 | Blog author: Alex Stojanovic With the excitement of Iron Maiden coming back to Toronto on July 15th for the 2017 portion of the Book Of Souls tour, which kicked off yesterday, I thought I'd share a Maiden-themed list with you all. |
I will be sharing with you my top 5 Maiden albums. With many great albums in the Iron Maiden discography, picking only 5 of those albums is like picking your favourite 5 of your 16 children, so this was really difficult for me, but I like the challenge. After some long thinking, this is my list.
5. A MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH
When it comes to the albums the band released since the reunion with Bruce and Adrian on Brave New World, I would have to say that A Matter Of Life & Death is the best of those albums. When the album came out and they went on tour, they ended up playing the entire album live. For a band as legendary as Maiden, to play the ENTIRE new record on tour is a ballsy move and they got a lot of shit for doing that and only playing a few of the classics, but you have to admit that there's some AMAZING songs on this record like "Different World", "These Colours Don't Run", "For The Greater Good Of God", "The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg" and "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns". If you're one of those people that's on the fence about the post-Brave New World albums and you haven't heard A Matter Of Life & Death yet, I encourage you to do so. Great stuff!
When it comes to the albums the band released since the reunion with Bruce and Adrian on Brave New World, I would have to say that A Matter Of Life & Death is the best of those albums. When the album came out and they went on tour, they ended up playing the entire album live. For a band as legendary as Maiden, to play the ENTIRE new record on tour is a ballsy move and they got a lot of shit for doing that and only playing a few of the classics, but you have to admit that there's some AMAZING songs on this record like "Different World", "These Colours Don't Run", "For The Greater Good Of God", "The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg" and "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns". If you're one of those people that's on the fence about the post-Brave New World albums and you haven't heard A Matter Of Life & Death yet, I encourage you to do so. Great stuff!
4. PIECE OF MIND
I can only imagine the pressure that the band faced after releasing Number Of The Beast to follow it up with Piece Of Mind. With songs like "Where Eagles Dare", "Flight Of Icarus", "To Tame A Land", "The Trooper", "Revelations" and "Quest For Fire", it's an amazing record. I also think that there's no better way of introducing Nicko McBrain to the Maiden fans than with that amazing drum intro in "Where Eagles Dare". I also love the back story about the hidden message at the start of "Still Life" as it was a joke but intended to be a return swing at all the religious nuts who labelled the band as "Satanic" after releasing Number Of The Beast. I had a good laugh when I first read about it.
I can only imagine the pressure that the band faced after releasing Number Of The Beast to follow it up with Piece Of Mind. With songs like "Where Eagles Dare", "Flight Of Icarus", "To Tame A Land", "The Trooper", "Revelations" and "Quest For Fire", it's an amazing record. I also think that there's no better way of introducing Nicko McBrain to the Maiden fans than with that amazing drum intro in "Where Eagles Dare". I also love the back story about the hidden message at the start of "Still Life" as it was a joke but intended to be a return swing at all the religious nuts who labelled the band as "Satanic" after releasing Number Of The Beast. I had a good laugh when I first read about it.
3. KILLERS
There will always be debates over which of the two Di'Anno era records is better. For me, the first record is great, but I have to pick Killers. I believe the songwriting is better here, especially with songs like "Ides Of March", "Wrathchild", "Murders In The Rue Morgue", "Killers" and "Innocent Exile". Another highlight is the production. I've always been a fan of great production. When you compare the production to the first two records, it's night and day. The first record was more raw and punky, and Killers is more polished and that's all thanks to the legendary Martin Birch, who produced every Maiden album from Killers up to Fear Of The Dark. To everyone who likes the first record more, this is NOT saying I don't like the first record. I'm not saying that at all, it's amazing, but when it comes to the first two, Killers is my favourite because of the great production and the increase in songwriting quality.
