Countdown to Senjutsu. 17 albums in 17 days.

Moving on to #2!

If you asked me to pick the better Dianno album, I think I'd pick the debut every time - but when I listen to Killers, I have to question why. The title track is the best thing put out during the Dianno era. Purgatory is a great song (highly reminiscent of The Trooper imo). Wrathchild is a bit of a meme nowadays but it's a good song. As an aside, I really wish that The Ides Of March wasn't a separate track for the sake of my shuffle. We also have a great deeper cut in Murders in the Rue Morgue and some variety with Prodigal Son and Genghis Khan.

I think the "problem" with Killers comes in the tracks I haven't mentioned. For those not keeping score, those are Another Life, Innocent Exile, Twilight Zone and Drifter. I find it quite difficult to distinguish these tracks, and whilst they're all enjoyable to listen to, I think it ends up making the album feel a little less memorable than the debut.
 
Killers day is finished!

Yeah I really prefer Iron Maiden. Killers start out so fantastic with Ides, Wrathchild and Murders. Then it goes down for me. Another Life is meh and forgettable, Genghis great. Innocent forgettable, Killers great and then it continues like that for the rest of the album. Imo two songs could go from the album and it would have been better.
But its still solid and easy to listen to. But it also like Iron Maiden dont make me feel alot and I dont really get into it. Mostly becasue of Paul.
Overall I find this album more forgettable then the first one.
Album cover is amazing though, prefer it over Iron Maiden. Its so brutal and awesome

3,5 for me.
 
that album cover is nothing short of iconic!!! hard for me to pick between Killers, TNOTB and Powerslave as THE singular best Maiden cover. they are all 3 just epochal in metal - but, yeah, Killers is the most "hardcore/brutal" cover Maiden has done
 
Killers
This album has three things going for it that are better than the debut: the cover, the production, and Adrian Smith. From a songwriting perspective, the debut is definitely better. Wrathchild, Rue Morgue, and the title track are all fantastic! They still are not top tier Maiden in any way, but they are the best early Maiden has to offer alongside Phantom of the Opera.

The instrumentals are fine, Prodigal Son is an interesting novelty, and everything else is dreadful. And I really do mean that. Sure, there's some fine musical moments, maybe some cool vocal stuff happening, but literally half of the tracks on this record I would rate as "bad" (in the 1-5 out of 10 range). Adding Twilight Zone to the remaster/US edition doesn't help considering it's another terrible track. It blows my mind that people can listen to this record and not get absolutely infuriated by Steve Harris' copy and paste lyrics. With the exception of a couple songs, this album is literally made up of leftover material that wasn't deemed worth recording for the debut. Steve has said this. I will never understand why this album receives so much praise from Maiden fans.

Hot take: there isn't a single song on the first two albums that I would rate a 10/10.
 
Iron Maiden #2: Killers
Killers? Or more like Fillers, am I right? Huehuehuehuehuehue

No, but seriously. This album sounds like a succeeding album to their debut in almost all ways. Maybe it could be a Mandela effect, but I can recall interviews where they say that a lot of this album were leftovers and ideas they didn't use for the first album.

The opening track and the title track are the things I enjoy the most about this album. I think that this is a fairly good album, musically. Lyrically, I'm don't like them particularly much. The vocal lines game is weak enough for me to understand that the vocal lines of future Iron Maiden were worth falling in love over just by themselves.

1. Iron Maiden
2. Killers
 
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Thoughts on Killers.

  • The title is appropriate as half the songs are about killing/stalking women lol
  • The production is light years ahead of IM (not controversial)
  • It's easily the fastest and most aggressive Maiden album
  • Killers is the best song
  • Drifter is massively underrated and pure joy to listen to
  • Clive's best drumming on any Maiden song is on Genghis Khan
  • I disagree with the notion that Killers is solely made up of IM reject songs
I often find myself preferring this over IM but it depends on the mood that I'm in. Still, it's a hugely enjoyable album and a classic as far as I'm concerned.
 
