It is something of a difficult to pick just three albums that have had the most impact over the years but the first choice was the easiest, it was the first album I ever bought.

I was a very young nipper, just getting into rock and metal, when I heard about a band that was upsetting the applecart with some real musical venom. If I remember rightly I bought Iron Maiden the week it came out and I think I listened to it pretty much every day for the next year. I was literally gob smacked with the power and intensity that was assaulting my eardrums. Was it Heavy Metal, was it Punk or was it something much more intense, and important, than either?

To this day I still regularly fire Iron Maiden up and, over the course of the twenty seven years since it's release, it has lost none of that aggressive punch. Songs like “Phantom Of The Opera”, “Running Free” and “Charlotte The Harlot” still bring goose bumps whenever those riffs kick in. Later versions of the album included Sanctuary, strangely omitted from the original release but the eight tracks that made up Iron Maiden were winners all and the start of an intense, historic and unforgettable period for British Heavy Metal.

Unfortunately I never saw Maiden perform these songs with Paul Di'Anno though I have seen Di'Anno play them solo in a small sweaty club which was a great pleasure. No matter what heights Maiden have reached in the intervening years there is a true beauty to this release and, if you are new to metal and want to sample something that was groundbreaking for the genre and can still hold it’s head up as a true classic then Iron Maiden’s debut album is a must. Still a true 10/10 album after all these years.

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Track Listing

Prowler
Remember Tomorrow
Running Free
Phantom Of The Opera
Transylvania
Strange World
Charlotte The Harlot
Iron Maiden

Line Up

Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitars
Dennis Stratton - Guitars
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

Related Links

Steve Harris - Interview

Iron Maiden - Newcastle Live Review

Bruce Air - Stockholm Review

Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death CD Review