Iron Maiden, Bercy

So last night I satisfied one of my most metal life goals. When I was twelve years old (in 6^th grade) I first heard Iron Maidens Rock in Rio album. Since then, I have had a desperate wanting, a NEED to see this band in a live setting. Last night, after waiting a third of my life this unholy longing was finally fulfilled. After two hours of waiting in the longest line of my life, a line occasionally broken up by a roar of metal might I was inside the venue with my three new friends from Switzerland and another new acquaintance from the bleak region of Chicago. What made it special was the cross section of society represented at the show, from the dude who had seen them in 1983 when he was 15 and the other guy who was seeing maiden for his 21^st time to the small children who went with their parents, this was a metal show that united society.

Then Voodoo Six came on...by the Dark Lord is that band mediocre. They fail in the most frustrating way, they come so close to being good yet they fail so miserably. My dad was incredibly let down by the groups general mediocrity. Then came a half hour break, chants of 'Maiden, Maiden' broke out. Dickinson hadn't even hit the stage and I was already hoarse. We needed something, anything to save us from the horrible forty five minutes that made up Voodoo Six's set. I mean, Sweden got Ghost for crying out loud!

Then Iron Maiden came on and the pit went insane. After a killer start with Moonchild the energy level stayed incredibly high. Dickinson truly is one of the best frontmen of all time, he reeks of raw energy and really connects with the audience. As I crowd surfed for the first time of the night on Two Minutes to Midnight I got a great view of the stage. It was weird to finally be seeing these men who made me pick up a guitar and changed my life. I look at my clothing today (all Slayer because y'know, international Slayer day today and all that) and I feel my hair cascade across my shoulders and I realize my whole life would have been different without this band. Their incredible stage show and towering robots appeal to the inner 14 year old within all of us. This bands ability to give a personal experience to every fan in a thirty thousand seat venue is truly impressive and not to be missed.

So, if you haven't seen Maiden yet, DO IT. Even if you're not a metalhead their towering stage set, manic riffs and fun mosh pit should appeal to anyone who just loves good music. Dickinsons voice is truly impressive and his cries of 'SCREAM FOR ME BERCY' (Bercy being the venue we were at) galvanized the crowd into a singalong frenzy. Good readers, now more than ever I have realized, Iron Maiden truly is the worlds greatest and truest heavy metal band. After last evenings spectacle all I can say is, UP THE IRONS!

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.

A Matter Of Life And Death-Iron Maiden

 It's called Maiden Withdrawal okay? I did a lot of you unsigned guys earlier today so I decdied to do some hardcore Iron Maiden. I'm doing their 14^th album A Matter Of Life and Deat, and they have some pretty nifty cover art. This album is awesome, it embodies what I love so much about Iron Maiden. It starts off with the spectacular track Different World and it continues on from there. The guitar is loud soaring and awesome, the three guitars create a fat sound that goes great with the music. The bass of Harris has tons of great fills. Then of course Nicko McBrain has his spectacular drum parts that just make my life worth living. Dickinson has all of the same power in his vocals, he roars through the music pouring his heart and soul out. The lyrics are solid and of classic Maiden style.

The guitar is pure and beloved Iron Maiden, it has their classic tone that just explodes onto the scene and blows your mind. Maiden keeps their epic feel on this album with some of the greatest intro solos that I have ever heard. Iron Maiden is the best of the metal bands because of their epic style. (Yes I went there) The guitar embodies this epicness. Another major advantage in Iron Maiden is that they had 3 guitars on this album so they can have a really loud and powerful sound. The bass is of course solid. On some songs Harris teams up with McBrain to create a nice rhythm sections, on other tracks Harris will have a bass fill that leads on the music. The drums from McBrain are amazing and just make the music into an awesome-fest. Overall the instruments on this album rock.

The vocals are an impressive effort. Dickinson has lots of raw power in his voice which he harnesses to create some of the greatest vocals in heavy metal. He is fast and powerful, he has a tone which helps to create some great music. I love people with an awesome tone and Dickinson sure is one of them. His voice makes him a metal god. The vibe excreted yes excreted by this man's singing is incredible. Dickinson is a great singer not just because of his voice but also his amazing vibe. The lyrics also help the vibe. On this album the lyrics are mostly about war and religion, often in the same song. Many of the songs question war and religion as well, or show how a man turns to religion during war.

