IRON MAIDEN

A legendary debut from one of the most sophisticated of the famous heavy metal bands. Featuring double-guitar assaults, galloping rhythms, virtuosic bass playing, competent drumming, and the entertaining vocals of Paul Di'Anno who is in my opinion the best singer that Iron Maiden ever had. He has a wonderful range, powerful vocals, and a wonderful vibrato in his sustained vocals. Call him the Robert Plant of metal if you want.

The beginnings of Iron Maiden are very promising. The band started with a very energetic sound that will later deteriorate a little to sound more classical and sophisticated, which I believe is what it made Iron Maiden end up being in this website. The crunchy and fast-paced Prowler shows a catchy and energetic Iron Maiden. Another catchy song is Running Free which unfortunately is probably the weakest song they did in the first 3 albums. It has a linear drumming pattern and a repetitive chorus, and none of the complexity and hooks that make you want to listen to it more times. Iron Maiden is slightly disappointing because one might expect more from a title track of not only the album but the band's name. It is still a good catchy rocker, but nothing really sophisticated like the two songs that I will explore in the next paragraph.

Those three are the least interesting ones. The rest is a hell of a ride! A highlight is Remember Tomorrow . This song's songwriting has to be admired. It has wonderful soft (verse) - heavy (choruses) in the first two minutes. The verses are just simple guitars and Paul's gorgeous vocals until it explodes to a mighty scream and an incredibly wonderfully crafted guitar riff! Then there goes a fast paced guitar-driven instrumental and a last verse-chorus. The other highlight, Phantom of the Opera is more impressive from a technical point of view, and is at least as enjoyable to listen to as Remember Tomorrow. It has everything: very interesting lighting-speed double guitar riffs, Paul Di'Anno's best vocal performance (in my opinion), great bass playing, tight composition, extended instrumental section, and some of the most energetic melodic music I ever came across.

The other songs are very good too. Transylvannia is an energetic and virtuosic instrumental. Strange World is the rare Iron Maiden ballad, with elegant amplified acoustic guitars, gorgeous soaring electric guitars, and Paul's melodic vocals. It works well as a moment to rest from the loud music from the previous two tracks. Charlote the Harlot is a good rocker made great by the amazing voice of Di'Anno. It has a soft musical break around the middle with Paul's great sustained vibrato vocals in the spotlight, proving that Iron Maiden is not the typical metal band.

One of their best albums and a great place to start if you are new to the band. This album is not really "prog", but it has terrific songwriting, technical playing, accessibility, powerful vocals, and more complexity than the average hard rock radio music. So, even if it is not prog, it is an excellent addition to have in your collection.