Published on Sep 8, 2004
In the early days of Iron Maiden, the key word to describe the
band was “change”. Their lineup was in a constant state of flux
until 1983; in the case of their sophomore album
Killers, out was guitarist Dennis Stratton, in was Adrian
Smith. Also out was producer Will Malone, in was Martin Birch, who
knew more than a thing or two about producing hard rock albums.
The two new additions to the Iron Maiden family proved to be
well chosen. Birch removed the sonic sludge that marred the band’s
self-titled debut and introduced a far more crisp sound to the
production. Smith’s guitar work also seemed to fit the group well,
acting as a perfect match to Dave Murray’s fret work.
Yet there is something about
Killers that leaves me a bit unfulfilled. Yes, it’s an
improvement over Iron Maiden, and any progress is something to be
heralded. But while there are some great performances on this disc,
there is still one thing missing from Iron Maiden’s sound – and
that’s vocal muscle.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: with no disrespect
meant towards him, Paul Di’Anno just didn’t seem like the perfect
fit with Iron Maiden when you compare his vocal style with the kind
of music the band was cranking out. Listen to tracks like “Killers”
or “Drifter,” and you almost expect to hear a vocal line come out
of the speakers to knock you on your butt. Yet Di’Anno just doesn’t
seem to have the kind of power the material demands – and while his
work on
Killers is better and more in the forefront, it still just
wasn’t enough.
The sad thing about this is it takes away from some of the power
of the music. Tracks like “Wrathchild,” “Murders In The Rue
Morgue,” “Twilight Zone” and “Another Life” show some serious
growth in the band’s songwriting skills over the course of a year.
More impressively, the two instrumentals on this disc, “The Ides Of
March” and “Genghis Khan,” are ample proof of the musical
excellence that Iron Maiden was producing at this stage in their
young career.
I hate sounding negative about an album like
Killers – I mean, I
do own it, I
do listen to it with some regularity, and I
do enjoy the music on it. Likewise, it does stand out as the
better of the two releases that Di’Anno appeared on. While it’s
still worth owning, it does strike me as the audio equivalent of
Chinese food: it will satisfy you while you’re listening to it, but
in the end, your cravings remain.