Spaldy said:
I disagree with the notion that Killers is solely made up of IM reject songs
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It's not a notion, though. The band wrote and performed all of these songs (save for Murders in The Rue Morgue and Prodigal Son) prior to the recording of the debut record. The timing is factual regardless of my opinion on the laziness and rushed nature of the songwriting
 
Spaldy said:
Thoughts on Killers.

  • The title is appropriate as half the songs are about killing/stalking women lol
  • The production is light years ahead of IM (not controversial)
  • It's easily the fastest and most aggressive Maiden album
  • Killers is the best song
  • Drifter is massively underrated and pure joy to listen to
  • Clive's best drumming on any Maiden song is on Genghis Khan
  • I disagree with the notion that Killers is solely made up of IM reject songs
I often find myself preferring this over IM but it depends on the mood that I'm in. Still, it's a hugely enjoyable album and a classic as far as I'm concerned.
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totally agree. Killers is (somehow?) underrated. the songs are more mature than debut, the playing is more precise, the attitude is more metal than punk but still has the punk feel...everything is just more...more. i'll listen to Killers over IM any day if only bc it doesn't have "Iron Maiden" on it :shred:
 
Killers
  • Ides of March: bombastic, military march-like instrumental (thanks to Clive)
  • Wrathchild: rare bass spotlight from Steve, funky hook into a spicy guitar frill...nuff said
  • Murders in the Rue Morgue: Clive shows how class he is behind the kit, Paul nails the face paced lyrics
  • Another Life: repetitive lyrics, but piercing guitar frills
  • Genghis Khan: Clive's drums are outrageous on this album, the mood of this song makes me think of the original Mortal Kombat arcade soundtrack
  • Innocent Exile: neat bass intro, solos are wild...overstated on this album, but Clive crushes the beats
  • Killers: easily the strongest song on the album, Paul's shrieks and howls capture the mood of the lyrics
  • Prodigal Son: like Strange World, another good spot for another proggy segue...this time a more uplifting number (H's solo is my favorite part of this album)
  • Purgatory: the song titles paint a picture and this one feels like traveling through the lungs of hell
  • Drifter: a departure from what we're used to hearing from them so far, the mid section breakdown with the bass fills is quite unique...feel like this would be more appreciated heard in a live setting
Final Verdict: 7/10
 
Day #3!

The Number of the Beast really is a cracking album, isn't it? Pound for pound I'm not sure you'll find another Maiden album as densely packed with hits as this one.

I want to start with the elephant in the room - Hallowed Be Thy Name. This is the best song Iron Maiden never wrote. I absolutely hate its status as the crown jewel in the album (or indeed, the entire discography) for a lot of people, because it's an embarrassment. And yet... when you remove it from the plagiarism, it's such an enjoyable song to listen to. Anyone else have a good way of moving past this dissonance?

Thankfully for me, it's not the best song on the album anyway. Run To The Hills is. Everything on this track is perfect. Beyond that, the title track is pretty spectacular, and Children of the Damned is (in my opinion) as good. The Prisoner and 22 Acacia Avenue are great deeper cuts and tie together the amazing 5 song run in the middle of the album.

The other three songs (Invaders, Gangland, Total Eclipse) are a step down. They're good, fun songs, but the rest of the album is fantastic. I personally find Invaders a strange opener as it's a bit disjointed and peppy, but there we go.
 
DJMayes said:
I want to start with the elephant in the room - Hallowed Be Thy Name. This is the best song Iron Maiden never wrote. I absolutely hate its status as the crown jewel in the album (or indeed, the entire discography) for a lot of people, because it's an embarrassment. And yet... when you remove it from the plagiarism, it's such an enjoyable song to listen to. Anyone else have a good way of moving past this dissonance?
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Interesting that you hold this opinion. Personally I never paid much heed to the plagiarism stuff. Yes they "stole" a couple of lines from the Beckett song (and years later the middle section to The Nomad) but I see it as more of a tribute than anything else. It doesn't affect my love for HBTN in any way.
 
