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Iron Maiden - Killers



8.3 | 1858 votes |
Release date: 2 February 1981
Style: New wave of British heavy metal

Owners:

2135 have it
96 want it
4 trade it


Disc I
01. The Ides Of March
02. Wrathchild
03. Murders In The Rue Morgue
04. Another Life
05. Genghis Khan
06. Innocent Exile
07. Killers
08. Prodigal Son
09. Purgatory
10. Twilight Zone [1998 remaster bonus]
11. Drifter

Disc II [1995 reissue bonus disc]
01. Twilight Zone
02. Women In Uniform [Skyhooks cover]
03. Invasion
04. Phantom Of The Opera [live]

Top 20 albums of 1981: 7
Featured in "Getting Into: Iron Maiden"

Additional info
Produced by Martin Birch.
Engineering by Martin Birch & Nigel Hewitt.
Cover art & photography by Derek Riggs & Dave Lights.

The song "Murders In The Rue Morgue" is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe''s story with the same name.

Staff review by
Pierre Tombale
Rating:
7.5
Fantastic successor Killers, you might think of it as Iron Maiden Volume II for the sound developed on the Iron Maiden album has not changed, just improved.

Starting off with the Instrumental Ides Of March you know from the first second you can expect something familiar, because the song is a different version from Samson's 'Thunderburst' (right, Samson was Bruce Dickinson's first band before Maiden). I always wondered why at live performances Ides Of March isn't used as intro for Wrathchild, the second album track, because it's obviously meant as intro for this song. But there is of course more to Killers than one song and an instrumental. In fact this album is as diverse as the predecessor using effects and clean sound in between. The Voice of Paul Di'Anno and the Metal parts come slightly more aggressive than on Iron Maiden. The production is a bit tighter. One will find the bass often highlighting the drums or playing the same fast lines as the guitars. 'Killers' is a killer album same as 'Iron Maiden'. Both are unique in sound and voice of Paul Di'Anno who had left Iron Maiden after this album. Both paved the way for Iron Maiden's further success. 'Killers' contains the two live classics 'Wrathchild' and the title track 'Killers'.

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published 16.11.2003 | Comments (29)

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Comments

Comments: 26   Visited by: 1480 users
27.09.2010 - 23:54
ProjectEndgame
Account deleted
This album is filled with great Maiden attitude and it's filled with EXCELLENT bass. This album reinstates how much Steve Harris kicks ass!!
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17.03.2011 - 17:39
Rating: 10
lordbeherit666

The second album from the British, after a magnificent debut Maiden raised the bar even higher brilliant album in every form apsolutny classic
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17.03.2011 - 20:54
RavenKing

Written by lordbeherit666 on 17.03.2011 at 17:39

The second album from the British, after a magnificent debut Maiden raised the bar even higher brilliant album in every form apsolutny classic


I find this kind of comment funny in their inaccuracy. "Killers" is in fact mostly a collection of Maiden's very old songs, many of them written before the debut album. It's not exactly a second album in the way we usually conceive it.
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They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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17.03.2011 - 23:57
Void_Eater
Account deleted
Funny how this album is basically a collection of filler songs, yet still manages to be great. I'd place it as Maiden's second best, behind the almighty Somwhere in Time-which for some reason is perhaps the least known of their 80's albums.
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20.03.2011 - 17:55
Rating: 8
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Written by Guest on 17.03.2011 at 23:57

Funny how this album is basically a collection of filler songs, yet still manages to be great. I'd place it as Maiden's second best, behind the almighty Somwhere in Time-which for some reason is perhaps the least known of their 80's albums.


eww...someone else who shares my opinion of Somewhere In Time but I digress...as far as Killers goes "Drifter" is on my list of top 5 Iron Maiden Songs of ALL TIME.
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rekt
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26.07.2011 - 02:35
BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted
Written by Guest on 17.03.2011 at 23:57

Funny how this album is basically a collection of filler songs, yet still manages to be great. I'd place it as Maiden's second best, behind the almighty Somwhere in Time-which for some reason is perhaps the least known of their 80's albums.

It is a collection of filler song, but IMO they don't manage to be that great. Better than anything post-Seventh, but not their second greatest.
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13.08.2012 - 00:09
Rating: 8
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Out of the first two Di'Anno era albums, I personally love this more than the debut (even though i love that album too). There are more songs on here and they all kick ass. Iron Maiden for life \m/
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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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09.11.2012 - 23:07
megadeath13
Account deleted
After the magnificent debut Maiden didnt diassapoint with Killers. This album is so underrated that it makes me feel sick!
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13.12.2012 - 19:44
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Love the title track
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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21.02.2013 - 01:55
Rating: 4
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Guest on 22.12.2012 at 15:01

Very good but not the best maiden alb


because it is weekest album, ok maybe last one is weekest , but this is secend weekest

Butr now I just change my mind, I didnt like this album some time ago, IMO it was werry week, of corse it is not so strong than 1th one, but its sortha catchy, speedy, punky...weird my muisc taste changing LOL
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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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01.04.2013 - 12:42
Jaeryd
Nihil's Maw
I don't get a lot of the hate that this album gets. I think it's great; definitely one of their better albums.
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15.05.2014 - 02:45
Rating: 8
Sang Dalang Abu

