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Because of the huge debate going on in the thread about DT + Priest headling High Voltage 2011. I'm sure that a poll has been made sometime but it needs to be brought back up.
Just like High School Algebra. Don't just stat your answer... show your work. :)
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!! :metal :corn :metal
EDIT: people are arguing over whether this is supposed to be who is bigger or just who you like... dammit go for both
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And honestly I prefer Maiden by a slight hair. Steve Harris's basslines are so fucking epic
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I can't decide, I love them both.
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Both. The 2 greatest metal bands of all time.
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I can't split 'em. They both have many of my favourite moments in Metal and many of my top albums. Both were awesome live. Both tried new singers which didn't work and both had re-unions that whilst inevitable, weren't a patch on there old stuff for me (but I accept many people disagree).
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And honestly I prefer Maiden by a slight hair. Steve Harris's basslines are so fucking epic
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Guys, this isn't ''which band is your favorite'' poll - it's ''which band is bigger'' poll. That's what we were discussing.
And it's obviously Maiden, duh.
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This isn't even a contest.
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Iron Maiden.
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Judas Priest
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Judas Priest
You ruined it! They didn't have any votes 'till you came along.
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Two bands that shouldn't be compared. Priest musically are the better band, albums like Painkiller would make Maiden cry in their boots, and a lot of Glenn's leads run circles around Dave and Adrian. Priest are also the band who have taken risks, tried many different styles, sounds and concepts. Maiden have always played it safe.
That being said, Maiden are my all time favourite band. Their simple yet clever approach to melodic metal left its mark on me. Amazing songs, great harmonies and great bass lines and of course Bruce Dickinson.
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I did a topic like this last year, and included a member-by-member comparison as well as lyrics, etc. I've always liked Maiden a little better, but JP's best ranks right up there.
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Neither, both are incredibly dull.
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Iron Maiden has been my #1 (or at leat 1A) band growing up.
To me, the big difference is that Iron Maiden really captured my imagination. I like Priest, but but they sit in my band listings near Saxon, and a little ahead of classic Scorpions.
Priest has had some great moments, but they never really touched me. Way too inconsistent if you ask me. Maiden surely hasn't been perfect either, but they are far stronger overall.
Two bands that shouldn't be compared. Priest musically are the better band, albums like Painkiller would make Maiden cry in their boots, and a lot of Glenn's leads run circles around Dave and Adrian. Priest are also the band who have taken risks, tried many different styles, sounds and concepts. Maiden have always played it safe.
That being said, Maiden are my all time favourite band. Their simple yet clever approach to melodic metal left its mark on me. Amazing songs, great harmonies and great bass lines and of course Bruce Dickinson.
I agree with most of this. Maiden are what they are. I wouldn't call it playing it safe. And Painkiller also dwarfs anything Priest has done too, and what most metal bands have done.
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I think the debate on the DT-side was whether Priest was BIGGER than Maiden or not. i.e. more fans, more public recognition from more than just metalheads, and just more popular in general. As I said in the DT thread, in my personal experience, I've met or read about more people who know Eddie, "Run to the Hills," "Number of the Beast," and "The Trooper" than people who have even heard of "Breaking the Law." So, from what I can tell, even though Priest came first, Maiden is bigger/more popular.
That's what the debate was about, so that should be, hypothetically, the basis on which people should be voting on in this poll.
IMHO, Priest has some kickass songs, but the really early stuff seems less heavy than it should be, and Halford's voice isn't that appealing (Screaming for Vengeance is great, though). Maiden has a bunch of great songs, even though 99% of them are in the same key, a better singer, and "Powerslave," so they win out for me.
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this thread is a big FAIL. the intent was to see who everyone thinks is the BIGGER band, not which ones you prefer. but it's not obviously stated in the OP, but a few replies down... :facepalm: not to mention the unnecessary extra options.
anyway, i say Iron Maiden is bigger, now. Back in the 70s (obviously) it was Priest, and in the 80s, I'd say Priest were bigger (though not by much), since they had bigger radio hits than Maiden, and had been around longer. The 90s were bad for both bands, but i think Maiden has topped Priest in the last 10 years, having much more critically acclaimed albums in recent times, better sales, and generally better shows. Priest is still cool, since theyve gotten heavier with the times, but as someone said before me, theyre more of a nostalgia act these days. At least Maiden perform a lot of their newer stuff.
