Released: 1980
Tracks: Prowler; Sanctuary; Remember Tomorrow; Running Free; Phantom of the Opera; Transylvania; Strange World; Charlotte the Harlot; Iron Maiden
Best track: Phantom of the Opera
Track to skip: Charlotte is kinda silly, but it’s still a good song.
I’ve been reviewing albums for almost 3 full months now, and I’m just now getting around to Iron Maiden, my all-time favorite band. Please don’t argue, Maiden is The Best. Ever.
I suppose back in the day (1980) this was a pretty cool new thing and a popular album. It was the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Maiden were the leaders. Whoopie. You know, all that means nothing to me. Right now all I care about is how good this album is. And yes, it is. Bruce Dickinson isn’t on here, but singer Paul Di’Anno sounds just fine on here. Also a notable absence from the usual line up is Adrian Smith on lead guitar (he comes on board for the next album). Dennis Stratton handles the guitar work with Dave Murray taking most of the kick ass solos. Clive Burr (underrated) is on drums and of course Steve “The Man” Harris handles the bass playing.
The real stars of the album are Harris on bass (duh) as well as for his songwriting, and Murray for his perfect guitar playing. Clive is good here, but he’s not quite the Monster he becomes on Killers and Number of the Beast. But the songwriting, oh the songwriting, is very excellent for a debut album. This thing is really solid all the way through. Charlotte is a dip along the way, but who cares? There’s a reason this thing is a ‘classic’: all the songs are good and a few are still played live by the band. Sanctuary wasn’t on the original issue of this as it was a non-album single. I grew up with Sanctuary tacked on after Strange World…they added it for the US versions, so I was curious to hear how it would fit in its new placement as track #2. They got this one right and the flow is even better with Sanctuary following Prowler. Start to finish this is a super-duper nice thing. Essential for Maiden fans or any fans of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal.
Rating: 92
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