Killers

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How good is Killers on a scale of 1-10?

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By far the best song on the album. The intro is frantic with some great guitar/bass interplay. The ascending harmonics played by Dave set the mood perfectly, bringing to mind the sound of metal (in this case a knife). There's an early showcase of the trademark Iron Maiden gallop during the verses. The guitar harmony before the solos is fittingly evil, and I've always loved Dave's solo. Easily the second best song of the Di'anno era after Phantom.

9/10
 
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This is more like it. The riffs in this song are golden, it sets a fantastic mood and it has sublime pacing, as well as being a great rocker. The album's finest hour (or 5 minutes, if you will).

9/10

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
2: Killers: 9/10
3: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
4: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
5: Wrathchild: 7/10
6: Transylvania: 7/10
7: Strange World: 6/10
8: Sanctuary: 6/10
9: Another Life: 6/10
10: Prowler: 6/10
11: Genghis Khan: 5/10
12: Iron Maiden: 5/10
13: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
14: Running Free: 4/10
15: Innocent Exile: 4/10
16: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
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So, the only question here: Is this a 9, or is this a 10?

It's the best sounding song of the first two albums, absolutely. The Killers sound is the same sort of sound that Iron Maiden would develop more completely on the following three albums. Steve's bass is a monster here, both guitars are crisp and clear, and that riff after the traditional, boring, uninspired Steve Harris slow introduction is a fucking killer riff (heh). The lyrics are a little juvenile, but yet fun. There are superb time changes that give the feeling of a subway brawl.

Is this Steve and Paul's childhood? A rough and tumble East End existence all wrapped up in a song? I think so.

I can see what a knife's meant to be...you'll never know how I came to foresee-see-see!

Oh hell yes.

Who am I kidding? This is a 10/10. Timeless classic and one of the two best Early Days songs.
 
8/10

The title track is a monster, with Di’Anno spitting pure fire during the vicious verses. The lyrics are dark and twisted, chronicling the exploits of a violent stalker with a moral compass that always points towards kill. The bridge vocals and melody feel rather disjointed, but otherwise Killers is a classic.
 
  • Simple, yet brilliant intro.
  • Di'Anno's finest vocal performance on the album. Contributes quite a bit to the classic status the song has.
  • Tacky lyrics, but nothing annoying. The gimmickery actually sounds quite fun this time.
  • The bridge is mediocre but the solo section afterwards is great.
8/10.
 
The Flash said:
  • The bridge is mediocre but the solo section afterwards is great.
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Thanks to that bridge the tension is built up wonderfully, and the first solo is the moment of release.
And I love the heaviness of it. Neckbreaking headbanger part! :)
 
A perfect way to start side b!
The intro is a classic, and for a reason, a haunting bass line, perfect in it's simplicity and some very emotional guitars and screams on top of that. Bruce have never been able to recreate those screams and I think this is one of Paul's finest contributions to the band. Nice solos as well and one of the first gallops, in all a very iconic track from the early days. Personally I think it drags a bit towards the end though, the part after the solos could have been shortened.
8/10
 
Paul's vocal performance here really, really sells this song. In fact, I'd say that this is one of the best vocal performances in Iron Maiden's history. The instrumentation is also cooking with blazing fury and some parts sound downright evil. The bass intro builds up tension very nicely with some great Di'Anno screams to even further build up the rest of the song.

When it's finally released, Iron Maiden had never sounded better up to this point, in my opinion. Whoooo! What a rush. Harris never one-upped this song in terms on how awesome the bass sounds. And the guitar? Awesome!

What a perfect choice for my first 10/10.
 
Doesn't quite attain a 10 for me, but still an absolute beast of a track. The volume normally gets increased a few notches at this point in the album. Great stuff.

9/10
 
Everything already said. One of top three tracks on Killers. 9
 
Probably the best song Killers has to offer. I remember when I started learning the guitar and that harmonic run before the verse blew my mind. How did they do that?? That was my first time watching a video to see how a guitarist did something. It seems basic now but for a beginner that was pretty crazy stuff.

I've always loved the attitude of this song. It really defines early Maiden I think. Edgy, dangerous, but also extremely musical. I love the buildup in the intro, the insanity of the instrumental section, and that relentless gallop. One of the best guitar tradeoffs in the catalog too. It's a shame they don't play this more.

10
 
Fantastic song, the second best one from Di'Anno era.
I love everything about this song - a fantastic intro, the energy, the lyrics and the instrumental parts.

Unfortunately, this is not a masterpiece, but it receives the highest mark it can get without being 10/10.

The highlight: Dave Murray solo at 2:59. Incredible amount of energy is released at this point.

9.4/10 = 9/10
 
10/10! I have always really liked this one. Everything about it is great from the bass intro to the main riff and the vocals are some of Paul's greatest in Maiden. Plus the solo is definitely one of their best in the early days. I would really like to see this one live someday.
 
8. Absolutely incredible intro and energy throughout. Easily the best song on the album. Not the best to sing along to though.

Rankings:

1980 - Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

1981 - Killers

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
 
10. Best song on the album for me. Although Murders, Wrathchild and Innocent Exile are up there too. The lead guitar playing on this track and on this album as whole is incredible... possibly my favourite Maiden album lead guitar-wise.
Question. Don't know if anyone knows the answer. On the "middle 8" section of the song ("I can see what a life's meant to be..."), there is a backing vocal. It doesn't really sound like Paul to me. Anyone know if it is an overdub of Paul's vocals, or if it's actually Adrian?
 
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