Steve Harris Says He’d Change Only One Thing About Hated Maiden Album

Ultimate Classic Rock Staff Mon, August 3, 2026 at 2:36 PM UTC

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©Jim Dyson, Getty Images

Steve Harris defended Iron Maiden’s eighth album No Prayer for the Dying, which often appears at or near the bottom of ranking lists.

The 1990 release – which UCR filed as the worst to feature Bruce Dickinson – was heavily criticised for its rudimentary sound and rough-edged performances. It stood in stark contrast to their previous two records, Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

But in a new interview with Metal Hammer, Harris suggested that it wouldn’t take much to save their first record with guitarist Janick Gers in the band, and offered a piece of evidence to support his position.

READ MORE: 10 Most Epic Iron Maiden Songs

“I think it’s a really strong album,” he said. “At the time, we had gotten so big, with all the grandiose shows, that we were trying to go back to basics a little bit.”

He added that the idea came indirectly from bandmate Dickinson: “If I’m totally honest, I think it was slightly influenced by Bruce’s solo album, Tattooed Millionaire, where he was trying to get a bit more basic.

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“There are a couple of songs on there where he sings a bit rougher. I was thinking I could write something where he could sing with that gruff delivery as well.”

Why Did Iron Maiden Record ‘No Prayer’ in a Barn?

Explaining why No Prayer had been tracked in an outbuilding at his home, he said: “We were trying to make it sound like a live album [so] we got the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio in to record live in the barn.

“We probably should have put audience noise on it, because it would have sounded more like a proper live album – we did that with the Tailgunner video, and it made a big difference.”

Harris stated that he wasn’t too concerned what people thought of No Prayer – although he admitted: “If someone says they don’t like something, that makes me embrace it even more. You’ve got to believe in what you do, don’t you?”

Watch Iron Maiden’s ‘Tailgunner’ VIdeo

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”