Killers: individual album judgement by yours truly

Back in 1990 there was a review from German (I believe) Metal Hammer for the top important albums of the decade. The most one group would have were 3 albums. Not many groups had such honor though, right out of the bat it was Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Motörhead, maybe Slayer. For Maiden, the magazine selected the first 3 and since the review was highly influential (everybody I knew had read it) Killers gained a holy cow status for the community and for me. Granted, it's a great album, but hey, Piece of Mind & Powerslave were clearly better and could be there in that list instead.
It took me a long time, especially after I joined here, to start seeing its flaws. Of course I still like it very much; a very strong album, pure in-your-face adrenaline at times combined with the first epic moments that would define our lives. And its sound is unique.

Below my verdict taking into consideration the full Maiden catalogue:

The Ides of March - 7
Wrathchild - 9
Murders in the Rue Morgue - 7
Another Life - 5
Genghis Khan - 6
Innocent Exile - 4
Killers - 5
Prodigal Son - 5
Purgatory - 4
Drifter - 3

Average: 5.50

This is a middle tier album and at no11 best in Maiden's catalogue for me, based on individual song polls rankings. Since songs have been ranked against the entire catalogue, anything ≥ 4 is good.

I explain the methodology for my ratings here.
 
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Killers (1981)

The Ides or March - 8/10 >
Wrathchild - 7/10 >
Murders in the Rue Morgue - 8/10 >
Another Life - 6/10 >
Genghis Khan - 8/10 >
Innocent Exile - 6/10 >
Killers - 8/10 >
Prodigal Son - 7/10 >
Purgatory - 4/10 >
Drifter - 3/10 >

Yeah, Killers isn’t a bad album (though a couple of songs come close), it’s just merely okay in the discography of a band that’s consistently great. There are some strong songs here, but they get overshadowed by the weaker ones. Numbers like “Another Life” and “Innocent Exile” feel incomplete, and “Purgatory” and “Drifter” are just straight-up meh. The mix is kind of bad too. Very much an album I don’t come back to if I can help it.

Total: 65%
Weighted: 64%
 
Since I've mentionned this album as one if not the weakest in their catalogue, why not some explanation about it. I don't consider Killers as a bad album, it's just that compared to Maiden standards and specially compared to their first, this one is just way too generic. Where the first album has a lot of different elements in it, you'll have short rockers (Prowler), songs mixing calm and heavy parts (Remember tomorrow), a "groovy" sing along song (Running Free), one of their best epics with Phantom, a calm and dreamy one (Strange World), most of Killers songs just sound alike. It's like their (or should I say Steve's) songwriting took a few steps back instead of going forward. Songs like Another Life, Innocent Exile sound lifeless and just so generic (yeah I use this word a lot) that any band could have written them. Killers and MitRM have both great intros but then become so repetitive whereas they're under 5 min length!!! And then you have the worst song in their entire catalogue, Drifter, that has to be probably the only one I can never listen to in its entirety...among their whole discography. Yeah it's that bad, this is a third division track, that wouldn't even be good enough for a B-side. Did I mention the..."lyrics"??????

Just for fun here are the grades taking in consideration their whole discography:
The Ides of March -5 (not bad but it's just too short to get an higher grade)
Wrathchild - 8 (the best track no doubt and one of their best short rockers)
Murders in the Rue Morgue - 5 (great intro but then all falls apart in less than one minute)
Another Life - 4 (boring music, boring lyrics)
Genghis Khan - 6 (never been a big fan of instrumentals but this one is quite good)
Innocent Exile - 4 (same as Another Life)
Killers - 5 (MitRM syndrome)
Prodigal Son - 7 (Maiden goes acoustic? Not bad at all even if sometimes it sounds as a total different band but at least something different)
Purgatory - 7 (I can't explain but always loved this one, in just 3 minutes, it has a lot of different things and great melodies)
Drifter - 2 (worst Maiden song ever, enough said)

Average: 5.3...at the bottom of their catalogue for me (yeah I even like Virtual XI more...I said it!)
 
