Children of the Damned by Iron Maiden – Guitar Lesson

Explore one of Iron Maiden’s most dynamic and emotionally charged tracks with our note-for-note guitar lesson of “Children of the Damned”. This haunting power ballad, from the band’s seminal 1982 album The Number of the Beast, showcases Iron Maiden’s ability to blend clean, melodic introspection with full-throttle metal intensity. With its dramatic arrangement, epic solo, and powerful transitions, Children of the Damned is a standout song for developing both expressive and technical guitar skills.

In this LickLibrary lesson, we break down every section of the track in detail, with a focus on the techniques that bring it to life: power chords, palm muting, string bending, and two-hand tapping. From delicate clean passages to face-melting leads, this lesson provides a thorough breakdown to help you master the playing style of one of metal’s most legendary bands. This lesson is taught by Danny Gill.

Technique Focus

Power Chords

As the track shifts from clean verses into its heavier sections, power chords come to the forefront to deliver impact and weight. These chords give the song its unmistakable metal edge while allowing space for melodic vocal and lead guitar lines to soar above.

Learning benefit: Practicing power chords helps strengthen your rhythm playing, improve your chord transitions, and develop tighter control under high-gain tones. Essential for rock and metal, they form the foundation of heavy rhythm guitar.

Palm Muting

Palm muting is used to inject percussive energy and tightness into the rhythm sections. Especially in the heavier parts of the song, this technique is key to achieving the chugging, controlled tone that defines Maiden’s rhythm sound.

Learning benefit: Mastering palm muting enhances your right-hand precision and helps develop dynamics within riffing. It enables you to create more contrast and clarity in aggressive rhythm parts.

String Bending

The lead guitar solo in Children of the Damned features expressive string bending, allowing the notes to “cry out” with feeling. Bends are used to reach expressive target notes with sustain and vocal-like phrasing.

Learning benefit: Practicing string bending improves your pitch accuracy, finger strength, and expressive control. It’s an essential technique for emotional soloing and phrasing.

Two-Hand Tapping

The standout solo section features high-speed two-hand tapping, delivering a burst of excitement and technical flair. This technique enables rapid note sequences that would be difficult to execute using only one hand.

Learning benefit: Learning two-handed tapping expands your technical vocabulary and fretboard knowledge. It’s a fantastic way to add speed, fluidity, and visual impact to your solos.

Why Learn This Song?

Children of the Damned is a perfect example of Iron Maiden’s musical range—combining melodic storytelling, dynamic shifts, and technical brilliance. It’s a complete workout for guitarists who want to strengthen both rhythm and lead playing while developing emotional expression through technique.

Whether you're building your live set, working on expressive solo phrasing, or diving into the signature Iron Maiden style, this lesson offers something for every serious guitarist. With its clean-to-heavy arrangement and epic solo, it delivers on every level—musicality, technique, and tone.

About the Song and Iron Maiden’s Guitarists

“Children of the Damned” features the classic Iron Maiden guitar duo of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, whose contrasting styles blend perfectly to deliver both subtlety and fire. Adrian’s more blues-based, melodic phrasing adds weight and soul to the lead work, while Dave’s legato-driven fluidity provides the soloing firepower that helped shape the evolution of metal guitar in the early '80s.

Together, they helped pioneer the twin-guitar approach that became Iron Maiden’s trademark. Their work on Children of the Damned not only demonstrates their technical ability but also showcases their musical maturity—balancing quiet emotion with explosive solos. Learning this track offers valuable insight into their approach to melody, harmony, and technique.

What You’ll Learn in This Lesson

This lesson takes you through the full structure of Children of the Damned, from the clean, arpeggiated intro through to the thunderous midsection and climactic solo. You’ll learn to deliver both the subtle dynamics of the verse and the ferocity of the instrumental sections with clarity, expression, and control.

Ideal for intermediate to advanced players, this lesson will help you refine key skills while expanding your musical phrasing and stylistic range.

Techniques Used in This Lesson

• Power Chords
• Palm Muting
• String Bending
• Two-Handed Tapping

Learn to capture the emotion, aggression, and finesse of Children of the Damned with this complete LickLibrary guitar lesson—a true Iron Maiden classic that will elevate your playing and deepen your understanding of melodic metal guitar.