# The dark side of Dune



## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy (Dec 29, 2003)

The Dune series is one of my favourite SF sagas, and Iron Maiden is one of my favourite bands (Harriss made me play bass!!!) , so it's natural that 'To Tame A Land', an epic Maiden song based on Dune is one of may fave songs. I even played it live a couple of times, though with as many mistakes as you could expect out of a college band made up of shaky 18 year old beginners. 


Anyhoo, I recently went to an excellent site called 'The Iron Maiden Commentary', and found this story here (http://www.maidenfans.com/imc/?url=album04_piece&lang=eng&link=albums#track9_:

_'To Tame A Land_ is another of Harris' great epic songs, in the same vein as _Phantom Of The Opera_, _Rime Of The Ancient Mariner_, and _Alexander The Great_. It is based on Frank Herbert's (1920-1986) novel Dune, one of the greatest science fiction epics of all time and first in a series of books. Like the movie, the song's lyrics won't make much sense unless you are familiar with the book. 


[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The reason why the song was not called "Dune", as anyone would have expected it to be, was explained during the subsequent tour in support of the album. Bruce gave his view on the matter during a concert in Stockholm, Sweden, on 5th June 1983: [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]"_Next song is all about a gentleman who wrote a science-fiction book called "Dune", this one (...). He's an American called Mr. Frank Herbert, this particular gentleman, alright? And Mr. Herbert, as it turns out, is a bit of a c*** actually, because he... among other things he said that if we called this track that we wrote on the album "Dune", that he'd sue us and stop the album coming out, and all kinds of very unpleasant things... So we had to re-title the track which is on the new album, and we had to call it To Tame A Land." 
- Bruce Dickinson - Stockholm, 5th June, 1983_ '[/font]​



Well, damn. Considering that SF is held in as much contempt by the mainstream as heavy metal is, and also considering that the target audience for both overlaps quite a bit, Herbert really could have been a bit less uppity. Oh, well...​
​


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## Foxbat (Dec 29, 2003)

Basically I tend to agree with you. But it's also worth bearing in mind that Herbert had the right to say no, and it sounds a bit childish and cowardly of Iron Maiden to resort to verbal abuse (in a situation where Herbert was not even there to defend himself). 

Also,the fact that Maiden backed down when Herbert threatened to sue indicates that the law was most likely on his side. There are laws that I don't like but I've just got to live with them...same as Iron Maiden.

Fault on both sides as far as I'm concerned.


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## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy (Dec 29, 2003)

Oddly, about a year back, a European band called Star One released an album of SF-themed songs with, if I remember right, a song called 'Dune' on it. Perhaps whoever is handling the Herbert estate is a bit more open than Herbert himself was. 

All in all, considering that Maiden have based songs on works by Coleridge and GK Chesterton, Herbert really could have been a bit less snobbish.

As far as the verbal abuse goes - that's what rock bands seem to do, and I won't even bother defending it.


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## Brian G Turner (Dec 29, 2003)

It's certainly understandable - especially when you consider the inveitable culture gap between a pensioner scientist, and a group of young punks in a heavy metal band, living in the early 1980's. Not trying to make a slight, as much as try and place a content on the difference. 

I used to be very much into Iron Maiden when I was 16 - *Rime of the Ancient Mariner* was always my fave Maiden track (I mentioned in another thread how I would lie in bed listening to it on my Walkman  ). It actually got me reading Coleridge. Funny how Harris would write a song per album (for a while at least) covering some major work of fiction: Stranger in a Strange Land, Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Where Eagles Dare...and, of course, the Dune one.


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## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy (Dec 29, 2003)

See? It's educational AND you can rock to it.  


Actually, it's pretty much impossible for me to really take sides on this one. I just wish that someone had been around to treat Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson in the same way, but then that's a mater of opinion I guess...


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## BAYLOR (Feb 5, 2017)

Didn't know Iron Maiden did a Dune related song.


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## BAYLOR (Feb 5, 2017)

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy said:


> See? It's educational AND you can rock to it.
> 
> 
> Actually, it's pretty much impossible for me to really take sides on this one. I just wish that someone had been around to treat Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson in the same way, but then that's a mater of opinion I guess...



Having read House Atredies,. I like rather liked that book .


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## Mirannan (Feb 5, 2017)

I've heard of thread necromancy, but this is more like thread palaentology...


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## BAYLOR (Feb 5, 2017)

Mirannan said:


> I've heard of thread necromancy, but this is more like thread palaentology...



Im always searching the fossil beds for Topics.


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