Hi everyone! I'm new around here. As I understand, this part of the forum can be used to submit reviews. Well, I wrote one some months ago, which was going to be used on my own website. Unfortunately, the interest in having an own website dwindled with time, so I never got to use the review. But now that I have the chance, I might as well post it here. It's a review of Iron Maiden's debut 
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden's debut album is one of the finest debut albums there is. It was released as a part of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, called so because of hordes of new British bands breaking out to the world. While most of these bands disappeared into obscurity within a couple of years, the biggest of them, most notably Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon, secured their place in the history books as some of the greatest bands ever. And realizing that Def Leppard is too soft for banging, and Saxon just plain suck, Iron Maiden's all that's left.
The album kicks off with 'Prowler', a typical pre-Bruce Maiden song, in its simplicity and straight out rock style. Still, it contains what Maiden essentially reinvented: the rhythm changes. The bands of the seventies, with the exception of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (and the prog bands, of course), maintained a single rhythm throughout a song. This was the thing every major band did until Maiden suddenly rised to stardom and changed everyone's idea of how to write a heavy metal song. Anyway, to get to the point here, Prowler is a very good opener, and already on this very first song it becomes apparent that Paul Di'anno is a very good singer. What other thing you notice is Murray's and Stratton's blistering dual lead guitar attack, something Maiden would use often in the years to come. Drummer Clive Burr is also doing a very good job. He's one of my favourite drummers of all time, mainly because he's so aggressive, but I like the fact that he can switch to more subtle drumming when a song needs it.
But perhaps the thing you notice the most is something else, namely Steve Harris galloping on his bass. Never have I heard a bass as upfront in the sound as Harris' bass. Not only that, but the way he plays it is incredible. It's like a third lead guitar sometimes, only deep down. Maybe I should get on with the track listing here. 'Sanctuary' is the second song, though it wasn't on the debut album until the Maiden back catalogue re-release some three years back, in '98. It's those versions of the albums I review, with added bonus tracks and improved sound. 'Sanctuary' is a very good rocker, but not anything special. I can understand why it's a bonus track. It's the third track on the album that makes you realize quite how fantastic Maiden are. 'Remember Tomorrow' make most songs gone before seem dull. It's a ballad of sorts, but what's so great about it, is that there's a beautiful verse first, where Di'Anno's singing is pure magic, and when the verse is done, the rest of Maiden suddenly become more aggressive, resulting in a great contrast to the verse. Hard to explain, but trust me, that song is one of Maiden's very best. I'll try to be less informative about each and every song from now on, as it seems impossible to explain in detail anyway.
'Running Free' is one of the big Maiden anthems. It's a short and overly simple song which emphasizes sing-along, especially when played live (the 'Live After Death' version is three-four times the length of the original). Next up is the song which marked where Maiden would go in the future, 'Phantom of the Opera'. Based on the famous story (and this is something Maiden would do a lot, to base songs on other medias like books and movies) , it's an epic, and easily the longest and most intricate song on the record. Then comes one of Maiden's regrettably few instrumentals, 'Transylvania'. It's short and sweet, and very good. It really showcases how good instrumentalists Maiden are. I just wish they could future one on every album, but oh, well. Track number seven is 'Strange World'. It's a eerie ballad, kind of dreamlike in its state, where Di'Anno again uses his voice in a beautiful way, and the lead guitar solos are incredible. Then it's mood changing time again, as 'Charlotte the Harlot' comes along. This is almost rock, and it always reminds me of AC/DC in the way the lead guitar solo is played. Of course, a certain 'Bring Your Daughter...' ten years later would be the real AC/DC-rip off.
Finally, the song 'Iron Maiden' concludes the album. It's a perfect album closer, it kind of reaffirms you of that Maiden is the king: "oh well, whatever, wherever you are / Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far." From here, Maiden would go from strength to strength in the rest of the 80's, with the exception of the second album, but that's another review. All in all, Iron Maiden's debut album is very good. Even though the sound is a bit raw, it still, at least with the remastering, holds up by far. Iron Maiden's got me alright.
