I've been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden again recently, especially the classic first 7 albums from the self titled Iron Maiden, up to Seventh Son. Still as great as they were when released.

And they are touring again this year. I'm very tempted to try and get to see them if I can.

Has anyone looked at the official website http://www.ironmaiden.com lately? It's definitely much better than it used to be and contains a lot of interesting content including a well designed discography section and the pages about each of the members is written by each other so makes interesting reading as they can give a unique personal aspect to each others characters and what they think of each other.

Also of interest is the IM wiki page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden which has had a lot of time spent on it and contains a pretty good run through of the bands career, as well as containing a wealth of links.

I think Iron Maiden will always remain my favourite Heavy Metal band for all time.
[Reply]

I started listening to IM in 1982 when the Number of the Beast album was released, since then I've been a huge fan. Then I also bought the first album and of course Killers which is still my favorite one (also because I prefer DiAnno to Dickinson).

Then I began to listen to heavier stuff, beginning around 1985 with Metallica, Slayer, Overkill, Testament, Exodus, Kreator, Anthrax... And the last IM album I bought was Somewhere in Time, as from Seventh Son on, it wasn't good anymore imo. When I now listen to IM, I still listen to the older stuff.

Btw, the DVD The Early Years is a must have, as it contains several concerts, and even 2 gigs with DiAnno from 80 and 81. Plus does it have a documantary of the band history commented by Steve Harris. It covers the IM history until 1985.

Recently I bought Paul DiAnno's album on which he covers old IM songs. It's called The Classics: The Maiden Years and is not bad.
[Reply]

Iron Maiden is among my favourites as well. I've got Killers on vinyl, but the rest of my albums are on CD. It's a great album, but not my all time favourite.

I remember Kreator, Exodus, Anthrax and all the other bands you mentioned. As for my favourites here, it must be Bonded by Blood by Exodus and Fistful of Metal by Anthrax.
[Reply]

OMG! They're my fav band too! I've met Steve Harris and have got my Brave New World vinyl signed in person by all six members.

Best band ever.

Been to see them eight times so far. Bruce Dickinson is the best front man there can be, looks after the crowd and commands them at the same time.

Trying to learn bits of Dance Of Death and Fear Of The Dark on guitar at the mo. Been a fan since about '98.

Oh and I just noticed there are 666 threads on the forum stats!
[Reply]

I prefer Spreading the Disease and Among the Living. Fistful of Metal also had a very funny and really bad cover.


[Reply]

The first CD I ever purchased was Anthrax - Persistence of Time, as 1990 was the year I got my first CD player

Same for me. I bought the tape of the album while on a day trip with my school to Thorpe Park near London and made my friend's dad play the whole album on the way home in the car. That was funny because he was a very dedicated Christian. He must have loved the words to Number of the Beast!

And after that I also purchased all of the previous albums and Number of the Beast again on vinyl, and continued to by the vinyl LP releases up to Seventh Son. After that I bought the CDs and then bought all the older albums on CD again too!

It was a very sad day when years ago I was playing my Live After Death Live LP and accidentially dropped it, making a big scratch right across the record.
[Reply]

And I was 11 when I listened to Number of the Beast, that was in primary school All others still listening to smurf songs, Abba, Bee Gee's and Co.

My first CD was So Far, So Good, So What from Megadeth.

Live after Death is a millennium album and a must have Live album, even if you're not an IM fan. When it first got released on CD, it contained only 12 songs, but it is now also available as full length CD.
[Reply]

Ditto that. I always argue with people about it too. Most people prefer Dickinson's more technical singing, but I like DiAnno's more soulful approach. How anyone can listen to "Purgatory" and not be moved is beyond me.

I was at a bar a few weeks back and they were playing "Wrathchild" when I commented to my buddy that I preferred DiAnno's vocals to Dickinsons. Naturally, he started arguing with me about it, but then the bartender (a hot chick wearing an Angel Witch shirt!!!!) chimed in and backed me up on my DiAnno stance. My jaw more or less hit the floor when she supported DiAnno over Dickinson so naturally my first response was "Do you want to go out sometime?" Her reply was "I have a boyfriend right now, but I'm always down to talk about music so stop down and see me." Cool chick nonetheless.
[Reply]

I'll always maintain that Bruce is the true voice of Maiden. The air raid siren has more range for different types of songs. And lets not forget he's a far better front man. The stage is also a big part of the singers playground and he gets a crowd going like no other. I dont think Di'anno is bad, he is very good, but in terms of overall ability and who is better for Iron Maiden I'd say Bruce comes out on top, and screaming.
[Reply]

Dickinson is perhaps the better frontman, as he also has a lot of experience in doing so. But songs like Purgatory, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Killers, Prowler... sound better with DiAnno. But that is only a matter of taste, and I'm sure if we gonna ask 1.000 people about it, we'll get a 50/50 result, or perhaps a slight advantage for Dickinson, as more people started to listen to Maiden when he was already lead singer.
[Reply]