Hallowed Be Thy Name (7:22)

Hallowed Be Thy Name is a song written by Steve Harris for the 1982 Iron Maiden album The Number of The Beast.

The song describes a man’s thoughts just before being sent to the gallows. He begins to feel terror and realizes he really is afraid of dying, despite claims that he’s not. At the end of the vocal section, the man gets executed; this is followed by a long instrumental section, culminating in his ambiguous final words, “Hallowed be thy name”.

Hallowed Be Thy Name begins with a slow tempo and builds up later in the song. Bruce Dickinson showcases his wide vocal range and power at both slow and fast tempo. This song is considered one of Iron Maiden’s classics, as well as a classic of heavy metal, and is a staple at live concerts. The song was ranked #7 in Martin Popoff’s The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time. The first guitar solo is played by Dave Murray, and the second by Adrian Smith. Since Smith left the band and was replaced by Janick Gers, Gers has played Smith’s solo, even after Smith returned to the band.

A few lyrics of this song were taken from the song Life’s Shadow by English progrock band Beckett. The same song, in particular the instrumental guitarsolo parts, was later also used for The Nomad from their album Brave New World.

The cover depicts Bruce Dickinson being impaled from behind by Eddie, in the form of Satan. The same idea of Eddie killing the departing vocalist had previously been used on the cover of the Venezuelan release of Maiden Japan (with him holding the severed head of Paul Di’Anno).