Friday, February 12, 2010

I-vi-vii

Iron Maiden have literally made a career out of this chord progression. Hallowed be Thy Name, Revelations (the beginning and end), Fear of the Dark, No More Lies (which, really, is just Fear of the Dark in E with Adrian Smith added to the line-up), Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Wicker Man (at the end) Wasted Years comes close, Phantom of the Opera does it in reverse during the "don't you stray" part... (and these are just the ones I know how to play)

And speaking of it in reverse, I-vii-vi is the chord progression used in "All Along the Watchtower" and the penultimate part of "Stairway to Heaven."

And speaking of Zeppelin, play "Immigrant Song" and "Flight of Icarus" back-to-back when you get a chance.

I love Maiden, I really do, because they are, despite this rant, master-class songwriters and anyone who doesn't believe me should learn some music theory and then listen to "Hallowed be Thy Name" again. But seriously, I don't think they've done an album since Number of the Beast where this progression didn't pop up.

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