Iron Maiden - S/T (1980)

One of the biggest bands that has ever stepped a foot on this earth is without a doubt British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. In over thirty years the band has created timeless music that has influenced more than thousand of bands around the world and it is hard to believe that these legends have also been beginners in the business one time. Iron Maiden's self titled debut came in 1980 and consisted of still existing members Steve Harris on bass and Dave Murray on guitar. The rest of the band was Paul Di'Anno on vocals, Clive Burr on drums and Dennis Stratton on guitar.

In several interviews, Steve Harris has said that he, and the rest of the band, hates punk and that Iron Maiden has nothing to do with this fowl genre. I agree on that punk is the ugliest kind of rock originating from the 70's and 80's but the fact that Iron Maiden does not have anything in common with it is, according to me, completely wrong. You can clearly hear small intentions to punk in several songs in this album. One of the clearest signs is the title track that has the typical punk speed but also contains a technical guitar work, something that you do not see in any known punk song.

But this album is, fortunately, not punk. It is rough NWOBHM with some complexity and progressive influences and it is when the progressive influences emerge from the dark that the album really hits its high point. The tip of the iceberg is the magnificent epic "Phantom of The Opera" that shines with its many tempo shiftings and awesome musicality. Hell, even Paul Di'Anno is doing a great job here and I am not even a fan of his work in Maiden (I do not say he is bad, I only mean that his vocal range does not really fit in the band). I have also always wondered if this song could be cooperated into the show with the same name. That would probably be cool as hell.

But one song does not make an album and so is of course the case with "Iron Maiden". Some parts of the album contains speedy songs with hooky riffs and a memorable chorus. One perfect example of that is "Running Free", a great song for all of you who enjoy to sing-a-long. Other songs that is showing some muscles is the sluggish but still intoxicating "Prowler", the initially soothing "Remember Tomorrow" that later kicks of with a fast ass solo. And let us not also forget the riff filled instrumental "Transylvania", a type of song I wished Iron Maiden would do more frequently (only made three instrumentals during their entire carrier).

I got to say this is pretty solid and good for a debut album. The production is rough and some songs could have been polished up a bit too but there is overall no real holes in this album. The only complaint I could have is the short play time (another punk resemblance he he) but it does not bother me that much. And even though the album is solid, it is still just under world class because I feel that Paul Di'Anno is not fitting into the band very well. He is missing that extra level in his voice that is necessary for the band. None the less, this self-titled debut is a great album that is worthy of a listen or two... or a hundred.

Songs worthy of recognition: Phantom of The Opera, Iron Maiden, Running Free, Remember Tomorrow

Rating: 8,5/10 Prowlers