1595 - Iron Maiden 22 Acacia Avenue 1982

Iron Maiden recorded a song entitled "22 Acacia Avenue" on their third album, The Number of the Beast, about a brothel in which their fictional prostitute character Charlotte the Harlot works. The closest Acacia Avenue to their native Leyton, east London is in Hornchurch (though there is an Acacia Road in Leytonstone). The second song in the "Charlotte the Harlot" saga, originally written by Adrian Smith several years earlier, while playing in his old band, Urchin. According to Smith, Steve Harris remembered hearing the song at an Urchin concert in a local park, and modified it for The Number of the Beast album.

1453 - Iron Maiden Where Eagles Dare 1983

Clive Burr’s departure from Iron Maiden had fans worried, but the opener ‘Where Eagles Dare’ buried all doubts about the new drummer Nicko McBrain. Steve Harris wrote this song based on the 1968 movie of the same name, directed by Brian G. Hutton. Bruce's extended high note at the end of the song, together with Harris´s galloping rhythm, make a fantastic beginning for "Piece of Mind".

1321 - Iron Maiden The Prisoner 1982

“We want information…information…information!” “Who are you?” “The new Number Two.” “Who is Number One?” “You are Number Six.” “I am not a number! I am a free man.” “(maniacal laughter)” A musical adaptation of the old BBC television series, The Prisoner. The song begins with Patrick McGoohan's opening narration from the show. Steve Harris: "Adrian took the solo on this one and it's one of his favorites. It's a very strong live number, although we don't play it on the set now". Jettisoning leads and monstrous beats from the drums, and Bruce’s wailing of every vocal line as if it’s going to be the last he ever sings…pure classic stuff!

1223 Iron Maiden Ghost of the Navigator 2000

Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 May 2000. It was their first studio release since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson (who left in 1993) and guitarist Adrian Smith (who left in 1990) in 1999, as well as the band's first studio recording with their current three guitar line-up, as Janick Gers remained with the band. This “Ghost of the Navigator” can only be described as a towering, majestic creation.

990 - Iron Maiden Revelations 1983

"Revelations" is the second track from Iron Maiden's fourth studio album Piece of Mind. It is one of the few Maiden songs written solely by Bruce Dickinson. The song is a fan favorite and is frequently performed live.
On earlier live performances of the song, Dickinson played rhythm guitar on one section that required a dual lead performed by Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. In more recent performances such as "Eddie Rips Up The World Tour" and "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour", the rhythm guitar section was performed by Janick Gers, giving Dickinson more freedom around the stage.
A faster version of the song is included in the "Live After Death" album, which contains many differences with the studio recording.
The lyrics are based partly on a book by Aleister Crowley, but this is also juxtaposed with a verse taken from a hymn by G. K. Chesterton, which forms the first verse of the song:

O God of earth and altar,
Bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide,
Take not thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride.

784 - Iron Maiden Rime of the Ancient Mariner 1985

One of the highlights of "Powerslave" is its climactic final track, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", inspired by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem of the same name. The song credit goes to bassist Steve Harris, who jammed Coleridge's words into this metal hymn.


Hear the rime of the Ancient Mariner,
See his eye as he stops one of three,
Mesmerizes one of the wedding guests,
Stay here and listen to the nightmare of the sea...

729 - Iron Maiden Juanita 1986

Iron Maiden did a cover of Marshall Fury's "Juanita", Marshall Fury were a band from the British scene in the early eighties. Nicko McBrain and Adrian Smith played it during their off-time before the band recorded "Somewhere in Time". It was played during "The Entire Population of Hackney" secret gig on 19th December 1985 and this is probably where the idea came from to play it as B'side, together with "That Girl", for the single "Stranger in a Strange Land".

719 - Iron Maiden Genghis Khan 1981

The Killers album saw a change in Maiden personel. Dennis Stratton had left the band and Adrian Smith joined the Maiden army. One of the best albums ever recorded, with gems like this instrumental "Genghis Khan", very nice time changes, the guitar at the end acoompanying the bass and drum lines is absolutely glorious.

