April 14, 1980 - Iron Maiden and Iron Maiden

Nearly three weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when British heavy metal band Iron Maiden released their first album "Iron Maiden" on April 14, 1980. These guys would become pioneers of a movement known as the new wave of British heavy metal as they certainly play a heavier, faster style of metal than anyone else at that time. But who are Iron Maiden? They went through several line-up changes in their infancy but was created by bassist and lyricist Steve Harris. On this album they are a 5-piece and joining Harris are guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton, drummer Clive Burr and lead singer Paul Di'Anno. I love heavy metal and am certainly intrigued by something a little faster-paced, let's check it out!

The album begins with "Prowler" and since there are two guitarists I'm not sure who is playing what between Stratton and Murray for this album. One of them keeps the pace with a nice riff while the other plays some cool lead guitar as they drive this opening riff. Burr joins in with a nice fast drum beat and we hear Di'Anno's voice for the first time. He has a bit of an edge to his voice and while I don't think he's an amazing singer he seems to fit the mood pretty well. After a decent verse they slow it down a bit for the chorus but afterwards a nice guitar riff shifts things into a completely different part. We hear some excellent speedy guitar and this ramps into a full-blown solo that sounds pretty awesome! Whoever it is (Murray I think) is doing a fantastic job hitting a ton of notes with great precision. Di'Anno returns to sing a short verse overtop of the end of the solo and they smoothly connect this part back into verse from earlier. After a final verse and chorus they finish it off with a nice flourish ending that has some nice drums by Burr. Up next is "Remember Tomorrow" and Harris plays a slow, smooth bass riff as Stratton and Murray come in and out with bits of guitar. Di'Anno sings nicely over this slow trippy riff and things get a bit heavier once they reach the chorus as Di'Anno holds a long "ohhh", then it's back to the slow main riff. The guitar sounds pretty good in another slow verse and after another chorus things speed up and change to a new riff. One guitarist and Harris play some solid backing stuff as the other guitarist solos overtop. It's a pretty sweet solo with some really fast parts to it and it moves into a really sweet little bridge riff! This bridges us to another solo, this time by the other guitarist! I don't think this one was as good as the first one, bit it's still pretty solid. They play this wicked bridge riff one more time and then Harris's bass signals a return to the slow verse. After this final verse they jam out the chorus a couple times before finishing with another great flourish ending, this time with some spectacular bass by Harris. Track 3 is called "Running Free" and Burr plays some really catchy drums that carries the beat before the bass and guitar join in to form this toe-tapping main riff. Di'Anno sings in a solid lower voice that sounds almost punk-y and the chorus is catchy but a little repetitive. After another quick verse and chorus we hear a simple, but nice-sounding guitar solo followed by a nice instrumental bit that follows the bouncing main beat. They never really stray from this catchy main beat and I guess that's why this was one of the singles off this album, but I think this song gets a little stale, and it's only just over three minutes! They play a final verse and then jam out the chorus several times for an unimaginative ending. The first side ends with the seven-plus minute "Phantom Of The Opera" and Harris and Murray sync up for a really awesome opening bit! They play some fast stuff nicely together and when the rest of the band joins in they play a really nice, quite fast main riff that sounds pretty sweet! It sounds pretty heavy and awesome and Di'Anno does a nice job singing quickly along to the music to complete this great main riff! After two excellent minutes they shift things nicely into a new part, showing some nice progressive capabilities, as we hear a much different guitar riff take over. It sounds much quieter, but still pretty epic and Di'Anno leads a new verse with some slower vocals as Harris provides backing vocals. He also plays a smooth bass riff that backs a nice slow and smooth guitar solo. This solo hits all the right notes and things get very quiet at the end as Harris takes us in a new direction with a fast bass line. Both guitarists play some cool stuff overtop this sweet bass and this all sounds pretty epic! One of the guitars continues the speedy part while the other plays an epic slower riff and this also seamlessly moves into another new riff! I love all these different riffs woven together so well and this one, like the others, has some pretty awesome guitar. This solid new riff sounds pretty good and we hear another solo overtop of it as both guitarists take turns playing some superb stuff! At the end of this great part they tie things right back into the opening speedy riff. They play one final awesome verse and bring this side to an end. This was easily the best song yet, lots of great stuff in this longer, progressive song!

