Iron Maiden are one of the world’s most popular heavy-metal bands, and have been for close to 50 years.
Naturally, decades of activity and a discography of 17 albums and counting means there are numerous arena-conquering cuts and galloping anthems that have lodged themselves deep into the hearts of their fans. But for many, nothing quite matches the energy of the songs they made early on with vocalist Paul Di’Anno.
Di’Anno, who was with the band from 1978 to 1981, wasn’t the first person to helm the mic as Maiden’s frontman. He was, however, the guy that led the charge with a mic in hand as they transitioned from the London club scene towards the global stage — and he did so with a signature mix of operatic wailing and knuckle-crackin’, street-tough ‘tude. His releases with the band — comprising early singles, the Iron Maiden and Killers full-lengths, and the brief-but-bangin’ Maiden Japan live EP — are enduring parts of a legendary canon.
With Maiden’s scintillating sophomore LP, Killers, having just celebrated its 45th anniversary, and with the late singer’s career set to be explored in the forthcoming documentary Di’Anno — Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer, we asked readers to vote for their favorite Maiden anthems from those early years.
We let you run free in the comments, and these were your five favorite Di’Anno-sung Maiden songs.
“Prowler”
Save for those that had caught an early Maiden set while cruising London’s metal underground in the lates Seventies, or managed to snag a copy of the band’s Soundhouse Tapes 7-inch, its the thrillingly down-picked opening moments of “Prowler,” off their 1980 debut LP, that introduced the act to the world (Though we’ll concede that a different version of “Prowler” also appeared on the b-side of that earlier EP).
A punky, punch-you-in-the-face spirit lords over the pulse-quickening “Prowler.” Those wild wah-wahing accents are seared into the brainwaves of generations of ‘edbangers, its switchblade-flicking double-time midsection a flash of brilliance. Di’Anno’s storytelling elevates the piece with scratchy-throated swagger and a bit of danger, as he prowls the streets of London like a spikes-and-leathers-clad Ripper.
And, oof, it still sounds oh, so pretty.
“Remember Tomorrow”
We scanned the horizons of our various socials accounts and found votes for “Remember Tomorrow” scattered all over.
Balladic at times, horns-raising at others, “Remember Tomorrow” is an early-era anthem that displayed Di’Anno’s killer vocal range. While willing to hit the mic with a sweet-and-tender vibrato — as he does in the verses —the song also has him falcon-screeching out some of the debut album’s most magnetic cries.
Through both the album version and an equally energetic Maiden Japan live performance, the rest of the band take us higher through quiet-loud-quiet dynamism, a ruthless guitar solo section, and a classic, closing crash-out that has bassist Steve Harris working his fingers to the bone.
“Killers”
Despite what the iconically menacing cover art suggests, 1981 sophomore album Killers is no hatchet job. And even among a murder’s row of NWOBHM classics, its title track stands out as one of their sharpest musical statements ever.
A daring, derelict whimsy crackles through the tension-building bass-and-drum intro, Di’Anno fiercely and memorably punctuating this with a round of red-in-the-face power howls. It’s hard not to give in once the tune’s galloping pace and steely natural harmonic slides begin.
The killer is behind you, per Di’Anno’s London Underground-set murderlogue, but the song is often at the front of fans’ minds.
“Wrathchild”
A classic metal track with serious daddy issues, “Wrathchild” is a battering Maiden must-hear borne of spite and vengeance.
“Born into a scene of angriness and greed,” Di’Anno’s gruff and growly narrator is off to find an absentee father figure and give him “some serious piece of mind.”
Drummer Clive Burr’s pounding performance is the propulsive, adrenalized thump that powers the journey, but the determined fury Di’Anno assumes as the titular Wrathchild (“I’m coming to get you”) is its heart.
“Phantom of the Opera”
We ask, who among the metal legion have not been stunned helpless by Paul Di’Anno’s mesmerizing catcall across Iron Maiden’s horror-swung epic, “Phantom of the Opera”?
Readers emerged from their various lairs to unequivocally herald Iron Maiden’s seven-minute, Side 1-ending, Ghost-covered juggernaut as the total package from their Di’Anno days. And it’s not hard to understand why.
The multi-chambered arrangement possesses a fancifully fleet-fingered intro, proggily-power-waltzed hooks, oodles of tough-yet-operatic vocal layering, and a great gallop. In other words: “Phantom of the Opera” damaged our minds and soul for the better, and that’s why Maiden fans keep taking the bait and cranking it up.