Overall this is a hard rocking effort from Iron Maiden that just made my day with it''s epic power, also it made my math homework less painful. The sound is mindblowing and its chock full of songs that will be Maiden classics. The guitars are huge powerful and awesome, they create a sound seldom heard on a metal album. The bass is awesome, getting both fills and creating a huge rhythm section with the drums. The drums are amazing, Nick McBrain continues to show that he is a drumming god with this album. All in all this is an awesome effort that proves how great Maiden truly is and always will be.

OVERALL 9.5/10

Powerslave-Iron Maiden

 It's been to long since this blog has been graced by the glory of Iron Maiden so today we are covering one of their top albums, Powerslave. This album features several Maiden classics, in particular, Aces High and Powerslave. This is one of the great Maiden albums, this is one of the albums that defined what Iron Maiden was all about. There are awesome high powered guitar parts with some spectacular riffs, and skillful bass bits coming from the bass guitar of Harris. The drums of Nicko McBrain are awesome as ever. The vocals that come from Dickinson's vocal chords are simply mind blowing, I have rarely heard anything this good. This is one of Maiden's top albums featuring one of their best line-ups ever.

The guitar on this album is mind blowing, simply mind blowing. This was definitely the peak of the Dave Murray-Adrian Smith duo, here they come out as two brother gods, showing off their skills for thousands of worshipers. When you think that Maiden has dual lead guitar with 2 guys who are at least as good as Jeff Beck you have to pause. The music created by those two guitars is amazing. They have a series of spectacular riffs that define the songs, these riffs are powerful and dominant. On this album they produced a riff which goes down in most Top 10 Riff lists with their riff in Aces High, which sets a tone for the whole album. The bass of Harris is awesome as usual getting a lot of nice fills . Nicko McBrain (did you know McBrain is his birth name?) does an awesome job on drums as usual.

The vocals are simply awesome. Dickinson can belt it out like few others. The stength in his voice can only be matched by an early Robert Plant, and a young Freddy Mercury. However, while his voice is not as flawless as theirs, it is still pretty awesome. Dickinson creates these amazing sounds with his voice, often being able to have moments of both light and dark in his singing, usually it goes from lighter singing to darker singing but on the last track Rime of the Ancient Mariner he flips back and forth. Unfortunately though unlike their later stuff the songs off this album rarely start out with a somber introduction. The lyrics are awesome, setting the tone for all Iron Maiden, they are deep and powerful. For me Iron Maiden will always have the best lyrics of any band, there is just so much to each individual piece. (Except for Losfer Words of course).

Overall this is an awesome album that features some Iron Maiden classics. There are some awesome riffs on this album that help to define Maiden for the rest of time. I think that the guitar on this album is spectacular and powerful, featuring both amazing ostenatos and brilliant high powered guitar solos. The other instruments are given their share as well, Harris has his nice bass fills as usual and the drums are really nice sounding to McBrain drives the music on with his powerful bass drum. The vocals are spectacular, bulging with raw power and energy. The lyrics are deep and full of meaning like on any good Maiden album. My favorite song off this album is Aces High and then Power Slave. This is a great album with high replay value and I would recommend to any metal head.

OVERALL 9/10

Brave New World Iron Maiden

Today I am celebrating the triumphant return of Iron Maiden in 2000 with their killer album Brave New World. Imagine being a Maiden faithful and hearing that you're favorite lead singer was back with your favorite band. You drop your tape into the player and BAM The Wicker Man blows your head off! This is one of my favorite Maiden albums, it has a couple songs that have become classics in the 10 years since there release. Notably there is The Wicker Man, Brave New World and Blood Brothers, but all the songs on this album are good. This is a return from the terrible years and into the Brave New Future for Maiden. I love this album, this is one of the mightiest Maiden albums, proving they still had plenty of strength in them. This album only allows me to say one thing “UP THE IRONS NOW AND FOREVER!”

