Killers: individual album judgement by yours truly

The Ides Of March 6/10
Wrathchild 9/10
Murders In The Rue Morgue 8/10
Another Life 7/10
Genghis Khan 8/10
Innocent Exile 7/10
Killers 9/10
Prodigal Son 6/10
Purgatory - 9/10
Drifter 6/10

Average song rating 7,5
Overall album rating 77%
 
KILLERS (1981)

1. The Ides Of March - 9/10
A classy instrumental intro and Maiden’s shortest song. It’s awesome, but could’ve been a tad longer to put it over the top.

2. Wrathchild - 10/10
Now that’s what I’m talking about. Short yet with more bite than most bands had around this time, it opens with a classic bass intro and powers through with a very punky vibe played with a metal air. Killer song.

3. Murders In The Rue Morgue - 10/10
Beginning with an eerie building intro before erupting in a song that’s stuffed to the gills with lyrics, the motherfuckers pull it off in spades. Best song on the album.

4. Another Life - 4/10
Paul’s performance is awesome. Shame about everyone else.

5. Genghis Khan - 10/10
A killer three-act instrumental. A lot of bite and the closing segment is classic, pure Iron Maiden.

6. Innocent Exile - 5/10
The solos here are absolutely amazing. If the first half of the song wasn’t so shitty, I’d have given it much higher points.

7. Killers - 10/10
Killer title track with a frantic, schizophrenic riff that only a band like Maiden could pull off. A classic for sure.

8. Prodigal Son - 4/10
Paul is awesome here and the back-to-back solos are lit, but the rest of the song is just meh. One of the weirdest Maiden songs, definitely.

9. Purgatory - 3/10
Just kind of a mess. Paul keeps a grip on the song’s speed but his high notes are laughable and the energy this song tries to hit the listener with doesn’t get translated to said listener well.

10. Twilight Zone - 3/10
Terrible, terrible verses, but the chorus saves the song... sorta. Doesn’t go anywhere; bad choice for a single.

11. Drifter - 1/10
And this is where I’ve officially checked out. Boring song, meh lyrics, instrumental section is the worst thing Maiden have ever done, and the outro just goes on and on and on. It’s a no from me dog.

Some killer, lots of filler. Bah.

Rating: 63%
 
2019 relisten notes:

- The opening of this album is absolutely stellar. From Ides through to the end of Rue Morgue is one of the strongest 1-2-3 punches in the Maiden catalog.
- No matter how many times I listen, I cannot warm to the majority of this album. It's just repetitive and dull and too bluesy and lacking a lot of creativity (we get it: you killed a woman, or at least they said you did, you're running from the law, or you're all alone somewhere).
- Like the debut before it, this album benefits from the lack of Twilight Zone (which only adds another repetitive, too bluesy track to the mix).
- Some of my individual song rankings have gone up or down, but only by a point or two. My overall ranking still remains incredibly low at 5.3/10.
- I still vote Another Life and fucking Drifter into the Top Ten worst IM songs ever (probably TZ, too).
 
Last edited:
MrKnickerbocker said:
- No matter how many times I listen, I cannot warm to the majority of this album. It's just repetitive and dull and lacking a lot of creativity.
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Not to sob like a knob but this point should only be relevant whilst referring to something like DOD, AMOLAD, TFF and BOS. Otherwise I respect the points you make and shall refrain from calling you a half baked cake.
To me Killers is the pinnacle of Iren Maiden, an absolute fuckin joy ta behold and it is batting on a full wicket.
 
My ratings

The Ides of March: 8
Wrathchild: 9
Murders in the Rue Morgue: 10
Another Life: 8
Genghis Khan: 9
Innocent Exile: 7
Killers: 10
Prodigal Son: 6
Purgatory: 10
Twilight Zone: 7,5
Drifter: 6

average - 8,2
 
PieceofMind89 said:
After reading comments, I sense too much Bruce era elitism. I see too much undeserved bashing towards the Di'anno era.

If you can't appreciate the first two albums, then I don't know how you can call yourself a Maiden fan.
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Exactly what I’ve been trying to convey for many a day, buddy.
Many jokers on here dislike DiAnno era Maiden - the Killers record especially.
 
Diesel 11 said:
What about the jokers who dislike modern Maiden, which, I’d argue, is closer to the core Iron Maiden sound than Killers ever was?
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If you think the core sound of Maiden is akin to Empire of the Clouds or Journeyman or Wild Wind Blows then you've got a valid point. I think the very core sound of Maiden stems from Phantom of the Opera and Wrathchild and those earlier tracks.
 
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