Steve Harris Releases Solo Debut: British Lion
Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris has stepped out on his own with the release of British Lion, his solo debut.
As we reported back in July, the 10-track album is the result of the music Harris has written and recorded in secret in between recording and touring with Iron Maiden over the past few years.
“It’s taken years for this to come together,” Harris said. “Originally vocalist Richard Taylor and guitarist Grahame Leslie sent me a tape – that should show you how long ago this was. I was just impressed and decided to help them a bit and it went from there. I thought the songs were so strong it’d be a crime if it they didn’t see the light of day.”
Harris says that while this is a new project, it was conceived of decades ago.
“… To me it’s just a collection of really strong songs. It’s all about melody and the 70s feel and attitude with a modern edge,” the bassist shares. “It’s going out and doing the music you feel is right.”
Harris’ label describes British Lion as “decidedly heavy rock-vibe… [that] paints with a full palette of sounds; brooding, melancholic, righteously indignant and exuberantly heavy, it is a master class in influences.”
The album is also decidedly unlike anything Iron Maiden have done.
“With Maiden we’ve always done whatever feels right and this is no exception,” Harris adds. “But as for the sound of British Lion, it’s just natural that it sounds different to anything I’ve done before as I’ve been working with different musicians. I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people and I’m very excited.”
Harris enlisted several musicians for the album, including lead vocalist Richard Taylor, guitarist and keyboardist David Hawkins, guitarist Grahame Leslie, drummer Simon Dawson, guitarist Barry Fitzgibbon, drummer Ian Roberts and drummer Richard Cook.
British Lion is out now, on CD and digital formats (iTunes and Amazon MP3).
Preview and download British Lion:
British Lion Track List:
- This Is My God
- Lost Worlds
- Karma Killer
- Us Against The World
- The Chosen Ones
- A World Without Heaven
- Judas
- Eyes Of The Young
- These Are The Hands
- The Lesson