The guitar work on this album is masterful, from the really well written power chord riffs of The Wicker Man to the interesting acoustic bits of the intro of Ghost of the Navigator (another classic). There is also a very impressive clean intro to Blood Brothers which is surprisingly easy to play. This album has more non-power chord riffs than other Maiden albums, what I mean to say is that while on most Maiden there are single notes in the intro and power chords throughout here there are single note riffs driving the music more than they did in previous Maiden records. Nicko McBrain has new life on this album, with impressive drums throughout, particularly in Ghost of the Navigator. The bass of Harris, is as usual holding the thing together, he comes through nicely in some bits in Ghost of the Navigator, and a couple other tracks.

The lyrics here are amazing. The Wicker Man is about the apocalypse and describes it by talking about “The World Exploding Every Single Night”. The Nomad talks about the mysteries within us. Overall the lyrics are classic Maiden, deep, dark and disturbing at times but often featuring a glimmer of hope. Dickinson's voice is amazing, his voice with his spectacular style is iconic and helps to shape the music. His voice was made for one thing, and that one thing was to be the best lead singer for the worlds best metal band (Led Zep doesn't really count, so they are still the best band.). This album is AWESOME.

The combination here of lyrics, vocals, guitar, drums and bass is amazing. It comes together perfectly to create one of the best albums you will ever hear. There are quiet more experimental acoustic bits, and more single note at a time riffs, healing the main issues with Maiden. All the tracks are Maiden being Maiden but now with greater maturity and awesomeness than they previously did. This album ROCKS and there is no denying it, everyone should listen to this and be amazed at the sheer awesomeness of the band known as Iron Maiden, the music storming into you at times like a hammer of the gods and other times a butterfly leaping gently across your eardrums, makes this album amazing.

OVERALL 10/10

also here is an in browser edition of DOOM

http://www.kongregate.com/games/mike_id/doom-1

have fun

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son-Iron Maiden

So I'm sick today and meh. This is a really good classic Maiden album and features some awesome lyrical themes. In fact it is influenced of a series by one of the best authors of all time, ORSON SCOTT CARD. Just read some of his stuff, a lot of people really love him, notably Enders Game is one of his finer works. Anyway, back to metal, this is a classic Maiden album showing off all of the amazing things that make Maiden, Maiden. Theres a lot of great singing here and some amazing stuff on the guitar that continues to blow me away. There is a lot of deep philosphical stuff here which I will discuss later. This is an amazing album thats more of Iron Maiden being the best metal band in the world. Also as a side note, this is one of the few Maiden albums to have keyboards, just in case you're curious.

The music is mostly typical Maiden, having found their niche and how they were supposed to sound by this point. The songs are very progressive, building up from a simple acoustic bit into an amazing and explosive guitar song. The previously mentioned keyboards sound really cool on the track Infinite Dreams providing a shimmering noise underneath the loud and angry guitar. The guitars of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray compliment each other really well. I learned recently in an interview I saw with Adrian that he plays the heavier tapping solos while Murray plays the more rythmic stuff. That provides an interesting insight to this album. The sound comes out in a wall that just blows you over and makes your body move even when you are not expecting it. The bass of Harris on this album sounds nice but does not come through as much as it could on some tracks. The drums of Nicko McBrain are incredible as they just drive the music and provide a headbanging feel, he is a god of the drum kit.

The vocals are loud and gritty and typical Dickinson, his singing can be both ominous and scary and also loud and headbanging, often in the same verse. He is the perfect vocalist for Iron Maiden. The lyrics in this album are very philosophical. Most of the lyrics are dealing with things like good vs. evil, the afterlife and prophetic vision. Good vs. Evil is seen in the Maiden classic The Evil that Men do. The prophetic vision theme comes to the forefront of the music in the tracks Can I Play With Madness and The Clairvoyant. There is also some mystic ideas like those seen in Seventh Son of a Seventh son which discusses the magical and superhuman powers that this man who is a Seventh son of a Seventh Son has.

Overall this is a classic heavy metal album that shows off a lot of guitar talent and some amazing vocals and most of all the brilliant lyrics that make Maiden a cut above most other metal bands. This is one of the greatest albums of the 80s and is Maiden at its peak. Anyone into Maiden would love this album. (Actually I believe that everybody loves Maiden they just don't know it yet XD). I would recommend you going out to buy this album and rocking it out to it, I know there are a couple songs I want to learn from this album. So yeah, listen to this its a really good album, might post later on today.

