Let's put it this way. Classic heavy metal really does revolve around dark themes, and obviously a lot of that has to do with death, the afterlife and so on. But the interpretations offered in that post are really ludicrous. I have to put my mind off some things right now, so for the heck of it, I'll comment on all of those... and I hope the person who wrote this article is reading this. So when I say "you", that's who I mean.
“Prowler”
This is about stalking and flashing a woman, then (probably) killing her. If you google “flasher linked to murder” you do get several results.
This song is obviously about a stalker, but there is no reference to killing anybody in it. Putting a "probably" in parentheses there doesn't change anything about that.
A song written for Paul Di’Anno’s grandfather about being dead.
It's about the memory of Paul's grandfather. People die even without murder. A startling revelation, I know.
“Pulled her at the bottle top / Whiskey dancing disco hop / And all the boys are after me / And that’s the way it’s gonna be.” Getting away with killing a stripper.
That... is the oddest interpretation I have ever heard. I can't see any reference to killing in those lines.
A tribute to a disfigured maniac who lives under an opera house, where he tortures and kills people.
Lots of heavy metal bands write songs about horror stories. That doesn't prove anything. Reading the novel helps, too: It's a dark love story, and if there is murder and torture, it is not the focal point. Although Maiden do make it that way, admittedly. So, if you
must, that's one out of forty-seven.
Instrumental about a city where vampires kill people.
Horror story again, yes. Transylvania isn't a city, but that's not the point. No lyrics.
“Happy in a new strange world” with “girls drinking plasma wine.” This is probably Hades, which means you’re dead.
Again, people die without murder. This time, the "probably" is without parentheses, but that does not prove anything either. Those lyrics can really mean anything. In my opinion, the song is about escapism, which has more to do with drug abuse than murder or hell.
This is about running from the law after witnessing a murder.
Good spot. Two out of forty-seven.
Prostitutes are often the targets of homicidal maniacs. Though this one makes it through this song, she eventually goes to hell in the 1992 track “From Here To Eternity.”
That interpretation is so forced it's ridiculous. The song is not about murder, it's about prostitution. Look them up, two different things. I could write a song about insurance brokers. I bet there's a lot of them getting killed too.
A guide to luring a person to your house so you can kill them. Key lyric: “Iron Maiden wants you dead.”
I don't know what kind of guides this person reads, but this is just another horror story made to sound cool. Though technically, you could count it, that makes three out of forty-seven.
With
Killers, things are admittedly a bit different. There is indeed a lot of reference to homicide on that album. Still, a lot of interpretations are dead wrong, in my opinion:
“The Ides of March”
An instrumental referring Caesar getting betrayed and murdered.
Good spot. Four out of forty-seven.
“Wrathchild”
All about an unwanted child who’s looking for his father who he’s never met and is going to kill. Hey, that’s the plot to “Boy Named Sue” too!
Got that right up to "and is going to kill". Where the hell does it say that in the song?
“Murders In the Rue Morgue”
Do I have to draw you a roadmap?
No, but you could at least note the fact that this is based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most famous authors of horror stories ever. I wonder what you would say if you read through his writings. Anyway, five out of forty-seven.
“Another Life”
A guy contemplating suicide on an album called Killers.
I don't know what the second part of the sentence is supposed to tell me, but there is of course no false statement in there. I'll give you six out of forty-seven, but we really need to talk about the extent of that "murder definition" thing.
“Genghis Khan”
Another instrumental, this one about a military leader who is famous for killing people by the thousands.
I wonder what you would have said had they used the original title, which was Jenkin's Barn. I'm not going to give you this one, because there is no clear evidence whether they wanted to refer to Genghis Khan's slaying of people or simply evoke the idea of conquering Mongol hordes... I doubt the killing was meant to be the focal point. I admit that I may be wrong, though.
“Innocent Exile”
So this is about a man wrongfully accused of a crime, but the crime is murder, of course.
Another borderline, but I'm in a generous mood, so I'll grant you seven out of forty-seven.
“Killers”
Guess what this is about?
This is the only song where I would admit that you have a case. Eight out of forty-seven.
“Twilight Zone”
A guy is stuck in purgatory and debates killing his girlfriend so they can hang out.
There is absolutely no reference to him debating killing his girlfriend. He does say he can't wait till she is with him, but that says more about his craving and loneliness, which is what the song is trying to tell you about - if you would listen. Besides, how should he kill her anyway?
