by Mark
“Killers” – A Look Back
9:32 am in A Look Back by Mark
The one thing that has always confused me in my study of Iron Maiden’s history – ok, ONE of the things that has always confused me – is the band’s continual ignoring of their second album Killers except for two songs (namely ‘Wrathchild’ and ‘Killers’).
(Listen to this album on Spotify: Iron Maiden – Killers.)
On its release, it was panned by critics for having little newly-written material – the band still had plenty left over after recording its debut, so no wonder the album they released just a year later would be made up of perfectly-useable material. Its polished sound and performances were also something of a shock to some, I would think, and as such its reception coloured the band’s – and primarily Steve Harris’s – view of the album forever more.
The album, as a standalone part of their entire catalogue, is indeed something of a strange beast. The first polished recording of the band’s history, it’s also the first that’s stylistically-inventive, with the use of acoustic pieces (‘Prodigal Son’), and a short musical intro (‘The Ides Of March’, which was used in a slightly different form on Samson’s ‘Thunderburst’) – although it retains the shorter, punchier song length which they would often drift away from on later releases.
Performance-wise, the band has also benefited from the endless performing they did in support of Iron Maiden, with Di’Anno’s vocals in particular being stronger (and also benefiting from Martin Birch’s clearer production). Clive Burr’s performance is spot on, inventive and sharp. The new pairing of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith – old friends but new bandmates by this point – already shows itself baring fruit.
Going back to my original point of not understanding why the band ignores much of this album, my confusion becomes clear when you listen to the absolute gems that are on this album:
- Another Life (a great mix of twin-guitar work and Harris’s leading bass playing)
- Murders In The Rue Morgue (a subtle intro turning into a driving track)
- Prodigal Son, the longest track on the album, and one which some could argue as being the musical highlight; it’s certainly the one where all members shine.
The only downside to this album is that it proved to be Paul Di’Anno’s last; watching his career, and musical direction, in the later years would perhaps show that he would have ended up leaving regardless, it is indeed a shame that he wasn’t able to push his performances here on Killers further with Iron Maiden.
Looking at this album closely again, it still remains with me a sense that the band is losing a rich part of its history by only playing the two tracks which, in my mind, are some of the weakest here. They could easily come out with ‘Purgatory’ in their current shows and bring the crowd to a roar in a mere few minutes, but if the band has proved anything it’s that it’s stuck in its ways.
Killers is one of my most favorite from Maiden. I for one really enjoy the Di’Anno era and also wish they would play songs other than “Wrathchild” and “Killers”. Although they are great tunes, there is other great material on Killers.
Drifter is a great track. I love it. And what about Ghengis Khan? The speed and musicianship of this song is awesome! Clive Burr was killer on that tune. Purgatory should be a live favorite in my opinion as well as Murders in the Ru Morgue, Another Life, and Innocent Excile.
But, my absolute favorite, one of my all-time best Iron Maiden songs is Twilight Zone. I’ve only heard that song live once and Bruce was singing it. I have a show from 1981 or 82 before The Number of the Beast album came out. It’s a video of Bruce singing nothing but Di’Anno era songs. The picture is not so good but the sound is ok. It’s cool hearing Bruce sing all those old Maiden tracks.
I don’t know why the band seems to ignore Killers. The only thing that I can think of is that they just don’t want to play that material because it’s nothing like what they are playing now. It seems like songs like Powerslave, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Infinite dreams fit better along with Dream of Mirrors, Dance of Death, and Different World.
In my humble opinion, during the span of Iron Maiden’s first 4 albums, there was the element of the streets and how dangerous they could be at night. The songs dealt with more ghastly themes and rough times on those albums. When Piece of Mind came out in 1983, the band was changing but still held on to the old ways just a little longer until Powerslave was released. I feel that Powerslave was one of Maiden’s major changes in songwriting and themes and Eddie started to appear like a deity instead of an undead zombie that stalks the backstreets of England. As the music evoled, so did Eddie. Everything changes.
Maybe one day us fans will get lucky and they will throw us a bone like “Twilight Zone”. Who knows?
Too true – I like to think of Maiden as different eras. I love the Dianno stuff just as much as the Dickinson stuff. Out of all Maiden albums my equal favourites (just cant decide between the two) are Killers and Powerslave. I think what I like about Killers that current Maiden songs dont have is a punk like aggressiveness. It was there on the first album as well, just not as much. Maybe this is what Dianno brought to the table. For me Killers is everything a metal album should be. Fast, aggressive, nasty and precise!