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Known
for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes To Midnight" and
"The Trooper," Iron
Maiden was and is one of the most influential bands of the
heavy metal genre. The often-imitated band has existed for over twenty
years, pumping out wild rock similar to Judas
Priest. Iron
Maiden has always been an underground attraction; although
failing to ever obtain any real media attention in the U.S. (critics
claimed them to be Satanists due to their dark musical themes and
their use of grim mascot "Eddie"), they still became
well-known throughout the world and have remained consistently popular
throughout their career. Iron
Maiden was one of the first groups to be classified as
"British Metal," and, along with Black
Sabbath, Led
Zeppelin and a host of other bands, set the rock scene for
the '80s.
Iron
Maiden was first formed in 1976 by bassist Steve
Harris, who would soon join up with rhythm guitarist Tony
Parsons, drummer Doug Sampson and vocalist Paul
Di'Anno. Before finally obtaining a record deal, the group
played in local areas throughout the '70s, receiving a fair amount of
London air play. Parsons was replaced with Dennis Stratton, and the
band made its record debut in 1980 with their self-titled Iron
Maiden album. Although the release was recorded in a hurry,
it was nonetheless a hit in the U.K. due to the single "Running
Free." Iron
Maiden's 1981 follow-up, Killers,
displayed a harder approach to their music than before, and also saw
the replacement of Stratton with Adrian
Smith. Due to his uncontrollable alcohol addiction, Di'Anno
was forced to part company with the group and would soon be replaced
with vocalist Bruce
Dickinson in 1982 for the band's groundbreaking release, Number
Of The Beast. This album, boasting such songs as the title
track and "Hallowed By Thy Name," would come to be known as
one of the greatest rock recordings of all time. Since the unexpected
worldwide success of Beast
made them international rock superstars, they changed very little of
their style for their next album, Peace
Of Mind. They undertook two major tours before recording
1983's Powerslave,
which would go on to be another cult hit. The product of Powerslave's
11-month tour was 1985's Live
After Death, a double live album the featured all of their
biggest hit singles.
By the release of Live
After Death, Iron
Maiden had already established themselves as a powerful and
unique metal band. Their long-awaited 1986 supplement album, Somewhere
In Time, showed a bit of departure from their past
releases, showcasing the use of synthesizer guitars and songs more
relevant to the same themes. 1988's Seventh
Son Of A Seventh Son, a concept album like that of its
predecessor, featured the singles "The Evil That Men Do" and
"The Clairvoyant," and soon became Iron Maiden's most
critically acclaimed album since Number
Of The Beast. After another exhausting tour, Smith
departed and the band took a one year hiatus. With new guitarist
Janick Gers, they resurfaced with No
Prayer For The Dying in 1990, a record that returned to the
classic sound the group used when recording their earlier releases.
One of the album's singles, "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter,"
was granted the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Song Of The Year, but
it nonetheless gave the band its first #1 U.K. hit. By the time the
group finished their 1991 tour, Dickinson
expressed desire to leave and work to promote another band he had
founded, the Skunkworks. Fear
Of The Dark, the band's last album with Dickinson,
debuted at #1 on the U.K. charts and became one of their biggest
selling albums to date. After their supporting tour, two live albums
were released in 1993: A
Real Live One, which contained live versions of their newer
hit singles, and A
Real Dead One, which featured the more "classic" Maiden
songs live. Dickinson's
replacement, Blayze Bayley, marked his debut in 1995 with The
X Factor. While the record failed to chart as well as some
of its predecessors, it was still a minor success in England. Iron
Maiden marked the end of 1996 with Best
Of The Beast, a double compilation album. In 1998, little
interest in the Virtual XI album prompted Bayley's termination; Dickinson
and Smith
returned to the band for a tour in 1999 and a new album, Brave
New World, the following year. ~ Barry Weber, All Music
Guide