Bay Area thrash veterans HEATHEN have released a cover of IRON MAIDEN's "The Prisoner," from 1982's "The Number Of The Beast," to mark IRON MAIDEN's 50th anniversary.
The band said it chose "The Prisoner" specifically for its "heavy intro, uptempo verses, catchy chorus, and classic instrumental section," qualities that made it a natural fit for HEATHEN's own thrash-oriented approach. The cover was mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z, and arrives with new artwork by Dan Goldsworthy, whose past credits include work for ACCEPT, INHUMAN CONDITION and HAKEN. For the release, HEATHEN also redesigned its own logo to echo IRON MAIDEN's iconic lettering style, a visual nod tying the tribute directly to the band being honored.
"They've given us 50 years of energetic, melodic metal that's inspired HEATHEN and legions of other bands," the band said, crediting IRON MAIDEN's influence on its own sound and career. HEATHEN added that its version stays largely faithful to the original while introducing its own character: "We added a few touches to 'Heathenize' the song while staying true to what made it so great."
HEATHEN formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984 and became a defining act of the region's thrash scene alongside contemporaries like EXODUS and TESTAMENT, known for albums such as "Breaking The Silence" (1987) and "Victims Of Deception" (1991). The band has continued recording and touring in the decades since, most recently with 2020's "Empire Of The Blind."
The tribute lands amid a broader wave of 50th-anniversary celebrations for IRON MAIDEN throughout 2026, including the band's own Eddfest weekend at Knebworth, underscoring the scale of the band's influence across generations of metal musicians who grew up on its catalog.