Iron Maiden for me
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Two bands that shouldn't be compared. Priest musically are the better band, albums like Painkiller would make Maiden cry in their boots, and a lot of Glenn's leads run circles around Dave and Adrian. Priest are also the band who have taken risks, tried many different styles, sounds and concepts. Maiden have always played it safe.
That being said, Maiden are my all time favourite band. Their simple yet clever approach to melodic metal left its mark on me. Amazing songs, great harmonies and great bass lines and of course Bruce Dickinson.
wut
He's a very good guitarist, but... Adrian Smith.
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I think the debate on the DT-side was whether Priest was BIGGER than Maiden or not. i.e. more fans, more public recognition from more than just metalheads, and just more popular in general. As I said in the DT thread, in my personal experience, I've met or read about more people who know Eddie, "Run to the Hills," "Number of the Beast," and "The Trooper" than people who have even heard of "Breaking the Law." So, from what I can tell, even though Priest came first, Maiden is bigger/more popular.
That's what the debate was about, so that should be, hypothetically, the basis on which people should be voting on in this poll.
IMHO, Priest has some kickass songs, but the really early stuff seems less heavy than it should be, and Halford's voice isn't that appealing (Screaming for Vengeance is great, though). Maiden has a bunch of great songs, even though 99% of them are in the same key, a better singer, and "Powerslave," so they win out for me.
damn, you beat me by a few minutes, haha. Though i did bring up some other points.
anyway i agree.
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Yeah, you did. I wasn't around in the 80s, so I had no idea that Priest were bigger than Maiden, though I can understand why they were.
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Yeah, you did. I wasn't around in the 80s, so I had no idea that Priest were bigger than Maiden, though I can understand why they were.
i mean, im only 23, but i know from research that Priest's 80s hits charted better than Maiden's, and you'll hear their music on classic rock radio a lot (at least in the NY tri-state area). Maiden songs are only on if they have a 'metal hour' or something on.
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Huh, classic rock radio rarely plays metal at all down here :lol. There's a general "rock" station in Raleigh that will play Maiden, don't recall hearing any Priest on it.
But I just use my iPod in the car anyways.
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Huh, classic rock radio rarely plays metal at all down here :lol. There's a general "rock" station in Raleigh that will play Maiden, don't recall hearing any Priest on it.
But I just use my iPod in the car anyways.
only songs like "Living After Midnight", "Breaking the Law", and "You Got Another Thing Coming". Those songs are 'rock' enough to be on classic rock radio, theyre not the most metal songs. Theyre also the bands' biggest hits.
during metal shows on the same station (Q1043, by the way, for you NY/NJ members, which i rarely listen to anymore) ive heard Painkiller, Victim of Changes, and other more metal songs of theirs. Maiden is generally only played during these shows
i only listen to my 160gb iPod these days too. 63 days worth of music should not be wasted listening to the radio :yarr
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PRIEST!
without Priest there is nothing.. Maiden was the warm up act.. always will be. Plus Halfords voice has beauty, Bruces voice never had that, never will..
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- If I were to put together a greatest hits of both bands, I think the Priest one would be much better than the Maiden one, but overall I think Maiden has a much superior volume of music.
- Maiden's more talented across the board. Les Binks was the best drummer of either band, but they fired him to hire Dave Holland. Both Nicko and Clive Burr are/were great drummers. Rob was the better singer 20 years ago, but Bruce sounds better than ever and Rob's struggling to continue. Steve Harris.
- Priest always tried to change to whatever style was popular at the time, with frequently disastrous results. While you could argue that Maiden was too safe and inflexible in their style, when they did venture away from it (AMoLaD), it was usually bad ass.
- Maiden is one of the greatest live bands you'll see. Priest was never all that exciting outside of hearing Rob's spectacular screams.
- Maiden writes cool lyrics. Priest writes about partying.
