• AllMyVinyl #152
• Band: Iron Maiden
• Album Title: Iron Maiden
• Release Date: 14 Apr 1980
• Date purchased: 1 Aug 2025
• Location purchased: Amazon
• Color of vinyl: black
• Number of discs: 1
• Links: [ Wikipedia | Discogs | Band Website | Complete album on Youtube ]

I’ve been an Iron Maiden fan since the early 80’s.  Since the era where I was still buying vinyl for things new.  But oddly, I didn’t get any Maiden studio albums from this era until VERY recently. But then Maiden and I have weird relationship with time.  For example, I got into them right before Number of the Beast came out.  I never saw them live in any form until 18 years later in 2000 – the tour where Bruce RETURNED after being away for the Bayley era of Maiden.  The first Maiden studio album I bought on vinyl was Senjutsu – more on that one later in the series.  So that fact that I’ve liked this album and never bought it on vinyl for FOURTY YEARS is pretty much right up my alley with how I am with Maiden.

Don’t get me wrong – I buy every studio album in some format (CD, cassette back in the day, some modern ones digitally).  Even this one I have on CD, and I know I had it on cassette back in the day, but that copy doesn’t survive.  I still have a CD copy in my archives, but I’m here today to talk about the vinyl.  It’s actually a VERY recent purchase.  You see it was my birthday a few weeks ago, and a deal my wife and I have is that for our birthday month, we get to keep all the accrued points our joint credit card earns in the month of our birthday.  So, I used my points to buy the first Iron Maiden album (and other stuff, but for this post, we’ll go with just this) on vinyl.  That’s what I’m doing today – a newly purchased copy of the 2015 remaster of the first Iron Maiden album from 1980.

If you’re bothering to read this, I’ll say it’s a safe bet that you know this album already.  It’s the first in a long line of studio albums from one of the most influential British metal bands of all time.  It’s the first in a line of 17 studio albums, and it’s now 45 years old as I write this.   It came out in an absolutely killer year for metal – AC/DC’s Black in Black, Black Sabbath’s Heaven & Hell, Def Leppard’s On Through the Night, Judas Priest’s British Steel, Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, Rush’s Permanent Waves, and a whole lot more…  It stands there with all of the big releases I mentioned.  It’s a foundational slab of metal for a lot of people.  For good reason, it’s a great album by a great band.

Speaking of that, the lineup on the first Iron Maiden album is a tad different than others – in fact, it wasn’t until the fifth Maiden album (Powerslave) that they had a lineup that recorded the album before it, too.  The lineup here is Paul Di’Anno on vocals, Steve Harris on bass, Dennis Stratton & Dave Murray on Guitar, and Clive Burr on drums.  Despite this coming out in 1980, it was the fifth year overall for Maiden, and well, their total lineup history is a bit convoluted.  Most people refer to Di’Anno as their “original” singer, but he was not. He was their third singer.  After this album, Dennis Stratton was out , replaced by Adrian Smith.  The total history from the 70’s is a bit convoluted.  Maiden themselves put out an excellent video which covers this era in a good level of detail.  You should check it out if lineup stuff is of interest to you.

Anyway, Paul has more of a punk sound to him than Bruce Dickinson did.  That kind of sound wasn’t terribly out of place in the late 70’s when this version of Maiden existed, so it was awesome for the time.  If they launched it today, I don’t think it would fly as well, but for when this came out it was a perfect sound.  Paul’s vocal style is a bit more guttural and in your face than Bruce’s was.  As a whole, this album sounds more raw than later material, but that’s gotta be down to it being their first and not being as experienced.  It’s certainly not from the songwriting, it’s as strong as Maiden ever is, but this first album has a sound unique to itself that even the other album they did with Paul Di’Anno didn’t have.  That’s just the studio stuff, because Maiden – like a lot of other big bands – doesn’t shy away from the material from other singers.  They still do a ton of Di’Anno & Bayley songs to this day.  And the title track from this album has been played at every single Iron Maiden concert for all time as far as I can tell.

One last thing about it for the intro – I used to go back and forth about which of the two Di’Anno albums I liked better.  It used to be Killers to be honest, I think partially because I SO loved the title track and Wrathchild over anything on this album (except the title track).  But over the decades I’ve shifted on that opinion to where I prefer the original Maiden album over Killers.  The main reason is I find I like all 8 of the songs on this one, and I can’t say the same for Killers.  Not that there’s anything BAD on Killers (there isn’t), but as the decades have passed, I find Iron Maiden I is a more consistent album than Killers is.