OVERALL 9/10

(Also, just a disclaimer, i get some inspiration for what to write about from wikipedia, i dont copy wikipedia i just use some of the concepts on their to fuel the blog posts)

Live After Death-Iron Maiden

Up the Irons! So today I'm covering another live Maiden album. This one is Live after Death. It is loud angry and explosive but lacks the same power and production quality as Rock in Rio. Overall this is a spectacular album that blows the roof off. It is loud aggressive and shows off all the might of Iron Maiden. There is the traditional speech at the start and then it breaks into a crashing rendition of Aces High which has all the skill of the album version. While it lacks the same feel of jumping up and down with the others as there is at Rock in Rio this is still a really cool album that goes down as a great live album. The songs are a cross section of everything Maiden had done up to that point. What is interesting is how there are the classic songs we all know and love that were not classic yet at that time. It is rather ironic.

The music is pretty good and very accurate to the albums. Murray and Smith have amazing memories. I can barely even learn 1 Maiden song much less all of them. This album is just amazing, it features a great Maiden line-up at a high point during their career. Everything on this album is hard, there are no quiet or somber moments unless the song demands it. The album is very driven and it is hard to stop listening to it, it has a certain amazing majesty. They have all of their best solos on this album and you just have to grin as you listen to it. Its really just a heavy metal explosion of power and dominance.

The music is very accurate to the studio versions of the songs and that is a very good thing. The only issue with this album is the lack of production quality. Some bits sound really weird and messedd up especially in songs like “The Trooper” and “Aces High” on other tracks the production is better but overall the production leaves something to be desired. The music is so masterful though that this is pretty well overcome. The track Flight of Icarus sounds almost exactly like the album save for the screaming of the crowd. The other majorly weird bit is the backing vocals. Harris and Smith who both usually have great voices sound oddly deep.

Overall this is a really good album that features a lot of the best Maiden songs up to that point. I really like this album and it is truly a heavy live album. While lacking some of the majesty of Rock in Rio it is still really powerful and shows a lot of technical skill and memorization. Everything is powerful and while the crowd does not scream along you still can get the vibe of jumping up and down with the crowd and making the sign of the horns as Dickinson sings the Number of the Beast. I love this album and it is definitely worth a listen especially if you want to hear what maiden sounded like in the relatively early days. The only thing taking this album down is production quality but the music is so good that it still is amazing. Seriously you should go listen to it, right now, it rocks really really amazingly hard.

OVERALL 9/10

Fear of the Dark- Iron Maiden

Yay more Iron Maiden. I was in a Maideny mood so I did the best Maiden album of the 90s, not actually saying a lot seeing as... you know who... would come and ruin the band for 2 albums until the triumphant return of Dickinson. The album starts out with the really cool “Be Quick or Be Dead” and then breaks into the cool sing-a-long feel of the choruses in From Here To Eternity. It shows some experimentation, particularly in Be Quick or Be Dead which experiments with a faster tempo than normal Maideny stuff. It has a couple of classic songs, in particular Fear of the Dark. Childhoods End and Wasting Love are also awesome. It shows off a lot of the greatness of Maiden. From political commentary in Afraid to Shoot Strangers, to plain old simple heavy metal awesomeness in Fear of the Dark.
The first two tracks are extremely fast paced and lead one to believe wait... is this a Maiden album sans those amazing acoustic bits that build progressiveness into the music? Nope, you will be satisfied by the doom laden Afraid to Shoot Strangers. It still ranks as one of the top metal voices though, its just fallen a few notches. There is some really great music on this album. From the amazing Murray tapping to their traditional technically amazing solos. Dickinson comes across loud and angry and showing off all his vocal might. Murray's solos just boggle the mind. Steve Harris has a bass that shines through, more so than in many metal bands. Of course Nicko McBrain (also known as Mr. Best name ever) is still an amazing drummer and drives the music with his powerful and skilled drumming chops.

