There is a notion to flippantly see IRON MAIDEN - the Best Metal Band in the Universe - as a cheesy satirical band (ala Spinal Tap) full of farcical lyrics enveloped in cliche mysticism and fantasy. This is completely off the mark. Maiden, with the help of Bruce Dickinson's vocals, takes you on a journey with every song. Each one tells a story, and Dickinson is the Bard emoting it. Iron Maiden songs could be interpreted as Stage plays, or stories around the campfire; They are meant to take you on a journey thru the River Styx, around the Theatre of War, and out to the Far End of the Universe.... it's an experience, not a flippant tone aimed at teen angst, or superficiality. And they are simply the best.I thought I'd do a brief post on their albums to date; A guide-of-sorts for those who may not have had the life-changing pleasure of knowing Maiden. I've included "noteworthy" songs for iTunes download for anyone who wants to make an initial playlist to wet your appetite before you inevitably buy most of the albums in their entirety and evolve into a Maiden Fan For Life. Here we go....
THE EARLY YEARS:
Childhood friends Bassist STEVE HARRIS and guitarist DAVE MURRAY form Maiden in 1975, pioneering what will later be dubbed "The British New Wave of Heavy Metal Music". With their classic sound already taking shape, lead singer PAUL DI'ANNO brings a more "grounded" aspect to the band for their first 2 albums. The 2nd album, "Killers", brought on guitarist ADRIAN SMITH (another old friend of Dave Murray), which further pushed Maiden towards their unique sound. These first 2 albums are awesome, with a handful of CLASSIC songs, yet feel... "incomplete"... in terms of what you'd think of as "SOLID IRON MAIDEN". Essential albums nonetheless.
1) IRON MAIDEN (1980):Noteworthy Songs: Prowler, Sanctuary, Transylvania, Charlotte the Harlot, Phantom of the Opera
Side Note: Get Phantom of the Opera off the live album "Live After Death"
2) KILLERS (1981):
Noteworthy Songs: Wraithchild, Killers
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TWILIGHT OF THE GODS: THE BRUCE ERA:
Di"Anno was replaced with ex-Samson lead singer BRUCE DICKENSON. Whereas Di'Anno's vocals were "grounded", Bruce's vocals absolutely soars. He takes you on adventures, barrel rolling through clouds in epic dog fights of glory. Iron Maiden instantly became Metal Gods and unleashed upon the world a string of 5 AMAZING Studio Albums and 1 infamous Live Album. 1983's "Piece of Mind" brought aboard drummer NIKKO McBRAIN, which solidified Maiden as the Uber-Band they are. Behold the GLORY DAYS...
3) THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST (1982):Noteworthy Songs: The Prisoner, 22 Acacia Avenue, The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Hallowed Be Thy Name
*Special Note: "Piece of Mind" kicks off a 5-album streak of the coolest fucking cover art ever, by Derek Riggs!
4) PIECE OF MIND (1983):Noteworthy Songs: Where Eagles Dare, Revelations, Flight of Icarus, The Trooper
5) POWERSLAVE (1984):Noteworthy Songs: Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Powerslave, Rime of the Ancient Mariner
5a) LIVE AFTER DEATH (live album/1985):"Scream for me Long Beach!!!"
6) SOMEWHERE IN TIME (1986):Noteworthy Songs: Wasted Years
* LOVE that cover art!!!!
7) SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON (1988):Noteworthy Songs: Moonchild, Can I Play With Madness, The Evil That Men Do, Seventh Son of A Seventh Son
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THE 1990s: THE DARK AGES 1: WITHOUT ADRIAN:
After "Seventh Son", Maiden unfortunately entered a dark dark era.... they began going in a different direction, which caused Adrian Smith to leave the band (replaced by showboatin' Janick Gers). These next two albums, in my opinion, are absolute turds... and I do not acknowledge their existence except for historical footnote purposes.
8) NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING (1990)Noteworthy Songs: None
9) FEAR OF THE DARK (1992)
Noteworthy Songs: None
* however, Many fans love the title track.... but I don't care for it.
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THE 1990s: THE DARK AGES 2: THE BLAZE ERA (NO BRUCE):
After "Fear of the Dark", Bruce left the band and the remaining members brought on new lead singer Blaze Bayley. The 2 albums under this lineup feel more in-line with the early Di'Anno days, but nowhere near as good. Forgettable, yet better than the 2 previous albums I find. I'd skip these entirely.
10) FACTOR X (1995)Noteworthy Songs: Sign of the Cross (?? mayyyybe??)
11) VIRTUAL XI (1998)
Noteworthy Songs: None
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PHOENIX ERA: RETURN OF BRUCE and ADRIAN: In 2000, BRUCE and ADRIAN returned to Maiden. Janick Gers remains in the band, making Iron Maiden a 3-guitar, 6-man band! Maiden returns with a slightly new sound; clearly Maiden, but moving FORWARD instead of retreading the past. The first 2 new albums are solid with rememberable songs. But it isn't until 2006 does Maiden make an instant classic with their semi-concept album "A Matter of Life and Death"- I absolutely LOVE that album. 2015's "Book of Souls" is another instant classic, propelling the band forward in their evolution.
12) BRAVE NEW WORLD (2000):Noteworthy Songs: Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, Brave New World
13) DANCE OF DEATH (2003):
Noteworthy Songs: No More Lies, New Frontier
14) A MATTER OF LIFE and DEATH (2006):Outstanding "concept" album. My favorite Maiden album since 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'
Noteworthy Songs: These Colours Don't Run, Brighter Than A Thousand Suns, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, For The Greater Good of God
I'm not a huge fan of this album, but it has its moments... and it grows on me as time goes on.
Noteworthy Songs: The Final Frontier, The Talisman, When The Wild Wind Blows
Noteworthy Songs: If Eternity Should Fail (but skip to next track near the end when the hokey "I am Necropolis" narration begins), The Great Unknown, The Red and The Black, Book of Souls, Tears of a Clown..... and I'll also include Speed of Light.
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OTHER RECOMMENDED LIVE ALBUMS:
FLIGHT 666 (2009)FLIGHT 666 DVD documentary - I'm in "Number of the Beast!
"LIVE AFTER DEATH DVD (1985)
MAIDEN FOREVER!
UP THE IRONS! \M/
Posts
4 comments:
The Forum show was awesome.....(666 tour)
\M/
This was a cool post. I've never been in to Maiden - good to know something about them.
I'm not entirely fond of the Brave New World album. The songs just feel too long. I like a good long Maiden song, but the writing just wasn't up to the task post-Seventh Son. Stuff like Ghost of the Navigator would only be improved by judicious removal of around two minutes.
Though I'd say a writing low point was right before. Maiden used to tell stories with their songs. Rime of the Ancient Mariner *was* an abridged version of the whole poem. So what excuse in the world was there for the existence of Man on the Edge? Just when the song is getting started, the "story" is over, and the other two-thirds of play time is just repeating what was already said. (Though Blood Brothers may be even worse. I can't even remember the lyrics to that except for repeating "We are blood brothers" about ten thousand times.)
You should probably also mention stuff like A Real Live/Dead One, just to warn people not to touch those live albums.
Agreed!
Although BNW doesn't bother me as much, but I totally hear you.
And I laughed at your Blood Bros comment- what are the other lyrics?! :)
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