Let’s get to some songs…

Prowler  – This one grabs me right from the start.  I love that opening riff.  It has a vibe that both says “Iron Maiden” and “not” Iron Maiden.  The earliest material you can tell they haven’t fully formed what they would be known for over time, but the seeds are definitely here.   When Paul’s vocals come in, they seem to match well the riffing going on, so it’s an instant good time – the marriage of guitar and vocals work very well for me here.   When we get to the solo section, the pace picks up a bit too – not that it’s a slow song by any means, but it changes slightly there – that’s a good thing.   It all comes back around to the way the song started too.  Well constructed track that doesn’t get a ton of attention sometimes I think.  One of my fav early Maiden tracks for sure.

Sanctuary – This one is a weird track.  It’s not actually ON my vinyl, but I’m gonna talk about it anyway.  The vinyl I’m using is based off a 2015 remaster series, which used the original UK track listings as their source.  Thing is, Sanctuary wasn’t on there.  It’s on my original US CD pressing I bought way back when, but not on the version on Apple Music right now, or this vinyl.  But I’ve always loved this track, so I’m covering it.  I broke my old CD out of storage to confirm it was on there.  :)

Anyway, musically it’s got an odd mesh of sound.  It’s got that same kind of early maiden riffing, but it’s also got a guitar sound that would be right in the middle of the Piece of Mind album too.  That probably has a lot to do with Dave Harris being on the song, I imagine (vs Dennis Stratton).  However, it’s one of my favorite thing – a quick, fast song (3:15) with some good riffing and nice vocal hook.  I wish it was a bit more well known than it is.  Hardcores know it, but I imagine casual fans don’t.  Love the inclusion of the sound effects in the song, gives it a mild Pink Floyd sound.  :)

Remember Tomorrow – This song starts off with a bass line that sounds like it was taken right out of the middle of “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.  It’s credited to both Di’Anno & Steve Harris, but it really founds like a Harris jam you’d find on latter era Maiden albums for sure.  The slow part does a bit of a “slow burn” until it fits into a faster part with a good screech from Paul.  The title track aside, this sounds like the song on the first Maiden album that’s most like what Maiden would become four or five albums down the line.  About halfway through it changes tone again to something radically faster than the way it started – a great galloping guitar sound – the thing of thing a band with just a single guitarist  couldn’t do.  I have to say sitting here now listening to this album I had a far greater enjoyment of this track than I recall in the fast.  It’s a a great 5 and a half minute long song that mixes moods, speeds, and vocal styles.  I love the hard cuts from super fast into super slow – great track, one I overlooked in the past because it wasn’t my usual preferred thing of a 3:30 “all fast” track.  I will say this – this works better with Paul.  There’s some bootlegs out there with Bruce singing this, and it doesn’t work as well with him I think.

Running Free – And speaking of that, I get my jam in this one.  Quick, fast track with some great riffing.  It’s not as complex of a track as say Remeber Tomorrow was.  It leads off with a fast riff, and doesn’t deviate terribly from that.  The vocal hook I imagine is the kind of thing that would have worked well as an audience participation thing back in the day.  Around the middle of the track, we get what I can only describe as a “scratchy” guitar sound.  It’s an odd choice for the solo section of the track, but it’s memorable.  This also seems to have a bass line that isn’t “complimentary”.  A lot of bass lines in songs are just there to service the song, this one seems to be Harris going “I’m here too – notice me!”.   I also love the last 5 seconds of the song the way they sign off with a “double scream” is about all I can think of.  Again, fast song, doesn’t deviate from it’s message to much, gets in, says it’s thing, and gets out.

