Classical Composer Reacts to Hell On Earth (Iron Maiden) | The Daily Doug (Episode 227) 

I love the sorta growl Bruce sings on “anger” in the “love in anger” line.

Love in anger. Life in danger. When that line is sung, it's so powerful.

Iron Maiden of today is made to be appreciated by musicians like yourself. Really shows the maturity of their game nowadays !

This is probably the greatest Iron Maiden song ever. I grew up in the '80s and am obsessed with the first seven albums but this song really shows how much they've still got it and have actually progressed beyond their classic era. No other band has ever stayed around so long and kept evolving and improving in quality. Iron Maiden are the best band in the world, ever. Good on you for highlighting this amazing band.

Iron maiden has carried me through my life graduation, enlisting in the Army going to war, coming home from war trying to understand what the world has become, growing older. This is pure Gold.

The Parchment needs to be the next song you hear from Senjutsu!

Doug figured out that the best way for him to keep his subscribers is to do Iron Maiden reactions. After all, that's literally how he grew his subscriber base.

I've been a Maiden fan for 4 decades, and I love their earlier metal sound, but I also love prog. This is a slight move to blend the two, and I applaud their transition to more complex layered music to complement their always complex lyrics. Up the Irons. Keep 'em coming Doug.

The Parchment is a masterpiece as well mate. up the irons. PS personal question to your Doug... would you go and see Maiden on the new World Tour?

This whole album was written and produced in 2019. This song is almost like they predicted the corona pandemic before it even happened.

Doug, the solos are: 9:21 Dave Murray 9:38 Adrian Smith 11:50 Janick Gers *EDIT* You can hear them isolated the whole song. From start to finish Adrian (left ear) Janick (middle) Dave (right ear)

I was listening to this today on a break from studies hours before a test; I was rocking out to it and for some reason the melodies made me tearful and you put out this video now! Your analysis and comments make me love the song more and will surely enjoy it a lot more. Thank you Doug.

The Parchment is mandatory 🤘🏽🤘🏽

I been crying during this song thinking of my dead brother and what he would have said about this song and album I can’t stop crying thank u for this need to cry

Doug - about the guitarists and their individual sounds: Adrian Smith tends to build his solos from very structured patterns & licks put together with well-defined phrasing. His solos are performed almost always through his bridge pickup, giving them a distinctly thinner yet more harmonic sound that cuts through the mix without a level boost. His solos are always meticulously planned, so the Adrian solo you hear on the album will be the same Adrian solo you hear live. He comes up with the best riffs, too, which usually have the most rocking feel to them. Dave Murray’s solos are usually have a very flowing, legato feel to them punctuated by long ascending & descending runs of trills & bends. He performs most of his solos through the neck-position pickup, giving them a fuller, robust voice. When he really attacks his solos, they really command your attention. He is the most spontaneous of the three - when you see them live, you will hear key features of the solos he put down on vinyl, surrounded by nicely-fit bits of what he’s feeling at the moment. Janick’s solos tend to ride right between Adrian & Dave’s in terms of structure & sound, although Janick tends to include more rapid-fire staccato-picked scales in his solos than either Adrian or Dave. When you hear a guitar mirroring & filling out Bruce’s vocal melody line, it is Janick. Like Dave, Janick is very spontaneous live - you might hear a completely different solo from him on stage vs album, key highlights noteithstanding. Hope this helps!

UP THE IRONS!!! Great album all the way through.

Now I need Doug's full Hell on Earth Piano cover!

The way I identify the guitar players. Might not be totally accurate, but this is how I perceive them: Davey - full sound. Like bubbles. It’s super fast and precise. Run to the hills is his solo. Adrian - has more of a twang to his sound. And the notes are very precisely picked. Nothing is aggressive, or particularly fast; everything seems to float. The wicker man Janick- the sound is more like a pan flutey type. Very fast, but a bit muddy. The muddier sólo in fear of the dark. Again, this is how I hear it. So it’s probably not as helpful. Also, I love all of their styles, so any words I picked that might be misinterpreted, don’t. I really love this band and these three guys are my heroes.

It's an absolute honour and privilege to be a fan of this band. 💙

Finally! The reaction that I wanted from this album! An absolutely stellar masterpiece. Honestly, it’s one of my favourite Maiden songs of all time, and I don’t know how that’s even possible. Even songs I liked but didn’t love eventually grow on me, but I loved this one the very first time. It’s so dynamic and passionate, you’ve got the newer sound of the band, but you’ve still got the old-school gallop. I love these long songs that Maiden writes. It’s a complete journey listening to them. Songs like this are as epic as their entire career. You gotta do The Parchment next! I can’t wait to be in an arena singing along with the entire crowd in this one!

Everyday since the album was released I have been waiting for this review. Glad it finally came.

An amazing reaction as usual. Im sure you would enjoy The Parchment just as much if not more! Thank you for great content. All the best from Sweden!

Time Machine, Darkest Hour, Death of the Celts and The Parchment are all incredible, w/ interesting time changes etc. The whole album is amazing.. hard to pick just one song...

