Steve Harris Says He’d Only Change One Thing About Hated Maiden Album

Steve Harris defended Iron Maiden’s eighth album No Prayer for the Dying, which often appears at or near the bottom of ranking lists.

The 1990 release – which UCR filed as the worst to feature Bruce Dickinson – was heavily criticised for its rudimentary sound and rough-edged performances. It stood in stark contrast to their previous two records, Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

But in a new interview with Metal Hammer, Harris suggested that it wouldn't take much to save their first record with guitarist Janick Gers in the band, and offered a piece of evidence to support his position.

READ MORE: 10 Most Epic Iron Maiden Songs

“I think it’s a really strong album,” he said. “At the time, we had gotten so big, with all the grandiose shows, that we were trying to go back to basics a little bit.”

He added that the idea came indirectly from bandmate Dickinson: “If I'm totally honest, I think it was slightly influenced by Bruce’s solo album, Tattooed Millionaire, where he was trying to get a bit more basic.

“There are a couple of songs on there where he sings a bit rougher. I was thinking I could write something where he could sing with that gruff delivery as well.”

Why Did Iron Maiden Record ‘No Prayer’ in a Barn?

Explaining why No Prayer had been tracked in an outbuilding at his home, he said: “We were trying to make it sound like a live album [so] we got the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio in to record live in the barn.

“We probably should have put audience noise on it, because it would have sounded more like a proper live album – we did that with the Tailgunner video, and it made a big difference.”

Harris stated that he wasn’t too concerned what people thought of No Prayer – although he admitted: “If someone says they don’t like something, that makes me embrace it even more. You’ve got to believe in what you do, don’t you?”

Watch Iron Maiden’s ‘Tailgunner’ VIdeo