Revelations (Iron Maiden song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Revelations" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Iron Maiden
from the album Piece of Mind |
|||||
| Genre | Heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 6:48 | ||||
| Piece of Mind track listing | |||||
|
|||||
"Revelations" is the second track from Iron Maiden's fourth studio album Piece of Mind. It is one of the few Maiden songs written solely by Bruce Dickinson. The song is a fan favorite and is frequently performed live.
On earlier live performances of the song, Dickinson played rhythm guitar on one section that required a dual lead performed by Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. In more recent performances such as Eddie Rips Up The World Tour and Somewhere Back In Time World Tour, the rhythm guitar section was performed by Janick Gers, giving Dickinson more freedom around the stage.
A faster version of the song is included in the Live After Death album, which contains many differences with the studio recording.
[edit] Influences
The lyrics are based partly on a book by Aleister Crowley, but this is also juxtaposed with a verse taken from a hymn by G. K. Chesterton[1], which forms the first verse of the song:
- O God of earth and altar,
- Bow down and hear our cry,
- Our earthly rulers falter,
- Our people drift and die;
- The walls of gold entomb us,
- The swords of scorn divide,
- Take not thy thunder from us,
- But take away our pride.
[edit] Cover versions
- The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens recorded a cover of the song on their 2007 [Extended play|EP]] Route 666.
- American progrock band Heart of Cygnus recorded a cover version as a bonus track for the limited edition of their second album Over Mountain, Under Hill in 2009.