I had to go back about 10 times and listen to Bruce growl at 11:11. After listening to Maiden for 40 years that stood out to me.

Adrian Smith's solos will always be f...g perfect... as always

You're joking, was hoping to find the Hell On Earth reaction tonight, 10 mins later you upload it, Doug! Love your reviews, keep it up!

You rock dude. Hell on earth meant the world to me Losing my mum that was my hell on earth. Music is one ❤

Never have 12 minutes felt like 4 again!

It doesn’t surprise me that this song flew to the top of the poll for your reaction video, even the Iron Maiden Facebook page shared the video today and captioned it something like “you guys really seem to like this one don’t you”. It’s a phenomenal masterpiece! As for the guitar players and solos, they’re played in the following order: Dave Murray and Adrian Smith (middle solo section), Janick Gers (solo during breakdown at end). The defining characteristics I’d say are: Dave Murray - Neck pickup warm sounding tone, a lot of fast legato licks, very fluid playing. Adrian Smith - Usually bridge pickup for a sharper tone, alternative picked scales, bluesy sounding licks to his solos, can be a bit experimental to bring new material to the band but nothing too crazy. Can definitely hear how he brings new things to the band if you listen to each album in order. Janice Gers - Shredder, power player, repetitive licks (you can easily pick them out once you’ve heard them) goes for speed. He gets a lot of bad rep for his solo style as he’s said in interviews before “you can never play the same thing twice so you may as well improvise it live” which is a shame as a lot of his studio solos are really good, but he has butchered them in the past. His solos on Senjitsu have impressed me though! Hope this helps.

I love this song, its impact is epic. Thanks for pulling out so much more meaning from it

I have listen to this song over fifty times now and still it overwhelms with emotion and and brings me to tears.

Another outstanding Maiden reaction from Doug. At first I wasn't too bothered about this song, i had given it a cursory listen but I hadn't really given it my attention. It wasn't until I heard Bruce barking out 'LOVE IN ANGER' that I sat up and took notice; I was a convert. This album, like Book of Souls, has some spectacular tracks and I have to say that my top three so far are Senjutsu, Hell on Earth and Darkest Hour. I can't wait to see what the boys do next!

Nicko with the galloping drumming really adds so much the style of this song. The entirety of this song is a masterpiece. Intro, lyrics, drumming, solos, ending. I really hope they end their concert with this one.

Awesome reaction :) The Parchment would also be nice, its another epic with deep lyrics and theme

Man, I'd love to just hear you improvise on the piano to a full Iron Maiden song.

This one is probalbly my fav of the entire album. Good comments, Doug. Keep it going!

When Bruce sings the word "anger" he really fucking means it, absolutely awesome vocals. And to all the keyboard warriors criticising his vocals, go through what he did and see how good you sound, twats.

Can't believe you focused on the stabs during Adrian's Beautiful lead break. It's the most stunning use of timing and musicality. One of the best lead breaks on the album.

Doug you must be a great musician. Love the the fact a classical composer can appreciate music like this. Always loved Maiden. Like you said they have something to say and learn from their music. Keep up the great work

When it somes to solos, all 3 guitarists have very different style and sound. Dave has probably most fluent, bluesy and round sound with a lot of vibrato, Adrian has usually more sharp, agressive sound with a lot more single notes flying around and Janick is very trashy, dynamic and "dirty" in sound - with a big tendency to improvise on stage which sometimes works great, and sometimes not so much :) After some time you can easily recognize who is playing where as they are quite loyal to how they sound over the years.

I love you enjoyed lyrics . Another song you should check that has strong lyrics and is reflection of current times is song When the wild wind blows. Much love for the reaction

Death of the Celts and Darkest Hour from the same album have some of the best leads and solo-ing I’ve heard in ages

Please God, let this not be the last album this monumental group of people produce. 🙏

#UPTHEIRONS this album is a masterpiece. the intro gives the song room to breathe, it is not rushed. I would love to hear you do Remember Tomorrow.

Simply a great dissection of a Epic song. I actually listened to it for the first time with your vid!! I have the album, but haven't listened to the 2nd disc yet. Wow, what a great song, very complex. You have a new sub! Thanks Cheers and Up the Irons! Maiden follower since 1982!!!

I’ve said it on the fc forum that Adrian’s solo on The Darkest Hour is the best I’ve heard in a long time. Hell on Earth is my favorite.

You add in piano is the most unique reaction video love it

I hope you check out SAVATAGE some day 😬. Perhaps Gutter Ballet or When The Crowds Are Gone. Or Chance.

It’s great how you can play along on first play. Great reaction.

Epic song, commenting before watchingg!! #UPTHEIRONS

The beginning of this piece is one of those headspace pieces that I just get lost inside of. I love it when they go to those places.

If you go back and listen to When the Wild Blows you hear a lot of similarities.

Great review! The Parchment is my favorite, I'd like to see you make a video of that one.

