Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
1980
Album Summary
Iron Maiden is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 14 April 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and Harvest and Capitol Records in the US. The North American version included the song "Sanctuary", released in the UK as a non-album single. In 1998, along with the rest of the band's pre-1995 releases, Iron Maiden was remastered with "Sanctuary" added in all territories. However, 2014 vinyl reissues, 2015 digital releases and 2018 CD reissues use the original track listing across the globe. It is the band's only album to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton. Although Iron Maiden have since criticised the quality of the album's production, the release was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number four on the UK Albums Chart and helping the band achieve prominence in mainland Europe.
WikipediaTwo things I must say about this one. First, it's a very good example of heavy metal from the late 70s early 80s. Second, I hate heavy metal from the late 70s early 80s.
Doubtlessly one of heavy metal's all-time most influential albums (with this release, Iron Maiden helped Judas Priest to plant the seeds for speed, thrash, and progressive metal.) It's also one of the finest debuts ever recorded by any band in the history of heavy metal. The band's vocals would become more memorable and expansive on later releases (especially after Bruce Dickinson replaced Paul Di'anno as singer in 1982), but musically, Iron Maiden were in top form on this 1980 album. There's just so much to enjoy on every one of these songs, and man, do they rock! They're fast, exciting, catchy, and super infectious. From front to back, this disc has palpable energy, irresistible hooks, impressive guitar work (including wailing solos) from Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton, prominent bass notes, and bouncy, toe-tapping drum beats galore!
Finally a metal album on this thing, but it's the crappy end of maiden. The first album is alright, there are a few good songs on it but the singing is shithouse. Still, even the crappy end of maiden is pretty good. The guitar and bass is fuckin great, and Transylvania is one hell of a tune. 4/5.
Can we just look at the cover and make comments on that? I don't think I've ever heard this entire album. Through a long backward lens it sounds like an amalgam of Motorhead (although less badass), Deep Purple (although less talented), and Status Quo. Yes, Status Quo: There are in fact little bits of high-energy boogie in here. Can't help but feel that with the timing, Rob Reiner had to have been aware of Iron Maiden when he made "This Is Spinal Tap" over the next couple of years. (Released in '84) Not that the film was all about just I.M., but the genre was definitely hitting its fix-your-hair-and-crank-everything-to-11 stride after a slow build all during the 70s. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Iron Maiden’s brutal debut is a classic. It’s just raw energy captured in 8 tracks of brilliance.
Arguably the better of the two Di’Anno albums and a reliable ‘go to’ album that will always deliver the goods. Running Free, Phantom of the Opera and Iron Maiden are still highlights in any Maiden set. N.B. Paul Di’Anno is just a bit of a twat
Not quite the personality of the later Maiden, but you can hear them slowly developing their signature style. Great rock album!
Man I have been so wrong in my assumptions of Iron Maiden for way too long after listening to this album. Perhaps it’s the hideous character used in all their art work or the millions of 80’s tragic bogan followers but I had always viewed their music the same as a lot of average metal from the same era. These tracks are so much more defined and ‘musical’ than expected. The fact I can also hear where early Metallica gained their inspiration also gives this album a huge amount of credit and respect. Never judge a book by it’s horrible cover art. 4 Stars!
Up the Irons! Definitely a bigger fan of Bruce’s output with the band but still some great songs on here
Prowler is a great opening track and made me immediately rethink Iron Maiden. The drums on Running Free are gloooorious; the sheer rock and roll release that is Phantom of the Opera defines classic rock. The whole album does, if I could bottle classic rock for someone this is it. I'm not a huge Iron Maiden fan but the musicality and muscularity of this album is nothing if not hugely impressive.
It’s always a shock loading up some Iron Maiden and not getting Bruce on the mic, but this record holds its own as a debut. The biggest draw is the playing; top notch across the board. Even Paul bring his on style that really feels his own. I see why this really ushered in NWOBHM. The biggest drawbacks here are the production and songwriting. The rawness really makes it sound more thin than aggressive; not fitting for their style IMO. And while the songwriting isn’t bad per se, it doesn’t reach the heights that many of their later masterpieces showcase.
