Killers (1981)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums
As was common at the time, the band immediately went back into the studio after the end of their successful 1980 tour. There were two major changes that would shape the sound of Killers: The first was the previously discussed arrival of Adrian Smith on guitar, the second was the inclusion of legendary producer Martin Birch (of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fame). With Birch at the helm, the band produced a much more polished effort in Killers.
Many of the songs on Killers predate the debut album. Wrathchild was already a live favorite and was recorded for Metal For Muthas in 1979. The Ides of March was established as a concert opener, although it often proceeded Sanctuary and was sometimes even played live instead of being played over the P.A. as an intro tape (fun fact: while the Live At the Rainbow video shows Ides of March as an intro to Wrathchild, the actual opener for that particular gig was Sanctuary).
Purgatory was actually a very old tune by Harris that was once called Floating (and was supposedly much slower). Drifter and Another Life were also songs that had already been established as live favorites. A performance of Another Life can be found on Live At the Ruskin Arms and you can see that the song hadn’t changed much by the time they recorded it. There has also been mention of a song called Innocent In Exile being performed by Steve’s old band, Smiler, but I have no idea what that old version was like.
However, the band did take time to come up with new material. Killers contains the band’s first “filler” track: Genghis Khan. The song was quickly put together in the studio. I use the term filler loosely because it certainly doesn’t come off that way. And of course the title track was a newer creation, as you can see on Live At the Rainbow with its unfinished lyrics.
The artwork for Killers features a much more recognizable version of Eddie. The backdrop is similar, another part of the London East End, but we now get a taste of Derek Riggs’ tendency to place hidden references in his artwork. If you look closely, you get a glimpse of Charlotte the Harlot undressing, as well as the outside view of the Twilight Zone single artwork close by.
Despite in some ways being a compilation of material leftover from the debut, Killers is surprising unified and coherent sounding. The lyrical themes even seem in some ways connected. The production also shows an obvious step up with Martin Birch at the helm. It’s a transitional album. The energy is still there and the production isn’t anywhere near as polished as later Birch produced albums. While the debut album showed an immense level of raw energy and perfectly captured the band’s sound up to that point, with Killers Maiden showed that they could match and even surpass the old guard of Sabbath, Purple, and Priest.
Like the debut, there are multiple versions of this album. The original UK version contained 10 songs (no Twilight Zone, which was the album’s lead single), the US versions included Twilight Zone, and the 1998 CD remaster also includes it but in a different position in the tracklist. Luckily, this would be the last time the US and UK versions of the albums differentiated.
Maiden Japan (1981)
(Cover for 1987 Venezuelan pressing. Was actually meant to be the original cover but Rod Smallwood rejected it because the band were looking to replace Paul)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums
The Killers tour saw Maiden expanding their audience by visiting many areas for the very first time, such as North America as an opener for Judas Priest. The band also toured Japan for the first time, a tour which was immortalized in this EP. Most people here will probably recognize the title as a pun on Deep Purple’s Made In Japan.
Maiden Japan is a solid recording, not as definitive as Live At the Rainbow but still a great piece of early Maiden. It also includes the only officially released live recording of Innocent Exile, so it is worth checking out for that alone.
Unfortunately, it’s not easy to come by an official copy of Maiden Japan. In fact it’s probably the least accessible Maiden release. It was only released on CD once, as part of the First Ten Years singles box set. Unfortunately, the original LP is probably easier to find than the CD. If it was up to me, Maiden would release the whole show in a fancy 2CD package with liner notes and memorabilia.