Killers

Artist: Iron Maiden

Date Released: February 2, 1981

Label: EMI

Produced By: Martin Birch

Tracklisting:
 * 1) The Ides Of March (1:45)
 * 2) Wrathchild (2:54)
 * 3) Murders In The Rue Morgue (4:19)
 * 4) Another Life (3:22)
 * 5) Genghis Khan (3:06)
 * 6) Innocent Exile (3:53)
 * 7) Killers (5:01)
 * 8) Prodigal Son (6:11)
 * 9) Purgatory (3:21)
 * 10) Twilight Zone (2:34)
 * 11) Drifter (4:48)

Reviews: The facade of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal was nothing more than a front to the punk scene that erupted in Britain during the late seventies. This "New Wave" of bands were merely more spotty, they wore more leather, played faster but could not consume as much drink or drugs as the old wave of bands which including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Budgie etc... For me the epitome of Heavy Metal (or even NWOBHM) can be summed in in too words. Iron Maiden. Synonymous with the whole Heavy Metal scene they have become an institution of that genre and could never ever even exist outside its one dimensional limitations. While they have made a career on rehashing the same tired and clíched formulas over and over again to a legion of petrol pump attendants they still carry that self styled sense of imperialism and still sit atop the Heavy Metal throne like a dictator.

Killers was the first heavy metal album proper I had ever heard. I was struck by its raw energy and fluid playability and dark themes of songs such as "Drifter" and "Murders In The Rue Morgue". Even before I knew what a morgue was so they were educational to a small extent. And though they may have been a metal band they had yet to be institutionalised into heavy metals short comings and here is a band willing to experiment. "Genghis Khan" is the very rare experience of a metal instrumental but it works so well in its surroundings. The twin guitar strains and descending notes of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith wail beautifully as they bring (bassist and chief song writer) Steve Harris's composition to life. Harris is something of a visionary as he more or less wrote everything on this album including the lyrics and he has through the years provided the drive, focus and stability for the band through the various line up changes. Singer Paul Di'anno looked like he would be more comfortable singing "God Save The Queen" but he exercises his singing ability to the extreme and really is the original metal vocalist. Those yells and screams must be his idiosyncratic trademarks but have been rented and robbed by every singer under the heavy metal banner since. Just listen to "Killers". Pure HM indulgence.

It had been something in the region of eighteen years after first experiencing Iron Maiden's second album that I returned to it, and giving it a spin brought back some memories but nothing much and none too important, but I had seen and experienced This Is Spinal Tap by this stage and it was finally starting to make some sense and I knew it was definitely not for real. The songs on Killers are catchy and at this stage Iron Maiden showed they were not afraid to try something different. Like the laid back and acoustic tinged "Prodigal Song". They would never be as experimental again. But without a doubt they would become safe in their long hair and leather fused with the mindless headbanging trappings of security and stagnant generic sound. The Martin Birch production leaves plenty to be desired and at times it sounds like a rough demonstration tape but certainly not as bad as their debut album which I absolutely detest along with much of their generic metal mayhem. For the era it was involved in and the time it was released I would certainly say Killers is a strong album with some good songs and a must for teenage dirtbags everywhere.