The Story of Iron Maiden

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Iron Maiden is one of my favourite heavy metal bands, and is one of my favourite musical groups overall as well. With their theatrical performances, complex musical arrangements and iconic songs, they’re a band that is still very popular almost 50 years after they were first formed. This article will provide a brief summary of the band.

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First conceived in London in 1975, the original band members were Steve Harris on the bass guitar (he was also the main songwriter), Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance on the guitar, Ron Matthews on the drums, and Paul Day on vocals. The name “Iron Maiden” was inspired by a neo-medieval torture device with the same name, according to Harris. During the first few years of the band’s existence, there was quite a bit of shuffling around of the band line-up. Paul Day was booted from the group due to his lackluster live performances, Ron Matthews was replaced with Barry Purkis, who was then replaced by Clive Burr, and a number of guitar players came and went. 

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By the time the band released their debut album in 1980 (self titled), the members were Harris (still on bass), Dave Murray, Dennis Stratton on guitar, Clive Burr on the drums, and Paul Di’Anno on vocals. Featuring classic songs including “Running Free”, “Phantom of the Opera” and “Transylvania”, the album was quite successful and was number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Their next album, “Killers”, which was released in 1981, was also very successful and featured hits like “Wrathchild” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue”. However, Paul Di’Anno was fired from the band due to his excessive drug usage after the tour for this album and was replaced by Bruce Dickinson, marking the beginning of a new era for the band. 

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The first album with Dickinson (released in 1982), “Number of the Beast”, saw even more success than the last two. With songs like “Children of the Damned”, “Number of the Beast”, and “Run to the Hills”, this album solidified that band’s status as a successful heavy metal band, with the subsequent albums “Piece of Mind” and “Powerslave” furthering this. However, the band experienced some internal conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith temporarily left the band due to creative differences regarding the direction that the band should take.. During this time, Dickinson was replaced by Blaze Bayley and the albums “The X Factor” and “Virtual XI” were produced. 

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In 1999,  Dickinson and Smith reunited with the band, marking the return of Iron Maiden’s iconic band member line-up. The albums released after this reunification, which were “Brave New World”, “Dance of Death”, “Final Frontier”, and “the Book of Souls” received very positive feedback and were a testament to the band’s ability to remain creative as the years went by. 

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In conclusion, Iron Maiden will go down in history as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal bands ever. With their amazing live performances, awesome musical story-telling, and overall amazing music, the impact that Iron Maiden has left on the heavy metal community will be felt for years to come.