Iron Maiden

October 1st, 1983…  a date I’ll always remember as it was my first ever concert experience.  I don’t recall every exact detail of the lead up to the show nor do I remember much about the opening act (the band I actually went to see), but I DO know the immediate impact the show had on me.  My exposure to hard rock music was more on the tuneful side, all 3-4 minute radio staples chock full of great riffs with simpler arrangements and with lyrics either in the “party hearty” mode or of a sexual innuendo.  Good and often great stuff but what I saw that chilly October evening was a revelation (pun intended) and a huge evolution in my listening tastes.

Iron Maiden was my gateway, my portal into an even greater musical world far beyond my wildest imagination.  Maiden’s performance that night was so full of conviction and sheer dominance that I was utterly transfixed, so much so that I had to go out the next day and buy their latest (at the time) Piece Of Mind.  I’d already heard “Flight Of Icarus” from that platter and maybe one or two earlier songs (I think “Wrathchild” and “Number Of The Beast, not too sure) before the show but everything else I heard that night was impressive.  But I believe what really hooked me was “To Tame A Land”- Holy cow!  Guitarist Dave Murray bathed in blue/green light, dry ice billowing around his feet, as he kicked off the middle eastern tinged intro of the song.  Visually and aurally stunning in its seven and a half minutes of sonic twists and turns.

So yeah…  got Piece Of Mind, got Number Of The Beast shortly thereafter, got the early Paul Dianno albums (lead singer before the supreme Bruce Dickinson joined for album #3), but what really pushed me into greater fandom was the release of 1984’s Powerslave and the ensuing concert in early ’85 on that tour.  I’d pretty much realized it earlier, but I found a band that was essentially me-  lyrical content revolving around fave topics like historic events (“The Trooper”, “Run To The Hills”), horror/science fiction (“Phantom Of The Opera”, the aforementioned “To Tame A Land”), or classic literature (“Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”, “Murders In The Rue Morgue”) with more complex musical passages in differing tempos and time signatures played by five blokes with a seemingly similar mindset and perseverance as me.  Suddenly in my mid-teens I’d found a band that I could identify with and was much more interesting than what was popular on MTV or the radio at that time.  I didn’t just hear the music but I felt it too, deep down in the depths of my soul.  I wanted to be like chief songwriter and leader Steve Harris with my foot propped up on the monitor and singing along to each tune, with my bass pushing the galloping tempo at top speed.

Being a fan of something can be funny.  I can talk about Iron Maiden for hours on end, not just about the band as a whole but discuss songs, albums, the musicians, eras of the band, and so on.  I’ve bought pretty much all of the DVDs, albums, singles (well, a huge chunk of those), solo albums, and box sets in multiple formats.  Iron Maiden is the only band out of my favorites where my anticipation level for a new release is like a kid waiting for Christmas and almost stupidly so.  I’ll pull out all of the old records and listen to Maiden non stop for weeks until the new release comes out and then I’ll spend another few weeks absorbing every detail of the new riffs, songs, lyrics, album art, credits, etc etc etc.  And then like a fan I will critique…  not as good as this, could have been better if they did that, that riff sounds familiar, etc etc etc.  But with Maiden, there is always something positive that outweighs those harshest critiques in me.

Maiden has gone through a few changes of their own over the years-  new singers, new drummers, change in guitarists, the return of former singers and guitarists- but I love all eras of the band.  I’ll vouch for The X Factor, I’ll talk about how Janick Gers is a major kick in the pants as third guitarist, talk about the finer points of former singers Blaze Bayley and Paul Dianno, and I’ll get into a friendly debate with you as to who is the better drummer (Clive Burr or Nicko McBrain…  psst…  it’s Nicko).  All that said, I couldn’t be happier with the 1999 return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith to the band.  Both have been a major shot in the arm over the past 15+ years especially Dickinson, who is arguably a better singer now than during his earlier tenure with the band.  I’ve caught them live three times since their reunion and I’ll be damned if the shows aren’t as good or better than when I saw those early tours.  Incredible.

Iron Maiden has released album #16 in last year’s The Book Of Souls.  The now six piece band continues to evolve over each album and are arguably more popular than ever.  And like I said earlier… you want to talk Maiden?  Make sure you set aside a couple of hours and gimme a holler 🙂

Favorite Albums:  Powerslave, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, Piece Of Mind

Favorite Songs:  The Trooper, The Evil That Men Do, Run To The Hills, Number Of The Beast, Wrathchild, Where Eagles Dare, Moonchild, Powerslave, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, Wasted Years, Aces High, Hallowed Be Thy Name…  auuugh!  Too many good ones to pick!