From Wikipedia:"2 Minutes to Midnight" is the tenth single released by Iron Maiden and the second track from their 1984 album Powerslave. The single was released on August 6, 1984 and rose to number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. The song 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 11:58, the closest the clock ever got to midnight. This occurred when the United States and Soviet Union tested H-bombs within nine months of one another. This song is clearly presenting an anti-war view. The first guitar solo is played by Dave Murray followed by a guitar solo played by Adrian Smith.