TUNELIT

Iron Maiden · 1992 · Studio album

Fear of the Dark tuning.

E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. All 12 songs use it.

Fear of the Dark album cover

Album tuning

E Standard

At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.

MeasuredFrom tabs

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 12 songs

Measured by TuneLit

At concert pitch

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
CD, Toshiba EMI TOCP-7155 (Japan, 1992)−1.2 ¢A 439.712−4.3 to +1.2 ¢High
 Offset from concert pitch (A 440). Spread: the middle half of the songs, when four or more share the album's pitch. Confidence: how well the notes agree with one grid.

Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (community).

Bruce Dickinson's last album before he left in 1993, recorded at Barnyard and co-produced by Steve Harris and Martin Birch. E Standard at concert pitch on the original Japanese CD (−1 ¢, songs from −5 to +4 ¢); the 1995 reissue and the 2015 remaster read the same.

12 songs

Every song, ready to tune

Tune opens the tuner in that song's tuning, pitch included. Play along opens the song player set to that tuning, so the track plays in yours. What the labels mean

  1. 1. Be Quick or Be Dead

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  2. 2. From Here to Eternity

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  3. 3. Afraid to Shoot Strangers

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  4. 4. Fear Is the Key

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  5. 5. Childhood's End

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  6. 6. Wasting Love

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  7. 7. The Fugitive

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  8. 8. Chains of Misery

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  9. 9. The Apparition

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  10. 10. Judas Be My Guide

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  11. 11. Weekend Warrior

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  12. 12. Fear of the Dark

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

What the labels mean

Measured
TuneLit measured the pitch on an original CD or LP. The tuning name still comes from the sources.
Official
The band, a member, their producer or their guitar tech said it.
Widely reported
Trusted outlets, guides and tabs agree, but the band did not say it directly.
From tabs
From community tabs, or from players who tune along with the record.
Disputed
Sources disagree. The likeliest setting is shown; the notes name the other one.

Each song shows one label, the strongest it has, in this order. How we measure recordings →

Questions

What tuning is Fear of the Dark in?

Iron Maiden recorded Fear of the Dark (1992) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Every song uses it.