Guitar Hero: Iron Maiden

No, this isn't an official game or even a rumoured game.
It's a passion project of mine that I started back in 2010, a fictional Guitar Hero game centred around my favourite Metal band at the time. I'm aware this isn't the first fan-made game to bless the Internet but every now and then, I like to revisit the tracklist I assembled (occasionally changing it here and there) and enjoy some great tunes.
Since Iron Maiden aren't one for selling out in the same way Metallica or Van Halen have done and now that the Guitar Hero developers have activated the clean slate protocol on the entire franchise, it's unlikely we'll ever see anything resembling this in the slightest. There's no real reason for me to keep this alive other than personal reflection but since I'm quite proud of my setlist and believe it's probably as close as a real game's song selection would be (assuming licensing isn't too much of an issue), I've decided to share it here.

First though, a few small notes.
Each batch of songs is supposed to follow some kind of Career on Guitar, where the easier songs would come first and gradually get more challenging. Each group of Iron Maiden tracks are separated by "guest acts", which will make more sense when you see them. I tried to go for a selection of tunes/bands Iron Maiden have covered or artists that I think members of Iron Maiden either enjoy listening to/respect as musicians. I've also included my guesses for what the difficulty tier would be for each song on Guitar, if you're interested in that kind of thing. If any of you want to give me Bass, Drum and Vocal tiers too, go right ahead.
When I first made this list, I'd originally included venues and locations where you'd play each tracks ranging from The Rainbow Theatre to Rock In Rio, finally ending in a made up location set in the street seen on the first two Iron Maiden albums (which I dubbed Acacia Avenue). Sadly, I can't remember most of them and can't be bothered to research new ones so you'll have to come up with some yourself.
Instead of the standard single encore track for Iron Maiden sections, I've decided to put two encore songs that would be played consecutively to add an extra challenge. If you have any questions about this setlist or want to offer your own feedback regarding difficulty tiers, song choices or anything else, you can do so either in the comment section or via Twitter. Also, if you want to listen to these songs on Spotify then here's a playlist link for you. Right then, time to start posting these tracks!


"The Wicker Man" - Iron Maiden, 2000, Metal
Guitar Tier - 4/10
"Iron Maiden" - Iron Maiden, 1980, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10

"Doctor Doctor" - UFO, 1974, Hard Rock
Guitar Tier - 3/10
"The Zoo (Re-Record)" - Scorpions, 2011, Metal
Guitar Tier - 3/10
"Rosalie (Live)" - Thin Lizzy, 1978, Classic Rock
Guitar Tier - 4/10
"Seven Seas Of Rhye" - Queen, 1974, Classic Rock
Guitar Tier - 4/10
ENCORE
"Riding With The Angels" - Samson, 1981, Metal
Guitar Tier - 3/10

"Different World" - Iron Maiden, 2006, Metal
Guitar Tier - 4/10
"Running Free" - Iron Maiden, 1980, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Tailgunner" - Iron Maiden, 1990, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Fear Of The Dark" - Iron Maiden, 1992, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
ENCORE
"Satellite 15...The Final Frontier" - Iron Maiden, 2010, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Revelations" - Iron Maiden, 1983, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10

"Mother Goose" - Jethro Tull, 1971, Prog Rock
Guitar Tier - 4/10
"Bad Penny" - Rory Gallagher, 1979, Blues Rock
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Black Night" - Deep Purple, 1970, Hard Rock
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Blowin' Free" - Wishbone Ash, 1972, Classic Rock
Guitar Tier - 5/10
ENCORE
"A Farewell To Kings" - Rush, 1977, Prog Rock
Guitar Tier - 5/10

"The Evil That Men Do" - Iron Maiden, 1988, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Paschendale" - Iron Maiden, 2003, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Can I Play With Madness" - Iron Maiden, 1988, Metal
Guitar Tier - 5/10
"Wasted Years" - Iron Maiden, 1986, Metal
Guitar Tier - 6/10
ENCORE
"Wrathchild" - Iron Maiden, 1981, Metal
Guitar Tier - 6/10
"Speed Of Light" - Iron Maiden, 2015, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10

"Halo Of Flies" - Alice Cooper, 1971, Classic Rock
Guitar Tier - 6/10
"Dead Memories" - Slipknot, 2008, Metal
Guitar Tier - 6/10
"Kill Me (Ce Soir)" - Golden Earring, 1975, Rock
Guitar Tier - 7/10
ENCORE
"I Got The Fire" - Montrose, 1974, Hard Rock
Guitar Tier - 7/10

"Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter" - Iron Maiden, 1990, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10
"Futureal" - Iron Maiden, 1998, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10
"Out Of The Silent Planet" - Iron Maiden, 2000, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10
"Flight Of Icarus" - Iron Maiden, 1983, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10
ENCORE
"Man On The Edge" - Iron Maiden, 1995, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" - Iron Maiden, 1982, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10

"Starship Trooper" - Yes, 1971, Prog Rock
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Don't Talk To Strangers" - Dio, 1983, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10
"Under A Glass Moon" - Dream Theater, 1992, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10
ENCORE
"Pure Evil" - Iced Earth, 1991, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10

"For The Greater Good Of God" - Iron Maiden, 2006, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Dance Of Death" - Iron Maiden, 2003, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Caught Somewhere In Time" - Iron Maiden, 1986, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10
"Transylvania" - Iron Maiden, 1980, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10
ENCORE
"El Dorado" - Iron Maiden, 2010, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10
"The Number Of The Beast" - Iron Maiden, 1982, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10

FINAL CHALLENGE
(this entire group of tracks is designed to be played consecutively without any breaks to act as the "final boss" of the game)

"Aces High" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"2 Minutes To Midnight" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 6/10
"Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Flash Of The Blade" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 6/10
"The Duelists" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10
"Back In The Village" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Powerslave" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" - Iron Maiden, 1984, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10

BONUS TRACKS

"Charlotte The Harlot" - Iron Maiden, 1980, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Killers" - Iron Maiden, 1981, Metal
Guitar Tier - 9/10
"The Trooper" - Iron Maiden, 1983, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Phantom Of The Opera" - Iron Maiden, 1980, Metal
Guitar Tier - 7/10
ENCORE
"Heaven Can Wait" - Iron Maiden, 1986, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10
"Run To The Hills" - Iron Maiden, 1982, Metal
Guitar Tier - 8/10


I picked a selection of songs that I thought GH & Iron Maiden fans would want to play. I'll admit, the six-pack of "Iron Maiden Epics" that Rock Band released as DLC including "The Prisoner" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" influenced my decision, as I was going to include those but felt there was no need as they're not particularly significant tracks in the band's history and they've already been included in a music game.
Also, "The Trooper" and "2 Minutes To Midnight" would pretty much be identical charts to the versions that were on Smash Hits and GH5. I actually made a GH7 playlist that included "Phantom Of The Opera" so, assuming that were real, the chart would be the same too. As for "Wrathchild" and "The Number Of The Beast", those would be updated charts for a new engine instead of the GH:80s and GH3 charts. "The Number Of The Beast" would definitely be harder to play than in GH3.
Anyway, that's the end of Iron Maiden Month on this blog! I hope you've enjoyed the posts and weren't too bored by the lack of variety. Next week, I'll be back to posting other album reviews or opinions posts regarding bands that aren't Iron Maiden.