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Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden



8.6 | 1966 votes |
Release date: 14 April 1980
Style: New wave of British heavy metal

Owners:

2272 have it
106 want it
4 trade it


Disc I
01. Prowler
02. Remember Tomorrow
03. Running Free
04. Phantom Of The Opera
05. Transylvania
06. Strange World
07. Sanctuary [US release]
08. Charlotte The Harlot
09. Iron Maiden

Disc II [1995 reissue bonus]
01. Sanctuary
02. Burning Ambition
03. Drifter [live]
04. I've Got The Fire [Montrose cover]

Top 20 albums of 1980: 7
Featured in "Getting Into: Iron Maiden"

Additional info
Produced by Will Malone.
Engineering by Martin Levan.
Cover art & photography by Derek Riggs, Cream, Terry Walker & Yuka Fujii.

Staff review by
Pierre Tombale
Rating:
7.5
This album is from the jurassic period of Iron Maiden, for the band's singer back in the days was not Bruce Dickinson, who was lead-singer for the band Samson at that time. Instead you will hear Paul Di'Anno, who has a fiery, kind of raw voice. With screaming guitars and the great bass-playing, which Steve Harris is famous for, Iron Maiden recorded their self titled debut.

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published 29.09.2003 | Comments (10)

Guest review by
RavenLord
Rating:
7.6
For my first review, I was faced with a dilemma as to which album to look at. The answer lay in my current favourite band, and where better to start than the very beginning, in East London, 1980?

This is proto-Maiden v.1.1. There, that's the review right there. What, you want more? Okay. This album is a bit of a mixed bag at times. Taken in context, it's bloody amazing. Steve Harris wrote the majority of the songs here when he was a teenager, and the complexity of the songs for the era and age of composer amazes me. Unfortunately, the lyrics are not as polished as on later releases, and gems on this disc like "Prowler" pale in comparison when compared to "Caught Somewhere in Time" or "The Trooper."

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published 04.08.2006 | Comments (25)

Guest review by
Arian Totalis
Rating:
8.0
After years of difficulty, Steve Harris must have been quite exhilarated when he learned that Maiden would have the opportunity to finally record their first full length album. While many fans may argue that this is one of Iron Maiden's most classic albums, Steve Harris himself was unhappy with the end result, thinking that there were many improvements that could have been made but simply weren't. Whether or not you like this album though, this is their debut album, so thus the classic words were rendered: "Iron Maiden can't be fought, Iron Maiden can't be sought".

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published 23.02.2010 | Comments (18)

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Comments: 51   Visited by: 1958 users
12.12.2018 - 00:39
Maco
Pvt Funderground
By far their best.
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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16.09.2019 - 23:50
Rating: 9
Redel

Written by Maco on 12.12.2018 at 00:39

By far their best.

Haha, when I read this, I was really laughing out loud.
Why? Because I thought, how is that, please?
I mean, I consider this one of Maidens best albums, probably a classic, some 8.6 in my books.
And I have Powerslave somewhere around 9.3, and 7th Son, together with The Beast at 9.2. Then comes the debut.

Now, had you just said that the debut was their best album I would have said, yeah ok, you can see it that way, sure.
But saying that it is their best "by far" is hard for me to see. Why? Because this implies a huge gap in quality to everything else they have put out after their debut. And there was quite a lot over all the years of top quality in my eyes.
Can you elaborate in which terms you see a huge gap in quality to everything else they have put out after their debut?
I am probably extremely pedantic here. Sorry for that.
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17.09.2019 - 00:01
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Written by Redel on 16.09.2019 at 23:50

Can you elaborate in which terms you see a huge gap in quality to everything else they have put out after their debut?
I am probably extremely pedantic here. Sorry for that.

Simple. All killer no filler, something all the following albums have unfortunately.

I also love Seventh Son and I think Killers is the closest to this album in quality terms, but like I said, the fillers kinda ruin the experience, Seventh Son has The Clairvoyand and Killers has the decent yet subpar compared to the rest Prodigal Son.
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17.09.2019 - 00:11
Rating: 9
Redel

Written by Maco on 17.09.2019 at 00:01


Simple. All killer no filler, something all the following albums have unfortunately.

I also love Seventh Son and I think Killers is the closest to this album in quality terms, but like I said, the fillers kinda ruin the experience, Seventh Son has The Clairvoyand and Killers has the decent yet subpar compared to the rest Prodigal Son.

A filler is to be found on all their albums, unfortunately.
On the debut it is Strange World for me, Charlotte does not belong to my favourites either.
Even if you dont consider these two fillers, do they really contribute to a huge gap quality-wise (to all the other albums) for you?
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17.09.2019 - 00:20
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Written by Redel on 17.09.2019 at 00:11

On the debut it is Strange World for me, Charlotte does not belong to my favourites either.
Even if you dont consider these two fillers, do they really contribute to a huge gap quality-wise (to all the other albums) for you?

Always regarded Strange World as an amazing ballad, and Charlotte is one of those songs that grew on me over time.
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19.09.2019 - 23:32
Rating: 9
Redel

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Clq0wSVHo

Recording of the entire concert at Beat Club in Bremen, GER, from the Killers World Tour in Feb 1981.
What I love in particular here is the audience.
How I wish I would have been there.
I could have, I was three years old at the time. My father could have taken me to the concert, we were living close by this place back at the time.
Well, he didnt take me.

