Rocktober Album #14: Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (1980)

With a week left until Halloween, it's now time for Rocktober to focus on albums that have dark, macabre, mysterious, or evil themes.  We'll begin with a New Wave of British Heavy Metal classic, Iron Maiden's self-titled debut, which not only changed metal but also introduced the world to rock music's most identifiable mascot, Eddie.

Of course, an iron maiden is a 19th century torture device (not medieval as you might have expected), made up of a hinged, body-shaped wooden cabinet.  The victim would step inside, and then the doors would be closed.  The doors had giant spikes that pointed inward.  I suppose it would be better categorized as a certain death device than a torture device.

With their twin lead guitars, insane bass lines, and dark, often literary, and sometimes medieval imagery in their lyrics, Iron Maiden quickly established themselves as metal gods.  As you may or may not know, this was one of two albums made with lead singer Paul Di'Anno, before he was replaced by Bruce Dickinson.  Di'Anno has more of a gritty punk voice, in stark contrast to Dickinson's booming operatic voice.  Bass player Steve Harris, who is also the band's lead songwriter, is ridiculous.

The album did relatively well in the UK, getting as high as #4 on the UK album charts, the first of the band's studio 13 albums that cracked the UK Top 10.  It also spawned the first two of the band's 35 UK Top 40 hits ("Running Free" #34 and "Sanctuary" #29).

Note:  I have the US release, which has one more song than the UK release ("Sanctuary").

There were a few songs that weren't on Playlist.com for which I felt compelled to provide YouTube links.

1.  "Prowler"

"Prowler" is a fantastic song about a flasher.  It's fast and dark, and it has a nice repeating riff.  There is also a nice twin lead guitar solo in the middle.

2.  "Remember Tomorrow"

This song is slower and dreamy (not in a '50s sense of the word, but it actually seems like a dream, or maybe a nightmare).  At about the two and a half minute mark, it changes tempo and kicks into overdrive for a wicked guitar solo.

3.  "Running Free"

This may my favorite song on the album.  It's a great hard rock song about running away, with a good driving beat.

4.  "Phantom of the Opera"

This song is over seven minutes long, and it's a great example of what Iron Maiden was to become.  It has a macabre literary subject matter, and, musically, the song is broken into several distinct parts, with the verses and chorus coming at the beginning and then several different instrumental portions following for several minutes, with a final verse ending the song with about 30 seconds left.  It's pretty intricate, with varying tempos and guitar parts, and a thumping bass line that resurfaces throughout the song.

5.  "Transylvania"

This is an instrumental about vamps, I assume.

6.  "Strange World"

This one is slower, and has a long intro that is merged into the end of "Transylvania."  I'm not sure I would call it a ballad, because it's too eerie to be a ballad, since it's about a dystopia where no one ages or smiles – perhaps an American Apparel ad.

7.  "Sanctuary"

This is another great, fast-paced rocker with a blistering guitar solo.  "I never killed a woman before but I know how it feels."  Great line.

8.  "Charlotte the Harlot"

This is the first song of four that relate to Charlotte (the others being "22 Acacia Avenue" off of Number of the Beast, "Hooks in You" off of No Prayer for the Dying, and "From Here to Eternity" off of Fear of the Dark).  One of the names I was pushing for with our most recent daughter (who we ended up naming Lollipop) was Charlotte, if only for the fact that I could call her Charlotte the Harlot whenever she started acting like a trollop.  And then she'd be all, "I'm sorry Dad.  I love that song, but I don't want to BE that song."  And then I'd be all, "Thanks.  You know we almost named you Lollipop."  And then I'd stick my finger in my mouth and make a popping sound like in that old '50s song "Lollipop" by The Chordettes.  And then we'd have a good laugh and I'd ground her for two months.

9.  "Iron Maiden"

Along with "Running Free," this might also be my favorite song on the album.  As with "Bad Company" and "Black Sabbath," this is the rare self-titled song off of a self-titled album.  It's fast-paced with a great, quick-hitting riff.  It also has an awesome first two lines:  "Won't you come into my room / I wanna show you all my wares / I just want to see your blood / I just want to stand and stare."