DJMayes said:
I want to start with the elephant in the room - Hallowed Be Thy Name. This is the best song Iron Maiden never wrote. I absolutely hate its status as the crown jewel in the album (or indeed, the entire discography) for a lot of people, because it's an embarrassment. And yet... when you remove it from the plagiarism, it's such an enjoyable song to listen to. Anyone else have a good way of moving past this dissonance?
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You are exaggerating! A few lyrics were copied but were sung under completely different melody & vibe. Hallowed is a giant in its own right.
And I don't slavishly defend Harris but I somehow believe he was really "paying homage" and no credits were necessary.

Having said that I hope he gave a pretty dollar to Beckett for that homage.
 
Spaldy said:
Interesting that you hold this opinion. Personally I never paid much heed to the plagiarism stuff. Yes they "stole" a couple of lines from the Beckett song (and years later the middle section to The Nomad) but I see it as more of a tribute than anything else. It doesn't affect my love for HBTN in any way.
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If The Nomad didn't exist I'd probably agree, but the added context of that song is pretty damning, in my opinion.

______no5 said:
You are exaggerating! A few lyrics were copied but were sung under completely different melody & vibe. Hallowed is a giant in its own right.
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I love it too, I just find it hard to reconcile that one of the standout Maiden tracks has such a dubious origin.
 
it's really hard to conclude that Hallowed is indeed not only THE track on NOTB but quite possibly of the whole cannon. everybody borrows. even Stones and Beatles! so, yeah, it's the cornerstone of the whole damn house but, agreed, RTTH and Children are INCREDIBLE tracks in their own right. i wish Maiden wrote more 3 minute (or not even!) tracks like this. just kicking ass in the first 2 seconds. and the gallop. RTTH probably sums up the first 3 albums the best of all. COTD is a masterpiece of gothic vibe to me and that chorus is just friggin' awesome. those power chords DEFINE metal in the early 80's. oddly enough, i never much cared for the "much-feared" title tack. the opening riff is cool but the screams actually totally interrupt the song for me. it's fine just not something i'd put over RTTH, HBTN, COTD and Prisoner...and Total Eclipse is actually a good song (no really!)
 
"Now, that's what I call Maiden" the fans cry, and I'm in agreement as to reference Beast's poppy nature, cos Maiden were never before or since as commercial as this.
Now, I like some pop but usually feel undernourished afterwards, and this album, more than any other Maiden album, makes me feel this way.
The two Dianno albums previously had a rough underdog charm, the two following have a lot more meat on the bones, this just sits in its storm eye softness.
However, this listen I enjoyed Children as usual, but it couldn't be a second longer, Prisoner is good despite an extremely sugary chorus, 22 and Beast still hold power, I've always disliked Hills, Gangland is fun..for a b-side and Hallowed continues to bore.
All performances are okay, Bruce obviously.

Great cover though!
 
Day 3 finished!

This is where the real Iron Maiden was born imo. Amazing album, sure Gangland and Invaders brings it down a bit. Its a 4,5/5 for me. Hallowed, Children and Beast are so amazing and perfect its hard to really understand. And thank god for Bruce. The difference he makes is beyond huge. This album is fun, awesome, special and it sticks with me. And Hallowed, the whole album could just have been Hallowed. What a song that is. Chills everytime I here it. Just hits so perfect. And the album cover. Can it get cooler? And The Prisoner is fucking awesome.
Love this album
 
Thoughts on NOTB.

  • Invaders really does have a silly chorus
  • 22 Acacia Avenue has some terrible lyrics
  • The production is the best Madien did until SSOASS
  • The Prisoner is the best underrated song on the album
  • I don't think Dave and Adrian ever had a better guitar tone
  • NOTB and RTTH might be overplayed but they really are glorious
  • Total Eclipse should have been on the album instead of Gangland
  • Gangland sounds like a Killers throwback
  • The solos are possibly the best in the Maiden catalogue
  • Bruce has never sung better
  • HBTN is monumental (but the live version is better)
Overrated by some Maiden fans but there's a good reason it's their biggest selling album. It's simply phenomenal.
 
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