The lyrics are very dark, as usual with Maiden. But even these are more laden with messages of death and despair than normal Maiden tracks. One of my favorite Maiden tracks Childhoods End shows off a spectacular guitar part thanks to Murray and then a great rhythm part in the verse. It is enough to make you both despair and smile. The whole feel exuded by this album is very Iron Maidenesque. It is filled with all of the guitar parts and dark vocals complimented by one of rocks best rhythm sections that make the music great. Even though this album is not classic-ridden it still shows off some of Maidens best work.

This is a fabulous album that has everything that makes Maiden, Maiden. My only complaint is that there are few classic Maiden tracks here but if you consider it pretty much any aver song by Maiden could qualify as a classic for many other bands. (I mean the real Iron Maiden with either D'Ianno or Dickinson.) This is just an hour of Maiden showing off who they are accentuated by a couple amazing tracks that will survive as metal classics for years. Maiden shows their skill off here and you have to respect an album as awesome as this.

OVERALL 9/10

Rock In Rio-Iron Maiden

Yeah I'm doing a 3^rd. Ok so I finally realized the live album I love the most in the world that features spectacular music and a couple of the worlds best recordings. It has a spectacular intro and only gets better. OH MY GOD I love this album. It is my favorite live album of all time and features AMAZING sing-a-longs that make you just want to pick up and play guitar and sing a long as loud as you can! This album is Rock In Rio by IRON MAIDEN. This was recorded in front of 250,000 people and gives you the true concert feel. You can feel yourself standing in the huge stadium with thousands of fellow Maiden fans. You can almost smell the sweat and feel the mad joy as people rush for the mosh pit at the center of the stage. It fills me with energy and is the ultimate suppressant. I have stayed up nights playing chess and listening to this album. It is beautiful and it really captures the true essence of the worlds greatest pure metal band. Just start listening to it now from the beginning and you'll be pulled in.

Before this album I liked Iron Maiden. But to me they were still not really what I was into. Back then I pretty much only listen to Zep and such. Then one day I heard the live version of Brave New World off this album. I started singing along, loudly, at school. My metalhead friend Dave (Dan knows him too) was like “Yeah” and I was in. This album truly got me from liking heavy metal to LOVING heavy metal. Heck, my CAT loves this album. But really, I can almost see Adrian rocking out on his guitar in front of me and I can see Dickinson's face go red as he screams “I CAN'T HEAR YOU!”. If you want to get someone really into metal who already likes Led Zep and a few metal songs this album will draw them in. Actually scratch that. This could make a pop lover drop their Justin Bieber and start wearing Maiden shirts.

The recording quality of this album is remarkable. In some live albums you lose bits, but here everything is recorded perfectly and you can hear the roar of the crowd so you feel as if you are really there. The first 3 tracks of the album are all pretty amazing but it goes from a great live album to my favorite live album just through the song Brave New World which explodes with thousands of people singing along. The overall track selection is very good. They play a lot of their classics but they miss some which would have made this album like I dunno worshiped in several small dictatorships. We do get to hear long-time classics Iron Maiden, Run to the Hills, The Trooper and Hallowed Be Thy Name and many others, but I feel if there was Children of the Damned on here as well as Paschendale, and some of the other sing-a-long classics it would be worshiped in those small dictatorships.

Overall I love this album and if you listen to it you will hear why. It rocks and no one can argue how metal and amazing it is. So just shut up and go listen to it. In the words of Dan “If you don't like it you're a crack head.” That pretty much sums up this album. It gives you the feel of a Maiden concert and the adrenaline. You can feel it and it makes you want to jam and just live a heavy metal life, so go listen.

OVERALL 12/10

Better than 11/10

Killers-Iron Maiden

Ok right, so today Ima right a review of an album from one of my favorite bands. Before starting I would like to thank my awesome Uncle and regular reader Shawn, who was a major influence on my musical tastes and starting to play guitar. (He has a lot of guitars). Anyway this album is pretty unique in that it features two instrumental tracks, a pretty unique thing. Both of them are pretty good and were basically designed to show off the new guitarist on this album Adrian Smith (who is like a god). This is also the last D'Ianno album which is both a good and bad thing. It is good because Bruce Dickinson is significantly better and has an amazing voice but it is sad because D'Ianno was one of the defining voices of early metal whereas Dickinson is much more '80's', not that this is a bad thing but it is a change.