551 - Iron Maiden Lord Of The Flies 1995

"The X Factor", Blaze Bailey´s debut with the British legends, is one of the most interesting and most controversial records ever made. The mighty Iron Maiden in what you could call a different costume. The X Factor is clearly their most dark and personal record, just the ingredients that has made it one of their best. "Lord Of The Flies" is a hard pumping song with a lot of power and energy; pretty direct but also highly grooving in it's approach; is it good to hear Steve's bass up front, he throws in a very dominating and vigorous performance in this one.

522 - Iron Maiden Running Free 1980

Iron Maiden were just getting started with songs such as this "Running Free", and they still played their punkish, gritty style of NWOBHM that was just beginning to get them into the public eye around the late 70s. Paul Di'Anno was still at the helm, with his punkish, street-smart attitude and gruff voice. The band followed suit, playing a rougher style of music then they would when Dickinson took the helm and the world by storm. This great song kicks off with a galloping drum beat before the riff kicks in, and it's a catchy little rocker all the way through. The chorus by Smith and Harris are enjoyable. It tells a tale of rebellious youth, the freedom of being young and alive, and of being left to 'run free.' The basslines are jumpy and energetic, and the guitar trills are confident in their runs through this rather short song.

460 - Iron Maiden Wrathchild 1981

The "Killers" album also saw a change in Iron Maiden personel. Dennis Stratton had left the band and Adrian Smith, a mate of Dave Murray, joined the Maiden army. This song starts of with a ear bashing bass riff, one of Harris' best, and leads on into a great little riff from Smith. Paul kicks in and everything starts of with a great verse with alot of riffing, which leads nicely into the chanting chorus, 'Wrathchild! Wrathchild! Wrathchild! Im coming to get you, oooooh yeh!'

416 - Iron Maiden Alexander the Great 1986

In 1985 Iron Maiden was on top of their game. They had just completed their longest world tour, the World Slavery Tour, and had written 5 successful albums. Despite this, there were rumours of inner conflict. The 12 month World Slavery Tour had obviously taken its toll on the band. Maiden was so burnt out that they decided to go on a 6 month hiatus, something they had never done before.
"Somewhere in Time" was released in 1986, and the last cut is "Alexander the Great". Like the great Harris epics, it features a long instrumental section. It is an amazing song, but has strangely never been played live before.

277 - Iron Maiden Phantom of the Opera 1980

Witness here the dawn of the New Age of Heavy Metal with 1980’s pulsating debut from the East London’s finest metal merchants: Iron Maiden. Amazingly, it took nearly five years and a number of line up changes before this vital incarnation of the heavy metal supergroup were committed to record. "Running Free", "Phantom of the Opera", "Transylvania", every song can be regarded as a Maiden-classic. The group's more progressive direction is signalled by the seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Phantom of the Opera”, which contained all the elements that later characterised the Maiden sound: lengthy, momentous riffing, courageous time changes, and mock-operatic choruses. Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton trade blazing harmonised guitar licks that soar above Harris’ incessant bass excursions and Clive Burr’s solid skins. Bruce Dickinson is often considered the quintessential voice of Iron Maiden but its Paul Di’Anno up front lending his lung power here and he does the job with a raspy, almost punkish quality that defiantly brings home the bacon. Up the Irons.

249 - Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast 1982

"The number of the beast" was a world-wide success providing definitive songs such as the title track, “Run to the Hills” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. With Di'Anno out of the band in favour of the Air Raid Siren, Harris could now weave his magic and pen songs that matched his determination for Maiden to succeed. Dickinson´s strong, operatic vocals opened many, many avenues of unexplored ground for the band and this was proved as the album dropped straight into number one in the UK Charts. Side two kicks off with the haunting Vincent Price voice over before the title track: "Woe to you, Oh Earth and Sea, for the Devil sends the beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short... Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast for it is a human number, its number is Six hundred and sixty six" Up the Irons

225 - Iron Maiden Transylvania 1980

In early April, 1980, a heavy metal gargantuan was launched from its humble beginnings in the East End of London. That band is, of course, the now eponymous Iron Maiden, and the album that started it all is this one, their self titled LP. It’s doubtful that bassist and main-man Steve Harris could have envisioned where his journey would lead him. This was the starting point of one of the most long-running and influential bands in metal. Steve Harris' progressive influences are on show in the technically astonishing instrumental, 'Transylvania'. The whole band rattle through this piece and its many sections seamlessly.

