My journey through unknown territory continues with today's entry, Iron Maiden. One thing I've been reluctantly finding out in this process is just how expensive a lot of 80's metal is on CD. It's kind of up there with rap, being not only costly, but sometimes a bit rare. What's most odd about this, is that there's no relative rhyme or reason I can figure out as to what's driving some of the prices. For example, among the seven Iron Maiden CD's from the 80's, which range between 1980 and 1988, 1984's Powerslave seems to be the rarest to obtain an original pressing of.
As of this writing, Iron Maiden has been together for fifty-one years, and over that course of time have released seventeen studio albums, thirteen live albums, seven compilation albums, four extended plays, five box sets, twenty video albums, and a slew of singles. That's not to mention the lineup of music videos they've had over the decades which have run in steady rotation on MTV. Basically, there's no shortage of material for one to seek out.
The band popularized their mascot, Eddie, by featuring the zombie like character on pretty much everything they ever released. In a way, the character became just as popular as a band, and since its inception has been memorialized on merchandise that's included shirts, buttons, and even in action figure form.
Of course, with all of this, there is a tome of history behind the band. I'll skip over that at present, as I'm still in the process of reading and learning about it myself. Out of respect for their legion of fans, I'll try not to butcher it when I swing back around to it tomorrow.
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when I fired up their 1980 self-titled debut. Was this going to be speed metal, similar to my recent listening sessions of Megadeth? Or would we lean into a more circus act approach, such as where we landed with Grim Reaper? The short answer, Megadeth, but sometimes with length.
The long answer, Iron Maiden focuses on playing fast, playing loud, but unlike Megadeth who kept songs confined to a three-to-four-minute mark, Maiden occasionally steps out of this confinement, giving songs room to breathe between the five- and seven-minute mark.
Candidly, this is where I felt their music shined. Songs such as Remember Tomorrow, and Phantom Of The Opera, stood out because of the great guitar work which was able to flourish in the extended runtime. Further, where they also came in far superior to both bands noted already, was in the vocals of Paul Di'Anno, who bothers to sing over the music, versus screaming. Sadly, I would learn that he would later be fired from the band after their sophomore album, Killers. While I'm glad that there will be at least one more with him, I'm not going to lie, that's a bit disappointing.
I suppose that's a fairly good segue into tomorrow's post, where I'll pick up with 1981's Killers. I did also see that the band released quite a few EP's between 80 and 81, and I may check some of those out too.
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