Overall the music on this album is pretty good. It features a couple really good songs like Murders in the Rue Morgue (which is also cool cause it takes place where I live). What's interesting though is that while it is not packed with classics like for example The Number of The Beast album it holds its own and as a whole rocks. It does show off the guitar playing of Adrian, which is very technically skilled and filled with some awesome riffs and solos. I especially like Genghis Kahn which comes out sounding great. (Its one of the other instrumental tracks FYI). The drums are typically Maiden drums, amazing and loud when they need to be and quiet or backgroundish when they need to be. Really a hats off to Nicko McBrain (best name ever). Steve Harris again has his amazing bass parts which make the music sound really full and nice. It sounds particularly good in “Another Life”.

The lyrics are pretty good. They have the same general angry aggressive Iron Maiden feel. D'Iannos voice is still amazing on this track. There are darker themes which are usually kind of disturbing. Murders in the Rue Morgue is about well.. murder, Killers is about a man who killed someone and then his remorse. Really its just overall dark and filled with despair and sadness almost. There are some really cool sing-a-longish bits but not quite to the level of Dickinson's Maiden which brought us the likes of Children of the Damned. This album really just comes through nicely and sounds really good. You can feel the energy coming through and it is really cool. When you hear this album you will feel the energy coming through in a way that I have only really noticed before with Zeppelin.

So yeah, all in all this is a pretty good album. It starts to get the better later Maiden tone and shows progression from the first Maiden album. The issue is that it lacks classics here. It feels really cool and comes out really well and sounds spectacular so I love it but it just has no true classics. The album is not weak, it's quiet strong but the only true classic here is Killers and to a degree Murders in the Rue Morgue. It does not give me the same explosive joy and bliss of some later albums and the awesomeness contained in the classics there. This album still is amazing. You should listen to it.. right now.

OVERALL 9/10

Killers

Number of the Beast- Iron Maiden

Right, so today I felt like listening to some Maiden and getting a review in. So we are doing what is pretty much universally accepted as the best Iron Maiden album, The Number of the Beast. This is a sick album featuring some classic Maiden songs. Actually 5 of the 8 songs on the album are classics and some of the best songs ever. Also this Album features the introduction of Bruce Dickinson. It starts out with a hard metal song Invaders, a classic and super loud metal song and it ends with Hallowed Be Thy Name probably the best metal sog ever which I am 95% sure that it is in fact about the book Tale of Two Cities.

This album just epitomizes Iron Maiden. It has all of the explosiveness and awesomeness of a metal album but with beautiful lyrics and tones that make me love Iron Maiden so much. Children of the Damned is the first song on the track and right away it shows Bruce Dickinson's amazing voice off. You get the sense that this is for those anxious fans afraid that he might wreck the band. He did not in fact wreck it. He made it. Bruce Dickinson changed Iron Maiden from a pretty big metal band into THE metal band. The music is amazing, it features some of the best intros and some of the strongest solos and choruses that I have ever heard. This album really has 'meat' if you will. It gives you a feeling of satisfaction from listening to it. It just brings me joy and a tingly feeling into the base of my stomach.

I like this album because it is loud and dirty. It has the amazing tones that make Maiden who they are, and who they are is the best metal band ever, shut up all who argue. And while the guitar and bass is all excellent and the drums are great ESPECIALLY in Run To The Hills Dickinson makes it special. Just try it, listen to a Dickinson Iron Maiden song and then listen to a non Dickinson Iron Maiden song. The Dickinson one is better 9 times out of 10. (Please note I am still a fan of Paul, but not Blaze, Blaze sucked and that's all there is too it.)

Overall this album rocks really really hard. It also features some of the best Iron Maiden ballads of all time, theses include Children of the Damned and Run to the Hills. And it also shows the true power of metal, really for the first time. It proves with the song Hallowed Be Thy Name that metal can do anything. The music is great and you really need to listen to it, it is that good and just makes me happy when I listen too it despite the darker subject matter. Just listen to this album everything about this album is amazing.

OVERALL 10/10

ps. I would like to note that Two Guys does not support satanism in any way shape or form.

The Number Of The Beast (Album Version)

Iron Maiden- Iron Maiden

Now I'm going to continue my metal history chronicles through the decades. Mostly we have done late 60's up to '71.

