Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
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Free Music Notes for Iron Maiden
Free Music Review: Still killer after all these years.
Hit: 5 Stars
The previous reviews of Maiden's debut have been quite extensive and well received. It's hard to say anything negative about this classic piece of metal artistry. From start to finish it delivers a non-stop barrage of stellar riffs, searing vox, backed by the rhythm section of Clive Burr and the untouchable Steve Harris providing both the bones and the heart that hold the beast together. I first bought this album in 1983, and to this day I have yet to pick all the pieces of my skull from out of the wall from having my head blown up by what I had heard. "Iron Maiden" sounds as phenomenal today as it did back then, and while many metal bands works from the early '80s sound dated, this one has never lost its edge. Unique in every way, "Iron Maiden" crossed numerous boundaries in sound and style. Production wise, I've found this one to be the most polished, as it lacks what could be considered the heaviness that makes Maiden Maiden, but this never causes the album to suffer in any way. Did the band get better after after this one? In some ways, yes: Paul Di'Anno got more sinister in his vocals, then he split, (I must add that Bruce Dickinson was a most excellent replacement) the guitar tandems changed but Adrian Smith only added to the assault, Nicko McBrain replaced Clive, but that's the business. All changes aside I still hold this debut as one of the best albums ever. It's got it all! It's both beauty and beast without sacrificing one for the other. I only have two questions regarding the new enhanced versions... what's the deal with the new cover art?! And what happened to the Castle re-releases with the extra CDs (ie: "Killers" with the bonus disc of "Maiden Japan")???Free Music Review: Debut albums don't get much better than this
Hit: 5 Stars
Those of you expecting dungeons and dragons lyrics mixed in with synthesizers and falsetto vocals are in for something else. Iron Maiden's debut album is a rough, undiluted, and highly creative combination of metal, punk, and hard rock.
Prowler, with its memorable opening riff and incredible solo by Dave Murray, earns it place alongside Aces High and The Wicker Man as a classic album opener. Sanctuary is a punk-flavored rocker with some appropriately rough vocals by Paul Dianno, who was in many ways Maiden's best singer. Remember Tomorrow has a heavy midsection flanked by slower, moodier, and groove-oriented verses. Running Free, a concert favorite, is somewhat simplistic, though it's not nearly as flat as when Bruce sings it nowadays.
Phantom of The Opera is the album's centerpiece, a complex epic that puts most other songs by NWOBHM bands from that time to shame. Clive Burr's drumming here is especially great, as it is on Transylvania, one of Maiden's better instrumentals. The song leads into Strange World, the band's single best ballad. I don't even want to think how Bruce would sound singing this one. Dennis Stratton also has a great solo here. Charlotte the Harlot and Iron Maiden both have the raw "street" feel that many Maiden songs in the future lack.
Along with Killers and Number of the Beast, I would say that this debut is one of the band's very best. A lot of debut albums seem very ameteurish and contain songs that all sound the same. Iron Maiden, however, clearly shows that the players in the band were talented and professional from the get go. This classic album has the diversity and edge that most of the band's future albums lack.
Free Music Review: Wow, really good for a first album
Hit: 5 Stars
In 1980, a musical revolution was occuring in the U.K. It was called the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Iron Maiden was one of those bands. Although they would later becomes more of a progressive metal band, on this first album of theirs, they have more of a punkish metal sound. Paul di'Anno seems to be forgotten nowadays, but he is a really good singer, his voice is raw and rugged and it fits the music perfectly. And the twin guitar attack of Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton (no relation) is pretty damn good too.
The album starts off with the awesome Prowler. "Walking through the city. Looking oh so pretty." Awesome start. Nice hard rocker with catchy riffs. Other songs I love are the catchy Charlotte the Harlot and the punk-like Sanctuary. Running Free is a nice little number with a chorus that COMMANDS you to sing along. I mean, give it a listen and tell me that you can't sing along to it! Iron Maiden is another awesome song with guitar riffs to f*cking die for. Trnasylvania is a killer instrumental with some of the best leads I have heard.
Strange World is an awesome slow song. Remember Tomorrow also rules. It has soft and heavy parts, and a killer solo. I love it when Paul sings softly "Flickers above us to light up the" and then he screams "SKY!!!" But the centerpiece of the album is the 7 minute Phantom of the Opera. Some nice fast riffs open the song and not once does the song get tedious or boring. Paul sings pretty fast on some parts. Definitely a hint at what was to come....
This band got off to an excellent start. And they would churn out even better albums later. They were just getting started....
Free Music Review: Not best, but far from worst!
Hit: 5 Stars
Iron Maiden's self titled debut (1980) is not anywhere near matching the power of the 1982 masterpiece 'Number of the Beast,' but is a very strong album nonetheless. It is the only album to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton, and features bass work almost as good as the followup, 'Killers,' the better of the two Paul Di'Anno era records.
Though the Paul Di'Anno era is far from their best times, it certainly kills the Blaze Bayley era by a longshot. The album features some songs that would lay the foundation for some of their future masterpieces-the twin guitar assault, the top-notch basslines, the insane vocals.
And now, of course, the three major highlights of the album. "Phantom of the Opera" is the epic of the album, with such an amazing (and lengthy) instrumental break, it will take your breath away. "Transylvania" is one of the greatest metal instrumental tracks of all time, almost as good as Metallica's "Call of Ktulu" and "Orion" numbers. And closer "Iron Maiden" is a short, fast, and somewhat simple way to say, "you're next on my list!" The lyrics, though they repeat themselves a total of three times through, tell all about this band, and the chorus goes a little something like this:
"Oh well, wherever, wherever you are...
Iron Maiden's GONNA GET YOU!...no matter how far.
See the blood flow, watching it shed
Up above my head...
IRON MAIDEN WANTS YOU FOR DEAD!!!"
Need I say more? For people looking for a good beginner's choice, this is perfect.
"I'm comin' to get you!"-Iron Maiden
Free Music Review: One of the most powerful metal debuts...
Hit: 5 Stars
On my opinion, this album certainly is Maiden's all-time best. Each track is a masterpiece of its own, which proves that Di'Anno is a great vocalist. Prowler - A great opener, which I consider as a classic, because of it's powerful solos and riffs. Di'Annos vocals are great. 10/10
Sanctuary - Another one of my favourites. Many people don't seem to like this and I don't know what is wrong with 'em... 9.5/10
Remember Tomorrow - Di'Anno really does his best here. Powerful riffs and the great vocals make this a very cool song. 10/10
Running Free - Maiden's first single is quite simplistic, but effective. The guitars are great. 9/10
Phantom of the Opera - The best song of the album. This 7-minute epic is one of Maiden's greatest masterpieces (on my opinion). The guitars are outstanding... 11/10
Transylvania - Maiden's first instrumental is very good, but its only problem is that it ain't as good as "Genghis Khan" on "Killers". 9.5/10
Strange World - A song that proves, that early Maiden was not only a Metal. This ballad is certainly worth of a listen, since Di'Anno's vocals are breathtaking. 10/10
Charlotte the Harlot - The first part of the Charlotte saga ain't that special, but somehow the song just rocks... Clive's drumming is on its own here. 9/10
Iron Maiden - A pretty simple song, but it has the best chorus ever written. A very good song, especially, when played alive. 9.5/10
Now there is only one thing for you to do: Buy this album! Trust me...it REALLY is worth of it.