03. Iron Maiden Killers 1981 (EMI)
Heavy Metal
Yeah I’m a wrathchild and I’m coming to get you!
Overview
Killers would be the second album by Iron Maiden and their first with guitarist Adrian Smith but their last with vocalist Paul Di’Anno. By 1981 Iron Maiden with their dynamic riffs and punk attitude were riding the crest of the wave in the UK in terms of metal popularity and besides having an instant smash with their eponymous debut album, they had also succeeded in having a trio of top 40 singles under their belts as well. But even more significantly the band had toured as a major support for two of the biggest heavy metal acts in the world, the first of these was for Judas Priest in the UK and for Kiss on the European mainland (despite Kiss’ newish desire to now be a pop band) and most notably they put out a stunning live performance at the Reading Festival in 1980. So with this type of publicity a lot was expected of the band’s follow-up album
Killers, which was released in February 1981 in the UK and June 1981 in the USA. As said 1981 would feature a number of changes for the band and the first notable change was that of guitarist Dennis Stratton who was said to have left for musical differences, but some accounts state differences with band manager Rod Smallwood and band leader Steve Harris. His replacement Adrian Harris was recruited from the local scene band Urchin which also happened to be the band that guitarist Dave Murray had also been in (the two were friends and I guess Maiden were looking for a bond here) In the production room ‘The Headmaster’ Martin Birch came in for Will Malone and Martin Birch a producer/engineer had just about worked with all the people that mattered and I’d say he’s probably worked on more albums in my journal than anybody else has! Some quarters actually criticize
Killers as an album, by accusing it of being a hastily assesmbled follow-up to the debut, but personally I don’t see it as being that hasty as there is around 10 months between the two release dates! A lot of this opinion though actually comes from the fact that most of the material on the
Killers album, is actually the material that was left off the debut. This though in should hardly be an issue given the fact that a huge amount of sophomores are recorded like so and there are a number of albums that I can point to where the sophomore material is actually better than the debut. The band also continued with what would be their trend of stellar album covers and the
Killers album cover is probably even more devilishly alluring with Eddie on than the debut was.
Killers would dent the US album charts and really open the band up in Japan, where metal appetites were really wet for more quality metal after the success of bands like Judas Priest and the Scorpions etc there. But the most notable thing about
Killers is that it was the last album with iconic vocalist Paul Di’Anno whose punk vocal style approach actually set the band apart from a lot of the other NWOBHM acts, but his constant alcohol and substance abuse is often cited as the reason for his departure, even though I’d say that Steve Harris and company were probably already looking for an ideal stadium metal singer to shoot the band upto the highest level of the rock hierarchy. The often forgotten live EP
Maiden Japan was also released in 1981 and was actually Paul Di’Anno’s last recording with the band.
Verdict
I’ve always found the opinions between the first two Iron Maiden albums contradictory, as critics usually point to the debut as being the better album, but then state that the
Killers album sounds even better than the debut! Metal fans usually dig the charged up flow of
Killers over the debut, but then often pick more standout tracks from the debut over it. Of the two the debut is of course the more famous and groundbreaking album and I’ve placed both albums in my ‘Top 3’ for both 1980 and 1981, but overall which album do I actually think is better, despite the fact that 1980 was a stronger year than 1981 overall? When listening to
Killers though, the first thing that hits you is just how superior the band sound now in terms of production, which of course is thanks to Martin Birch who would go on to become the in-house producer of the band. This clarity is noticeable on the album opener the instrumental “Ides of March” but it’s when it hits the second track the masterful “Wrathchild” with its driving basslines and rhythm drumming you realise that the band are in the big league production wise, and also 'the growler' Paul Di’Anno never sounded any better than this! But not all the songs on the album are up to the level of “Wrathchild” and these are songs like “Murders in the Rue Morgue” which does sound like a leftover track from the debut, even though it’s considered a popular track. Then there is the more melodic “Prodigal Son” which really doesn’t work here and doesn’t even work as a musical departure from the rest of the album. Tracks that really represent the energy of the album are those that have Paul Di’Anno constantly singing in an umtempo manner with the band following and these can be heard on “Another Life” “Purgatory” “Drifter” “Innocent Exile” and “Killers” with the last two here being Paul Di’Anno era essentials, and despite being an instrumental “Genghis Khan” for its feel belongs with this batch of tracks as well. The band themes of murderers, outcasts and historical tyrants is easily evidenced across the album and this comes courtesy of Steve Harris who as songwriter completely dominates the album. The twin-guitar attack of Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton which had been so masterful on the debut, is equally matched here by the new diamond team of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, and across the album this twin guitar duo constantly matches K.K Downing and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest every step of the way. Overall the debut album from a pure musical perspective and as a groundbreaker, is the superior album largely due to its more focused approach despite its lower production values. But if you’re an established metaller that knows what to look for, then the more energetic and deeper bluesy hard rock feel of
Killers is probably more appealing, as the band thrust out a deeper sound that caters for fans of the hard rock genre. Overall
Killers as an album doesn’t seek to improve on what the debut did, but instead it’s like a celebration of the band achieving their breakthrough as one of the biggest metal bands in the UK. Personally I think the debut is the better album, but given the choice of listening to the two, I’d probably take
Killers which makes me just about as contradictory as nearly everybody else regarding these two great albums.
Paul Di’Anno- Vocals
Dave Murray- Guitar
Adrian Smith- Guitar
Steve Harris- Bass
Clive Burr- Drums
Production- Martin Birch