ну бля. соррян, господа митолизды, но почти ничего в душе не затронуло (хотя как раз к айрон мейдену я как-то всегда более благосклонно относился, чем к дичи типа слейера или мегадефа). Альбом 80-го года, конечно навевает мысли, что дохуя новаторство для своего времени, но как учил мудрец «Важно ли глядеть на груду кирпичей, когда построен пиздатый дом? Да не очень». Но для адекватности отбросил оценку звучания, ибо все понимаю, в 80м году вероятно ещё слабое представление имели о том, как должна тяжелая музыка звучать. А по композиторству ну что сказать... довольно дрочево, как по мне. Риффаков эпохальных не завезли, разве что чистый перебор в третьей песне звучит как что-то вневременное. И вообще баллады хорошие, обе. Не прям топ-10, но приятные, вокалист чутко так воет, аж яички холодеют немного. Помимо них ещё первую песню можно назвать хайлайтом — неплохая мелодия, вокал отрывистый и маломузыкальный, но для жанра норм. Ничем не обоснованные замедления я, скрипя зубами, стерпел, тоже вроде особенность. Но дальше, блен... Ну вторая песня вообще худшая на альбоме, вероятно. Запомнилась только одна припевная фраза и звуки сирены (банально пиздец, но опять же делаем скидку на время, спасибо что хоть отрывки из новостей не вставили). Потом Ранинг Фри — ну это совсем хуета. За всю песню мы слышим её название 32 раза (если условно считать заикания «айми раннинг... айм раннинг»). Я ебал, сука, айм ранинг фри, е, айм ранинг фри... Здесь даже рифмы нет! Фу блять, фу нахуй. В Фантоме Оперы есть зачатки годноты, но основа трека — бессмысленная дрочь с очень условным развитием, больше похоже на гитарные упражнения. Ещё и театральщина какая-то, которой фанатом никогда не был. Ну и вокал на манер армейской кричалки чет совсем аппетит отбивает. В Трансильвании какие-то шведские фолк-мотивы, как будто инфламес слушаю альбом, конечно, опередил самих инфламес на 10 лет, но всё же в плане нордического фолка я скорее доверюсь им по праву рождения, здесь же не то чтобы напрягает... просто какой-то несерьёзностью сразу веет. Я вообще довольно негативно к фолку отношусь, как по мне его надо максимально аккуратно эксплуатировать, чтобы не вышло какой-то банальной хуйни, убивающей всю эпичность но в целом трек не то чтобы плохой, просто хуй не возбуждает Ну дальше там проходняк какой-то, и заканчивается все кавером на Whenever Wherever Шакиры. Ход, безусловно, смелый и уважабельный, но текст зря изменили, какая-то влажная кровавая фантазия... ну цэ немного слишком для меня, кринж же. В целом не говно, конечно, просто дистиллированный митол — не моё, по всей видимости, плюс такой старый. Должное отдать могу, поэтому сойдусь на оценке чуть больше середняковой, 6/10.
I honestly wanted to hate this but it wasn't so bad and I actually liked a couple songs
80s metal ain't really my vibe...If Wheatus asked me to go the Iron Maiden gig on Friday, I wouldn't even say maybe
1001 forces you to listen to records that you'd never willingly subject yourself to. I've never actually listened to Iron Maiden in my life and I'm happy to say I didn't miss anything. I can handle some metal, but this is just Pop Metal with some corny guitar riffs in a formulaic style. Meh.
This is the sort of music that would come on Kerrang! when I was 14 and I'd switch to Scuzz. It's repetitive, boring and predictable - and that's coming from someone who listens to and actually enjoys Techno music. I also hate the scary people they use on their album art. For what was meant to be the golden age of vinyl artwork they really shat the bed on this one.
So this is the band from those hoodies (you know the ones) they are black, have an album cover on the front and and stink of B.O. I guess if your into iron maiden then you are into IRON MAIDEN because every song is the same.
