Who Plays What In Iron Maiden - A Quick Guide

This is a rudimentary stylistic analysis of the guitar styles of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. I'm just giving you a basic outline here but I will go more in-depth in future videos.

I don't play any of their actual licks at all here. Instead everything I'm playing is "in the style of" as I wanted the emphasis to be on their individual playing styles and not specific melodies you might too easily recognize.

[fredericadda]

Absolutely love Adrian's melodic style. His solos always surprise me.

[newpix]

As a long term Iron maiden fan, you totally nailed it.

I find Adrian to be the most bluesy of all three

[punisher]

All 3 guitarist's is god's!!!
But i think most fast is dave
More melodic is adrian
And more skillful, crazy, performance at lives and mix of dave and Adrian styles, and my favourite of all time Janick Gers!!!

[LocoDirewolf]

All three are great, but I've always been drawn to Dave's playing the most. His playing is buttery smooth.
Adrian seems to like to build tension and let it release, and Janick is like a mad scientist, just throwing everything together.

[dermilfschreck]

I really love all three maiden guitarrists but i like Daves Style the most

[tarnishedchosenundead]

I think that Janick is very underrated. His solo in Parchment is amazing, just pure fire.

[rohantiwari]

Dave is my favourite of all time. His style just hypnotizes me.

[PolarisCastillo]

Adrian is the best of the three, in my opinion. His solos sound the more well thought out. Sharp, structured, melodic riffs divided in sections but seemingly connected all at the same time. It's an awe to hear his time slots on any given Maiden track.

[bongo_baggins]

I've always considered Dave to be a little spacey, and very much a noodler when playing live. Adrian has a very distinct attack, very prickly, almost in the neighborhood of Angus Young. Janick is a bit of a wild card, but to my ears, he's very much a melody maker; his shredding is very fiery and "metal", but his most standout work has to be his anthemic melodies. What I love most is That they're all masters (nearly inventors) of that unmistakable English, almost gothic tonality, but they are all blues men at heart. Their layering of all three guitars in their later work is pretty damn subtle, I'm still hearing something new almost everytime, and I've been obsessed with em for half my life now haha

[Dougs-Ear-Hole-Entertainment]

Oh yea, its Dave for me. You really do him justice with your covering him I notice. All have awesome styles and that for me is why I love this band. Great job as usual.

[benisukeala]

I love em all but Janick is my favorite ❤

[scottdavidson]

Despite being a life long maiden fan I never realized how much influence Murray had on my soloing but it makes so much sense now, thank you Nikko

[richardrondon]

Cool video thanx, my favorite is Dave but analyzing Janick like this makes people apraciate it more, thank you

[ligamentpull]

Some great examples of each of Dave and Adrian's unique styles are their solo trade-offs to these following tracks:
1-Powerslave
2-Revelations
3- The Trooper
4-Flight of Icarus
5- Two Midnights to Midnight
6-Wrathchild
7-Number of the Beast
8- Caught Somewhere in Time
9- Alexander the Great
10- Aces High

[praveerk]

Adrian solos are very bluesy and kind of in your face. Dave solos are very technical yet melodic. Janick solos are anthemic and define the overall sound of Maiden.
I just love the combinations!!

[TerryTinsel]

Most excellent video, exactly what I was looking for!

[C_Mat]

Just got to the end of the video, and realised I was mesmerized all the way through.

Like you, I've been a Maiden fan for decades, and I can tell in an instant who's playing which parts. It's unmistakable to me, as clear as (for example) which kid is shouting "Mom! Dad!"

But this is a great video, and unlike some YouTubers out there, it's accurate and spot on. You can tell that you've listened to each guitarist and understood how they play and how they've developed over time, rather than just listened to a few songs and read a few articles about their setup.

Awesome work, and great skills too!

[theknowledgeabletravellers]

Brendan Fraser's Guitar review. Just kidding. On a serious note it is Dave, followed by Adrian. That does not mean Adrian is bad. I love Paschindale and Weekend Warrior. Man hatsoff to you for this wonderful video. BTW Janick is very underrated.

[SomewhereInTheMaidenverse]

I’ve always been more drawn to Dave’s playing, but I love all 3 of their styles!

[thebeastsworldcovercollab]

That was very illustrative, the examples are perfect. Thanks for doing this video! It'll serve as a guide... have a nice day!