Today I am going to examine the first solo album by Steve Harris. If you're not familiar with Harris, he is the longtime bassist and principle songwriter of the legendary Iron Maiden. Apparently Harris had been working with a young band called British Lion in the early 1990's, but they ended up breaking up and going nowhere, but he remained in contact with vocalist Richard Taylor and guitarist Grahame Leslie. They wrote songs together, but since Harris' work with Iron Maiden consumed most of his time (as it should), it took years to complete this album.
If you are looking for Iron Maiden-lite with this release, you will be disappointed. However, if you are looking for a talented musician trying his hand at something different, then you may be pleased. Harris departs from the power/progressive metal of Maiden to a more alt-metal hybrid . . . which is rather cool.
While Richard Taylor will never be confused with Bruce Dickinson, he does a pretty solid job here. It is no surprise that the songwriting and musicianship are incredible, but again, the vocals may be the weak point on the album.
The standout tracks on this album are Karma Killer, A World Without Heaven, and The Lesson. I would give this album a solid B, but since Steve Harris is one of my heroes, I will bump him to a B+.
For your listening pleasure, here is Judas. I wanted to use Karma Killer, but since the album doesn't come out until September 25, 2012, I will take what I can get. Enjoy!
As always, thank you for reading!
Marty Sabin
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