“Prodigal Son”
Whenever you ask for help from someone who murders innocent kids, you have likely done a shitload of killing on your own.
A major stretch. There really is a lot of other meaning that could be read into the Lamia reference.
“Purgatory”
Where you go when you die, probably after being murdered.
Or after clutching at straws by reading your favourite meaning into anything and everything. It would help reading the lyrics to this one, actually.
You missed
Drifter. I guess you couldn't make anything up for that one.
So we've gone through two albums with a total of 20 songs, although you missed one. We have eight songs which I would interpret being about murder. Looks like you're pretty wrong so far. But all is not lost, there's three more to go.
“Invaders”
What happens when Vikings invade your shit? People die—a lot of them.
True. If we must, nine out of forty-seven.
“Children of the Damned”
Guess how it plays out when six kids are born with psychic powers and they aren’t the X-Men? They get killed.
I really wonder what agenda you are following. True, the song talks about the death of the last of the children, but you may just want to ponder about the lyrics a bit and maybe watch the film the song is based on, which is a classic. I'm not giving you this one, because you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.
“The Prisoner”
Based on a television show about a former secret agent who has probably killed people.
I'm reviewing the writing of somebody who has probably killed people. Your "probably" doesn't sound very convincing anymore, does it?
“22, Acacia Avenue”
We check in with Charlotte again, she’s still fucking mad dudes and giving them diseases. There’s a solid chance some die.
Somebody dying from disease does not qualify for murder, and we've covered this already.
“The Number of the Beast”
Ritual killings in the woods.
Where?
“Run to the Hills”
Cowboys killed a shitload of Native Americans.
I guess this one could count. Ten out of forty-seven.
“Gangland”
“Dead men tell no tales/ In Gangland murder’s up for sale.”
Eleven out of forty-seven. It is a crap song, too.
“Total Eclipse”
Guess what happens when the world ends? Everyone dies.
Doesn't make it murder, you muppet.
“Hallowed Be Thy Name”
A man reflecting before he’s hanged.
Yup. But the reflections are the focal point, not the hanging. That's like saying Camus'
L'etranger is about killing Arabs - missing the point by light years. I'm not giving this one to you because I hate you.
“Where Eagles Dare”
Based on a novel about spies, World War II, Nazis, and other stuff related to killing. Also includes a suicide.
Jesus H, you really are clutching at straws here. What the song is about is an Allied commando during the Second World War - it is primarily an adventure story, not a murder manual.
“Revelations”
Inspired by the writings of Aleister Crowley, featuring venom, black abysses, and serpents.
And who's being murdered here?
“Flight of Icarus”
Based on that Greek myth you probably learned about in grade school where a dude flies too high, then catches on fire and falls to the ocean and dies.
Exactly, it's one of the most famous myths in western civilisation. No murder here, although somebody dies.
I'm going to ask you something here: How many stories do you know that have been passed on for centuries that do not have any deaths in them? For the fun of it, let's just take the ancient Greek ones. The Heraclean tasks include the killing of Geryones and his dogs and the sacrificial murder of people that Heracles ends by killing the Egyptian priests. And it's actually a pretty bloodless myth. Theseus does a lot more killing in his tasks. After he comes home from killing a bullheaded monster that used to devour youths, his own father jumps to his death from the Acropolis - and that's only the most famous part of it. The Icarus myth is also part of the same cycle. You may want to sit down for the Trojan War, because it is about a ten year siege which has the death of three great heroes as its dramatic high point. And the city gets completely razed in the end. Odysseus does a lot of killing before he, now hold your breath, goes down to Hades himself to get advice on how to get home - where the first thing he does is shoot twenty guys with arrows. As for Perseus, his entire myth is about killing Medusa. Oedipus kills his own father. Jason and the Argonauts also do plenty of killing. Just read these stories up - I'm sure you'll hate yourself afterwards, because these are some of the very pillars of our cultural history.
“Die With Your Boots On”
Bruce mentions almost every type of bad thing that could happen ever, including starvation and earthquakes.
And you might want to consider the message of the song, which tells about "prophets of disaster" and how you just should not listen to them.
“The Trooper”
Charging heavily armed Russian soldiers who are ready for your attack is a bad look but a great topic.
