Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Iron Maiden
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1980
On April 14, 1980, music history changed forever in an instant. A history that had started being written five years before the debut of heavy metal monsters Iron Maiden. Santa was seriously generous on Christmas Day way back in 1975, or maybe the name Steve Harris was sitting at the top of his “nice” list. Cookies and milk were always waiting for the jolly man in red on Harris’ table, and in return he left a package under Steve’s Christmas tree, wrapped in shiny paper and tied with a big red bow, but bearing the ominous name of a medieval torture device: Iron Maiden.
A fair bit of water went under the bridge before Iron Maiden mastermind Steve Harris gathered a stable lineup around him and, after a little under five years of grinding, managed to put out a self-titled debut on EMI. But the runaway train called Iron Maiden was already unstoppable before that release. The best way to sum it up is with the words of the notorious Soundhouse DJ Neal Kay, who played a big part in Maiden’s early breakthrough: “Every so often, out of the mass of hopeful and unknown names crowding the streets of the rock world, a truly special band rises up. One of those bands is Iron Maiden, who with their birth brought a style of rock music so powerful, bold and honest that only success can justify their effort”.
Iron Maiden delivers a sound you won’t be used to if you only know the Bruce Dickinson era. The debut stands out above all for its raw, primal, almost primitive “punky” sound, which will shock anyone raised on the typical Dickinson-era Iron Maiden melodies. A lot of that comes from Paul Di’Anno’s raspy voice. Sure, in terms of quality Di’Anno is miles behind Dickinson, but personally I think he was never appreciated enough. He fit the raw sound of early Iron Maiden like a glove, since the Maidens’ beginnings are defined by an unpolished, dirty sound, both in the material itself and in the production. The band themselves, or rather ‘Arry, are the main ones “to blame” for the “dirty” production of the first record: even though Will Malone is credited as producer, they did most of the production work themselves. Even though Harris has said more than once that he’s not exactly proud of the production, plenty of fans still count the first two records among the best Maiden ever made. No wonder, since their raw energy and power get you hooked fast. Iron Maiden also brings the signature rattle of bass guitar from fast-fingered Harris, which has always been the central driving force of their dynamic songs and over a thirty-year career became Harris’ trademark sound. For most people, one of the first associations with the words Iron Maiden is the charismatic “mascot”, drummer Nicko McBrain. We’ll get to know Nicko well enough later, but on Iron Maiden it’s Clive Burr who steps up, forming an extremely tight rhythm section with Harris. And last but not least, there are the excellent guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden is the only record he played on), who hint at another trait that became inseparable from Maiden – triple-guitar harmonies. Murray especially shines with some really excellent solos that became an important part of the unforgettable repertoire. I have a feeling I’m forgetting something… Oh yes, of course, Iron Maiden doesn’t just bring the sound that defined heavy metal; the cover introduces the character who became the band’s most recognizable symbol, and the symbol of heavy metal itself, and turned into a full-blown brand – Eddie, aka Edward the ‘Ead, Edward the Head or even Edward the Great. Call him what you like, he glares ominously at us from the cover, the first in a series of fantastic illustrations by Derek Riggs. Maybe I should quickly mention the story of how Eddie got his name: “Eddie the Head was born without a body, without arms and legs. All he had was a head. Despite this flaw, his parents loved him dearly. For Eddie’s sixteenth birthday, his father and mother found a doctor who was able to give Eddie a body. When his parents got home, they could hardly wait to tell Eddie that he’d be getting a body and becoming just like all the ordinary people. They said to Eddie: “You won’t believe the surprise we’ve got for you! You’ll never get a better present than this!” And Eddie replied: “Oh no, not another bloody hat!”
If any metal band deserves a closer, album-by-album breakdown, it’s Iron Maiden, of course. If you don’t know the record in front of us yet, I recommend you stop right here and run to the nearest music store to add Iron Maiden to your collection, where it really should have been already! Why am I telling you this? I don’t want to spoil the joy of listening to this excellent debut for the first time. Give the record a good listen and then come back here. True fans already own the record and won’t find any big surprises, but maybe I’ll reveal a detail or two you don’t know yet. So let’s get started!
