- Product Code: 7243 4 96916 0 5
- You will get bonus-scraps: 18
- Availability: In Stock
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€ 17.90
- Price in bonus-scraps: 179
First remastered re-release of the debut full-length album by the legendary British Heavy Metal band.
Album was released by EMI in the UK on Harvest/Capitol Records, and a few months later in the US on Sanctuary Records/Columbia Records. The US release also included the song "Sanctuary", only released in the UK as a single. In 1998, along with the rest of the band's pre-"X Factor" releases, Iron Maiden was remastered with "Sanctuary" added in all territories.
There may be no better place to hear how both Punk and Prog Rock informed the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal than Iron Maiden's self-titled debut. Often overlooked and overshadowed by the glorious Bruce Dickinson years, it's easy to forget that Iron Maiden was itself a game-changer when it appeared on the scene in 1980. That year also saw important albums from Motörhead, Saxon and Angel Witch, but Iron Maiden vaulted its creators to the head of the NWOBHM pack, reaching the U.K. Top Five and establishing them as an outfit with the talent to build on Judas Priest's late-'70s innovations. On the one hand, Iron Maiden was clearly drawing from elements of Punk Rock - the raw D.I.Y. production, the revved-up velocities and the vocals of rough-and-ready growler Paul Di'Anno, who looked and sounded not like a Metal god, but rather a short-haired street tough. On the other hand, Maiden had all the creative ambition of a Prog Rock band.
Compositionally, even their shortest and most straightforward songs featured abrupt changes in tempo and feel. Their musicianship was already light years beyond Punk, with complicated instrumental passages between guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton and bassist Steve Harris. When Murray and Stratton harmonize their leads, they outdo even Priest's legendary tandem in terms of pure speed. The lyrics have similarly high-flying aspirations, spinning first-person stories and character sketches with a flair for the seedy and the grotesque. Add it all up, and Iron Maiden performs the neat trick of reconciling two genres seemingly antithetical to one another, using post-Judas Priest Heavy Metal as the meeting ground.
Although Iron Maiden have since criticized the quality of the album's production, the release was met with critical and commercial acclaim, debuting at No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart as well as achieving prominence for the band in mainland Europe. "Iron Maiden" is one of two Iron Maiden albums listed in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" ("The Number Of The Beast" is the other).
Enhanced CD includes special multimedia part with videos, band and tour history, biographies, exclusive photo galleries, internet web links and much more…
Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd./EMI Records, 1980/1982/1998 (7243 4 96916 0 5). Made in Italy.
Tracklist:
1. Prowler 03:55
2. Sanctuary 0:00
3. Remember Tomorrow 05:27
4. Running Free 03:16
5. Phantom of the Opera 07:20
6. Transylvania 04:05
7. Strange World 05:45
8. Charlotte the Harlot 04:12
9. Iron Maiden 03:35
Total playing time: 37:42
+ Special Multemedia Section