In September 1986, I was a senior in high school and among other pursuits was in heavy metal cover band. Having played drums for about a year, I had been jamming with my friends Jayson Carter and Chris Lee. The songs we played were by AC/DC, The Beastie Boys, and Van Halen along with metal bands like Judas Priest, Dokken, and Mötley Crüe. Lighter bands who would go on to be known as hair metal were mostly avoided, but we did eventually play some Cinderella in order to expand our potential set list. Throughout all of this, the one band we stayed away from trying to cover was a favorite for us all: Iron Maiden.
I distinctly recall that a local independent record store I frequented, Tech Records, sold me Iron Maiden’s new release in late September of 1986, “Somewhere in Time.” I made a tape of it to listen to on my mom’s car stereo and in my portable players. As I drove one night just after making the tape to practice at Jayson’s house, I listened to it and marveled at the songs, the band’s sound, and the soaring vocals of Bruce Dickinson, the band’s lead singer since 1982.
I remember being immediately struck by the sound of introductory track “Caught Somewhere in Time,” as they had u...