217 - Iron Maiden Two minutes to Midnight 1984

'2 Minutes To Midnight', is one of "Powerslave"'s masterpieces. Adrian explains: "Well, that's basically a hard rock tune. People know me and that's what my thing is in the band, and it runs through to what I did with Psycho Motel. I'm guitar-oriented. That's where my writing goes. I was one of the first of us to get a little four track, a multi-track sort of recorder and I was sitting in my hotel room in a Jersey working on this riff and there was a banging on the door, and it was Bruce, because we had taken over the whole hotel to rehearse, and he's banging on my door and saying 'wow, what's that riff?' So I played him the music to it and he had a bunch of lyrics and he started singing and we had '2 Minutes To Midnight'. We wrote it in about 20 minutes (laughs)." Whatever its germination, it wins the day for Maiden by being "rock 'n' rollsy", fresh, riffy, something that is inherent in Adrian's playing more so than Dave's. It steps outside the half dozen rules to which Maiden is becoming increasingly tethered. It is mature, dangerous, groovy and lyrically intelligent. This song was written by Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson. It has references to the clock of the apocalypse, the symbolic clock used by the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists." In September 1953 the clock reached 11:58, the closest the clock has been to midnight. This occurred when the United States and the Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb with a difference of nine months between them

189 - Iron Maiden Infinite Dreams 1988

Iron Maiden had already attained legendary status in the Metal world at the moment that "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" was released, with killer albums as "The Number Of The Beast", "Piece Of Mind" and the stunning live album "Live After Death". Recorded this time in Munich, Germany, Adrian, Steve, and Bruce worked together on some of the album´s most pivotal tracks, such as “Can I play with madness?”, the hit single or the compelling “The evil that men do”. One of the best maiden songs is “Infinite dreams”, a complex and multiple tune, with rhythm shifts, an excellent instrumental section, and Bruce vocals, astonish the listener.

141 - Iron Maiden Remember Tomorrow 1980

Iron Maiden's 1980 self-titled album is certainly one of heavy metal's all-time best debuts. Surfacing from the underground along with a host of other New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands, Maiden's debut proved to be incredibly influential for future metal bands. It was one of the first to merge heavy metal's power with punk's riffing and attitude, forging a blueprint for such genres as thrash, speed, and death metal.“Remember Tomorrow” is among their best ballads, with some of their most emotive playing and a dramatically energetic mid-section.

96 - Iron Maiden Hallowed be thy Name 1982

Dickinson's debut with Iron Maiden was 1982's album The Number of the Beast, which is recognised as a classic of the heavy metal genre. "Hallowed be thy name" is one of the greatest songs ever written by anyone, let alone Maiden. The never ending vocals of Dickinson really fit his nickname, The Air Raid Siren. True British metal copied by hundreds of acts but never duplicated, opening slowly but inevitably building in pace until a frenzied finale.

80 - Iron Maiden Flight of the Icarus 1983

After the 'Beast On The Road' tour, Maiden drummer Clive Burr left, and he was shortly replaced by amazing drummer Nicko McBrain. The band recorded Piece of Mind at Compass Point Studios, in Nassau, in the Bahamas, by far one of the most powerful Iron Maiden albums. The band produced some of the most memorable releases, resulting in what many consider to be the quintessential Iron Maiden: full-metal-jacket vocals, combat guitars, artillery-fire drums and the ever-present rhythmic pulse of Steve’s manic bass, bulging like a vein in the foreground. "Flight of the Icarus" is a mid-paced growler that suddenly bursts into a multi-tracked vocal chorus.