No, Iron Maiden Did Not Invent ‘the Galloping Rhythm’ — It Was This Artist, Author Claims: ‘The Earliest Famous Example’

No, Iron Maiden Did Not Invent ‘the Galloping Rhythm’ — It Was This Artist, Author Claims: ‘The Earliest Famous Example’

 

 

 

The rhythm pattern known as the “gallop” — typically an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes (counted “1‑&‑a”) — has long been associated with heavy metal, and bands like Iron Maiden are often credited for popularising it. But as one author argues, the gallop did not originate with Iron Maiden; in fact the earliest famous example of it appears earlier — in the 1970 track Hard Lovin’ Man (1970) by Deep Purple.

What is the gallop rhythm?

The “gallop” rhythm is described as an eighth‑note followed by two sixteenth‑notes — that is, a three‑subdivision pattern in a single beat, giving the sense of a horse’s hooves galloping. It’s a driving device: power chords or bass riffs executed in this pattern create urgency and momentum. As one guitar‑teaching article explains:

> “The first eighth note lasts as long as the two sixteenths combined… count 1 _ & a 2 _ & a.”

For bands like Iron Maiden it became a kind of signature riffing style.

Iron Maiden’s role — and Steve Harris’s caveat

Bass‑player Steve Harris of Iron Maiden has often been credited with inventing or at least popularising the gallop rhythm in metal. In one interview he said:

> “People tell me that I invented that rhythmic gallop – but I’m sure it was around before I was. I just brought it more to the fore.”

That’s a key admission: Harris acknowledges that while Maiden maximised and perfected the gallop, they did not invent it. He instead brought it into the foreground of heavy‑metal songwriting.

The gallop appears pervasively in Maiden’s output: songs like Run to the Hills (1982) and The Trooper (1983) are cited as archetypal “Maiden gallops”.

The claim: Deep Purple’s “Hard Lovin’ Man” as the earliest famous example

According to multiple sources, the claim is that Deep Purple’s “Hard Lovin’ Man” (from their 1970 album Deep Purple In Rock) includes one of the earliest recorded galloping rhythm riffs in heavy metal. For example:

Wikipedia’s “Heavy metal gallop” page lists “Hard Lovin’ Man (Deep Purple, 1970)” under early or “proto‑gallops”.

In a Goldmine article about Deep Purple, it states:

> “Hard Lovin’ Man … invents the heavy‑metal gallop, simultaneously taking the staccato ‘machine‑gun’ riff far beyond what Jimmy Page had imagined…”

A blog on the album notes of the same track:

> “The initial intro making for bass riffing … Blackmore’s driving distorted gallup rhythm guitar…”

These sources suggest that Deep Purple used the gallop rhythm before Iron Maiden’s well‑known treatments of it. Thus the “author” you referred to is likely pointing to Deep Purple — rather than Maiden — as the origin (or at least the earliest famous example) of this riffing technique.

Why this matters

It reframes how we perceive the development of heavy‐metal guitar/bass rhythm: rather than Iron Maiden “inventing” the gallop, they refined and systematised a technique already in circulation.

It highlights the continuity from late‑1960s/early‑1970s bands (like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath) into 1980s new‑wave‑of‑British‑heavy‑metal (NWOBHM) acts.

It gives credit to Deep Purple for being more pioneering than often acknowledged in terms of rhythm innovation.

Caveats & nuances

“Inventing” a rhythm is always tricky — many riffs and techniques evolve over time and appear in multiple songs before being named or cotified.

The gallop rhythm appears in a variety of forms: some early tracks use approximations or syncopated versions rather than a textbook “eighth + two sixteenth”.

Just because Deep Purple’s example is famous doesn’t preclude lesser‐known earlier uses. But for many historians and writers, “Hard Lovin’ Man” stands as the earliest widely recognised example.

The gallop rhythm is a defining element of many metal songs (especially from the 1980s onward).

Iron Maiden helped make it iconic, but did not claim to have invented it (and Steve Harris conceded as much).

The earliest famous example is likely Deep Purple’s “Hard Lovin’ Man” (1970) — positioning Deep Purple as the origin point of the gallop in heavy metal rather than Maiden.

So—yes — the statement “Iron Maiden did not invent the galloping rhythm” is correct — and attribution should lean toward Deep Purple’s early usage.