SSOASS. The best one, both conceptual and musical wise.The only low point would be Can I Play With Madness, the which sounds more like a FOTD or NPFTD song.

Killers. Maiden have a very nice discography - especially the 80s, but nothing beats Killers. From the tone of the bass to the riffs, everything falls into place on that album. No song hangs around for too long, and the production is totally flawless, this is their only record I wouldn't change a thing about.

I would. Prodigal Son. Worst song from the DiAnno era.

Prodigal Sun is an amazing song. It may be quite a speedbump but it's still quite dark and the Adrian gives his career-best solo. My second favorite Iron Maiden song behind Where Eagles Dare, actually.



Nah, it doesn't have enough swagger to fit in with NPFTD. It fits quite nicely in between the power ballad and the sappy love song.

PIECE. OF. MIND!
I appreciate that record more than any other Maiden record. I feel Powerslave is too perfect, too comfortable and Somewhere In Time too fluid, too consistent.
Piece Of Mind on the other hand is interesting! "Where Eagles Dare" manages to sound both epic and frivolous while "Revelations" is truly monumental. "The Trooper" is a classic and what kind of a Maiden fan are you not to enjoy "Flight Of Icarus" and "Still Life". The rest of the songs fall short and yet show how tenacious the band were in crafting indelible hooks even when they felt way out of reach!

I went with Powerslave. They're all great albums, of course, but I just think Powerslave is a step above them.

I don't get you, man. How in the hell can you be too perfect, comfortable, fluid, or consistent? All of those are great virtues, and shoving records aside precisely for having them makes no sense. It's like throwing food away for being "too tasty"!

I voted for SiT, but Hallowed Be Thy Name is the track I usually first think of when someone mentions Maiden.
The feeling of hopelessness, desperation and sheer defiance has, so far, not been so acutely portrayed in any of their other songs.

Reading the lyrics, have they written anything else so poignant?

When the priest comes to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

When you know that your time is close at hand
maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down there is just a strange illusion

Can't agree that "The Evil That Men Do" is sappy. Lyrics, sure, a bit 80s-romantic styled, but the riffing is dynamite.

Piece of Mind for me. It's inconsistent like most Maiden albums, but the first two songs are the best Iron Maiden songs of all time, and there are a couple of other greats aswell.

Die With Your Boots On, Sun And Steel and Quest For Fire all suck to varying degrees, but The Trooper, Still Life and To Tame A Land even it out nicely. The remaining three are simply incredible, especially Revelations and Where Eagles Dare.

Powerslave is much more consistent, and it has great songs aswell. Perhaps I've overplayed it a little.

What.

WHAT.

Yeah, "Die With Your Boots On" is just explosive with energy and verve. Love that tune...such a great, unique chorus too. Kick ass. And even "Sun and Steel" and "Quest for Fire" ain't bad.

I picked Killers. It still has that NWOBHM feeling that I believe was lost later on down the road. While it still has the, and I'm going to use to world loosely here, "punk" feeling from the debut, some of the songs branch out into another loosely termed word, "progressive". Adrian Smith brought a lot to the table and surpassed whoever the guitarist (can't bother looking) he replaced...and improved this album greatly. And I believe Paul made some improvements on his part also.

Yep. It's the best out of the three clunkers, but I really don't like it. I think it's the chorus.

Am I the only one that pretty much worships every single thing Maiden put out in the 80s?

Piece of Mind has always stood out to me as being notably different from other Maiden releases, not sure why, claustrophobic atmosphere? Though I think it's more than that, It's a dark album - I think it's Maidens darkest.

Whoa, Die With Your Boots On is basically a perfect example of a Maiden classic to me, chorus included.

I grew up with Piece of Mind, it was my very first Maiden album and mindshadow nailed it.

Powerslave is certainly better, but PoM feels different. Heh, I even like Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel, songs that everyone seems to despise

Die With Your Boots On is an amazing song and you should be ashamed of yourself for not liking it.

I think I understand what he's saying. Continuing with your food analogy, it's like a dessert that's too rich; you might have a pastry that's too sweet or chocolate that's too dark, depending on your tastes. Too much of a good thing. I fall in line with that way of thinking, and that's why I voted Killers. I don't have much of a sweet tooth. Since its their second album, Maiden aren't fresh out of the starting gate, but they still have a youthful vigour. Maiden wasn't in the game long enough at that point to comfortably hone focused works such as Somewhere in Time or Seventh Son. Those records aren't particularly ambitious because the band was packing a ton of experience into them.

On the other hand, Killers has a rougher, uncertain direction but therein lies the journey. It's quite fun to listen to early albums for that reason. As it happens, the guys in Iron Maiden were talented musicians from the get-go, so they took to the road with a lot of musical maturity. They clearly knew what they were doing but where they were going wasn't as certain. Fortunately, when they explored new areas, it was original and surprising. The atmospheres never tarry in one area too long, always pressing on and pondering other directions as they did. "The Idea of March" preludes the album with a crushing confidence, and then suddenly you're thrown into the spastic and wild "Wrathchild." That song satisfies the bands dirty pleasures, apparently, as its dingy nature subsides into the thoughtful introduction to "Murders in the Rue Morgue," which suddenly adopts a carefree, fun attitude.