Its of no artistic value whatsoever. A little white guy moaning about the plight of the little white guy.
My best friend at secondary school used to make me Maiden tapes. I tried to like them then, and I thought I would try again, l see if I like them any better now. I don’t. Not the worst metal band I have ever heard but that isn’t saying much. Lots of guitar, none of it of much interest to me.
Fikk ikke hørt hele albumet pga sykdom. Hørte et par sanger, det holdt i masse vis 😂
Op gronde van het feit dat dit kut muziek is, weiger ik dit te luisteren.
My first reaction on seeing today’s pick was ‘oh God, no’. This is not my type of music, but I was willing to give it another go. I am sure they are talented musicians and have made a lot of money making a lot of people happy. However, this was just an affront to my ears. Screechy guitars and raspy voices. Just Horrible. To quote a later album - Run to the hills.
Hated this stuff when I was young and music was my everything. Time has not dimmed my dislike.
Alright, I have to admit I didn't listen to the whole thing., I just could not do it. And this is no aging arsehole being smug thing, I could not cop it back in the day. This is literally, and I mean literally, Spinal Tap. As I dropped the Youtube clip onto the first track I immediately started thinking about the Tap scene with the lowering of the tiny Stonehenge sarsen onto the stage, and I'll leave you with that thought.
It’s hard to not prefer the Bruce fronted band but the first two albums kick so much ass too. Great songs that they still play live like Running Free and Ofc Iron Maiden is just a testament to how timeless this album is
ja vad ska man säga. en odödlig jävla klassiker. man får en tår i ögat när man tänker på clive burr på trummorna.
Even without ol Bruce-y boy, they sure as shit set the tone for all their music to come. The confidence in their foundations is exemplified very well.
Qua heavy metal komt er niks boven Iron Maiden, en dan ook nog eens dit legendarische album met Paul
One of my favorite albums so far with plenty of songs I have added to my regular playlists. Prowler and Phantom of the Opera especially hit home with me.
Когда меня просили назвать 5 альбомов, чтобы въехать в митол, я среди прочих называл этот. Да и ща бы назвал, наверное. Даже несмотря на осознание ностальгии. Стив Харрис вроде говорил, что мол первый альбом ты пишешь всю жизнь, а второй - когда скажет лейбл. Если бы у Iron Maiden вышел только этот альбом, его уже можно было бы считать нехуёвым делом жизни, в самто деле. Prowler врывается, своей энергией будто открывая новую эпоху роцка и митола, 80-е. Объединяя в себе черты пунка и существовавшего хард-роцка с митолом прокладывает путь всей последующей митольной годноте, спид-митолу, трэш-митолу и иже с ними. Sanctuary звучит немного инородно, слишком прямолинейно, роцк-н-ролльно шоль, митолу не хватат. Не особо мудрено, что трек был присобачен к альбому лишь опосля, а отродясь являлся синглом. Remember Tomorrow разъёбывает просто своей прогрессивной структурой, разнообразными и гармонично сплетёнными партиями и переходами. Хуки просто за яйца цепляют. Running Free звучит как марш, как гимн. Лаконичный и красивый. Даже фрагменты, где просто удары ту, ту-ду, ту-ду ту-ду не напрягают. Вокальная партия - просто блядоход. Phantom of the Opera... то, как я хотел бы видеть прог-митол тех лет. Или арт-митол, не ебёт. Хотел бы побольше такого, чтобы там агрессивные моменты менялись мелодичными и немного шутливыми, это всё отдавало нотками классической музыки, да ещё соляки заставляли позабыть, что вообще-то тут и вокалист есть, менялся доминантный инструмент, они друг друга поддерживали и развивали мотив, не уходя далеко от изначальной темы, и чтобы это было одновременно и доступно, и комплексно, как 2112 от Rush... но подобного саунда, сука, почти больше то и нет! Ни в