So today Ima cover my favorite purely metal band, IRON MAIDEN. We will be covering their first album named Iron Maiden this is an album released in 1980 but the band formed in 1975 with some issues resulting in the release of the first album. The album starts with a bang and is explosive and amazing. It has an almost sing-a-long quality too it (The Prowler) that is. In fact it right away shows the amazingness of Iron Maiden who invented what I call the Heavy Metal Sing-A-Long, Notable songs in this thing of sing-a-long metal include Brave New World and Mother of Mercy.

The songs are powerful and hard and some true classics are on this album. They are unbelievably hard for the era and the vocals and guitar support each other. Di'Anno is my second favorite Maiden lead singer to Dickinson. Di'Anno has a great voice for a metal album Harris is of course a fantastic bassist as he has always been. Dave Murray rips out some REALLY impressive solos. He set the tone for every Maiden song having a solo and all of them being amazing and powerful. The drum work done on this album by Clive Burr is at a high level, not fantastic like Bonham or Moon or even my favorite Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain but still really good powerful drumming.

The lyrics are dark, raunchy, loud, balladish and sweaty. Basically they set the tone for Iron Maiden albums to come. I love Maiden's loud and powerful lyrics. This album comes off really well and I really think it comes off well. There are lots of powerful riffs especially in Running Free. There are a lot of classics on this album, these include Phantom of the Opera, Iron Maiden, and Running Free. While those songs are not the best of the Maiden songs these are still pretty good. This is a classy album for lack of a better word. It set the tone for years of metal to come, and is really a staple in the history of metal. Another note about this album is that in the songs Strange World and Phantom of the Opera birth the Maiden styled awesome rock ballad.

Overall this album rocks pretty hard. It comes off pretty well and shows a lot of technical skill. I like it and I think most metalheads would like it quite a bit. There is a lot of range here and a lot of skill and brilliant lyrics but you can definitely tell the band is young. The production quality is.. ok but not great. Even Harris doesn't like the production on this album. The remasters sound a lot better. Overall a great album but one that shows room for improvement

OVERALL 8.5/10

Iron Maiden

The Final Frontier - Iron Maiden

The Final Frontier- IRON MAIDEN

This may be it, this may be the last Maiden album. Steve Harris always suggested that it would be 15 albums before Iron Maiden stopped recording but I sincerely hope this is not the last. While The Final Frontier is no concept album it does show that Maiden still has plenty of firepower and energy to keep itself going for many years to come. There is no softening of the metal as can be seen in some Metallica albums, Maiden is staying true to their hardcore metal spirit. This album is really just Maiden being Maiden.

From the lead track “The Final Frontier” you can tell Maiden is by no means dead. This track has a great sing-a-long feel similar to that of the song “Brave New World” it must be great live. There is the powerful riff driven “El Dorado” and the soulful “Mother of Mercy” which is reminiscent of “Paschendale”. There are several powerful ballads which just make me happy and I love their power. These would include songs like “Isle of Avalon” and “Mother of Mercy” In my opinion the songs “Mother of Mercy” and “The Final Frontier” are not only the two best songs on a very good album but very high on the Iron Maiden best song list. (In the mid 30s perhaps.)

The guitar parts of this album are strong. Dave Murray shows that he still has the power to make very heavy and nice songs. Nicko McBrain (Isn't that a great name?) shows of his drumming stuff n most of the tracks especially some of the faster ones like El Dorado. Steve Harris has a solid showing on bass keeping the songs nice and powerful. Overall the solos are pretty good, not the best we have ever heard from Iron Maiden but definitely fairly good. They are essentially just your average fast and awesome Maiden solo's. The vocal's of Dickinson (I wonder if he is related to Emily Dickinson?) are good and really just have the same power that made him famous.

Overall I really like this album and hope it is not Maiden's last. Everything about this album just screams their name in fireworks. It is so cool and explosive that if this is in fact Maiden's goodbye it is probably the best way for them to say good bye. This album just shows their beautiful musicianship and power. It is hard and heavy and sweaty and smelly just like any good Maiden album. I love this band and I really like this album.

RATING 8/10

The Final Frontier