There is absolutely no question that when it comes to the band that defined the British New Wave Of Heavy Metal, also known by the acromyn NWOBHM, that band is Iron Maiden.
The NWOBHM took hold in the early 1980s, with such bands as Judas Priest, Motorhead, Def Leppard, and the very underrated Saxon, making it to the international scene and gaining a foothold in the United States.
Among most metalheads, there seemed to be a contest of the heavy between Priest and Maiden. And no doubt, Maiden won the contest by a country mile.
Iron Maiden began as the love of bassist and band founder, Steve Harris in 1975. Like so many bands in their early years, it would take a few lineups to eventually get to what became the debut, self-titled album, Iron Maiden.
This is also the debut of the longest, consistent band members after Harris and that is the mascot, Eddie. He takes his place proudly on the first of many album covers. He has evolved over the years and is as much a part of the band's stage show at concerts as the band itself.
This first album was truly raw.
In this album as in the successful second album, Killers, the band was fronted by lead singer, Paul Di'Anno. He seemed to fit the rawness that was these first two albums. Whether it was in the screeching of the title track, Iron Maiden, or the rebelliousness of Running Free, it seemed that Di'Anno's vocals just clicked. Rounding out the rest of the band besides Harris and Di'Anno was Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton on guitars and drummer Clive Burr. Stratton did not survive after the European tour in support of the album and would be replaced with Adrian Smith, who is still with the band today.
As I noted above, the line up for the second album, Killers, was solidified and of course went on tour. The songs were a solid follow up to the debut album with such classics as Wrathchild, Murders In The Rue Morgue and Purgatory.
As I noted above, the line up for the second album, Killers, was solidified and of course went on tour. The songs were a solid follow up to the debut album with such classics as Wrathchild, Murders In The Rue Morgue and Purgatory.
But that incarnation of Iron Maiden would not last.
Di'Anno, by his own admission, was spiralling out of control with massive substance abuse, especially cocaine. That was enough for Harris and the band. After the Killers world tour, Di'Anno was dumped. And they already had his replacement ready to go.
There is no question that any band of any pop music genre takes a huge risk by replacing the front man (or woman). Sometimes it works, sometimes it sucks. In this case, it not only worked but made the band what it is today.
Bruce Dickinson was in a band named Samson when he got the call from the Maiden manager, Rod Smallwood, to audition with the band. It really was a forgone conclusion as they already had their mind made up and Dickinson became the face and voice of Iron Maiden.
At this point, the band released the Most controversial album of their career, The Number Of The Beast.
This is the first under Dickinson's leadership. And it is where Maiden went from raw to polished and disciplined. The galloping bass guitar of Harris with the dual guitars of Murray and Smith, and you have an album full of classics. Songs like the title track, The Number Of The Beast, Run To The Hills, The Prisoner, 22 Acacia Avenue. Every song on that album was truly a masterpiece.
But again, there would be another change in the band's lineup.
Drummer Clive Burr would be dumped and replaced by Nicko McBrain. That lineup would last throughout the zenith of the band's career during the 80s.
The followup to Number Of The Beast, and the first with McBrain on drums, was Piece Of Mind.
But again, there would be another change in the band's lineup.
Drummer Clive Burr would be dumped and replaced by Nicko McBrain. That lineup would last throughout the zenith of the band's career during the 80s.
The followup to Number Of The Beast, and the first with McBrain on drums, was Piece Of Mind.
Again it was a stellar album. They still had that polished, dual guitar, galloping bass guitar and a better drum sound that was somewhat missing under Burr. More classics such as The Trooper, Flight of Icarus, Die With Your Boots On made their way to the minds, hearts and sounds of metalheads the world over. While it did not have the impact of Number Of The Beast at some level, it was a great follow up.
So, this all leads to the album that I believe MADE Maiden.
That album was the epic Powerslave.
So, this all leads to the album that I believe MADE Maiden.
That album was the epic Powerslave.
And it was a theme album, the theme being Egyptian mythology. Even Eddie was in on it. Truly I tell you, EVERY song on this album was truly epic. From Aces High to the epic Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (only about 14 minutes long and yes based on the Samuel Taylor Colleridge poem of the same name), every song was totally singable and definitely headbangable. BTW, this is the ONLY band that I saw twice on the same tour. The first time was on March 16, 1985 at the Long Beach Arena. It was from the four concerts in Long Beach that make up Maiden's first live album, Live After Death. Then not long after that, on July 5, 1985 at the one-time Irvine Meadows amphitheatre. As a side note, not only did the ticket stub say that the concert would go on rain or shine, but that if there were any military flights from the then El Toro naval air station, the show would go on. Ahh, all this at the height of the soon to end Cold War with the Soviet Union. Without a doubt, Iron Maiden was now THE metal band of not only the United Kingdom and Europe, but of the world.
