Steve Harris, the bassist and chief songwriter for Iron Maiden, spent part of the 1990s guiding the hard rock and heavy metal five-piece British Lion, supplying songs and studio oversight on the side. Once that group disbanded, he kept corresponding with singer Richard Taylor and guitarist Grahame Leslie; together with guitarist David Hawkins, the three revived the British Lion moniker years later for a self-titled album issued under Harris’s name alone. Distinct from his work in Iron Maiden, the project leaned on the classic hard rock Harris absorbed from the Who, UFO, and Thin Lizzy, giving him room to explore alternate bass approaches. British Lion played a modest club circuit far removed from the large arenas he knew, essentially returning him to earlier days. Iron Maiden commitments occupied the following period, yet the musicians eventually regrouped for fresh recordings. Their second album, The Burning, finally appeared in 2020—the first release presented as a full band effort—and was followed by British Lion’s initial American tour. The record merged the debut’s hard rock foundation with brisk, tuneful heavy metal reminiscent of Iron Maiden yet marked by greater levity and fewer grand, narrative-driven lyrics.