- While you can say that Priest pioneered the NWoBHM, I think Maiden perfected it. More often than not, they utilized the twin guitars better.
As much as I love Priest, I think Maiden wins out in most capacities.
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I'm a Priest fan first and foremost
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Neither, both are incredibly dull.
LOLSIGZ
Iron Maiden by miles!
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To me, to continue on EB's well said post... Maiden has the volume of music, but to me. much of it is soooo similar that I just yawn.
Priest was first, Preist has Halfords voice.. and Glen to me is the best player as far as style.
I guess seeing Maiden since Paul D was in the band on the Killers tour opeing for Priest, to me it will always be Priest. and I do not like Bruces voice nealry as much...I cant see Bruce really doing the beautiful vocals of Rob.. like last rose of summer etc..Preist is a more diverse sounding band..and Preist has the crushing sound ( think British Steel) that Maiden never really was able or wanting to do
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I cant see Bruce really doing the beautiful vocals of Rob.. like last rose of summer etc.
Amen to that. I think everyone, even though of us who greatly prefer Priest and/or Halford, would agree that Dickinson's voice has aged better than Halford's, but in his heyday, Halford was far superior, IMO. And like you said, Dickinson couldn't touch Halford when it came to doing mellower, beautiful vocals. I have never heard anything by Dickinson that can touch the sheer combined power and beauty of Halford's vocals in "Before the Dawn."
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definately Maiden
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Yeah, you did. I wasn't around in the 80s, so I had no idea that Priest were bigger than Maiden, though I can understand why they were.
If you count 1980-1982, then Priest was bigger, but Maiden owned the 80's versus Priest.
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I cant see Bruce really doing the beautiful vocals of Rob.. like last rose of summer etc.
Amen to that. I think everyone, even though of us who greatly prefer Priest and/or Halford, would agree that Dickinson's voice has aged better than Halford's, but in his heyday, Halford was far superior, IMO. And like you said, Dickinson couldn't touch Halford when it came to doing mellower, beautiful vocals. I have never heard anything by Dickinson that can touch the sheer combined power and beauty of Halford's vocals in "Before the Dawn."
Navigate the Seas of the Sun? Jerusalem?
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Yeah, you did. I wasn't around in the 80s, so I had no idea that Priest were bigger than Maiden, though I can understand why they were.
If you count 1980-1982, then Priest was bigger, but Maiden owned the 80's versus Priest.
Not according to record sales here in the states .....they were both pretty much equal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest_discography (1980-1990) 7 albums 4 plat (one 2 plat) 3 gold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest_discography (1980-1990) 8 albums 4 plat 4 gold
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I cant see Bruce really doing the beautiful vocals of Rob.. like last rose of summer etc.
Amen to that. I think everyone, even though of us who greatly prefer Priest and/or Halford, would agree that Dickinson's voice has aged better than Halford's, but in his heyday, Halford was far superior, IMO. And like you said, Dickinson couldn't touch Halford when it came to doing mellower, beautiful vocals. I have never heard anything by Dickinson that can touch the sheer combined power and beauty of Halford's vocals in "Before the Dawn."
You need to hear Blood brothers, Journeyman and Out of the shadows. Also, the intros to The Legacy and The Talisman, as well as a good chunk of Lord of light, are fine examples of the power and beauty of his lower register. Some people that are more familiar with his solo work can direct you to some other amazing tracks. But the thing is, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are just very different bands, and you can't expect to hear a melancholic love ballad like ''Before the Dawn'' when you put on a Maiden record. That's the reason why Bruce isn't experimenting with emotional vocals as much as Rob. But that doesn't mean he's not able to deliver such a performance - in fact, if you search around youtube, you'll find some amazing covers with Bruce justifying the diversity of his voice.
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I can't decide, I love them both.
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this thread is a big FAIL. the intent was to see who everyone thinks is the BIGGER band, not which ones you prefer. but it's not obviously stated in the OP, but a few replies down... :facepalm: not to mention the unnecessary extra options.
