Vs Tuesday: One Song! Two Bands! Who Wins? FIGHT! Iron Maiden

Written by guitarist Steve Harris for their 1982 album “The Number Of The Beast” and considered to be a signature song in the catalog of Iron Maiden, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and the album was the first to feature then new vocalist Bruce Dickinson and the last to feature drummer Clive Burr. Less so now, but at the time of it’s release nearly 37 years ago, it was surrounded with more than a little controversy. Firstly, the artwork from Derek Riggs who did all of the bands album covers for just over a decade, depicting the Devil as merely a puppet was frowned upon in the US. Secondly, the lyrics of the title track and their religious references were met with scorn in the Bible belt. But perhaps the biggest controversy, legally at least, was the use of some of the lyrics from 1973’s “Life’s Shadow” by Newcastle Hard Rockers Beckett. That was settled out of court as recently as May 2018. “The group’s lawyers had argued that Harris initially used the lyrics as a placeholder and did not have time to change them before the album’s release. A spokesperson for the band states that they settled out of court for pragmatic reasons and to avoid escalating legal fees“.

In the Red corner we have Ironchain who recorded their version of the Iron Maiden classic as a bonus track for their forthcoming 2020 debut EP which will pop via Finnish label Inverse Records and a highly anticipated drop it is too. In the Blue corner we’ve got the Thrashier take on the song from Oakland California’s Machine Head, which appeared on their classic “The Blackening“. Former bassist Adam Duce wasn’t invited back for the 25th Anniversary tour for “Burn My Eyes“, and the debate about how much of that was down to how those bridges got burned and how much due to the presence of his replacement and former Sanctity vocalist and guitarist Jared MacEachern rages on. Who wins? You decide!