The Trooper

Infobox Single
Name = The Trooper


Artist = Iron Maiden
from Album = Piece of Mind
B-side = 1983 single
"Cross-Eyed Mary"
Released = 20 June 1983
15 August 2005
Format = 7" and 12" Vinyl
CD single
Recorded = 1982
30 August 2005
Genre = Heavy metal
Length = 4:10
4:12
Label = EMI
Writer = Steve Harris
Producer = Martin Birch
Chart position =
Reviews =
Last single = "Flight of Icarus" (1983)
This single = "The Trooper" (1983)
Next single = "2 Minutes to Midnight" (1984)
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist =
Background = yellow
Last album = "The Number of the Beast"
(2005)
This album = "The Trooper (live)"
(2005)
Next album = "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg"
(2006)

"The Trooper" is a song written by Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's ninth single, and the second from their 1983 album "Piece of Mind". The single was released on June 20, 1983. The song is about the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 during the Crimean War, and is at least partially based upon Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade", taking the viewpoint of one of the slain troopers, who, in the coverart, is perceived as a bald Eddie. It is known for the galloping triplet sound of its bass and electric guitar, as well as its catchy and memorable riff, and is a crowd favourite at concerts.

The music video features clips of the charge from the 1936 film "The Charge of the Light Brigade", which was controversial due to the deaths of 200 horses and an actor during filming. On the "Visions of the Beast" DVD, a newer version of the video replaces the film footage with Flash animation by Camp Chaos. In the animation, Eddie - dressed in 19th Century British uniform and wielding two sabers - battles multiple caricatures of George W. Bush, Al Gore and Tipper Gore in a parody of the 2000 US presidential election. At one point, Tipper Gore paints 'RATED X' on a cannonball; this is a mocking reference to Tipper's involvement in the Parents Music Resource Center which successfully attempted to add warning labels to various records - many of them heavy metal - that they deemed inappropriate. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tByDenmOUQ YouTube - iron maiden - the trooper (hiden video) ] ]

The first guitar solo in the studio version was performed by guitarist Adrian Smith and the second by guitarist Dave Murray. When Adrian Smith left the band in 1990, guitarist Janick Gers covered Adrian Smith's solo when the band played it live. Upon Smith's return to the band in 1999, both Smith and Gers perform the first solo in harmony, with Murray still performing the second alone (as can be heard on the live album rock In Rio). Lead singer Bruce Dickinson introduced the song in the Rock in Rio (Brazil, 2001) concert by quoting some lines of the poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson: "Into the valley of death, rode the six hundred... Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, volleyed and thundered, 'The Trooper'". Usually, Dickinson waves a British flag during the song (sometimes a flag different from the British), but on the last few tours he has also worn an authentic-looking red tunic.

"The Trooper" was re-released as a single in 2005 to help promote "The Early Days" DVD retrospective which covers the band's first eight years together. The live version comes from the double-live album "Death on the Road", recorded live in Germany in 2003 and released in late 2005. Additional tracks include live performances from Iron Maiden's very first concert in support of "The Early Days" - a headlining performance at Germany's Rock am Ring festival.

The song is referenced in the novel World War Z, by Max Brooks. During a battle between U.S. Army Soldiers and zombies, "The Trooper" was played over loudspeakers as a way to draw the zombies into an ambush and to increase the morale of the soldiers.

The single's cover art forms part of a Loyalist mural in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. [ [http://www.citynoise.org/article/2375 The Waterside - Londonderry, Northern Ireland : citynoise.org ] ]

The song was featured in the video game "Carmageddon 2" and a covered version of the song is featured in the 2006 video game "Guitar Hero II" for the Xbox 360.

The song is often covered by American band Coheed and Cambria as a part of medley incorporating the track in a number of their originals. Coheed and Cambria recently recorded their version on the tribute CD "" released by "Kerrang!" magazine. [ [http://www2.kerrang.com/2008/06/maiden_heaven_track_listing_re.html Kerrang! Maiden Heaven Track Listing Revealed!] ]

It is ranked #24 in Martin Popoff book "The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time". Popoff put together this book by requesting thousands of metal fans, musicians, and journalists to send in their favourite heavy metal songs. Almost 18,000 individual votes were tallied and entered into a database from which the final rankings were derived. ["The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time" [http://www.martinpopoff.com/html/500songs.html] .] .

The opening riff to The Trooper is played at the end of the song "Violate" on Iced Earth's "Alive in Athens" album.

The opening riff to The Trooper is played at the end of the song "Wishmaster" on Nightwish's live DVD/Cd, "End of an Era".

This single was also released as a blue vinyl and picture disc (pictured below).

Track listings

1983 single

# "The Trooper" (Harris) – 4:10
# "Cross-Eyed Mary" (Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull cover) – 3:55

2005 re-release

# "The Trooper" (live from "Death on the Road") (Steve Harris) – 4:12
# "The Trooper" (original studio version) (Harris) – 4:10
# "Prowler" (recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 7 June 2005) (Harris) – 4:24
# "Another Life" (recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 7 June 2005) (Harris)
# "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 7 June 2005) (Harris)
# "The Trooper" (live video of main track) (Harris) – 4:12
# "The Trooper" (original promo video) (Harris) – 4:10

Cover Versions

* The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens recorded a cover version of the song on their 2006 . Their 2007 CD/DVD release "Route 666" features Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell joining the girls on a live version of the song. The Iron Maidens also released a dance remix of the song on their 2008 EP "The Root of All Evil".
* An all-star cover of the song is in "Numbers from the Beast", featuring Lemmy on vocals, Phil Campbell and Rocky George on guitars, Chuck Wright on bass, and Chris Slade on drums. Apart from differences in guitar solos and vocal patterns, this version follows Harris' original compositional configuration.
* German heavy metal band Rage have also covered the song on the tribute album "A Tribute to the Beast".
* A cover of the song by Japanese band Onmyo-Za can also be heard as a Japanese bonus track on the same album.
* A version of the song is available by indie band Steaming Toolie.
* The song was covered in 2008 by Coheed and Cambria on the tribute CD released by Kerrang! magazine.
* Power metal band Iced Earth often uses the intro riff of the song to finish their live performance of their song "Violate".
* A cover of this song is in the Xbox 360 version of the music video game, Guitar Hero II.

Credits

*Bruce Dickinson – vocals
*Dave Murray – guitar
*Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
*Janick Gers – guitar (except on 1983 studio track)
*Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
*Nicko McBrain – drums

References