The Spanish
Metal Hammer issue that featured this
November 1998 interview with Steve and Blaze (harsh interview that perfectly portrays what the band had to go through during this era) added 'Arry's take on every album that got remastered back then.
English translation below the scanned images.
IRON MAIDEN (1980)
"It’s actually a sort of ‘Best Of’ from the four years before we were signed. I don’t like the production; Will Malone did pretty much nothing – we did it ourselves, which is why it sounds so raw! We hadn’t even rehearsed the songs because, after four years, we knew them by heart. You can feel the energy, the aggression, the hope, and the enthusiasm – all wrapped up in one."
9 music (6 production)
KILLERS (1981)
"Once again, we had a lot of material from before we got signed. I think there were only four new songs written specifically for the album, but they were still very powerful. The Eddie concept really took off with the artwork Derek Riggs brought to us, and, of course, it was our last album with Paul (Di' Anno) on vocals."
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THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST (1982)
"The first album with Bruce (Dickinson) and the first one where we had to write absolutely every song. Nobody said, 'I'm going to write a classic song,' but with «Number Of The Beast» and «Run To The Hills», I think that's what happened. I don't like «Gangland»; that's why we added «Total Eclipse» to the new track listing."
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PIECE OF MIND (1983)
"The first album with Nicko (McBrain). When we gave «Flight Of Icarus» as the single to the record label, they freaked out, saying it was too different from «Run To The Hills». We told them they weren’t allowed in the studio from then on. There are some really powerful songs on this album: «Die With Your Boots On», «Revelations», «The Trooper». It was my favourite album for years.”
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POWERSLAVE (1984)
"A very powerful album with four killer tracks: «Aces High» , «Powerslave» , «Two Minutes To Midnight» and «Rime Of The Ancient Mariner», plus three other tracks that don’t measure up when you compare them to the good ones… «Mariner» was a long song, but back then I really liked bands that did songs like that; Yes dedicated an entire side of an album to a single song..."
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LIVE AFTER DEATH (1985)
"It's a really good live album. I remember the crowd in Long Beach, California, screaming like crazy. We originally released only three vinyl sides on a single CD, but the remastered version includes both CDs with the missing fourth side. It's essentially the first "best of" album we ever made.”
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SOMEWHERE IN TIME
(1986)
"We got tired of people saying we weren’t evolving enough. But on this one we got criticized for trying something different with synthesized guitars and such. «Wasted Years», is one of our most commercial songs. «Stranger In A Strange Land» is also very different. We still play «Heaven Can Wait» live. It's material that’s still very powerful today.”
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SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
(1988)
"This has been my favourite Maiden album for a long time. I like the balance between the heavier material and the more progressive stuff. «Can I Play With Madness» , «The Evil That Men Do», «Clairvoyant», and «Infinite Dreams» were all hit singles, and that year we headlined the Monsters of Rock festivals all over Europe.”
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NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING
(1990)
"The first album with Janick. Maybe it was a reaction to the airy sound of
Seventh Son... We wanted to make an album that sounded raw. It has some good moments, like «Tailgunner», «Bring Your Daughter…», «Holy Smoke». I don’t think the other songs are quite as powerful, but the only thing I regret is not having added live audience noise to the tracks. It worked perfectly when we did it in the «Tailgunner» video.”
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FEAR OF THE DARK
(1992)
"For me, it's an uneven album. We had great success with «Be Quick Or Be Dead». I think the songs I wrote are the strongest I've ever done—«Afraid To Shoot Strangers» and «Fear Of The Dark»—but there’s other material, more experimental that wasn't as good. «Weekend Warrior», «The Apparition» and «Chains of Misery» were okay, but they weren’t brilliant.”
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LIVE AT DONINGTON
(1992)
"It was originally designed to be a simple collector’s item, but when it came to the remaster, we decided to put a bit more effort into the cover design. It was a very powerful release because it's a single concert, with a feeling of continuity – which is what I'd rather do going forward. We really enjoyed that whole day, and had a tremendous gig.”
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A REAL LIVE/ DEAD ONE
(1993)
“It was originally released as two separate CDs, but we decided to combine them for the remasters. I like those two albums, even though it was harder to work on them than on
Live At Donington. The idea was to get the best-sounding tracks from different shows, but I doubt that's the best way to do it. It signalled the end of our tours with Bruce. Some nights were excellent, and others not so good."
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