How Did Iron Maiden Get Their Name?

Iron Maiden has become a band synonymous with heavy metal, and not just because they influenced every metal band that came after them. They also have one of the most metal-est of metal band names the metal world has ever seen. Steve Harris explained the origin of the name in a 1979 interview with Sounds.

"Did you ever see the film 'The Man In The Iron Mask'?" Harris asked the interviewer. "Well I saw it on television and that's when the name first occurred to me. Although strictly speaking I believe an actual 'Iron Maiden' is an altogether more vicious torture device ... you know, it's a metal case with these nails set inside of it and if you fasten it over someone's head they get kind of spiked. Very unpleasant."

Harris was right ... to a degree. An iron maiden is exactly that, a brutal torture device comprised of a casket with spikes inside that impaled those unfortunate enough to be crammed inside, but it was also fictional, per Gizmodo. It wasn't actually used as a torture device in the Middle Ages, but instead popped up in conceptual form in the 18th or 19th century. Still, it makes for a great name for a heavy metal band, at least, as Harris noted, "As long as you don't think about the unfortunate Margaret Thatcher connections."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCFkG1qaW5fnby4ecOim2ahoqS7brnAopuepl2csrV506Gcoqpdo66usY4%3D