Phantom of the Opera – The longest track on the album by far (7:21).  Phantom is another of those longer Maiden jaunts they became famous for later on (Ancient Mariner, Empire of the Clouds) popping up early.  That’s not a huge shock, as it’s credited to Steve Harris alone.  It also has the early Maiden sound – the part where it’s got a slower riff, and Paul sings in a higher register (with background vocalists)..  that bit sounds like it would be produced differently if recorded down the line.  As I said earlier, there’s no bad songs on this album, and I stand by that.  However, Phantom is not my favorite track on the album.  Longer Maiden songs (seven minutes and up) tend to have this adventurous feel to them, like you’re listening to an epic something.  This one doesn’t quite achieve that.  There’s some good riffing in there (I love the dual guitar work right around 5:00), but overall, it feels like it could have been shorter and the general idea of the song would have remained intact.  It feels like it meanders a bit too much like some of the longer Maiden songs (Blood Brothers, Dance of Death, Benjamin Breeg) don’t.  Having said that, I did still enjoy the listen to day, just perhaps not as much as some others.

Transylvania – An underlooked track in the catalog.  I think that might have to do with the fact that it’s a 4:05 instrumental, but there’s some EXCELLENT riffage in this one.  I’m not gonna say a ton about this, because I feel I’d just repeat the same bit over and over again.  It’s a short, fast instrumental with a ton of good riffing.  Hard to have any beef with that.  When one thinks about the first Maiden album, I’d say the first track that comes to mind is NOT Transylvania.  I suggest if you play this album after reading this piece of mine, you put Transylvania on FIRST.

Strange World – Transylvania leads directly into Strange World, there’s no break.  It just keeps going as if the former was a 4 minute lead in to this track.  I will say at the start of this, there’s a great in your face rather simple, but quite enjoyable bass riff.  It repeats a few times, and I found myself going “Duh – duh – duh – duh – dum” (cuz that’s what my mind hears phonetically when it plays – nothing to do with “stupid” or anything like that).  It’s a really KILLER intro – Paul’s vocals don’t start till like 1:45 into the song.  When he does, it’s more him “singing” vs screeching or yelling or anything like that.   Another under appreciated track.  In fact, for most of this song, I just sat in my office chair with my head back, eyes closed, and hands off the keyboard.  I adore the “vibe” and the feel of this song more than the actual music being played.  Just wanted to enjoy this one, and not break it down (which I ended up doing anyway), but I VERY much enjoyed this.

Charlotte the Harlot – This is a song I know more for the chorus, which is VERY singable which is odd given the subject matter of the lyrics.  The title isn’t a euphemism…  “Charlotte the Harlot take show me your leg / Charlotte the Harlot take me to bed / Charlotte the Harlot let me see blood / Charlotte the Harlot let me see love”.  It’s one of those songs where I want them to get back to the chorus, as the verse part isn’t as “singable” to me the audience member.  haha.  :)   Musically it’s probably not the best riffage on the album, but I enjoy it anyway, because the chorus is SO strong for me.  It’s also a rarity in the Maiden catalog.  A song that has a writing credit and does NOT include Steve Harris. It’s credited solely to Dave Murray.

Iron Maiden – The track “Iron Maiden” a perfect distillation of everything that is Iron Maiden condensed down into its 3:34 run time.  It feels like it should be longer than that, but it isn’t. I’ve seen it live so many times, seen extended versions, that it feels like a 6 minute long song.  It isn’t. It is BY FAR the most well known track from the Di’Anno era of the band.  I’d also submit it’s probably the most played Maiden track too.  I can’t speak to the years in the 70’s, but I have to assume it’s been played at every single Iron Maiden concert ever since 1980.  It’s also the track I think of when I see #UpTheIrons on social media.  That phrase just reminds me of this song.   One of the more perfect album closers (which I played a couple times when I got to it in the listen).

“Iron Maiden can’t be fought / Iron Maiden can’t be sought / Oh where, wherever, whoever you are / Iron Maiden’s gonna get you no matter how far”.

Up the Irons indeed.

Part of me wants to keep writing about the majesty that is the title track, but this is the part of the review where I sum it up and close it out.  I kind of feel like I’ve already done that with the closing track – it’s so perfect.  :)

But…  Maiden has been around for bloody 50 years now.  This first album is 45 years old now as I write this, and it still works.  sure, it sounds a bit more primitive than they would sound even just five years after this, but there’s some excellent song on here, a few that continue to be played live through the decades, so the power of this first album survives unto this day.

Up the Fucking Irons indeed!

I’d be remiss if I left out the fact that we lost Paul Di’Anno last year.  On 21 Oct 2024, Paul died  – he had been ill for some time with major health problems.  Before he left I loved seeing that he and the guys from Maiden had made peace – I was glad to see that.