What was iron maidens first album

The only person who might have had any doubts was me. There was another problem. Because Maiden were forced to make their debut album within a very specific window of opportunity, before the Metal For Muthas tour started in February, the producer they really sought, Martin Birch, was busy with Black Sabbath and their post-Ozzy record, Heaven And Hell.

Consequently, Iron Maiden was pretty much made by the band — who, let us not forget, were pretty much freshmen in such an environment — in conjunction with engineer Martin Levan. The singer exaggerates a little. While the album does a decent enough job of mirroring the raw energy of the band in their youthful prime, from the multi-tempoed rifferama of Phantom Of The Opera to the hard-edged commerciality of Running Free , the telling clarity, colour and military professionalism of later recordings is sorely missed.

There could be no criticism of the material, penned almost exclusively by Steve Harris. Dennis Stratton, on the other hand, adored guitar solos and the mellifluous possibilities they could bring to the music. What it comes down to is a matter of taste. Then a friend of mine told me about them. Even though Saxon, Def Leppard and Diamond Head were also stirring the pot at a London Club The Soundhouse, Maiden had a level of musicality that was a cut above the other bands, and the combination of galloping riffs, ear-fetching guitar harmonies and complex arrangements made Iron Maiden instantly jaw-dropping.

Not everyone bought into the three-chord ethos, however, and it was largely the drive and vision of one man that would bring about another, more metallic cultural movement. It was unfashionable, uncool to do features about heavy metal. Iron Maiden were developing their own signature style even then. It had all the raw aggression you could want, but it was mixed with a more complex musicality and an ambitious if still amateurish sense of spectacle.

One vocalist, Dennis Wilcock, used make-up, fire and fake blood, while legendary mascot Eddie began life as a pimped-up Japanese mask. Maiden featured heavily, and the title of the piece was Kerrang!

Iron Maiden includes a lullaby? Well, that term might be stretching things a little, but the haunting loveliness of Strange World stands in stark contrast to the remainder of their ball-crushing debut album.