Did anyone notice that the intro of this song is kind of similar to Judas Priest's Night Crawler ? I mean the guitar melodies sounds pretty close to my ears. Both Painkiller and No Prayer for the Dying released in 1990 so I think that's a coincidence rather than inspiration.
This song has nothing to do with Dive! Dive! Dive!, or Captain Pugwash as was stated in the first post in this thread. It is based on the movie of the same name, and the lyrics were originally on a song Bruce wrote for "Somewhere In Time" that didn't make the album. I really love this song a lot, and Bruce's harsher vocal style suits the subject matter here perfectly. I love Janick's solo in this one, and the melody after the solos actually has a sea shanty vibe about it rhythmically. I dunno why people are complaining about the bit at the end where Bruce sings over the clean guitar. To me, it sounds very eerie and is a perfect ending to the song. Almost like the victims of the sea are being sung to in a ghostly fashion. Awesome song.
I believe that the film Run Silent Run Deep may have influenced both the song Dive! Dive! Dive! and this one. More in my post with the film posters on the previous page.
Well, Bruce said in an interview that both songs had similar influences, it's just that Run Silent, Run Deep was a far more serious song. Whereas the influences were used far more loosely for Dive! Dive! Dive! for comedic effect. I still have the magazine where Bruce gives a track by track guide to No Prayer.