And after that springy tune, the adventures continues. This album has lots of rock'n'roll, and the leads carry on soulfully throughout, some of them almost sounding improvised (look to "Drifters"). Killers is splashed with dark colours and dinginess but its steeped in an undeniable happiness. The record is a plain good time. All the ingredients are just right, nothing is overdone. It's cooked to perfection.

Ah, that's a great way to word such a point, Mystical. I don't agree with it in Maiden's case, but it's certainly understandable. Thanks for clearing that up for me, mate!

Im stuck between Powerslave and 7th Son...both amazing masterpieces...Powerslave is a monument to all that heavy metal is supossed to be. Catchiness, epicness, twin guitars, awesome solos, great vocals...I cant stop playing that album. 7th son is a bit more melodic and progressive but also has some of the best moments in Maidens discography, The Evil That Men Do and The Cairvoyant were my fave metal songs for a long while.

Piece Of Mind is probably the darkest and most complex lyrically and musically of all Maiden's albums, and therefore also the least catchy, with almost nothing of the sing along characteristics of other albums, that are great but linear as fuck. I think it may be also the band's most mature effort, without a redundant theatricality. It was also the album that had introduced me to the greatness of Iron Maiden's golden 80' era, so very many years ago.

this is a hard choice for me but after much deliberation...I'll say "Number of the Beast," with "Killers" a close second. Those albums just did not have any weak spots. I love the diversity and overall raw rock n'roll energy of "Killers," but "Number of the Beast" was just the perfect album for me- no filler tracks at all (certainly "Gangland" and maybe "Invaders" were not as classic as some of their other songs but even these tracks are pretty dang good.)

I wanted to say "Peace of Mind" because, as others have said, some of those songs were among the very best they ever did. But it is a bit too inconsistant, too much "filler" so to speak. Same with the next two- I like "Somewhere in Time" better than "Peace of Mind" but even that one was a bit uneven. "Seventh Son" I personally find to be rather boring; although I can certainly see why some people really dig that one, I tend to prefer the more straightforward rocking stuff they did. And I thought the first one was good, but the guitars were a bit too tame compared to the later ones- that's probably just a product of the age it was recorded though.

WAT

Smalley, at least provide some fuckin' thoughts in your posts, please. I also think Sun and Steel is by far the worst track on POM and the only weak track, I like Quest for Fire a lot, the chorus is very catchy. I listened to the album today because of my poll and I agree with Razakel (?) who said the 3 first tracks are one of Maiden's shiniest moments. Where Eagles Dare is amazing.

I love the driving, galloping rhythm of the main riff on "Sun And Steel", its catchy, synchronized vocals-chorus (with those well-placed rhymes), and Bruce's wonderfully energetic all-around performance vocally. They do repeat the chorus a bit too much, but all in all, I feel it's a great summation of the essence and appeal of the 80's-era Dickinson records, especially out of their 82-84 works, and it's hard to believe some Maiden fans like dissing it when the song is just so very, very... Maiden, I guess I'd have to say. Whatevs, though.

I voted 'Piece of Mind', because it's the one with the highest number of godly tracks in my book, as well as everything Empyreal said about it on page one. It might have to do with the fact that it was the first album to feature the Smith/Dickinson songwriting team, who hit the ground running and gave Harris songs a really strong counterpoint. Also, there's "Still Life" on that album. 'Killers' is a very very close second, and on its tail comes a tie between the debut and 'Powerslave'. After that, 'Seventh son'. Full stop.

SSOASS by far, such a classic , love the atmosphere of the album.

I couldn't disagree more. Even the verses of Where Eagles Dare are prime singalong material. Not to mention...

Into the night, they fall through the sky

Fly, on your way, like an eagle, fly as high as the sun

Revelations doesn't have a catchy chorus, but fuck if those guitar leads don't make you want to sing along to them.

Love the poll here!
It'll always be Iron Maiden's S/T for me, I really loved that punk sound that they had and wish they continued with it because I can't stand Bruce's generic vocals.

Piece of Mind for me. It takes me places. Other Maiden albums don't have the imagination or the immersive power to make me forget where I am.

I am a sucker for DiAnno. So its Killers for me followed by debut. Somewhere in time would be the least likable. Way too polished and melodic.

I'm not berating your choice here, but in what planet, galaxy, or dimension are Dickinson's vocals "generic"? His voice is a metal standard all on its own, for fuck's sake.

I had a tough time deciding, but quickly realized that Seventh Son was really the only good answer for me. Sure, 2 Minutes To Midnight was my first metal song, and one of my favorite Maiden songs of all time is on Piece of Mind, but two more are on Seventh Son.

I can also give you my top five. The Final Frontier, Brave New World, Fear of the Dark, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Dance of Death. You could say a lot about me because of that order, especially because of the lack of 80's stuff, but it's mostly because I still haven't heard a lot of the 80's.

Since Killers isn't going to top the polls at all at this point, I'd like to make a suggestion to some people. It's IDES of March

Haha, yeah, really nobody sounds like him unless they're actively trying to. And calling any of the founding bands like this generic...is pretty silly all around.

That's indeed the silliest and stupidest thing I read in this thread so far, that's like saying Halford is a generic singer.

Never was a fan of anything after Powerslave. And boy, Number of The Beast sure is a classic, but nothing rocks like the debut album.