Score: 9
Hope you all enjoyed it.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden's debut album is one of the finest debut albums there is. It was released as a part of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, called so because of hordes of new British bands breaking out to the world. While most of these bands disappeared into obscurity within a couple of years, the biggest of them, most notably Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon, secured their place in the history books as some of the greatest bands ever. And realizing that Def Leppard is too soft for banging, and Saxon just plain suck, Iron Maiden's all that's left.
The album kicks off with 'Prowler', a typical pre-Bruce Maiden song, in its simplicity and straight out rock style. Still, it contains what Maiden essentially reinvented: the rhythm changes. The bands of the seventies, with the exception of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (and the prog bands, of course), maintained a single rhythm throughout a song. This was the thing every major band did until Maiden suddenly rised to stardom and changed everyone's idea of how to write a heavy metal song. Anyway, to get to the point here, Prowler is a very good opener, and already on this very first song it becomes apparent that Paul Di'anno is a very good singer. What other thing you notice is Murray's and Stratton's blistering dual lead guitar attack, something Maiden would use often in the years to come. Drummer Clive Burr is also doing a very good job. He's one of my favourite drummers of all time, mainly because he's so aggressive, but I like the fact that he can switch to more subtle drumming when a song needs it.
But perhaps the thing you notice the most is something else, namely Steve Harris galloping on his bass. Never have I heard a bass as upfront in the sound as Harris' bass. Not only that, but the way he plays it is incredible. It's like a third lead guitar sometimes, only deep down. Maybe I should get on with the track listing here. 'Sanctuary' is the second song, though it wasn't on the debut album until the Maiden back catalogue re-release some three years back, in '98. It's those versions of the albums I review, with added bonus tracks and improved sound. 'Sanctuary' is a very good rocker, but not anything special. I can understand why it's a bonus track. It's the third track on the album that makes you realize quite how fantastic Maiden are. 'Remember Tomorrow' make most songs gone before seem dull. It's a ballad of sorts, but what's so great about it, is that there's a beautiful verse first, where Di'Anno's singing is pure magic, and when the verse is done, the rest of Maiden suddenly become more aggressive, resulting in a great contrast to the verse. Hard to explain, but trust me, that song is one of Maiden's very best. I'll try to be less informative about each and every song from now on, as it seems impossible to explain in detail anyway.
'Running Free' is one of the big Maiden anthems. It's a short and overly simple song which emphasizes sing-along, especially when played live (the 'Live After Death' version is three-four times the length of the original). Next up is the song which marked where Maiden would go in the future, 'Phantom of the Opera'. Based on the famous story (and this is something Maiden would do a lot, to base songs on other medias like books and movies) , it's an epic, and easily the longest and most intricate song on the record. Then comes one of Maiden's regrettably few instrumentals, 'Transylvania'. It's short and sweet, and very good. It really showcases how good instrumentalists Maiden are. I just wish they could future one on every album, but oh, well. Track number seven is 'Strange World'. It's a eerie ballad, kind of dreamlike in its state, where Di'Anno again uses his voice in a beautiful way, and the lead guitar solos are incredible. Then it's mood changing time again, as 'Charlotte the Harlot' comes along. This is almost rock, and it always reminds me of AC/DC in the way the lead guitar solo is played. Of course, a certain 'Bring Your Daughter...' ten years later would be the real AC/DC-rip off.
Finally, the song 'Iron Maiden' concludes the album. It's a perfect album closer, it kind of reaffirms you of that Maiden is the king: "oh well, whatever, wherever you are / Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far." From here, Maiden would go from strength to strength in the rest of the 80's, with the exception of the second album, but that's another review. All in all, Iron Maiden's debut album is very good. Even though the sound is a bit raw, it still, at least with the remastering, holds up by far. Iron Maiden's got me alright.
Score: 9
Hope you all enjoyed it.
