https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZlDZPYzfm4 Maiden are a band who exist on their own island, content with their own pace and output that it's allowed them to build up a fanbase who respect them entirely for it - and to be honest we wouldn't want them any other way. When you're a band who just happen to get a few songs in the pantheon of metal's finest without even trying to aim for such a thing, it's a quality that will always keep them high above their nearest contemporaries in the field - but at least they know when to keep things within their comfort zone *cough* Lulu *cough*. Regardless of all of that, there's most likely many of you reading who would have put Number of the Beast or The Trooper in this spot, and although they would be very worthy replacements for Run to the Hills there's just no reaction at a Maiden live gig than that of when this brilliantly simple, yet superbly-effective progression kicks in. With some deft drumwork laying a perfect canvas for which the entire band can sync up all the strings in their arsenal to do some harmonised bends, the song instantly took on a life of its own. Hills is just one of those riffs that transcends time and genre, becoming eminently imitable yet very hard to nail just right - thanks to Maiden's superb bass tone underpinning the studio recording and commanding the millions worldwide when the band go continent-spotting.