The 1982 Listening Post - Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

 Reviewed by John Tommasino

Released: March 22 1982 Iron Maiden The Number Of The Beast Genre: Heavy Metal/NWOBHM Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5 John’s Rating: 5 out of 5 Highlights: 22, Acacia Avenue Run To The Hills Hallowed Be Thy Name First of all, Iron Maiden is my favorite band of all time so I admit that is impossible to write an objective review. But I will try. Iron Maiden had put out two impressive high energy records with lead singer Paul Di'Anno and the band was building some serious momentum in the world of music. But behind the scenes, Di'Anno was rubbing a lot of people the wrong way with his brash attitude and unprofessional antics. If you get a chance, read the Maiden biography "Run to the Hills" by Mick Wall. Wall describes a typical Di'Anno episode when the maiden frontman mouthed off to Gene Simmons of Kiss when Simmons was paying the band a genuine bit of praise. Bassist Steve Harris and maiden manager Rod Smallwood had had enough. But switching vocalists before recording their third record was a big gamble. Fortunately Samson lead singer Bruce Dickinson was ready to take the band to a whole new level. The Number of the Beast is an epic metal album. From the opening track chronicling a medieval battle in 'Invaders' to the man contemplating his impending death in 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' this record delivers the metal goods like no one had before. Standouts include the title track and the first single released "Run to the Hills" but the whole record is solid prime metal. "22 Acacia Avenue" continues a story about a prostitute named Charlotte in epic form. The evocative title track reminds me of cinematic depictions of occult activity and I have no doubts that this song fueled the Satanic Panic of the 1980s...despite the cartoonish Derrick Riggs cover depicting Maiden mascot Eddie towering over the devil himself and pulling the strings of the prince of darkness. Even lesser known tracks like "Gangland" carry out a showcase for drummer Clive Burr and Harris on bass. Dickinson's operatic vocals prove to be more than a good fit for the group. The gamble paid off in spades. Without Dickinson I doubt the band would have evolved into the metal legends they are today. Give this album its due, it's a great one!

The 1981 Listening Post - Iron Maiden - Killers

 Iron Maiden - Killers 

#77

By Rob Haneisen

February 2 1981

Iron Maiden

Killers

Genre:

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Rob’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Highlights: 

Murders in the Rue Morgue

Killers

Prodigal Son

Drifter

Wrathchild

If you think you don’t like metal or Iron Maiden, listen to “Prodigal Son” on the album “Killers” and then shut the hell up. 

“Prodigal Son” breaks a lot of preconceived notions about the band and metal and hints at some of the song-writing greatness in store for the band in the years ahead. It’s not the best song on the album but it is one that breaks out of a comfortable space and lets the band expand its horizons. Yes, it sounds very much like Deep Purple, maybe with some elements of Rush, and it’s not the full-bore attack that other songs on “Killers” employ, but it shows that the band is no one-trick pony. And it features some downright elegant guitar solo-ing.

Full disclosure: I am a huge Iron Maiden fan, but I much prefer Bruce Dickinson as the lead singer instead the original Paul Di’Anno who appears on this record as well as Maiden’s first album.

That said, this whole album sees the band embracing the horror-themed New Wave of British Heavy Metal and moving away from the vaguely punkish-roots of the first album and veering more toward Deep Purple-ish territory.

The consistent link in this album and every other Maiden album is the insane, galloping bass from Steve Harris. His driving bass propels every song, even on “Prodigal Son” when the pace slows for a change.

Nearly 50 years later and the band still plays “Wrathchild” live and Dickinson’s rendition shows how much better the band is with him singing. It’s not that Di’Anno is bad. His voice is more of a raw, raspy snarl. Dickinson’s voice is dynamic, precise and rightly hailed as one of the best in all of rock and metal. Knowing his range and sheer vocal strength exposes Di’Anno’s limitations.

But let’s look closer at what’s on this album and try to evaluate it in its own right. First, two instrumental tracks – “The Ides of March” and “Genghis Khan” seem unnecessary other than showing off some fantastic guitar riffing. “Ides of March” basically serves as a short intro for “Wrathchild” as the next track. You get some great guitar work from Dave Murray and Adrian Smith here. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” sets into a frenetic beat and pace only beaten by the ridiculously fast “Purgatory.”

We get into Deep Purple territory with the extended drum intro for “Another Life” and more fantastic guitar riffing. “Innocent Exile” and the title track both open with a bass guitar intros, the later song – “Killers” - is the strongest on the album.

“Drifter” is great, rocking album closer.

As good as this album is, it’s somewhat shocking to listen to this and then the band’s next album (and some would argue their best and maybe the best metal album of all-time) “The Number of the Beast.” If ever a band exploded, it is on that album. 

But taking “Killers” at face value, it sounds quite unlike any other metal from 1981. Maiden’s two-guitar attack, Harris’s bass virtuosity, and Clive Burr’s fantastic drumming lay the foundations for what Maiden will become. It’s Di’Anno that holds them back here and prevents this very good album from being great.