I could make a point here about how the Charge of the Light Brigade is one of the most famous single events in British history and how Lord Tennyson's poem is one of the most-cited pieces of 19th century British literature, but yes, the song is about a British soldier getting shot, so I guess I could give you twelve out of forty-seven.
“Still Life”
Don’t let the word “life” fool you, this shit is about drowning.
No it's not, it is about obsession that could possibly, but not inevitably, have fatal results.
“Quest For Fire”
Cavemen vs. dinosaurs. Doesn’t end well for anyone, really.
Read the lyrics or the book or watch the film. Maybe then you'll get an idea what it is about.
“Sun and Steel”
An ode to a dead samurai.
Everyone who lived in the 16th century is dead now.
“To Tame a Land”
You don’t rule Dune without a lot of casualties.
Again, with this line of argument, virtually every story that is told is about death and killing. Only Shakespeare's most light-hearted comedies have nobody dying in them for real, and still have a lot of soldiers and death references in them. So if you go up to that level, you are right, most of Maiden's songs have death references in them, but they are in no single way disproportionately many. I really do dare you to come up with five famous stories everybody knows that don't have anyone dying in them.
“Aces High”
A great pilot flies around and kills people.
True. Since I gave you one on
The Trooper, I'll give you one here in order to be fair. Nevertheless, by that line of judgement, every history book is about killing. Thirteen out of forty-seven.
“2 Minutes to Midnight”
Tick tock goes the doomsday clock. When it strikes midnight everyone dies.
You must really hate reading the newspapers, too.
“Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)”
A weak instrumental with little to no killing, and the band doesn’t even like it. ‘orrible song without killing.
If I could roll my eyes at that statement as hard as I wanted to, they would fall out of their sockets.
“Flash of the Blade”
A song about a swordsman that was also used in the film Phenomena about a girl who can talk to insects and solve murders, but the killings already happened, so she’s not preventing them.
We could again debate about how far that "murder definition" thingy goes, but just because I want you to win, I'll give you fourteen out of forty-seven.
“The Duelists”
You know what happens when someone challenges you to a duel? One of you dies.
Fifteen out of forty-seven, and I've never liked this song anyway.
“Back In the Village”
The sequel to “The Prisoner,” which mentions bombs, burning, killers, and killing.
Those are quite aggressive lyrics indeed, but I don't really see how this is about murder.
“Powerslave”
Egyptians were super good at killing and also preserving dead people.
Is there any ancient civilisation that can win here against you? I wonder how high your self-esteem must be if you put yourself above what is no less than one of the most widely admired cultures in world history.
“Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
More than 13 minutes detailing nautical killing.
You don't read very much, do you? In this case, Iron Maiden have been lauded as bringing one of the most famous poems ever written in the English language to the world of heavy metal music.
In conclusion: We have fifteen out of forty-seven songs that I could accept as being about murder. But this survey has brought something very different to light. True, Iron Maiden certainly focus on fairly dark topics in their lyrics. There is a lot of killing going on perhaps, but I will tell you something: That's what happens with every respectable artist. Your wide interpretation of songs about killing include everything from anti-war songs to songs written about science fiction novels and canonical poetry. If those are your standards, I have to ask, what should they write about? Maiden prefer story-telling lyrics, and they based a lot of them on famous stories told for ages, coming from history, mythology and literature. And unfortunately for you, almost every single great story ever told has killing and deaths in it. Other people sift through Maiden's lyrics and are impressed that they have Coleridge, Poe and Shakespeare in them.
It is true that their early output has got a heavy edge on the horror story/serial killer thing, but back then they also wanted to shock and provoke. They were youths, and many youths at that age like to watch horror movies and play violent games. Back in the seventies they hit each other with sticks, now they play video games where they can go on shooting sprees through city streets. By those standards, Maiden's early lyrics are actually very sophisticated and intelligent.
I wonder what your favourite movies and books (although from the impression I got from your post, you don't read very much) are. Just name ten of then, and try to come up with the body count. But remember, use the same standards as you did on the Maiden lyrics. Which means that if you like
Ghostbusters, you need to count every ghost appearing in the film.
I guess the question at the core is, what do you want them to write lyrics about? Do you want them to write stupid, average love and party songs? You must, because everything else is out of the question by your standards. And in that case, you really need to re-evaluate your sense of reality.
--I'll read the above gigantic threads in a second...]