The follow up to Powerslave was Somewhere In Time and another album of sheer headbangable metal. Such tracks as Caught Somewhere In Time, Wasted Years, Stranger In A Strange Land and one of my personal favorites from the album, Alexander The Great. And this was another time to see Maiden on tour to support this album. In about two years I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this band three times. And every time it truly was a treat to the metal senses.
Next in the Maiden hit parade was the album Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, another classic. Some of the songs off of this album was Can I Play With Madness, The Evil That Men Do, The Clairvoyant, and the title track, and longest song on the album, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. It was considered a concept album based on the folklore of being the seventh son of an unbroken line, no females. It was the band's first foray into the idea of a concept album.
In their first album at the beginning of the 1990s saw a departure from the style of the previous two albums. No Prayer For The Dying was a redux of the Di'Anno era of a stripped-down, raw sound. But it seemed off. No real long song, nothing longer than six minutes. More political in content. Still there were three songs that I thought were good off this album, Holy Smoke, Tailgunner and Bring Your Daughter. . .To The Slaughter. In a way, sad to say, this was the beginning of the end of the Bruce Dickinson era.
The next album, and the last of the Bruce Dickinson era was Fear Of The Dark. I thought it was a great improvement over No Prayer For The Dying. There was more of a Maiden with Dickinson feel that was missing with No Prayer. Some of the songs from this album were Be Quick Or Be Dead, Childhood's End, Afraid To Shoot Strangers and the title track, and best song on the album IMHO, Fear Of The Dark.
But that was the end of the Bruce Dickinson era as in 1993, he left the band to pursue a solo career. Before that, guitarist Adrian Smith left the band as well. And the bottom fell out.
After listening to a lot of tapes of potential replacements for lead vocalist, the band settled on Blaze Bayley. To replace Smith, the band had Janick Gers come on board.
To be blunt, that was enough for me for a while. I could not believe that Maiden, the band that I loved, was falling apart.
The fact is that under Bayley as the lead vocalist, Maiden plummeted. From 1994 to 1999, when Bayley was dumped by the band, they were at their lowest point in their storied career.
But once Bayley was dumped, who could replace him?
Well, why not the devil you know?
Band manager Rob Smallwood convinced band leader Steve Harris to give Bruce Dickinson another chance. And after some negotiating, they brought Dickinson back into the fold. And that same year, guitarist Adrian Smith rejoined the band as well. But the band did not dismiss Gers. They are now a three-guitar band.
And the comeback to the glory days of Maiden, the 80s, began with the release of the album Brave New World in 2000. Without a doubt, it was a return to greatness. Great songs like The Wicker Man, Ghost Of The Navigator and Out Of The Silent Planet were to become Maiden classics of the 21st century.
Several more albums have been released this century including Dance Of Death, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Final Frontier and the latest one, released in 2015, The Book Of Souls.
In their 42 year history since their inception, Iron Maiden has had four EPs, seven compilation albums, 11 live albums and 16 studio albums. They have developed an amazing following around the world. They are the only metal band that I know of that has spawned an all-female tribute bands named, of course, The Iron Maidens.
How did they do it?
Well, take this into account. They have never been a radio favorite here in the United States or really anywhere for that matter. They had some memorable early videos that gained some traction on MTV (when they actually played something called music videos). They became the world's most popular metal band in a age before something called the internets.
Iron Maiden became the band that they are because of the world's largest word-of-mouth campaign ever. I mean, how can a band with little if any broad exposure in pop culture sell out a sports arena four nights in a row? That would be the Long Beach arena during the World Slavery tour. They were only going to do two shows yet they sold out almost instantaneously. I was standing in line waiting to get tickets for some friends and myself when they announced that as the second show sold out, they were adding another show. And while I was finally able to purchase tickets for that third show, the fourth one was added. And it sold out too.
Because no matter what, Maiden never strayed from its basic sound. They did not try something that was not true to their style. Did they experiment, musically? Of course. But it was not so radical that it turned off most fans. Yes they did have a slump in the mid 90s, but metal in general was being swamped by the twin pop music genres of Grunge and Hip-Hop. And yet they survived. And are still rocking to this day. They are not shell's of themselves like so many bands. They still play in arenas and outdoor venues and still sell out every time.