Simple.I love all tracks.
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23.07.2015 - 21:11
Rating: 4
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by deadone on 15.01.2014 at 05:12

Never understood why this one isn't that popular.




vocalist and maybe also production ... when Bruce came they simply blow all away ... Paul cant sing his solo are weak IMO
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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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08.07.2016 - 20:47
Rating: 7
majormalfunction

Good follow up to the classic debut. No weak songs and Purgatory has always been a favourite of mine, they need to play that one live before they call it quits. Genghis Khan is also a excellent instrumental track, not as memorable as Transylvania but that fast part before the one minute mark is good shit! Still I don't have the same love for this one as with many other Iron Maiden albums, the songs are as I said good but the studio versions don't do them justice, just listen to the versions on Beast Over Hammersmith.. Another Life, Killers and Drifter are miles ahead on that one!
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Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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10.08.2016 - 00:55
Rating: 6
Joppe
Steelemeister
Like the album's title suggests, it does indeed have a couple of killer songs ("Murders In The Rue Morgue", the title track and "Purgatory", but I suppose others may or may not want to include "Wrathchild" here too). When we've got 11 tracks though it's not something to get too excited about. The reason why I see this album as better/improvement than/from the debut is that it clearly shows SOME evolution in the band's sound, which means it's not as much stuck in the past of punk roots and the increasing metal influences are more evident here. While in overall the songs are stronger I don't see any of these songs as good as "Phantom Of The Opera" from the debut though. An interesting album for sure (at least for the fans), BUT as I see it, this one is one of the least necessary IM albums, and the albums of the band's golden age, which started only a couple years after this album's release makes "Killers" look pretty weak album.
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My vision is augmented
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19.07.2017 - 01:50
VIG
Account deleted
Best Iron Maiden album fo shizzle
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25.02.2019 - 03:59
Rating: 10
This Cover man.. AXE SMASHED FAAAAAAAACE oh wait a minute..
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08.07.2019 - 20:34
Maco
Pvt Funderground
I'm starting to love this as much as the debut. Di'Anno-era Iron Maiden is fantastic.
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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15.05.2020 - 13:38
Rating: 8
Metal Rasputin

The only problem I have with this album, is the fact that it doesn't have any instantly recognizable and memorable hit song like the other Maiden albums. The production by Martin Birch is great as always, but in my opinion his style fits better with Bruce's operatic vocals.
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You've got a lot of guts. Let's see what they look like!
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23.09.2021 - 06:50
Rating: 8
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
I know I've commented on this album before along with all of the other Maiden works, but I thought I'd update my thoughts to see what I think now after listening to them again. For me this is a major improvement still over the last work, largely due to Martin Birch's involvement as a producer and beefing up the sound, Adrian Smith joining the band and providing Dave Murray that natural chemistry they'll be known for, further tightening their musicianship as a cohesive unit, and Paul Di'Anno sounds more confident and engaged here than on the debut. Still, just a taster for the album to come up next when Bruce joins the group.
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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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23.09.2021 - 16:00
gavdann

I love this album... even more than the debut.

And these days I prefer Di'Anno's vocals to those of Bruce. When I chose to listen to Maiden I nearly always go for either this or the debut.
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22.04.2022 - 20:16
Rating: 8
Vinther1991

It's hard for me to decide which Di'Anno era album I prefer. The debut feels more consistent, but the production, aggression and overall sound of Killers are strong points. It has my two favorite songs of the era, Wrathchild and Killers, but also what I feel are the two weakest, Innocent Exile and Prodigal Son, which just scream left-over material from the debut.
Overall a pretty solid album though, which could have been a true masterpiece, had it not had a its share of filler songs.
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06.01.2023 - 11:17
Rating: 7
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
"Drifter" has some awesome riffs...been overlooking this song long enough
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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12.02.2024 - 18:15
JoHn Doe

Written by Bad English on 21.02.2013 at 01:55

Written by Guest on 22.12.2012 at 15:01

Very good but not the best maiden alb


because it is weekest album, ok maybe last one is weekest , but this is secend weekest

Butr now I just change my mind, I didnt like this album some time ago, IMO it was werry week, of corse it is not so strong than 1th one, but its sortha catchy, speedy, punky...weird my muisc taste changing LOL

do you still think this is a bad album?
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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12.02.2024 - 19:06
Rating: 4
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by JoHn Doe on 12.02.2024 at 18:15

Written by Bad English on 21.02.2013 at 01:55

Written by Guest on 22.12.2012 at 15:01

Very good but not the best maiden alb


because it is weekest album, ok maybe last one is weekest , but this is secend weekest

Butr now I just change my mind, I didnt like this album some time ago, IMO it was werry week, of corse it is not so strong than 1th one, but its sortha catchy, speedy, punky...weird my muisc taste changing LOL

do you still think this is a bad album?

Hmmm maybe not bad but weakest before, The Final Frontiers and after those are worst. But I need re listen to this again.
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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
Loading...
06.03.2024 - 22:37
Rating: 10
Guib
Thrash Talker
I disagree with most comments on here. No surprises. My third favourite album by Maiden and still a fucking shock to me how this is not in MS top 200 but hey, it's not like Iron Maiden ain't already represented enough in there.
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- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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