The record opens with the punchy Prowler, which wins you over and hooks you from the first bars of its infectious melody. The thrilling up-tempo of the track perfectly captures what’s going on in the head of the creeper described in the lyrics. Thanks to its great melody and raw power, Prowler became one of the band’s most beloved songs and a live favorite. Even though its pretty shallow lyrics, about a pervert who likes to open his coat in front of unsuspecting ladies and show off his goods, don’t reach the band’s later lyrical masterpieces, it earned a place in the hearts of all the band’s fans with its raw energy. Prowler first appeared on the band’s earliest official recordings, The Soundhouse Tapes, but the faster version on Iron Maiden completely overshadows the older one. Murray sets it on fire with the solo and the punchy “wah wah” riffs! Sanctuary was the band’s second single, which made it onto the American edition of the record only, and didn’t land on the European version until the 1998 reissue. Sanctuary carries on in the same fast, hard-hitting vein as Prowler, and it’s about a fugitive from the law who was driven to madness by all the awful things he’d witnessed. A simple, energetic song that doesn’t quite reach Maiden standards, but thanks to good riffs and a Murray solo followed by a realistic police siren (imagine listening to it in the car) it earned its place among the band’s better-known tracks. As a curiosity, I should also mention the dust kicked up by Riggs’ single cover, which shows Eddie having just stabbed the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher. Remember Tomorrow is definitely a track that set Maiden apart and lifted them high above the punk scene of the eighties. A dynamic song that swaps between calm and hard-hitting parts, it became one of the band’s evergreens. One of Di’Anno’s best vocal performances, trading high screams with an equally screaming guitar. Running Free was the band’s first single and still stands as one of their best-known early tracks. Sadly, it’s also one of the weaker songs on the record, since with its repetitive chorus and simple structure it comes off watered down next to the rest. Lyrically it’s also a simple story about a teenage runaway who crosses the USA, and Di’Anno claims it describes his own troubled teenage years. Pointing to the band’s later genius is without a doubt the best song on the record, the first of Harris’ “epics”, Phantom of the Opera. It’s based, of course, on the 1910 novel of the same name by French author Gaston Leroux, which tells of the disfigured phantom Erik terrorizing the Paris opera house and falling in love with the opera singer Christine Daae, leading to an inevitably tragic end. Instrumentally it’s one of the best Iron Maiden songs, since its eight brilliant minutes don’t allow a single dull moment. From the opening guitar motif, through several complicated solo sections with guitar duels between Murray and Stratton, the excellent entrance of Di’Anno’s vocals and the dynamic rhythm section driven by Harris’ typical gallop, it’s pure Maiden perfection. One of the most brilliant instrumental parts can proudly stand up against that of the epic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Harris’ progressive rock influences show in the first of the band’s four instrumentals, the fantastic Transylvania, where every single member of the band goes wild and charges like a buffalo stampede. Once again Murray and Stratton trade solos, while the rhythm section, undoubtedly the best around at the time, destroys everything in its path. The song originally had lyrics, but they were dropped because the instrumentals were so good. Would it have been about vampires and Vlad the Impaler? Transylvania quietly tips over into the sorrowful and melancholy Strange World, which showcases a gentler and more melodic Di’Anno that fits superbly with the calm, slow tempo of the song. One of the better lyrics on the record offers no direct explanation and leaves room for your own interpretations, ranging from drug references to the theme intertwining with Transylvania’s vampire theme. Personally, I read the lyrics as a description of a utopian future, reminiscent of Huxley’s Brave New World. Next comes another band classic and, along with Phantom of the Opera, the best song on the record, the first of four parts about the prostitute Charlotte, Charlotte the Harlot. The lyrics, about the troubled love for a prostitute and the pain that comes with it, go with an instrumentally excellent song where Murray, who wrote it, shines above all, while Di’Anno proves himself in the calmer section, which adds great variety and dynamics to the track. The record closes with Iron Maiden, which became the band’s anthem and the only song they’ve played from their beginnings to this day. A shame, you could say, since it’s a thoroughly average song, with no solo whatsoever and weird lyrics. It’s hard to understand how such an average track became a mandatory part of the Iron Maiden repertoire.
Iron Maiden is a record that belongs in every metal collection, even though it only hints at the brilliant work to come. Even though the guitars, bass, vocals and shallow lyrics are far from what Maiden offered us from The Number of the Beast onward, Iron Maiden is the best record of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), even though Iron Maiden moved far away from that sound pretty soon. Iron Maiden is an excellent showcase of the evolution of the Iron Maiden sound and a historically important release, for the band, for the genre and for music history as a whole. Up the Irons!
Lineup
Paul Di’Anno – vocals
Steve Harris – bass guitar, vocals
Dave Murray – lead and rhythm guitar
Dennis Stratton – lead and rhythm guitar, vocals
Clive Burr – drums
Production
Will Malone
Tracklist
1. Prowler 03:56
2. Sanctuary 03:16
3. Remember Tomorrow 05:28
4. Running Free 03:18
5. Phantom Of The Opera 07:08
6. Transylvania 04:19
7. Strange World 05:32
8. Charlotte The Harlot 04:13
9. Iron Maiden 03:36
