Beyond the Embrace vocalist: Iron Maiden's genius is its musicianship
By SEAN McCARTHY, Standard-Times correspondent
For 23 years, British metal megalith Iron Maiden -- or just plain Maiden to the initiated -- has conquered concert halls.
While never needing to conquer the charts.
The group became Shawn Gallagher's favorite band when he first heard them at the age of 15. Today, Mr. Gallagher is the vocalist for the band Beyond the Embrace -- a national touring act based in New Bedford.
He's understandably psyched by the new Maiden CD, "Dance of Death," which will be released tomorrow.
"At the time, I was listening to mainstream rock like Skid Row and Def Leppard," Mr. Gallagher says of his introduction to his favorite band. "When I heard Maiden, I was drawn in completely. They drove me crazy right off the bat."
The element that set Maiden apart from other bands was their devotion to musicianship. The band's main trademarks are their dueling guitars and guitar harmonies.
"They would do guitar breaks for two minutes at a stretch," Mr. Gallagher says. "There was more of a band focus and that made them special. There was a lot of music without vocals but it was never too technical."
Mr. Gallagher points out that Maiden's sound was taken up a step from bands such as Thin Lizzy, Boston and Judas Priest. The group's span of influence is most obvious in the Swedish melodic metal movement of the 1990s.
Iron Maiden has influenced all of the members of Beyond the Embrace.
"People have called us Iron Maiden on steroids," Mr. Gallagher says.
Coincidentally, when Beyond the Embrace formed in 1990, Mr. Gallagher suggested a three-guitar approach. Their music was notable from the start. But later that year, Iron Maiden reunited with former guitarist Adrian Smith -- and decided to go on with their own three-guitar attack.
"It made the comparisons stronger," Mr. Gallagher says.
But Iron Maiden is almost as popular for its cover art than its music. Every album features an elaborate, eye-catching illustration by Derek Riggs based on a macabre skeleton creature known as "Eddie." Eddie is featured in a different fantasy setting on each album, including tomorrow's release. He has been set as a tail gunner, a pharaoh and a futuristic roadrunner."
"Iron Maiden gets a bad rap because people might think it's all about death and Satan and it's really not," Mr. Gallagher says. "They write about things such as medieval battles and action movies. They've even written about British television shows. It's not about killing your parents."
Lead Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson even has a degree in history.
Maiden once wrote a song about a Clint Eastwood movie, "Where Eagles Dare," a song Mr. Gallagher quickly played for his father -- it was his favorite movie.
But Mr. Gallagher mentions that fathers and sons were prevalent when Maiden played the Worcester Centrum last June.
"I saw 11- and 12-year-old kids with their fathers," he says.
"Iron Maiden should be respected for being around for 23 years," Mr. Gallagher points out. "They never sold out and traded in their fan base. They still have the energy, and huge levels of momentum night after night for two-and-a-half hours at a time.
"It's still about the musicianship."
This story appeared on Page B1 of The Standard-Times on September 8, 2003
Taken from [a href=\'http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-03/09-08-03/b01li003.htm\' target=\'_blank\']http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-03...03/b01li003.htm[/a]
By SEAN McCARTHY, Standard-Times correspondent
For 23 years, British metal megalith Iron Maiden -- or just plain Maiden to the initiated -- has conquered concert halls.
While never needing to conquer the charts.
The group became Shawn Gallagher's favorite band when he first heard them at the age of 15. Today, Mr. Gallagher is the vocalist for the band Beyond the Embrace -- a national touring act based in New Bedford.
He's understandably psyched by the new Maiden CD, "Dance of Death," which will be released tomorrow.
"At the time, I was listening to mainstream rock like Skid Row and Def Leppard," Mr. Gallagher says of his introduction to his favorite band. "When I heard Maiden, I was drawn in completely. They drove me crazy right off the bat."
The element that set Maiden apart from other bands was their devotion to musicianship. The band's main trademarks are their dueling guitars and guitar harmonies.
"They would do guitar breaks for two minutes at a stretch," Mr. Gallagher says. "There was more of a band focus and that made them special. There was a lot of music without vocals but it was never too technical."
Mr. Gallagher points out that Maiden's sound was taken up a step from bands such as Thin Lizzy, Boston and Judas Priest. The group's span of influence is most obvious in the Swedish melodic metal movement of the 1990s.
Iron Maiden has influenced all of the members of Beyond the Embrace.
"People have called us Iron Maiden on steroids," Mr. Gallagher says.
Coincidentally, when Beyond the Embrace formed in 1990, Mr. Gallagher suggested a three-guitar approach. Their music was notable from the start. But later that year, Iron Maiden reunited with former guitarist Adrian Smith -- and decided to go on with their own three-guitar attack.
"It made the comparisons stronger," Mr. Gallagher says.
But Iron Maiden is almost as popular for its cover art than its music. Every album features an elaborate, eye-catching illustration by Derek Riggs based on a macabre skeleton creature known as "Eddie." Eddie is featured in a different fantasy setting on each album, including tomorrow's release. He has been set as a tail gunner, a pharaoh and a futuristic roadrunner."
"Iron Maiden gets a bad rap because people might think it's all about death and Satan and it's really not," Mr. Gallagher says. "They write about things such as medieval battles and action movies. They've even written about British television shows. It's not about killing your parents."
Lead Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson even has a degree in history.
Maiden once wrote a song about a Clint Eastwood movie, "Where Eagles Dare," a song Mr. Gallagher quickly played for his father -- it was his favorite movie.
But Mr. Gallagher mentions that fathers and sons were prevalent when Maiden played the Worcester Centrum last June.
"I saw 11- and 12-year-old kids with their fathers," he says.
"Iron Maiden should be respected for being around for 23 years," Mr. Gallagher points out. "They never sold out and traded in their fan base. They still have the energy, and huge levels of momentum night after night for two-and-a-half hours at a time.
"It's still about the musicianship."
This story appeared on Page B1 of The Standard-Times on September 8, 2003
Taken from [a href=\'http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-03/09-08-03/b01li003.htm\' target=\'_blank\']http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-03...03/b01li003.htm[/a]