Chuck Schuldiner Project

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Why Iron Maiden is the greatest..

 Recently I published a statement which I suppose could be rather controversial, I said that Iron Maiden is the best pure heavy metal band ever. I felt that it would be right for me to defend my case. Before I present my case I would like to say that I am not trying to detract from other metal bands, they still have my eternal respect. However, Iron Maiden is my favorite 'straight' heavy metal band for several key reasons. The first reason that Iron Maiden is the best heavy metal band of all time is that they helped create the sound that would come to define metal, they also have colossal technical skill and they craft amazing riffs, finally they never lose quality, they remain the best of the metal bands from the start of their career to the present day. Without Iron Maiden than the sound that we call heavy metal might be completely different.
When their first album was released in 1976 times were changing. The mighty bands of the 70's were starting to lose a bit of their grandeur due to the new punk movement. While most young artists ended up joining the punk movement some wanted something more than that. Some bands decided that the best music would be a fusion of the sound of the earlier 70's bands, like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple with the punk sounds of the newer bands. With this combination of influences Iron Maiden would go on to spearhead the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). It would be the NWOBHM bands like Maiden who would set the tone for all metal. The bands that would create death metal, like Slayer and Morbid Angel loved Iron Maiden, they got the sound that Maiden was making and they wanted to make their own music because of them. Melodic death metal owes a lot to Iron Maiden as well. The creators of melodic death metal wanted the same feelings of light and dark as you got on a Maiden record. All in all Iron Maiden is one of the most influential metal bands of all time and this is for a large part due to their technical skill.
The technical skill of Iron Maiden is rarely matched, the guitarists have a sound that no other band can really challenge. Due to their double lead guitars they can create melodies with many layers that are hard to mimic. Another interesting thing about Iron Maiden is that their songs are not purely heavy metal, and also they are not purely any one type of heavy metal. Maiden has been willing to experiment with thrash, Slayer-type death metal, sludge metal and speed metal. While never dipping into the pit of brutal metal Maiden has proved that they can handle all manners of guitar solos, from classical solos to Hendrixian ones and then even Van Halens tapping solos. Really though Iron Maiden has a type of soloing all to its own with lots of bends and a very nice melodic feel. The drummers of Iron Maiden, in particular Nicko McBrain are amazing. If one doubts the skill of McBrain then one merely has to listen to Run to the Hills. Of course Steve Harris also gets a lot of amazing bass fills that adds an awesome layer to the music. Bruce Dickinson is often noted for the power and emotion in his voice and the lyrics are known for being deep and beautiful. The technical skill of Iron Maiden is amazing because it has not decreased over time.
Iron Maiden sounds much the same today as they did 20 years ago. (I'm not even going to go into the Blaze period.) They have soaring guitar riffs and a sound full of energy. If one listens to their live albums then one might be amazed to find that Iron Maiden's latest live album Rock In Rio is incredible and considered to be one of the best live album's of all time. It's hard to imagine a band that can still create original music that sounds just as good as their old standards. Yet if one listens to Maiden's more recent albums, namely Dance of Death and The Final Frontier then one might see that the critics are raving more and more about Iron Maiden. Essentially if the critics are to be believed Iron Maiden has incredible longevity and is actually getting better not worse.
Overall Iron Maiden is the best heavy metal band for a couple of key reasons. The first reason is that Iron Maiden has greatly influenced the heavy metal sound, even influencing genres that they never took part in. Then of course Maiden has 2 of the greatest guitarists that you will ever hear, with solos that are simply mindblowing and that cover all different genres. The final thing that makes Iron Maiden so good is the fact that, critics are suggesting that Iron Maiden is getting better with age not worse. That is my reasoning as to why Iron Maiden is the best heavy metal band of all time, However, I have skipped one important point about the band, they simply rock.

18 comments:

  1. I have seen Iron Maiden 15 or so times all over UK and Europe. My 1st time was actually when Blaze Bayley was singing and he was great! I travelled from Scotland on the fan club coach to Paris and Rotterdam to see the return of Bruce and Adrian, fantastic!!
    I agree that they are the best Heavy Metal band ever, however for me, Wickerman was the start of then end, songs to long and dreary. Live Bruce is an ignorant asshole...sings to Nicko more that the fans that pay top dollar to see them.
    Last good gig I attended was Shepherd Bush Empire, London 2001 (The Clive Burr benefit gig)
    Anyway, just my thoughts

    Corina

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    Replies
    1. wow dude.. that's a very daring comment..
      u know u r probably one of only 10 people who don't like maiden's new era right?
      and marking blaze's era as "great" and the 2000's era as "start of the end" is probably the most unbalanced opinion i have ever seen.

      dude these are your opinions, yes.. and they are respected..
      but seriously one word of advice.. go listen to another band instead of dwelling on the past.. your comment seriously made my head hurt.

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    2. The original drummer for Run to the hills was Late Clive Burr and not Nicko.

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  2. Just wanted to point out that unless you're talking about a live version then it was actually Clive Burr who played on 'Run to the Hills'. For McBrain, listen to 'Where Eagles Dare' off of 'Piece of Mind'. Brilliant bit of drumming!

    Anyway, Up The Irons! \m/

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    Replies
    1. I noted that too - kind of funny to make a statement and then support it with an non-fact. That said Nicko is a great drummer but RTTH is pure Clive

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  5. Love Iron Maiden. Cant get enough of them. Bruce has an amazing voice and interacts with the audiences well. Steve is fantastic on base guitar. Best metal band!

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  6. Iron maiden are no longer a heavy metal band. They have now diminished into a prog sounding band writing boring long knuckle dragging music.

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  7. First concert I ever saw,1987 Somewhere In Time,AWESOME 🖤

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  8. Agree early Iron metal is grade A metal, and maybe the quintessential. Although, later work sub par in comparison to other bands.

    My top 5 tracks (not in order):

    The Trooper

    Aces Hight

    The Clairvoyant

    Run to the hills

    Flash of the blade

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