Iron Maiden

My youngest brother has always been a big Iron Maiden fan. I thought it was more of an attitude towards the band's mascot. Later, I listened to the band's music myself and really liked some of it. Well, maybe it was my mood that day, but somehow I couldn't get excited about it. To judge it better, I'll have to listen to it again. 3/5

I'll grant Iron Maiden this: at the very least, their debut is more 'rock' than 'metal' - if you peer closely, you may even be able to locate some traces of the burgeoning indie scene (real closely). The issue is I don't like 'rock.' I don't care to be the guy who distinguishes 'rock 'n' roll' from 'rock,' or 'hip hop' from 'rap,' but there's a truth to the pedantic differences. It's as if the genre that Zeppelin invented and Sabbath dissected would struggle to go pop and to go avant-garde almost immediately. Besides a few exceptions, my taste for this music stops with those two. 'I'm running free, yeah / I'm running free.' It tries desperately to be pump-up music that's technical & operatic, but it's just uneventfully dumb and only powerlessly impressive.

I'm not really into Iron Maiden and this isn't even good Iron Maiden

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would as someone who generally can't stand metal. There were a lot more prog elements to this record than I expected, but then again, it's apparent to me now that I never really knew much about Iron Maiden and their music in the first place. I'm pretty sure I've conflated them with other metal bands for my whole life. That said, this still isn't really my kind of music, but I didn't hate it like I thought I would.

Favourite tracks: Phantom of the Opera, Remember Tomorrow,

I was only familiar with a few of their hits after this point so I wasn’t sure what to expect from their first album. I was pleasantly surprised!

Мейден з Полом Діано має таку майже панківську енергетику, але я більше люблю їхній "прог" період або класичні альбоми з Дікінсоном. І навіть з ери Пола я б обрав Кіллерс. Тому тут 3.5

I remember sitting with a friend a while back who walked me through the whole taxonomy of metal and I could barely keep up. But I feel certain that iron maiden is the kind that I like. Musically soaring but not pretentious. Theatrical but also funny about it. Killer riffs that don’t take over the whole song. Hard as hell, but I can still understand the lyrics.

That is how I have felt about these guys whenever I have encountered them, but I had not listened to this album before. I gathered between a four and a five but I think I’m going with a four in the end because aspects of their sound still seem unfinished. It’s tough though because those elements that feel less totally metal than their later albums are also a part of the charm. It is definitely an album I will put on again.

fun, veers a bit too close to hair metal for me. 3.5

Pretty cool.

Better than average metal

Honestly, as far as early 80s metal goes, this was pretty bland, it was good for a whole sit down listen, but really nothing memorable stood out to me.

*sings in highest pitch voice* "I got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby.."

This album is not what I expected. I thought my ears were going to be destroyed by some powerful distortion and that I would be praying for it to end. Meanwhile, I got beautiful instrument technique and sound.
Some people in the Youtube comments were complaining that this album wasn't as good as the first two, so maybe those albums were heavier and that's why I'm okay with this one? OR do I love Iron Maiden and I didn't even know it??

I reviewed another Iron Maiden album previously, and I think it captured my feelings about the band pretty well, and it applies just about the same here:

As a metal fan, I recognize the historical importance of Iron Maiden, but I have an unpopular opinion about the band: Iron Maiden isn't as heavy as I wish they were, and I don't enjoy their music as much as other metal music. Every time a band covers an Iron Maiden song, invariably it's heavier and I enjoy it more than the original. If you like heavy metal and Iron Maiden, I won't hold it against you. You're entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. I don't hate Iron Maiden, I just wish they were more like the metal music they inspired.

I'll rate this pretty high as it is important and deserves to be on this list, but if I'm in the mood to listen to some heavy metal, I'm not going to be playing Iron Maiden.

Iron Maiden are such an institution and brand that I sometimes forget that (unlike Black Sabbath or Judas Priest, for example) they have “only” released slightly more than a handful of truly outstanding albums—simply because this band “only” appeared on the scene in 1980. I must also admit that I am a big Bruce Dickinson fan on the one hand and appreciate professional productions on the other. As a result, I actually consider the first two albums, “Iron Maiden” and “Killers,” to be better demos...
Be that as it may, from a music history perspective, "Iron Maiden" was downright disruptive because it offered a way out of the early stagnation of punk rock and an alternative to the synthesizer-heavy mainstream. Along the way, Maiden created important trademarks of heavy metal—note, for example, the parallel lines of bass and guitars in “Phantom of the Opera.” Other important milestones on this album are “Running Free” (as far as I know, still an integral part of every Maiden set to this day) and the story of “Charlotte the Harlot,” which begins with the song of the same name;) Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised by "Strange World" which I had remembered as being lengthy but turned out to be quite atmospheric.
I'd still replace this album with "Powerslave" on the 1001-list...

My knee jerk reaction when listening to Number of the Beast a few weeks ago was that this is some corny as hell 80s metal, but after a couple listens I started coming around to it and found myself enjoying the album overall. Listening to their self-titled debut album now and I can confirm I am a full convert! The melodic, ripping guitar solos, the driving bass lines, and tight solid drumming. I also love when a metal band slows down like in Remember Tomorrow and Strange World. This was a great time and I am happy the generator has opened my eyes to Iron Maiden.

The band shows obvious potential on their debut, but it doesn’t quite click for me. The main weak point is Paul Di’Anno’s vocals, which feel limited and rough in a way that drags several songs down rather than giving them character. Still, there are bright spots — 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢 is by far the standout, the first moment where Iron Maiden’s melodic twin-guitar interplay and dramatic songwriting truly break through.

Overall, you can hear the blueprint of what the band would later become, but for now it’s more promise than payoff.

Kako god se odlučim da ocijenim ovaj album kad se probudim sutra, zauvijek mi je najdraža Maidenova Remember Tomorrow ali u izvedbi Opetha. Ja sam metalhead ali ne za klasični metal. Ne kažem da mi je Maiden loš ali nije to to.

Absolutely fantastic, I like it very much. 4.5⭐

Like the primordial goo of modern heavy metal. Fast, loud, not quite fully formed. Phantom of the Opera and Transylvania stand out. What a relief after forcing myself to listen to Scott 2 all the way through. Like a juicy steak after starving for two days.

This album was really good. I'm starting to realize that I really like metal music. What isn't to like? Heavy drums and guitars and interesting vocals. I didn't get completely into this album, but I would love to come back to it in the future.