The second side kicks off with the instrumental song "Transylvania" as one guitarist plays another fast main riff while the rest of the band syncs up for a nice heavy beat. After the epic opening, the other guitarist and Harris's bass both speed up as we hear lots of nice, fast stuff in this main riff. It's still written like a regular song with this fast part being the verse and they move into a slower, fairly heavy chorus part that sounds pretty good.  After another verse and chorus they resume the epic opening riff briefly before it leads into the first guitar solo. Harris plays some really good bass in the background and whoever isn't soloing is also playing a nice rhythm guitar as the other delivers a pretty sweet solo overtop. After the solo both guitarists play this nice backing riff giving it some more oomph, then it's the other one's turn for a solo! I think this second solo is even better than the first one as these guys are great at playing this speedier style of metal. They slow it down for the finish as they do a great job with this instrumental song! The final note carries into the next song "Strange World" which has a very slow opening. One guitarist plays a light guitar riff while Burr adds some epic slow drums and Harris comes in with some cool bass. This slowly morphs into a nice riff with the other guitarist playing a great lead part that sounds quite epic. Di'Anno sings a slow, soft verse and his voice sounds good in this setting as both guitarists and Harris play some cool slow stuff. They return to the epic slow opening and while things certainly don't sound bad, this song is way different (and much slower) than everything else so far. One guitarist goes off for a slow solo that is definitely not as flashy as others on this record, but it fits the mood nicely and sounds pretty smooth. Di'Anno sings another sad verse and they play out the song the way it began with Burr's epic drums backing the slow guitar as Di'Anno sings a final long "ooh". Track 7 is "Charlotte The Harlot" and Harris and Murray both come out of the Gates playing some cool bass and guitar. The rest of the band comes in to form a fast main riff and Di'Anno resumes his usual vocal style singing quickly along. It's a fast-paced tune about a prostitute as we hear him sing "Charlotte the harlot take me to bed" in the catchy chorus. They play another quick verse and chorus before slowing things down quite a bit. It's a smooth segue though into a much slower riff led by some quiet but nice guitar. Di'Anno sings a new slower verse but I like it better when he's singing quicker and harsher than these slow, longer-held notes. It seems to last so long compared to the ultra-fast beginning and when they finally decide to speed things up again it leads right into a guitar solo. Murray and Stratton both get turns to shine in this solo and they both play some decent stuff before they resume the main verse. After a final.verse and chorus Murray plays some cool guitar at the end before Di'Anno ends things with a final "yeah!". The last song on this album is called "Iron Maiden", making this a rare case where there is a song, band and album all with the same name! It starts with a nice guitar riff and the other guitarist quickly copies him for more emphasis. The rhythm section comes in and completes another fast-paced riff that sounds pretty sweet as Di'Anno begins the first verse. He sings some very bloody and gory lyrics as the name of the band actually derives from a medieval torturing device! It's very metal indeed and the chorus has a catchy, bouncing beat to it as well as some backing vocals that sound much friendlier. They play another verse and chorus and then both guitars combine for a new epic building riff that leads to a sweet little bass part by Harris! His bass sounds pretty awesome and they tie things nicely back into the main beat for a final verse and chorus. It gets quiet for a second before we hear a final flourish ending that sounds pretty insane and brings this album to an end.

That is the end of "Iron Maiden" and I thought it was a pretty good album! The vocals aren't my favourite but they're not bad and the rest of the band sounds pretty excellent! There are lots of cool, fast guitar riffs and Steve Harris shows he's a really good bassist! I love where their heads are at as aside from "Strange World" the whole album was mostly very fast-paced. I'm excited to see where these guys will go from here, I'm sure they will get even better!