последующем творчестве Iron Maiden, ни в чьём-либо ещё. Разве что проблесками в качестве отдельных треков, инструменталы Метлы чем-то подобным веют. Transylvania - сильнейший инструментальный трек, балдёжные темы, балдёжные партии, балдёжная структура, разнообразный, энергичный, красивый. Кайфово переходит в следующюю композиуцию. Strange World если врубить левому, он задумается над тем, митол ли это. Впрочем, на то они и баллады. Эта может показаться немного наивной и прямолинейной. Я всё же полагаю, что в меру. Всё на месте, мелодишно, красиво. Charlotte The Harlot уводит баланс альбома назад к пунку и хард-роцку, для разнообразия норм трек, но, как и Sanctuary, выкинь - хуже бы не стало особо. Iron Maiden. Ну в этом треке прекрасно всё, название, наличие в соответствующем альбоме, исполнение одноимённой группой. Барабанны, гитары, вокальные партии, соляки, переходы. Главный мотив разъёбывает, простой, запоминающий и мелодичный. Конец трека прекрасно обрамляет и весь альбом. Фух, выдохнул. Ну бля, это было охуенно. Уж вуз три года, как закончил, а до сих пор альбом школьного времени щеновий восторг вызывает. На самом деле, как никакой другой альбом Iron Maiden, несмотря на то, что главный фронтмен, Брюс Дикинсон, ещё даже не пришёл. Пол Ди’Анно меньше на себя одеяло перетягивал, от него больше веяло молодостью и энергией, а от Дикинсона больше театральщиной будет веять. Всё же с высоты прожитых лет дебютник могу назвать любимейшим альбомом в дискографии Iron Maiden. Продуманный, лаконичный, мелодичный, разнообразный, запоминающийся. Тупа эталон пиздатого музла. И вроде бы въехал в него изначально быстро, а до сих пор не отпускает. Вот чего-то подобного и ждал от списка 1001 альбомов. А этого, сука, не завозят. Была бы воля, поставил 10 из 5, тупо чтоб когда остальные мой энтузиазм не разделят, средняя вышла бы пиздатой всё равно. Ну да ладно, похуй, просто буду морально готов, что пятёр боле не будэ. Главное, что я сам вроде пояснил, чё по чём.
Classic metal album. Really does everything I want an 80s metal album to do.
Okay, as a hater of heavy metal in general, I am surprisingly in love with this music. Cheerful and energetic shit.
-Something about 'Prowler" -"Remember tomorrow" is a pretty cool ballad-type song -"Running Free" is a great, anthemic-type song. Great to, like, chant along to -"Charlotte the Harlot" is a great jam, and the vocal rhythm of the chorus is pretty cool -"Iron Maiden" from "Iron Maiden" by "Iron Maiden" -Great bass that is pretty high in the mix for metal across the whole album -Whole album is great
Tal vez es muy obvio darle cinco estrellas, pero en verdad creo que, especialmente para ser un debut, es un discazo. Y tan es así que a la fecha la banda sigue tocando casi en cada concierto 4 de esas rolas. Estoy seguro que hay discos posteriores de Maiden que me gustan más, pero eso no le quita mérito a este que deja muy claro que buscaban un sonido y un estilo que hasta la fecha nadie tenía y aquí ponen los cimientos para eso.
Gran disco debut de una de las bandas líderes del NWOBHM lleno de energía y poder. 8 canciones, 37 minutos, contundente y sin miramientos como un batazo a la cabeza. Suben y bajan de velocidad cuando es requerido y lo hacen excelentemente. Discazo necesario de escuchar al menos una vez en la vida si uno presume o pretende conocer de metal en general. Songs: Running Free, Transylvania, Iron Maiden, Phantom of the Opera.
Álbum de estreia da banda. Lendo sobra a obra, vi que é admirado até hoje por misturar a transgressão do rock progressivo com a intensidade do heavy metal de maneira única. Vale a pena demais ouvir.
A fantastic album very entertaining from start to finish and a bunch of really good songs
Fantastic album. Can definitely see the influence that they expand on in later albums.
Iron Maiden's powerhouse debut quickly establishes them as heavy metal gods.
