Synopsis
'2 Minutes To Midnight' was written by Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson.
The song has references to the Doomsday Clock, the symbolic clock used by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In September 1953 the clock reached 23:58, the closest it ever got to midnight. This occurred when the United States and Soviet Union tested H-bombs within nine months of one another. Despite popular belief, the song does not reference Cuban missile crisis, nor did the Doomsday Clock note any change related to it. In fact, at the time of the crisis, the clock was showing seven minutes to midnight. In 1984, when the song was recorded, the clock was showing three minutes to midnight.
The first guitar solo is played by Dave Murray, followed by a guitar solo played by Adrian Smith.
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