Iron Maiden's Killers!!!!! "killer" 80's album

SpellboundByMetal · Post by **SpellboundByMetal** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

Paul Di'Anno kicked more ass than Bruce. The Killers album is a great example of good 80's stuff. it was released in 1981. i was born in '81, so i never saw them perform this masterpiece. has anyone from here seen maiden live during the Killers tour??

Post by **Jim Price** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

I saw Iron Maiden during their Killers tour when they opened for Judas Priest and Whitesnake at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown in summer 1981. It still ranks as one of the best concerts I ever attended.

Maiden opened and played material from the first album and Killers; they were the first opening band I ever saw that got called back to do an encore after their set (they did an 8-minute audience participation version of "Drifter").

Whitesnake was the middle band; this was half a decade before anyone really cared about them, and they were still more blues-based at this point. The floor area cleared out, and my friends and I took the opportunity to move up near the stage, so we were only about 20 feet from the front of the stage when Priest played.

Judas Priest was doing the Point Of Entry tour; they opened with "Solar Angels," and I'll never forget all the fog enveloping the stage, and seeing the silhouettes of K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill as they rose from below up onto to stage level. And then in the middle of the first verse, Rob Halford saunters out from the fog. Unforgettable!

I digress...back to the original question, yes, I did see Iron Maiden on the Killers tour with Paul DiAnno - although I think Bruce Dickinson is excellent and helped lift them to legendary status, I'm still a bit partial to the DiAnno era. I'll also say that I liked Bruce as he sounded with his previous band, Samson. Those Samson albums with Dickinson were classic as well!

SpellboundByMetal · Post by **SpellboundByMetal** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

thanks, Jim!!!
Paul Di'Anno sounds awesome on the first two Maiden albums. I think Maiden would have gotten JUST as far if Di'Anno was still in the band though.

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

Spellbound I tend to disagree I think bruce made the band better their style of musci changed when he joined I had a dvd of their vids and if you wantch them from the begging and when bruce jioned you can see a change in the way the prformed i feel it has more intencsity then before his vocals are great. but then again i knew maiden with him just my thoughts

SpellboundByMetal · Post by **SpellboundByMetal** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

im not saying i dont like Maiden w /dickinson. i just think that the early years were better, but its all good.

onegunguitar · Post by **onegunguitar** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

Killers is a good album for sure. You were born in '81-wow,I'm gettin' old!!

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

So what's everyone think of Blaze Bailey then? *LOL*

Post by **Jim Price** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

With Maiden Blayze Bailey sucked. But if you hear anything with his prior band, Wolfsbane, you might understand why it didn't work. With Wolfsbane, Blayze was more a David Lee Roth-styled, sassy vocalist. With Maiden he tried a more serious style, and it didn't work.

I recommend checking out some of the Wolfsbane stuff, it's actually pretty good.

witchhunt · Post by **witchhunt** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

My two cents. Dickinson is a great singer. Helluva range. Great showman, too. The problem is that he's such an arrogant asshole. The last two times I saw Maiden, Bruce went on a 10 minute rant about having to smell pot smoke and someone yelling for old stuff. All the albums from Beast on are masterpieces. Except for the two with Bailey. Although Sign of the Cross is one of their best. Now, DiAnno. The first two albums had a certain raw metal edge that left with DiAnno. I'd love to hear them do some material with DiAnno now. It'll never happen though. Anyway DiAnno has solo material although I never heard any. He has a current website.
http://www.pauldianno.com/

Victor Synn · Post by **Victor Synn** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

I like Maiden in every era aside from the Blaze era. Loved Bailey in Wolfsbane, but JP is right. He tried too hard to turn to the darker sound of Maiden and it made him seem too prefabricated. Like Harris sat him down and told him how to sing the material. I only truly liked one song in that time and that's Virus. Dickinson sings Sign of the Cross a lot better than Blaze. As an aside...JP, have you heard anything from Bailey's new solo album? If not, he's trying to continue in the Maiden vain and it still sucks the sweat off a dead man's balls.
The Di'anno era Maiden was cool because they fused a metal sound and punk sound all in a nice package and the music on the first two albums pounds. HF1 has been toying around jokingly about doing Phantom of the Opera for a while. If we were to cover a song from that era, though, I'd pick Wrathchild or Iron Maiden. Maybe Women In Uniform too. Always liked that one. But I would definately not want to hear Di'anno sing Aces High or Run to the Hills. I think that would be horrible.

rocker x · Post by **rocker x** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

I love Maiden one of the greatest metal bands ever! There is something

really special about the first two records. Punk metal in a way! I don't

think it could ever be caputred again. Bruce is great!!! But Di'anno is Iron

Maiden. Anyone Know why he left the band ?

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

I have only recently discovered how good Maiden are. Many classic rock era guys like me missed a lot of early metal.

When I first heard Flame Sky play thier Maiden covers (they do Phantom, Remember Tomorrow and Transylvania), I used to ask Jason what those Celtic sounding songs were.

They reminded me of Wishbone Ash songs from the early 70's, very Celtic, great melodies and wonderful guitar harmonies. I guess I always key in on the guitar in music.

Jason told me that Maiden had said that Wishbone Ash were a big influence in them, and they used to do their covers early on.

I see them as a great rock band, blending great melodies, some very Celtic rhythems, great harmony guitar parts, with screaming lead guitar solos.

Glad I found them. My son now is now learning to play Phantom.

Plastered Bastards · Post by **Plastered Bastards** » Thursday Jan 05, 2006

Check out "Run to the Hills" The Authorized Biography by Mick Walls.
It tells all about the DiAnno era and beyond. It's a great read.
But my opinion is that Paul was great,but Bruce Bruce(Name when he was in Samson)Is head and shoulders above Paul.
Killers smokes.I didn't see the Killers tour,but I did get to for Powerslave at the Civic Arena in the Burgh with my oldest sister because I was only 15.
Cheers!!!!!!