Artist: Iron Maiden
Label: Capital Records
Release Date: 1981
Rating: 3 Skulls
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Title: Killers Artist: Iron Maiden Label: Capital Records Release Date: 1981
Rating: 3 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Solomon:
This was the immortal Maiden's sophomore effort, and last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno. Obviously, Di'Anno's singing style on Killers was quite different from that of his replacement, Bruce Dickinson. Dickinson brought a more cutting, quasi-operatic wail to the music that suited the band's mythological/epic overtones. Di'Anno was more of a straight-up, rock/metal singer who, even if not as dramatic as Dickinson, still brought his own style to the table and delivered the goods in his own way. I actually like Di'Anno, maybe even more than Dickinson, although Bruce certainly had more "edge."After giving Number of the Beast a so-so score in this very column, I was somewhat anxious to redeem myself and give Killers a glowing review. Surprisingly, this is my first go-around with this record. For some reason, Maiden passed me by when I was growing up. I heard bits and pieces of Maiden here and there, and I do like the band as a whole, but I never worshipped them like so many others did which, I know, is almost sacrilege. I guess I was just too busy drooling over Ride The Lightning, The New Order, Operation: Mindcrime and the like to care. In the end, Killers left me feeling short-changed. I know I'm seriously biased from underexposure to the Maiden catalogue, but Killers doesn't make me want to buy more Maiden. In all fairness, this was released in 1981, and it's not like I can expect full-throttle, slickly-produced, Swedish genius here. This was only Maiden's second record and metal of this type, with modern twin-guitar antics and driving rhythms, was still fairly new. The big thing is I just didn't get into the music as much as I'd hoped. There are big exceptions, though. "Genghis Khan" has some crafty orchestrations/rhythms in it. "Murders In The Rue Morgue" has a catchy, twangy chorus and "Wrathchild" wins the big prize for all-out metal punch. The songs, as a whole, don't contain enough interesting guitar riffs to keep me entertained for long. Cool guitar parts aren't everything, granted, but with music like this, a lack of appeal in that department is not a good thing. Killers feels like an uneasy transition from blues-dominated 70's rock to modern speed metal. Of course, it was supposed to be, in a way, but I think the band took this template and refined it on later work. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything this "metal" in '81.
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