That is why Iron Maiden is the greatest and most definitive band of the NWOBHM era.
The follow up to Powerslave was Somewhere In Time and another album of sheer headbangable metal. Such tracks as Caught Somewhere In Time, Wasted Years, Stranger In A Strange Land and one of my personal favorites from the album, Alexander The Great. And this was another time to see Maiden on tour to support this album. In about two years I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this band three times. And every time it truly was a treat to the metal senses.
Next in the Maiden hit parade was the album Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, another classic. Some of the songs off of this album was Can I Play With Madness, The Evil That Men Do, The Clairvoyant, and the title track, and longest song on the album, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. It was considered a concept album based on the folklore of being the seventh son of an unbroken line, no females. It was the band's first foray into the idea of a concept album.
In their first album at the beginning of the 1990s saw a departure from the style of the previous two albums. No Prayer For The Dying was a redux of the Di'Anno era of a stripped-down, raw sound. But it seemed off. No real long song, nothing longer than six minutes. More political in content. Still there were three songs that I thought were good off this album, Holy Smoke, Tailgunner and Bring Your Daughter. . .To The Slaughter. In a way, sad to say, this was the beginning of the end of the Bruce Dickinson era.
The next album, and the last of the Bruce Dickinson era was Fear Of The Dark. I thought it was a great improvement over No Prayer For The Dying. There was more of a Maiden with Dickinson feel that was missing with No Prayer. Some of the songs from this album were Be Quick Or Be Dead, Childhood's End, Afraid To Shoot Strangers and the title track, and best song on the album IMHO, Fear Of The Dark.
But that was the end of the Bruce Dickinson era as in 1993, he left the band to pursue a solo career. Before that, guitarist Adrian Smith left the band as well. And the bottom fell out.
After listening to a lot of tapes of potential replacements for lead vocalist, the band settled on Blaze Bayley. To replace Smith, the band had Janick Gers come on board.
To be blunt, that was enough for me for a while. I could not believe that Maiden, the band that I loved, was falling apart.
The fact is that under Bayley as the lead vocalist, Maiden plummeted. From 1994 to 1999, when Bayley was dumped by the band, they were at their lowest point in their storied career.
But once Bayley was dumped, who could replace him?
Well, why not the devil you know?
Band manager Rob Smallwood convinced band leader Steve Harris to give Bruce Dickinson another chance. And after some negotiating, they brought Dickinson back into the fold. And that same year, guitarist Adrian Smith rejoined the band as well. But the band did not dismiss Gers. They are now a three-guitar band.
And the comeback to the glory days of Maiden, the 80s, began with the release of the album Brave New World in 2000. Without a doubt, it was a return to greatness. Great songs like The Wicker Man, Ghost Of The Navigator and Out Of The Silent Planet were to become Maiden classics of the 21st century.
Several more albums have been released this century including Dance Of Death, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Final Frontier and the latest one, released in 2015, The Book Of Souls.
In their 42 year history since their inception, Iron Maiden has had four EPs, seven compilation albums, 11 live albums and 16 studio albums. They have developed an amazing following around the world. They are the only metal band that I know of that has spawned an all-female tribute bands named, of course, The Iron Maidens.
How did they do it?
Well, take this into account. They have never been a radio favorite here in the United States or really anywhere for that matter. They had some memorable early videos that gained some traction on MTV (when they actually played something called music videos). They became the world's most popular metal band in a age before something called the internets.
Iron Maiden became the band that they are because of the world's largest word-of-mouth campaign ever. I mean, how can a band with little if any broad exposure in pop culture sell out a sports arena four nights in a row? That would be the Long Beach arena during the World Slavery tour. They were only going to do two shows yet they sold out almost instantaneously. I was standing in line waiting to get tickets for some friends and myself when they announced that as the second show sold out, they were adding another show. And while I was finally able to purchase tickets for that third show, the fourth one was added. And it sold out too.
Because no matter what, Maiden never strayed from its basic sound. They did not try something that was not true to their style. Did they experiment, musically? Of course. But it was not so radical that it turned off most fans. Yes they did have a slump in the mid 90s, but metal in general was being swamped by the twin pop music genres of Grunge and Hip-Hop. And yet they survived. And are still rocking to this day. They are not shell's of themselves like so many bands. They still play in arenas and outdoor venues and still sell out every time.
That is why Iron Maiden is the greatest and most definitive band of the NWOBHM era.
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