IRON MAIDEN

The first two album of Iron Maiden are really different from the Number of the Beast era and after that. Lead singer Paul Di'Anno has an amazing enthusiastic rock/punk voice and the style of the band is a mixture of heavy rock with a lot of melodic parts (for Metal that is) and energetic rock'n roll waves. The debut album of Maiden sounds as a debut should sound: wild, naive and rockin'! The recognizable artwork of Iron Maiden is already in place. Perhaps the artwork is a bit too dark for the music and attitude of the band, but it become an important element of the bands style.

There has been some debate about the recording of this record. I only have one simple thing to add to this controversy: A vinyl version of the album sounds great.

Well, Iron Maiden is perhaps one of the best collaborations of great musicians in the metal- world. The shy band-leader Steve Harris and guitar-god Dave Murray form the basis of the band. People who are musicians themselves will here a special approach to the music: when focussed on the fact the bass-player writes most of the songs a magical world opens: An eighties metal-band with melodic bass-lines! The guitars are amazing and the solo's of Iron Maiden have always been good.

The songwriting is strong. No stadium-rock non-sense, no standard head-banging riffs: Iron Maiden was far ahead of the bands of eighties. Prowler is an energetic rock' opener with a remarkable use of the wah-pedal. Sanctuary focusses on the rock-side of the music whilst Remember Tomorrow shows the great emotional part of the band. On this song the vocals are especially memorable. Running Free is a simple track, but still effective. Phantom of the Opera is Iron Maiden's first epic with very progressive songwriting and great musicianship. The instrumental Transylvania further explores Iron Maiden's compositional and technical possibilities. Strange World is one of the bands most silent songs. It's a beautiful atmospheric song with nice cleans guitars and a gentle distorted solo's. Great tune! Charlotte the Harlot is a great fusion between Iron Maidens rock'n roll tendencies and it's melodic emotional approach. The final track, the Iron Maiden-song, is a rocker with nice riffs and the usual energetic approach. Great!

Conclusion. Well, I can't think of a lot of other records of this quality of the year 1980. It's a great start for the band and still a great album today. Perhaps this has little to do with the progressive movement, but Iron Maiden's style might still be very appealing to most fans of progressive music because of the melodic and inventive approach of the band. Four stars!

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