Damn this is so good. I've never heard this album before, and clearly I've been missing out.
first song is absolutely amazing, not a single thing i can say bad about it really, love the solo in remember tomorrow, so far have really great thoughts on this album. next few tracks have absolutely not disappointed, amazing skill on the guitar has been shown coupled with amazing vocals unlike anyone else ive heard (at least at the level theyre at) and for this to be a debut record? an insane start to an insane career iron maiden has. very positive experience overall. amazing record
"Prowler" "Remember Tomorrow" "Running Free" "Phantom of the Opera" "Transylvania" "Charlotte the Harlot" "Iron Maiden"
I fucking love Iron Maiden, this album kicks ass! Shred on my friends. Favorite song: Phantom Of The Opera
Okay Iron Maiden officially has moved from "they're pretty good" to "damn I've been sleeping on one of the greats" Every. Single. Track on this bad boy.
Honestly this is my jam. I’m not sure what it means that Iron Maiden speaks directly to my soul but - hell yes!
Never listened to Iron Maiden, I liked the album a lot, was pleasantly surprised.
This is sort of an odd choice; of the Paul albums I prefer Killers, which I thought was the general consensus. There's also better Maiden albums that presumably didn't make it here. That said: There's still a lot to like. It's far from a bad album, There's just better (and much worse) Maiden albums. It's probably a 4 but there's no way I'm giving Maiden anything less than 5. Up the irons.
This is that kind of debut where it's really amazing, but at the same time it's not definitely clear how the band will progress onwards; will it be heavier, faster and meaner with winding solos or will it be proggy, slow and epic with winding solos? Now we know Iron Maiden leaned heavily into the former, and they did it impeccably. They do show here that they are a band with many talents and qualities. And that's probably why they have managed to release such engaging music throughout their career.
Wow! Absolutely perfect album! Iron Maiden delivers again. Solid 5! T3B 1. Prowler 2. Phantom of the Opera 3. Remember Tomorrow
I used to think of Iron Maiden as super heavy metal but having listened to this is just fun fast and melodic. I listened to this album twice through today because I enjoyed it so much
Surprised how much I liked this - I thought it was going to be a bit Raaaa but they’re so tight and musical 🎶
Absolute classic album. Paul Di’Anno is a fantastic singer and this album showcases all of the fantastic traits, and sometimes the shortcomings of Iron Maiden. Absolutely fantastic album.
Hell yes!! Iron Maiden is my favourite heavy metal band!! I've listened to this album many times before, but that won't stop me from listening again! This is Maiden's self titled debut album. This was before the legendary Bruce Dickinson became the lead singer of the band, and gave them that signature sound of vocals soaring overtop of amazing heavy metal! Paul Di'Anno was a great singer as well, but his voice didn't have that strength that Bruce is known for. Paul is well suited to singing metal though, because he has a gravelly voice to match the hard hitting heavy music that accompanied him. Prowler and Phantom of the Opera are classics still to this day! Even though this album pales in comparison to some of the rest of Maiden's vast catalog of music, it isn't as bad as The X-Factor or Virtual XI (two albums made in the middle of Maiden's career when Bruce took a hiatus), and it is a super strong debut album! Iron Maiden are one of the originals in the heavy metal genre, and they have influenced so many!! This is a phenomenal album, and a hell of a talented band! Steve Harris has a vision, and ran with it, and thank God for that, because what we got out of it was this stellar band making this amazing music! Steve's bass work, especially in Transylvania is fucking amazing!!!! UP THE IRONS!!! Favourite songs: Prowler, Phantom of the Opera, Running Free, Transylvania, Iron Maiden Least favourite song: Remember Tomorrow 5/5
Yeah. So good. Makes me want to go for a run and hit some stuff. But then changes to mellow . 10/10
One of my all time favourites and one of the first albums I grew to truly love. Underrated work of genius!
This is an album that must be experienced by all music fans, regardless of music genre. It is the first of several must-have recording by one of the premier metal bands.