As I said on Twitter:

(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.

By the time I’d bought Iron Maiden, I knew they’d had another singer other than Bruce Dickinson. All I knew was he had s a fancy name, “Paul Di’Anno”. I’d seen photos of Dennis Stratton, but thought he was Adrian Smith with longer hair, so when I finally got my hands on a vinyl copy of the album and saw the band lineup, I was disappointed.

(Not because I was such a huge Smith fan – that would come later – but that I had for some reason always assumed the band’s lineup was the same on everything they did. I had a lot to learn.)

Putting it on, and plugging in my headphones, the first notes left me confused and disappointed. The sound was… rough. I didn’t know this particular song – ‘Prowler’ – and Di’Anno’s vocals were unlike anything I was expecting. At this time, I was living in a small town outside Brisbane, Australia. We had two record stores that I knew of, and few of the department stores stocked Maiden stuff. It was another year or so before the newsagents would start selling Kerrang!, so my metal needs were fed by months-old copies of Metal Edge. So, it comes as no surprise to me now, looking back 23 years later, that my knowledge of the band – ay band – was severely limited.

But by the time I heard Iron Maiden, I was hooked on the band already. I was raving to friends at school about this awesome band, showering them with the few facts I knew and making up the ones I didn’t. Iron Maiden provided me with a more solid grounding of the bands history, their raw punk sound (I at least knew – or, again, though I did – what punk sounded like), the black and white photos on the back showing a sweaty band playing right down ‘mongst the audience at the Marquee. That old kabuki mask they called Eddie before Derek Riggs came up with the illustrated concept.

By the end of ‘Prowler’ I was warming to Di’Anno. I didn’t like ‘Remember Tomorrow’ – I didn’t understand why they had a song with slow bits. ‘Running Free’ and ‘Phantom…’ I knew, and enjoyed hearing the originals. The B-side, with the exception of the title track, blew my mind – ‘Strangeworld’, even though it was another slow song, was unlike anything I’d heard (not saying much, to be honest), and ‘Transylvania’ didn’t even have any WORDS! And finally, ‘Charlotte the Harlot’ was about a PROSTITUTE!

ROCK AND ROLL!