cloud, to name a few.
I've been listening this song for (checks notes) 40 years. It's great to see someone who's not heard it before appreciate it for the amazing music it is...not least Steve, but Bruce's vocal performance must be one of the all time greats. They toured this album for 11 months - imagine playing this every night. Nico tells a tale where they played an outdoor arena in the US where it was like 80 deg C. He had a small swimming pool behind stage and sat in it during the middle slow section. The band had to wait for him to come back before they could move on to the next section :) #Legends
Saw them touring this album in 1985. I've seen 100's of concerts. The '85 Iron Maiden show was the best live show I've ever seen.
My first concert ever was seeing them on the tour for this album in 1985. This song was epic that night. The fog spilling off the stage during the interlude section only seeing fans forearms and hands peeking through as if souls from beneath the sea reaching out to the heavens, amazing effect. I've seen them many times since, but nothing will surpass that World Slavery Tour!
Going to see them live in a couples of days. I was never a maiden fan as a teenager but i am listening to them to know their stuff. Very impress with the story telling and variance in riff and playing with the gallops. I like the drum a lot on their songs. This song is a very interesting discovery; i like it a lot. Thanks for the video it really made me appreciate the bass part. I never pay much attention to the bass in songs but iron Maiden is quite interesting the bass really drive and cuts through.
So early haha! Glad to see you checking this song, one of there masterpiece, exited to watch the video 😊
increíble que está banda siga haciendo conciertos !!
Thanks for doing this! Always enjoyable to watch you dissect things - especially Steve.
Speaking of, he only uses 2 fingers. It’s documented in at least 2 historical issues of Bass Player magazine; as well as video footage explaining as much.
I started off on bass loving Maiden and Steve, and like everyone else was certain he used 3 fingers. Even slowing video down seems to display 3 fingers but - 2 it is.
Very interesting to contrast Steve’s technique with someone like Billy Sheehan, who definitely uses 3 fingers.
Good job as always!
PS I consequently play with 3 primarily because I erroneously got it wrong.
Check out “The Duellists” on Powerslave.
What a triplet workout that is!
Steve is THE MAN. I still remember how I got into metal. Maiden weren't my first band, but I discovered them while playing a videogame called Carmageddon 2 and I was immediately captivated by them. Of course what impressed me the most at that time were the guitar riffs (perfectly accompanying the game) and then Bruce's voice, but I gradually became a metalhead ever since. The more I dived deep into music and metal, the more things I started to notice in between the music, and the more things I started to notice, the more things I found out in Maiden's song that left me in awe and utter respect for them.
How can I put it... It's like a constant journey where, even after dozens of listenings, you find new things, like, when the whole picture is clear in my mind i start to notice previously overlooked details. And in that aspect, Steve's bass has been the more prolific in termis of these details. Absolutely impressed by his skills.
This is a rendition of a long verse poem by Samuel L Coleridge. the eeriness is definitely to portray the verses from the poem. I did this song as an English project way back in high school. The Live after death tour was my first time seeing Maiden live and this song live is phenomenal
thank you for the breakdown. i am trying out their the bass lines of the first 2 albums and stuff like murders in the rue morgue, Transylvania are way off the charts. Steve is just insane. Horse on steroids and crack. Thanx to songsterr plus i can slow the tempo down and loop the songs section by section and am happy with that. You sir are gifted to play the songs by ear. I play it by year.
With this epic covered, next must be either, "The Odyssey" by Symphony X, or "Dante's Inferno" by Iced Earth!
A cool deep-dive into Steve's work. I've been playing guitar as an amateur for a few years now - though I don't practice all that regularly. A few years ago, I started playing bass and I've already reached my limit with Accept's 'Balls to the Wall,' but this piece-by-piece isolation makes me believe I can do it too.
He goes from playing bass, to plucking parallel to guitar. Nice.
That's the problem with listening to only Iron Maiden's most commercial songs. They're very good, but their real gems, their true works of art, the ones that really make you fall in love with the band, are the hidden songs on the albums. The ones that don't appear on the compilations because they're not promotional singles. The songs where they really put all their compositional power into the music that really represents them.
PS: It would have been nice to see this version on Live After Death in 1985.
I’m still hoping we get to see Franzel Rhomb’s “It’s Up To You” on this channel
Genius would be better😅😅😅
I love your work , thanks man !
