Friday, June 17, 2016

Throwback Thursday: Iron Maiden, by Iron Maiden



When most people think Iron Maiden, they think of albums like Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, etc. While those are of course amazing classic albums, they did some fantastic work before that as well with their original singer Paul Di'Anno (who was subsequently replaced by Bruce Dickinson). That said, their debut album Iron Maiden which came out in 1980 was not only a great album, but it actually brought a great deal of momentum to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal Movement that began in the late 70's and would carry into the mid-80's.

Iron Maiden lacks a great deal of the polish and luster that their more famous albums would have, but it makes up for that with a great deal of energy, good song writing, and musical prowess. You can hear even early on just what kinds of epic things they would do later on, except in a more raw street punk kind of way. In some ways, you can hear a lot of the punk influence Iron Maiden had early on (despite the fact that bassist, primary song writer, and founding member Steve Harris says the band despised everything about punk) before they went in a more power metal direction. It works out really well.

Running Free is the main single from Iron Maiden, and for good reason. It is bass heavy and the rhythm has this engrossing swing to it laid down by drummer Clive Burr that is hard not to get caught up in. Plus, who can resist belting along to its rather simplistic chorus? The guitars are actually meant more as a way to add a bit of extra punch to what the bass is already doing. To this day Iron Maiden still uses it as a focal piece in the show where they extend some of the bass centric parts and Dickinson introduces each individual member of the band. It's a great way to get your blood hot and your body moving when you need an extra shot of energy.

Phantom of the Opera in my opinion is one of the single greatest things Iron Maiden ever wrote and recorded. This is the track where the band really strutted their stuff in terms of their skill with their instruments and song writing. Clocking in at about 7 minutes it has multiple distinct parts to it, blindingly fast melodic guitar solos where Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton harmonize together so incredibly well. In a way it kind of takes you on this epic heavy metal journey. This is what I was referring to when earlier I mentioned even early on you could hear the traces of the epic things Iron Maiden would do later on.

Iron Maiden is definitely an under rated must have of an album. If you want to hear where Iron Maiden got their start or just want to hear some great heavy metal in general then you really have no excuse to be looking around any further than this. It's definitely a lot more raw and less shiny than what Iron Maiden has become famous for, but the greatness is still there. You just need to pick it up and give it a shot. If you're not playing this at 11 then you definitely have something wrong with you.

Iron Maiden, by Iron Maiden receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Prowler
2. Sanctuary
3. Remember Tomorrow
4. Running Free
5. Phantom of the Opera
6. Transylvania
7. Strange World
8. Charlotte the Harlot
9. Iron Maiden

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Maiden-Enhanced/dp/B000063COX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466151042&sr=8-1&keywords=Iron+Maiden+Iron+Maiden

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