mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
|
killers the number of the beast
Killers
This was vocalist Paul Di’Anno’s last album with the band and he never got to be a part of the band’s commercial break through that they would achieve with the following album The Number of The Beast. Not only can you tell a difference between Di’Anno and Bruce Dickinson whom took his place, but also in the actual music. Whilst Dickinson is very theatrical in his style, Di’Anno is more of a traditional singer, that doesn’t always try to sound like a circus manager. This influences the music. The band is clearly more theatrical and dramatic on Killers, but still just as heavy as on The Number of The Beast, on which Bruce Dickinson would take care of the drama and the band would focus on simply running over whatever stood in their way. Since bassist Harris is the main songwriter on both albums, there are some similarities too. Relatively strong melodies and also careful arrangements. Killers is basically a metal party, but is more diverse than The Number of The Beast. All the interesting riffs and fills that comes in here and there in every song will keep you interested in hearing what comes next. “Murders In The Rue Morgue” even has some punk and pop influences which immediately makes it a stand out track, and the slow, acoustically filled out “Prodigal Son” has some great guitar interplay and is probably my favorite track. The album is very consistent and solid, without any particular weak moments. I find it sort of sad that Killers wasn’t the album that made the band big. It deserved it.
The Number of The Beast
Loud, heavy and fast. That is usually what the general metal fan needs to like music. Iron Maiden delivers that, but in addition these songs have strong melodies and are actually quite interesting musically as well as intelligent. Those additional things clearly makes Iron Maiden a stand out heavy metal band and automatically gives them a head start on their competitors. The Number of The Beast is a landmark album. It was not only an important album for Iron Maiden, but for the whole metal-scene. Their 1981 album, Killers had given them some success and expectations from the fans were set high, but also anxious and worried because of the new lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson. As The Number of The Beast would prove, there was never any reason to doubt Dickinson’s ability. He fitted Iron Maiden perfectly and sang bassist Harris’ excellent songs with ease. Dickinson may even be the strongest reason why Number of The Beast became Iron Maiden's big break through. The absolute highlights on this very even album is of course the by now classic title track, the anti-racist anthem “Run To The Hills” and “The Prisoner”. The ballads “Children of The Damned” and “Total Eclipse” are also somewhat stand outs. Maybe simply because of being ballads in this otherwise hard rocking collection of songs. The lyrics often bravely carry on the Black Sabbath legacy of Satan and hell and other bloody things. If you want classic poetry, look elsewhere. On the other hand, you probably won’t pay attention to the words anyway, since you will be likely to be stunned by high leveled musicianship, raw energy and above all, classic riffs and melodies.
|