Seems like you got out of Maiden right as they entered their most interesting, arguably proto prog-metal, phase. That stretch they had from Powerslave to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was their best (IMO), and it's a direction they continued with their comeback, Brave New World, in 2000. Pretty much all of their releases since Powerslave have had one (if not several) proggy epics.
2 fingers, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Beast Over Hammersmith, Best live Performance Ever, R.I.P. CLIVE BURR, Best Maiden drummer
Steve has said himself that he has only ever played with index and middle unless he's arpeggio picking where it becomes thumb, index and middle. There are people who have said he uses three because of the way he holds his ring and pinky finger but from his own mouth it's not the case. He's only using two in this song until that crazy three finger bit in the middle where it's basically just him and a bit of guitars.
Nice bass point of view. Many good remarks. World Tour of Maiden sound, very well put. I tend to check reactions to this song on regular basis, as this is my favorite song of everything ever recorded, your analysis is one of the better ones, enjoyed it very much.
Maybe the best way to say it, Steve Plays Two Finger technique, but often reinforces his middle finger with his ring finger, so using three fingers in the two finger technique.
There is so much about this that stands in stark contrast to modern metal.
1) Steve's bass is relatively clean. It's bright, but you don't get that ubiquitous "smacking a chain link fence with a baseball bat" sound that every metal bassist has nowadays.
2) The song isn't overstuffed with layers. You can really hear everything because the production is relatively sparse.
3) The bass is way up in the mix. It's also EQ'd in such a way to be very audible. As opposed to modern metal bass, which is super scooped and is all low end and highs, Steve's bass is mostly midrange.
4) There's not a ton of low end in the mix in general. For some reason, all modern producers are obsessed with massive low end, even when it doesn't make sense for the genre. You'll hear subsynths and 808 drops in almost all metal songs these days.
I really think having a midrange-prominent mix with a sparse arrangement allows the brilliance of the playing and the songwriting to shine.
I really, really agree with this perspective, and know what you mean regarding modern metal.
Probably getting the quote wrong, but someone once said something like "what is the definition of heavy metal?" and the answer was "Steve Harris's right hand!"
THAT WAS GREAT RE-VISITING THAT EPIC CLASSIC WITH YOU. RECOMMEND "WASTED YEARS" FROM THE ALBUM SOMEWHERE IN TIME (1987) . CHEERS !
You can just watch live concerts with them plenty of zoom ins on him and he does play both with 2 and 3 fingers. I have seen them live 2 times amazing live band. Worth knowing is that he is also the bands main songwriter which to me makes him extra cool as a bass player.
Peace
I forget where I first saw it, but the best tip I got was starting 1 on the middle finger instead of the index finger to play those triplets.
Steve is phenomenal bassist. 🔥 Also a great songwriter. ❤️ Every member of this band is really very very talented & energetic. Btw in this song first solo played by Adrian Smith & second Dave Murray. Try to react on live version of this song. Up the irons from India. 🤟🏻
My favorite band of all time! Killers is a masterpiece!!!! And Clive was incredible!!!
still to this day, one of my fave maiden epics
Awesome video! Can’t wait to see Maiden on their world tour in my home town next summer 😊❤
That was great, I never studied chords or music theory while I learned Maiden bass lines etc, great to hear why the parts work so well lol. Would love to see/hear your take on The Red and the Black from The Book of Souls. Or even the title track! Up the Irons! ⚒️
Great review, this is an utter classic. "Can I Play With Madness" "Rainmaker" or "These Colors Don't Run" would be great to review next. Cheers mate!
This song has always been just a favorite. Pink Floyd Echoes, because it's longer and it's always been a favorite. For a very long time.
You need to listen to flash of the blade AND the duelists ….a must do if you want a lesson in finger crushing bass…..I played it for my audition to music school in 1989 and it got me in
The song is an absolute masterpiece.
This album takes me to places, Maiden make me smile, the best band in the Universe.
To me when I listen to Iron Maiden, they actually play a movie in my head with the best soundtrack ever. They’re real big on history. You should check out Alexander the great next.
Where Eagles Dare Maiden on Piece of Mind is a master class on bass!
This isn't the only Samuel Coleridge poem adapted into an epic musical voyage by legendary musicians . Rush, 'Xanadu' - absolute monument of a song from their earlier days.
"To stand within the pleasure dome decreed by Kublai Khan..."
In fairness, you can probably skip Xanadu by the late Olivia Newton John.
Imo THE #1 Maiden song ever! 🤘🏻❤️💯
I truly enjoyed him cockily whiffing on guesses what to play next lol