Maiden was one of my entries into music and probably the first band I became really fanboyish over. I don't really listen to much metal anymore but I still have a cotton Powerslave flag on my wall. Like Urban says, they've most likely never played a bad gig in their existence.

did you ever know that you're my hero?


and **** yeah on Iron Maiden

Yes, I admire that about Jackhammer and other music fans as well. For a short while after discovering some more obscure bands (It kind of started with Mr. Bungle) I went into this whole avant-garde phase, where it wasn't just good enough that I was listening to obscure music, I had to think it was the best out there, and that anything that was more popular and accessible wasn't worth it. That's all in the past now. By past, I guess you could say about half a year ago. That might seem short to many here, but I've only really been into music for about 3 years, so the last half year is a fairly large chunk of my whole "musical journey."

As much as I hate it when people have that elitist attitude now, I'm kind of glad I took a dip into it as I discovered a lot of great bands in the process that I still love today. This site did a great job of introducing me to a greater variety of styles, since I explored a lot of experimental music but didn't get into much else (kind of feels ironic seeing the aim of a lot of experimental music is to push boundaries and such, yet I let it limit my tastes), I noticed a lot of people on here loved some really obscure stuff while still loving the more popular stuff, treating it all as the same thing: good music.

Looking forward to this thread, I always like hearing about people's more personal stories about music, how they got into a particular genre or band, ect. Its a part of music that most people tend to ignore when they write about it. It almost helps me appreciate bands I've never gotten into before, hearing and reading about the band from a different perspective other then one just simply describing it.

I still don't understand the widespread appreciation of Iron Maiden here on MusicBanter. They really seem distinctly average, bringing little to the table musically, lyrically or certainly with their image. I think that zombie is remarkably childish too. You say that they were never the coolest band, but I've heard literally nothing but praise for them here. What's this now?

I do too, especially stories from someone like Jackhammer, who is so well-rounded and knowledgable in the music field.

Really enjoyed reading your first post, Jackhammer. I had to go to my library and listen to Iron Maiden while I was reading it, so I could get the full effect. I just think its amazing how much musical tastes can evolve who you are, and its also amazing how much of an impact they have on your life in general.

Are you kidding? I've hardly heard a good word said about them in my time here. Theres me and Jackhammer, I remember Urban put Number of the Beast in his top 100 and theres maybe one or two other regulars who have expressed a liking for them.

I think that Seventh Son and the previous Somewhere in Time to be two of their best but then again I do kind of like the synth influence with metal bands in the mid 80`s. Iron Maiden certainly did it better than rivals Judas Priest. The trend I think, really took off with Van Halen (Their last album with David Lee Roth and their first two with Sammy Hagar)

I'm really looking forward to the rest of this thread, as you mentioned people mostly seem to focus on albums or songs rather than artists.

I'm not really an Iron Maiden fan but its probably just my natural dislike towards most metal that's holding me back.

Iron Maiden was one of the first metal bands I enjoyed. I remember their first album I heard was Powerslave. I played the hell out of that album.

Powerslave is a fine record. Flash of the Blade is one of their really overlooked tracks I feel.