There will always be debates over which of the two Di'Anno era records is better. For me, the first record is great, but I have to pick Killers. I believe the songwriting is better here, especially with songs like "Ides Of March", "Wrathchild", "Murders In The Rue Morgue", "Killers" and "Innocent Exile". Another highlight is the production. I've always been a fan of great production. When you compare the production to the first two records, it's night and day. The first record was more raw and punky, and Killers is more polished and that's all thanks to the legendary Martin Birch, who produced every Maiden album from Killers up to Fear Of The Dark. To everyone who likes the first record more, this is NOT saying I don't like the first record. I'm not saying that at all, it's amazing, but when it comes to the first two, Killers is my favourite because of the great production and the increase in songwriting quality.
2. POWERSLAVE
I'll never forget the first time hearing "2 Minutes To Midnight" when I was 12 years old and just getting into metal. It was one of the coolest songs I've ever heard. That song and "Aces High" make one of the best one-two punches that leads off a record. When you think of Powerslave, the first songs that come to mind are the aforementioned songs, along with "Powerslave" and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", but then you got the underrated gems like "Flash Of The Blade", "Back In The Village", "Losfer Words" and "The Duellists". Due to time pressure, "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" was written in a rather short period of time, which is crazy to think about because it's a masterpiece of a song. It's also the first progressive song the band wrote. We would get more of these types of songs later on in the band's career. After having a lineup change on each of the previous four albums, Powerslave was the first album to feature the same lineup from the previous album.
I'll never forget the first time hearing "2 Minutes To Midnight" when I was 12 years old and just getting into metal. It was one of the coolest songs I've ever heard. That song and "Aces High" make one of the best one-two punches that leads off a record. When you think of Powerslave, the first songs that come to mind are the aforementioned songs, along with "Powerslave" and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", but then you got the underrated gems like "Flash Of The Blade", "Back In The Village", "Losfer Words" and "The Duellists". Due to time pressure, "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" was written in a rather short period of time, which is crazy to think about because it's a masterpiece of a song. It's also the first progressive song the band wrote. We would get more of these types of songs later on in the band's career. After having a lineup change on each of the previous four albums, Powerslave was the first album to feature the same lineup from the previous album.
1. NUMBER OF THE BEAST
Was there any doubt? When I was putting this list together, this was the only easy one to place. There has only been a certain amount of times where the band makes a vocal change and then that first album they make with the new singer becomes their biggest album and that's exactly the case with Maiden and Number Of The Beast with the introduction of Bruce Dickinson. The other example would be AC/DC with Back In Black when they introduced Brian Johnson. Everything about this album is perfect, from the songwriting to the production and the performances. With songs like "Invaders", "Children Of The Damned", "22 Acacia Avenue", "Run To The Hills", the title track and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", this album is just untouchable. This is one of my top 5 albums that I would love to hear played live in its entirety, one of my top 5 favourite album covers and also one of my top 5 "Metal 101" albums that I would recommend to someone just dipping their toes in the metal waters. With all that said, Number Of The Beast is and always will be my favourite Maiden album!
Was there any doubt? When I was putting this list together, this was the only easy one to place. There has only been a certain amount of times where the band makes a vocal change and then that first album they make with the new singer becomes their biggest album and that's exactly the case with Maiden and Number Of The Beast with the introduction of Bruce Dickinson. The other example would be AC/DC with Back In Black when they introduced Brian Johnson. Everything about this album is perfect, from the songwriting to the production and the performances. With songs like "Invaders", "Children Of The Damned", "22 Acacia Avenue", "Run To The Hills", the title track and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", this album is just untouchable. This is one of my top 5 albums that I would love to hear played live in its entirety, one of my top 5 favourite album covers and also one of my top 5 "Metal 101" albums that I would recommend to someone just dipping their toes in the metal waters. With all that said, Number Of The Beast is and always will be my favourite Maiden album!
There you have it. My top 5 Iron Maiden albums! Feel free to make your own lists of your top 5 Maiden albums in the comments down below. UP THE IRONS!
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