Iron Maiden: Debut or Killers?

Which of Maiden's first two albums is your favorite? 

I'm more of a Bruce-era guy, but I enjoy the Di'Anno era.

I've gotta go the debut here. I think it's uniformly strong. Killers has some, ahem...killer tracks, but it also has several that are just unmemorable. 

Your pick?

I know the s/t is generally preferred by fans, though I actually like Killers a bit more.  The s/t album was one of the first Maiden CDs I got, though I hardly listened to it because I was totally captivated by the Bruce era so much more.  I didn't bother getting Killers for a long time after because of it, but when I finally did, I was kicking myself for not getting it sooner!

Kerrick wrote:I know the s/t is generally preferred by fans, though I actually like Killers a bit more.  The s/t album was one of the first Maiden CDs I got, though I hardly listened to it because I was totally captivated by the Bruce era so much more.  I didn't bother getting Killers for a long time after because of it, but when I finally did, I was kicking myself for not getting it sooner!

My first Maiden was Piece of Mind. And it didn't grab me as much as I had hoped. So, I picked up the debut next and loved it. After that, I went back to PoM and it clicked. Then I obsessively grabbed all their albums as my means allowed and they became one of my favorite bands. 

I'll take Killers over some of the post-reunion stuff, though.

Killers. It doesn't have Charlotte the Harlot so it's automatically better.

Charlotte the Harlot is better than half of Killers.

No way, I'm with BR on this one!

One of the cringiest songs ever.

Oh, it’s cringey for sure. But musically, it’s better than half of Killers.

Thankfully, Maiden would move away from the cringe until No Prayer, when it would made an unwelcome return.

Tough choice as both are great.  I would go with Killers though because A) It was the first I.M. album I ever heard, B) It was the first I.M. album I bought, and C) It has some of my favorite Maiden songs like Wrathchild and Murders In The Rue Morgue.

Constantine wrote:Tough choice as both are great.  I would go with Killers though because A) It was the first I.M. album I ever heard, B) It was the first I.M. album I bought, and C) It has some of my favorite Maiden songs like Wrathchild and Murders In The Rue Morgue.

Wish they'd write songs like that again.

Constantine wrote:Tough choice as both are great.  I would go with Killers though because A) It was the first I.M. album I ever heard, B) It was the first I.M. album I bought, and C) It has some of my favorite Maiden songs like Wrathchild and Murders In The Rue Morgue.

Both great songs, as is the title track.

The self-titled for me. One of my favorite debut albums ever. Phantom Of The Opera and the title track are 2 of my all-time favorite songs. 
I love each and every 80s Maiden album though. They've been hit & miss since No Prayer, but when they're great, they're still amazing.

Man, it's been a hot minute. Going from memories of another life time ago, I think I liked Killers slightly more over the self titled. But both iconic albums.

Dunno, never heard them. But I thought I'd butt into the thread anyway to see where to start.

Do you even like metal.

No, of course not!

Andreas89 wrote:Dunno, never heard them. But I thought I'd butt into the thread anyway to see where to start.

Start by turning in your metal card, buttinski.

   

^You can pry it from my cold, dead hands!

This thread took an aggressive turn.

Eddie would be proud.

Andreas89 wrote:Dunno, never heard them. But I thought I'd butt into the thread anyway to see where to start.

What's odd is that you like Euro power metal...which is all based on Iron Maiden!  Without iron Maiden there would be no Euro power metal. 

Killers

Killers is epic.

Andreas89 wrote:^You can pry it from my cold, dead hands!

Wait... YOU'RE Eddie??





Eddie Buttinski.

Andreas89 wrote:Dunno, never heard them. But I thought I'd butt into the thread anyway to see where to start.

First: shame shame!     I'm putting you on a two-week ban so you can reprioritize your life and focus on getting your metal card back.  

But now that we got that out of the way... how much of Maiden have you heard?  IMO the Di'Anno albums aren't very representative of the band's overall sound and wouldn't be a good place to start if you're fairly new to the band.  In that case I'd recommend starting with any of the '80s Bruce albums, namely Powerslave and Somewhere In Time.  But if you're already somewhat familiar with those and are just looking to get acquainted to the Di'Anno albums... why not both?    It's only two and neither is particularly long.

^^Any of the 80s Bruce albums are just about perfect. Powerslave and Seventh Son are my favorites, but they're all excellent. 

And I concur about the first two. Spin 'em both. 

The era of Maiden I would avoid until your fandom grows is the 90s. I like songs from this era, but it's Maiden at their weakest. 

The post-reunion era is a little hit and miss. There's nothing offensively bad, but there's a lot that is kinda meh. That being said, Dance of Death and especially A Matter of Life and Death are recommended.

Up the Irons!