This album is a grower, but this my favorite song on it by an enormous margin. Different people have different opinions, but of the 4 longer Steve Harris songs, this is the one that works best for me. To repeat what Up_In_The_Air said, you can learn to recognize the soloists by their style. Janick tends to have a raw, dirty sound and his solos feature hundreds of notes clumped into a tiny space. Dave's guitar usually has a cleaner "spacey" sound, and his solos feature a lot of fast and clean legato runs with a bluesy feel. Adrian also has a bluesy feel, but he tends to be more of a "storyteller," and his solos are emotional, with a lot of single notes, bends, and slides punctuated with bursts of rapid notes. I'd say Adrian is my favorite, as he usually seems to be saying something significant.

Yes yes yes! I really wanted you to hear this one

Great analysis , Doug! Parchment is also outstanding! The main riff is very interesting.

This is my favourite from the album! I'm so glad you did this video! Thanks Doug!

The solos are like this: Solo 1 - DAVE / Solo 2 - ADRIAN / Solo 3 - JANICK And as a general rule: Adrian is the bluesy one, he tends to bend a lot. Dave plays fast and very tight and uses legato a lot. Janick plays also fast, but he is more aggressive and uses the whammy a lot

This will likely be the very last Iron Maiden song produced. Thank you for reviewing it!

The parchment is my favorite song on the album.

Finally, been eagerly awaiting this in the UK.

Next: The Parchment

I am really glad this video is back 🤘👍❤️

That improv over the track was a nice touch

Outstanding lyrics, outstanding song!!!

And with a bittersweet sadness in his voice he said: "think that's how it's gonna end."

Highly recommend the Parchment

Your absolutely right that opening is hypnotic then 😵‍💫🥊 , we are off and running superb from start to finish.

I love your review on this! Thank you!

I really get happy when there's a new Doug's video. You are the best man, your reactions have the perfect balance between technical analysis and music lover. Best regards from Brazil.

This album was an awkward first couple of listens. After much further review I find this album to be incredible! Gets better with each listen. Up the Irons!!!

Great reaction Doug. I love your view and dive into Maiden, especially the new album. Looking forward to you getting into Death of the Celts.

Simply the best

this is one helluva song, makes me emotional

Solos of the amigos: Dave Murry plays a lot of hammer-ons and he can noodle around a bit but really well. Adrian Smith is the most organized and tasty. If it's a solo that sounds like someone put time and thought into it, that's Adrian. He does zero noodling. Janick Gers exclusively noodles. He's unpredictable and sounds a bit drunk with his solos at times. All three amigos are great guitarists but for my money Adrian is tops!! Good one Doug! My favorite tune on the album and I thought if that was the last for them it is really fitting, like you mentioned.

Well said Doug! I have been saying that for 39 years ! Up The Irons🤘😎🤘

Best album since Somewhere in time I said that about book of souls this I believe is an companion peace to book of souls

There's not too many reactions I rewatch, but this one is definitely worth it.

Maiden fans are VERY emotionally attached to this song because they feel like it will be their "career ender", as this could be their last album ever.

what a great reaction king!!!! you should react to THE PARCHMENT from the same album,it's a masterpiece!!!!

beautiful doug! loves from Argentina!

by chance, RU-vid has recommended your video to me! I'm very happy, it's my favorite song from the new album! Thank you very much for this! 🤘🔥

Lost in a Lost World is a good song that doesn't deserve enough attention to me. Even if you aren't going to react to this one, it's worth it a listen

Great insights on a number of topics. That's really is what Maiden is about...stirring insights.

You always talk right over the most interesting parts.

This album was such a welcome surprise when it was released. While the lyrics are poignant to our current situation, it was really amazing foreshadowing as the recordings were done in 2019. I too hope Iron Maiden continue to write and release new music. Despite being in their 60's, they still have something to say and they say it well. I can't wait to hear this song live. Steve's bass tech plays the keyboard parts live. Since Steve doesn't change his bass very often, his tech has the free time.

Damn awesome song… the album is great !!! Do The Parchment next Doug… no really … do the whole album ! Great vid good sir

I love this song and watching this makes me love it even more. I thought the same thing; if this is Maiden’s last song it’d be a fitting coda tp an amazing legacy. Thanks Doug!

Check the live version of The Red And the Black, from their previous album: The Book of Souls. A lot of melodies around the guitars, i think you gonna like.

Definetely my favourite ... Amazing song!

Great work Doug. Please do “The Parchment” next

Great review Doug. Thanks

Wow, I just instantly fell in love with that song. The first part is good enough, but the chorus! Damn!

Listening to you play along to Iron Maiden makes me wish they had piano in the first place.

Great reaction as always Doug. I hope Maiden see this and invite you to play keyboard for a show! Up the Irons

It would be super cool if one of the guys in Maiden would do a short interview with Doug.

Thank you very much for your original and interesting point of view and musical analysis in these videos... 👍🏼

Powerslave next pls

Love how you were feeling the music so much that you were just noodling around on the piano. Sounded great sir! Love these videos of yours. Up the Irons 🤘

Your accompaniment on the keyboards was actually awesome ! I'd love to hear more !