At 15:30, right in the middle of Remember Tomorrow, there is an unforseen break, as apparently the speakers break down.
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07.02.2020 - 00:10
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Written by Redel on 19.09.2019 at 23:32

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Clq0wSVHo


Awesome. That video right there shows Iron Maiden at their peak.
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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08.02.2020 - 22:12
Rating: 9
Redel

Written by Maco on 07.02.2020 at 00:10

Written by Redel on 19.09.2019 at 23:32

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Clq0wSVHo


Awesome. That video right there shows Iron Maiden at their peak.

Well, kind of early peak that'd be.
But, sure, as I said before, you can claim that the debut is their best album.
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04.03.2020 - 20:50
Rating: 10
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Maco on 12.12.2018 at 00:39

By far their best.

Disagree, IMO its killer album, i remember old school bathery cd player, a hill top high in a hill, waiting midnight sun in 2005. It gave me high emotions, still love it, best where paul ever sung. Good album, love it means much to me. But Bruce era Killed, well i live all im
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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14.04.2020 - 21:22
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Happy 40 years to Iron Maiden's best and superior album.s
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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18.04.2020 - 17:39
Rating: 5
Joppe
Steelemeister
Written by Maco on 14.04.2020 at 21:22

Happy 40 years to Iron Maiden's best and superior album.s


Same might be said about Saxon's Strong Arm of the Law which I prefer very much from these two.
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My vision is augmented
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18.04.2020 - 17:48
JoHn Doe

Written by Joppe on 18.04.2020 at 17:39

Written by Maco on 14.04.2020 at 21:22

Happy 40 years to Iron Maiden's best and superior album.s


Same might be said about Saxon's Strong Arm of the Law which I prefer very much from these two.


I'm sure I'm gonna regret asking, but why such a low rating?
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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18.04.2020 - 19:29
Rating: 5
Joppe
Steelemeister
Written by JoHn Doe on 18.04.2020 at 17:48

I'm sure I'm gonna regret asking, but why such a low rating?


It's hard to say why exactly as I dropped this vote in 2015 or 2016. I used to like this album a lot earlier, and nostalgia after that, as it was one of the first metal albums I listened to. Eventually the liking started to fade and many of the songs became meaningless to me. I think I wrote in my first comment that I only enjoy the song "Phantom of the Opera" anymore and I still do, I also like it with Bruce live. I'd say it's good album -- as a gateway album to the heavy metal genre it could be one of the best ones -- but subjectively I don't find very much from it to myself these days.
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05.05.2021 - 22:19
Rating: 9
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
Still one of their best albums imo, despite it's flaws in the production, and slight cheesy moments, being Charlotte The Harlot and Running Free, which were still alright songs, and Phantom Of The Opera will always remain one of my favourite Iron Maiden songs.
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06.05.2021 - 01:08
Rating: 8
Metal Rasputin

For a debut this is a killer album, but knowing everything they have done since, it's really nothing that special. That's one problem with being awesome and releasing albums like Powerslave, Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son, everything that's not straight up masterpiece pales in comparison even if it's something really damn good.
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You've got a lot of guts. Let's see what they look like!
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06.05.2021 - 13:24
Rating: 9
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
Written by Metal Rasputin on 06.05.2021 at 01:08

For a debut this is a killer album, but knowing everything they have done since, it's really nothing that special. That's one problem with being awesome and releasing albums like Powerslave, Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son, everything that's not straight up masterpiece pales in comparison even if it's something really damn good.

Your right, this album is not a masterpiece for Iron Maiden standards, when you compare it with Powerslave, Number of the beast, Somewhere in Time, and Seventh Son, but I might consider it a classic album if I just compare it with what other Metal bands released in that era. In the 80's Iron Maiden were one of those bands that were dominating the heavy metal world, not many bands released anything near the same quality as Maiden.
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23.09.2021 - 06:44
Rating: 7
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Been listening to every Iron Maiden album in order and this is not a bad debut! The production definitely lacks the warm, muscular punchy sound that would come from the albums produced by Martin Birch after it, but a lot of the classic Maiden trademarks are here even without Bruce, Adrian, or Nicko in the lineup yet. Some of the ideas seem a bit undercooked compared to future albums and Paul is nowhere near what Bruce will eventually bring to the table but he does a pretty decent job here. Definitely shows the potential for what this band will become in a few years time.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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22.04.2022 - 19:53
Rating: 8
Vinther1991

All things considered, this is a pretty solid debut. The band sounds great, and the production is good enough, even if that would improve on succeeding albums. Love how the album kicks in with Prowler, which has some amazing riffs, another highlight is of course the Iron Maiden stable "Phantom of the Opera". The album isn't without it's flaws though, Transylvania is a pretty average instrumental. Having two ballads, also drags the pace of the album a lot.
And can someone explain to me why Iron Maiden insists on playing their self-titled song at every single show? As far as I am concerned, nobody ever gave a shit about that song, nobody ever requested it being played. You would think a song that gets played at every single show, has been included on every single live album, multiple compilation records, shares its name with the band and originates from their very first album would eventually become popular if it was great, yet it is nowhere near the most listened to of their songs on streaming platforms. That really shows how painfully average that song is. It is really impressive that the band still hasn't realised that people don't like that song.
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08.08.2023 - 11:55
Rating: 8
Jack_Torrance

This is better than Piece of Mind
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08.08.2023 - 12:30
Rating: 9
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
Written by Jack_Torrance on 08.08.2023 at 11:55

This is better than Piece of Mind

Agreed, this is still my most listened to album by them. If all there great 80s releases this is the one I tend to go back to most, I always have a good time listening to it.
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09.08.2023 - 11:02
gavdann

I don't tend to listen to Maiden very often these days but when I do, I tend to listen to either this or Killers. I just prefer DiAnno's vocals.
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