Ides of March : 8
Wrathchild : 8
Murders in the Rue Morgue : 8
Another Life : 9
Genghis Khan : 10 (their best instrumental)
Innocent Exile : 4
Killers : 9
Prodigal Son : 10
Purgatory : 10
Drifter : 8

I'm not a big fans of notations. Does it make sense to give the same note to Prodigal Son and Hell on Earth ? No. But giving the first a solid 10, I mean that I enjoy every second of the song. 40 years after listening to it for the fist time, it must tell something about the song quality.
 
5,8 Night Prowler
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The Ides Of March - 7
Wrathchild - 7
Murders In The Rue Morgue - 7
Another Life - 4
Genghis Khan - 4
Innocent Exile - 3
Killers - 7
Prodigal Son - 6
Purgatory - 3
Twilight Zone - 3
Drifter - 4

Average: 5
 
The shape of things to come.

That's how I would define Iron Maiden's sophomore effort Killers. Not only in the band's history but also in regards to the genre itself, influencing a generation of musicians.

The opening instrumental The Ides Of March, co-written by former drummer Thunderstick and Harris has a nice feel to it and works efficiently to start the album, smoothly transitioning into the opening bass line of the definite highlight, Wrathchild! The main riff (reminds of Deep Purple's Stormbringer) has a great groove to it and not to mention, Paul Di'Anno has certainly progressed as a vocalist. Great song and no doubt it has remained a fan favourite. Murders In The Rue Morgue (Maiden's early outing with bringing literature through the form of music) and Another Life are among the most punk-influenced songs the band has written. The former starts with a mellow intro, soon bursting into a tight rhythm. It has a nice feel to it, the band doesn't forgets to infuse its signature twin-guitar harmonies and has got rapid fire vocal deliveries. Another Life starts with a drum solo (Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater once called it his favourite by the band) further diving into some really cool guitar licks and again a driving rhythm section throughout. Genghis Khan almost sounds like a video game soundtrack and is an awesome instrumental. Not to mention, it went on to influence two very popular songs in different genres! Any guess? Tracks like Innocent Exile and Drifter have a kind of chutzpah and that early period rock 'n' roll feel to them. But there is something about them that suggests that they were recorded while the band was jamming around and then lyrics were simply added later to them. Anyway, still enjoyable songs. Clive Burr (R.I.P.) was a complete beast behind the kit! Killers is another highlight of the album. Starts with a bass lick then kicks straight into the band's signature galloping, which would go on to be a defining element for Maiden. Di'Anno gets to shine on the softer track Prodigal Son. No high pitched vocals or anything but really good singing. Nice vibe with a good guitar solo. Purgatory again got that punk rock energy to it with a high voltage delivery by the entire band. Not much to look into the lyrics though. Twilight Zone though not originally in the album but recoded around the same period, has a main riff which could easily sail across the glam metal territory. A fun song with a catchy hook.

Overall, I think it is a strong album (Dave Mustaine's favourite Maiden album!), though surprisingly less ambitious compared to the band's debut in terms of musical arrangements. A bit incoherent actually and songwriting not being the very best. Yet Adrian Smith comes as a great addition to the band and Paul Di'Anno's vocals are at their best, a shame his demons got better of him and he couldn't stay committed to the band.

Thanks for reading. Up the Irons! :edmetal:

(for my other album reviews - click here)
 
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Siddharth said:
TGenghis Khan almost sounds like a video game soundtrack and is an awesome instrumental. Not to mention, it went on to influence two very popular songs in different genres! Any guess?
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Which songs are you talking about please ?

Siddharth said:
Tracks like Innocent Exile and Drifter have a kind of chutzpah and that early period rock 'n' roll feel to them. But there is something about them that suggests that they were recorded while the band was jamming around and then lyrics were simply added later to them. Anyway, still enjoyable songs.
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Come on. Earlier live recordings contradict your assumption, and Innocent Exile is one of Steve's very first songs.
 
harrisdevot said:
Which songs are you talking about please ?
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The lead melody in Last Resort by Papa Roach sounds a lot similar to that in Genghis Khan (on the mark of 01:48 onwards):


Which in turn, again can be heard in another bollywood number :p


harrisdevot said:
Come on. Earlier live recordings contradict your assumption, and Innocent Exile is one of Steve's very first songs.
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Just stating my opinion. Both songs are good and total jams. I just feel, the band has done much better in terms of songwriting.
 
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