10 Hidden Details You Never Noticed In Iron Maiden Songs
4. "The Wicker Man" Has Almost Nothing To Do With The Wicker Man
This is a great entry for movie buffs, whom Iron Maiden very regularly satisfy with their many, many film-based tracks. The song "The Number of the Beast", for example, was inspired by a nightmare Steve Harris had after watching Damien: Omen II (1978), while motion pictures like Apocalypse Now (1979), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), The Seventh Seal (1957), Quest for Fire (1981) and Forbidden Planet (1956) have been tackled more head-on by the group over the years.
Arguably Maiden's loosest translation from screen to metal, however, has to be their take on the British horror classic The Wicker Man (1973), which stars the late, great Christopher Lee in what he himself considered to be the best film he had ever worked on.
While "The Wicker Man" is one of the best Maiden songs to have come out since the return of Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band in 1999, it actually has very little in common with its source material, outside of the single's cover artwork, the music video and a handful of the lyrics.
According to interviews, it seems that the band's intent with "The Wicker Man" was to craft a song that would translate very well to a live setting, which it would go on to do perfectly thanks to its gorgeous melodies and passionate vocals, both of which were lacking in waves during Maiden's derided Blaze Bayley era. (But Blaze Bayley's solo albums are actually absolutely phenomenal. Listen to them instead.)
This want to craft an amazing comeback song was clearly prioritised over sticking to The Wicker Man as a text. The song's lyrics are actually very loose, dealing more with entering into a world of the paranormal and mysticism, where science and logic are totally lost. And while that connects to The Wicker Man somewhat, it really isn't as faithful as other tracks like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or "To Tame a Land" (which was based on the novel Dune by Frank Herbert).
However, "The Wicker Man" still rocks! If you're ever lucky enough to have Maiden bust this track out on you at a live show, prepare for a world of undeniable fun.