That’s OK, greatness was waiting for Maiden next year.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0ICtvzBaaupE4LifaYbFAj?si=Bt3D1MQBQsqOcA4O3sE2mQ

The 1980 Listening Post - Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

#147

By Andrew Anthony

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Genre: New Wave of British Heavy Metal

Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5

Andrew Anthony Rating: 3 stars

Andrew’s Highlights:

Remember Tomorrow

Running Free

Strange World

Reviewed by Andrew Anthony

I was a latecomer to the whole Iron Maiden thing.  I had a fairly sheltered childhood and early adolescence, growing up in a conservative, devoutly Utah Mormon upbringing.  I wouldn’t really discover my love for hard rock and heavy metal for a couple more years, but my appreciation for Iron Maiden would come even later, when I was in my early 20s.

During my teen years, Iron Maiden t-shirts were the de rigueur uniform of the junior high and high school burnouts. We used to joke that you could tell when Maiden came to town, because the fans finally had a new shirt to replace the one they wore all year long from the previous tour. Because I associated Maiden with “those” kids, I wouldn’t have been caught dead listening to “that devil band”. (Secretly, as an early budding horror fan, I was absolutely fascinated by the imagery of Maiden’s iconic mascot, Eddie the Head.)

So, this is Maiden’s eponymous debut, the first of two albums to feature lead singer Paul Di’anno.  This is very much a band still in its embryonic stage but showing occasional flashes of the bombastic metal juggernaut that they would eventually become.  My first exposure to Maiden was Run to the Hills, one of their bigger hits, featuring Di’anno’s replacement, the operatic Bruce Dickinson, on vocals.  So, I was a bit surprised by Di’anno’s much more guttural, punk-sounding voice.  Kinda threw me off, to be honest, although I chose Remember Tomorrow as one of my favorite tracks in large part because Di’anno slows it down and sings quite soulfully. He’s actually got a decent set of pipes when he wants to.

Musically. this album is not nearly as sophisticated as later works, although Steve Harris already demonstrates the monster bassist that he is with his trademark “galloping” style of fingerpicking.  The guitar work is not nearly as fun as on later albums, when Dave Murray would be joined by Adrian Smith and they would explore the harmonic twin guitar sound that the band is known for. 

Lyrically, the band has some growing to do as well.  One of the things that most surprised me when I first started getting into Dickinson-era Maiden was how intelligent their lyrics were, drawing on inspiration from classic literature and historical events.  This album---eh, not so much.  Remember Tomorrow and Strange World show some promise, but Running Free’s stereotypically brainless metal lyrics are only overlooked because the song is so fun.  Prowler and Charlotte the Harlot are just EWWW. And Iron Maiden, the titular track, is a repetitive and dull way to end the album.

So, for a metal debut, it’s no Appetite for Destruction or Kill ‘Em All, but it does show some promise.  Just you wait, though…in a couple of years, Di’anno will be traded in for Dickinson, Smith will join the band and create a much better guitar dynamic, and Harris will start collaborating with the well-versed and literate Dickinson on improved lyrics, and Iron Maiden will become the 80s metal juggernaut that we all know and love. Heck, I’ve grown to appreciate Maiden so much, I might even buy a t-shirt!

https://open.spotify.com/album/5nyyw7ThJdClJ0jPisOta3?si=F40CgRb-RYqAf_kGgf7MvA

The 1986 Listening Post - Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time

Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time

#397/2076

September 30 1986

Iron Maiden

Somewhere in Time

Genre: Speed Metal

2.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Sea of Madness

Deja Vu

I’ve told the Iron Maiden story before, right? When my friend Pete and I convinced a girl to come to our apartment and hang out by saying we were in a band but really what we did was air guitar and air drum to “Run to the Hills”?

No? That’s the story.

It worked. 

She hung out with us. Stayed friends for decades. 

This whole album sounds like what Maiden is supposed to sound like. And that’s the problem. 

It’s “By the Numbers of the Beast”

https://music.apple.com/us/album/somewhere-in-time-2015-remastered-edition/1147150370

The 1984 Listening Post - Iron Maiden - Powerslave

Iron Maiden - Powerslave

#229

September 

Iron Maiden

Powerslave 

4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

2 Minutes to Midnight 

Losfer Words

The Duellists

If you like Iron Maiden you will dig this. 

For the most part, I do. 

What they do they do very well. 

They took Priest and injected adrenaline into it. 

Beethoven would have loved “The Duellists”.  In fact I think he would have appreciated most of Iron Maiden’s oeuvre. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/powerslave-2015-remastered-edition/1147170341

The 1983 Listening Post - Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind

Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind

Iron Maiden
Piece of Mind
3.5 out of 5

Highlights:
Troopers
Nightmares
Sun and Steel

I’m still amazed that this could be produced with a straight face just one year after Spinal Tap. I’m equally amazed at how listenable it is.
This is the malaria of 80s metal. At one moment it reaches the highest point of the form and then, in the next song, the very depths of cliche.
It’s more of the same from Eddie’s boys.