«Killers» is Iron Maiden’s second album and it came out in February 1981 on EMI. It is the band’s first record with Adrian Smith on second guitar and the last one with Paul Di’Anno on vocals, and it is also the first they made with Martin Birch producing, the man who stayed behind the desk for their next eight albums. The line-up is Steve Harris on bass, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith on guitars, and Clive Burr on drums.
“`Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Saxon, Angel Witch, Judas Priest
Compared with the debut, the sound here tightens up and turns more aggressive. Martin Birch gave Clive Burr’s drums a clean, hard punch and let Steve Harris’s bass drive the songs, the way it does across the band’s whole catalogue. Paul Di’Anno’s vocals have a rasp that fits the dark, dirty character of the record perfectly, without losing the melody.
The album opens with the instrumental «The Ides of March» and throws «Wrathchild» in straight away, one of the best known songs of the Di’Anno era. «Murders in the Rue Morgue», inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s famous story, the title track «Killers» with its fast riffs and «Purgatory» also stand out. Between them hides a second instrumental, «Genghis Khan», which shows the band playing without vocals.
«Killers» catches Iron Maiden at a moment of change: a few months later Bruce Dickinson took Di’Anno’s place and the band moved into another phase. The record is counted among the NWOBHM classics, and the cover with Eddie, drawn by Derek Riggs, became one of the most recognisable images in the genre.
See also
Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden – Powerslave and Saxon – Wheels of Steel.
