"Fear of the Dark" is a song by British heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. Written by Steve Harris, the band's bass player and primary songwriter, it serves as the title track to Iron Maiden's 1992 album ''

Fear of the Dark Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree ...

''. The song has been covered by several different artists. In 2008, it was covered by

Fightstar Fightstar are a British rock band from London that formed in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, guitarist and co-vocalist Alex Westaway, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi. Generally c ...

for ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' magazine's '' Maiden Heaven'' tribute album. The ''

Flight 666 ''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'' is a concert documentary film featuring the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in February and March 2008, during which they tr ...

'' version of the song was released as downloadable content for the ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'' video game series on 9 June 2009.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics tell the story of a man who has always been intensely afraid of the dark. He recalls the many times he has walked alone, and recollections of the feeling of being followed while walking at night. Strictly, the song is about paranoid ideas (fear of being watched or harmed by other persons) rather than

phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

(fear of objects and situations), even though the latter is referred to in the lyrics ("Have a phobia that someone's always there"); darkness seems to be the context rather than the reason for the fear. According to

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

, Steve Harris wrote this song because he himself was really afraid of the dark.

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Dave Murray –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Steve Harris – bass *

Nicko McBrain Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Covers

Graveworm Graveworm is an Italian extreme metal band from Brunico formed in 1992. History Before Graveworm even released a demo, they were signed by Serenades Records after a performance close to their hometown of Brunico, northern Italy. Graveworm was ...

, for their 2001 album '' Scourge of Malice'' (often incorrectly attributed to

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sep ...

). * Alternative rock band

performed a cover of the song for the Kerrang! Maiden Heaven tribute album. * Metal band

Lonely The Brave Lonely the Brave are an English alternative rock band from Cambridge. They were formed in 2008. The members include Jack Bennett (vocals), Mark Trotter (lead guitar), Gavin Edgeley (drums), Andrew Bushnen (bass), and Ross Smithwick (rhythm gui ...

covered the song and released as track 4 of Maiden Heaven Volume 2 tribute album in Kerrang Magazine Issue 1623. * It was performed by

Chuck Billy Charles Billy (born June 23, 1962) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament. Career Testament Billy joined Legacy in 1986, replacing vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza who would later join Exod ...

Craig Goldy Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria. Early musical life Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, R ...

Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Babys and Bad En ...

, and

Mikkey Dee Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou (born 31 October 1963), known professionally as Mikkey Dee, is a Swedish musician, best known as the last drummer for British heavy metal band Motörhead from 1992 until its dissolution in 2015. Dee also played temporari ...

for the tribute album ''

Numbers from the Beast This is a list of albums recorded in tribute to the British heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden. ''The Maiden Years Volume 1 – Tribute to Iron Maiden'' ''Made in Tribute: A Tribute to the Best Band in a Whole Goddamn World! ...

''. *The Finnish Metal/Rock band

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

performed a cover of this song on their 2008 release ''Rock N' Roll Children'' as a bonus track *

A cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

metal band

Van Canto Van Canto (sometimes stylized as van Canto) is a German a cappella metal band, founded in 2006 and composed of six singers and a drummer. Although the group is often classified as an a cappella ensemble, they use real drums in their music, inst ...

covered it on their second album ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

''. *

Doro Pesch Dorothee Pesch (born 3 June 1964), known professionally as Doro Pesch or simply Doro, is a German heavy metal singer and the former frontwoman of heavy metal band Warlock. Dubbed the "Metal Queen", Doro's contributions to music and culture mad ...

performed with

Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...

on a Classical live version in 2004 at

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

with

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s. * Pentagram (a.k.a. Mezarkabul) (only live).

Live single

A live version of the song was released on 1 March 1993 to promote ''

A Real Live One ''A Real Live One'' is a live album by English heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 22 March 1993. The album tracks were recorded at 9 different venues in Europe during the Fear of the Dark Tour in 1992. This album featu ...

'', a live album featuring recordings from various concerts throughout the

Fear of the Dark Tour The Fear of the Dark Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 3 June 1992 to 4 November 1992. The tour saw the band make a return headline appearance at the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington Park, which they head ...

. This song was recorded at the

Helsinki Ice Hall Helsinki Ice Hall ( fi, Helsingin jäähalli, sv, Helsingfors ishall) is an indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. The arena has a seating capacity of 8,200. History Helsinki Ice Hall has been the home arena of HIFK of Liiga since its cons ...

on 27 August 1992. It is the 26th single released by the band, reaching number 8 in the UK charts. Different tracks taken from the same album served as

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, including " Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", "

Be Quick or Be Dead "Be Quick or Be Dead" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released as the first single from their ninth studio album, ''Fear of the Dark'', on 13 April 1992. The single peaked at 2 on the UK Singles Chart and in Finland while reac ...

", and " Tailgunner", in addition to "Hooks in You", recorded in 1990 during the No Prayer on the Road tour. The initial pressing of the 7" cut-to-shape vinyl picture disc listed "Hooks in You" as the B-side but actually played "Tailgunner". This mis-press was quickly corrected by EMI on future pressings. "Fear of the Dark" was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1994 in the "

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

" category, but lost to "

I Don't Want to Change the World "I Don't Want to Change the World" is a heavy metal song by Ozzy Osbourne. It first appeared as the second track of the album ''No More Tears''. Though the song was not released as a commercial single, in Britain, the song was released as a prom ...

" by

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

. The single's cover art features

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

playing Steve Harris' signature

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrum ...

Track listing

;7" poster bag single ;7" picture disc ;Italy 12" maxi single ;UK CD maxi single ;Italy and Holland CD maxi single

Chart performance

In popular culture

Film

In '' Fear Street Part One: 1994'', the character Josh Johnson wears an Iron Maiden shirt and is shown listening to the song Fear of the Dark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fear Of The Dark (Song) 1992 songs 1993 singles Iron Maiden songs Songs written by Steve Harris (musician) EMI Records singles