Iron Maiden - Killers

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Free Music Notes for Killers

Free Music Review: Wow! Was I ever Surprised!!
Hit: 5 Stars

I'd been holding off on buying this album for some time before I actually committed to the purchase, and I'm not quite sure why. It was the only real Iron Maiden record I'd ever considered to be a gamble to buy, and I was torn between the mixed reviews I'd seen for this album at Amazon. Couple that with the fact that my friend (who's also a huge Maiden fan) bought the Killers album before me, didn't like it, and sold it soon after. Despite all this, I figured I owed this album a shot and some of my time and so I finally bought the album and took it home for a listen, and that's when I arrived at my own conclusion on this long-disputed album. My friend made a HUGE mistake.

I've now listened to this album at enough length to finally feel justified in giving a review, and confidently telling you all that this is one AWESOME album. Easily one of the, if not THE most underrated album in all of Iron Maiden's catalogue. While the first Maiden album gave the world a taste of what was to come, and was one hell of a debut as well, the production was a bit faltered and the music imbued with a punkish feel that, although enjoyed by many (including myself) did not really indicate the true musical direction this band would soon be going. Killers is an album I feel much better represents Iron Maiden's growing maturity and increasing musical finesse and the seeds for later Maiden classics such as Somewhere in Time and Powerslave are really planted here.

The album begins with an up and in your face instrumental, The Ides of March, which, although the worse of the two instrumental tracks on the album, excellently conveys to the listener the quick pace and tempos of this cd; Iron Maiden's fastest album, for sure. We are then treated to the groove and all-around classic rock powerhouse that is Wrathchild (to this day a concert favorite) followed up by the excellent and slightly punky Murders in the Rue Morgue. The next highlight is Genghis Khan, the album's second instrumental... this is were the true dual guitar bliss of Murray and Smith is born, my friends. The riff that continues to the end of this song is awesome, it really gives you the feeling that this band knows they're destined for greatness, they're just playing their hearts out and waiting for it to happen. The last two major standouts here (they're all awesome, see for yourself) are the title track, Killers, and Purgatory. Killers I was already a bit familiar with from concert footage, so I knew what to expect, but Purgatory was what really surprised me. This song flat-out knocked me off my butt, I never saw it coming. This is classic Maiden, beginning to end, you've gotta hear it, it's definitely the highlight of the album, and one of my new favorites. It all helps to flesh out the closing section of the cd and wrap up the album.

All in all, this is by far an extremely underrated Maiden classic, and the band members are all at the top of their game here. So what if Paul Di'Anno is eclipsed by Dickinson's legendary pipes after this cd? He does exactly what he's supposed to do here, and he puts on a great vocal performance. In fact, I couldn't imagine listening to this album without him. Clive Burr's drumming brings out the breakneck speed of this album as good as anybody else, and I'm personally saddened his career with Maiden would end just one album later. Guitar fans can rejoice, as this is the album where the Murray-Smith duo is born, and Adrian definitely makes his voice-er, guitar heard from start to finish. Steve Harris? Well, to put it simply, the nucleus of Iron Maiden OWNS this album. Every song is highly punctuated with Harris' rhythmic bass, giving several songs a groovy, and sometimes even funky, feel. This album really proved to me the undeniable talent of Steve Harris; if you want to hear his best bass performance on any Maiden record, look no further than right here. Awesome stuff.

This just about closes my review on this awesome and highly underrated Maiden achievement. If you're still somewhat at odds about buying this album due to some unjustified negative reviews, let me settle the score by telling you its well worth the money. I've owned this record for a quite some time now and I enjoy it more and more with each listen. If you're a fan, it's still Maiden, and you'll feel right at home here. If you're a bit of a newbie to Iron Maiden, I'd reccomend some of Maiden's later stuff first to get you a bit settled and familiar with their sound before you venture into some of their more experimental territory. But once you're ready... take the plunge into Killers, it's one hell of a ride.

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