Who cares what that other thread was about? That was that thread. This is this one. You don't need a poll to show which band was bigger--you can do the research and see what the numbers say. Last time I checked, you aren't in charge of deciding what any particular thread is or is not about, so kindly take your complaining somewhere else.
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Yeah, you did. I wasn't around in the 80s, so I had no idea that Priest were bigger than Maiden, though I can understand why they were.
If you count 1980-1982, then Priest was bigger, but Maiden owned the 80's versus Priest.
Not according to record sales here in the states .....they were both pretty much equal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest_discography (1980-1990) 7 albums 4 plat (one 2 plat) 3 gold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest_discography (1980-1990) 8 albums 4 plat 4 gold
Wki, both links are the same..but I get your point. And both bands played arenas, but I don't know..the "eyeball" test tells me that Maiden was far more popular. But I'm probably not very objective.
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this thread is a big FAIL. the intent was to see who everyone thinks is the BIGGER band, not which ones you prefer. but it's not obviously stated in the OP, but a few replies down... :facepalm: not to mention the unnecessary extra options.
Who cares what that other thread was about? That was that thread. This is this one. You don't need a poll to show which band was bigger--you can do the research and see what the numbers say. Last time I checked, you aren't in charge of deciding what any particular thread is or is not about, so kindly take your complaining somewhere else.
the OP stated a few replies down from the original post, that this poll was about who is the bigger band, no necessarily preferred by the members. That is also the reason this whole topic got started.
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this thread is a big FAIL. the intent was to see who everyone thinks is the BIGGER band, not which ones you prefer. but it's not obviously stated in the OP, but a few replies down... :facepalm: not to mention the unnecessary extra options.
Who cares what that other thread was about? That was that thread. This is this one. You don't need a poll to show which band was bigger--you can do the research and see what the numbers say. Last time I checked, you aren't in charge of deciding what any particular thread is or is not about, so kindly take your complaining somewhere else.
Even if he did have a complaining tone, in darkshade's defense, the other thread was debating who was bigger, and this thread was made to take the off-topicness somewhere else...but the OPs thread seems to be about who everyone thinks is better, as opposed to some kind of observable popularity (which is more objective, IMO). Oh well. Not that big a deal anyways.
In any case, darkshade, I am not the OP. lrn2readlol
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Maiden has the volume of music, but to me. much of it is soooo similar that I just yawn.
And that's a valid criticism, but rarely did Maiden do something that just sucked. Priest's catalog is very diverse, but it's littered with bad songs and bad albums. Once you get past the first 5, they're remarkably hit & miss.
Maiden is nothing if not consistent. Honestly, I don't think they became formulaic until the last few albums. And even then, each of those have some oddball tracks that aren't even remotely their customary style.
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Yeah, you did. I wasn't around in the 80s, so I had no idea that Priest were bigger than Maiden, though I can understand why they were.
If you count 1980-1982, then Priest was bigger, but Maiden owned the 80's versus Priest.
Not according to record sales here in the states .....they were both pretty much equal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest_discography (1980-1990) 7 albums 4 plat (one 2 plat) 3 gold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest_discography (1980-1990) 8 albums 4 plat 4 gold
Wki, both links are the same..but I get your point. And both bands played arenas, but I don't know..the "eyeball" test tells me that Maiden was far more popular. But I'm probably not very objective.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden_discography my bad....Maiden merchandise definately outsold that of Priest..I mean come on who during the 80's didn't own an Eddie shirt of some kind
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In 1988, I probably could've worn a different Eddie shirt every day for about 3 weeks! :D
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I cant see Bruce really doing the beautiful vocals of Rob.. like last rose of summer etc.
Amen to that. I think everyone, even though of us who greatly prefer Priest and/or Halford, would agree that Dickinson's voice has aged better than Halford's, but in his heyday, Halford was far superior, IMO. And like you said, Dickinson couldn't touch Halford when it came to doing mellower, beautiful vocals. I have never heard anything by Dickinson that can touch the sheer combined power and beauty of Halford's vocals in "Before the Dawn."
or anything on Sad Wings of Destiny.. Robs vocals are superior in so many ways.. Bruce is very one dimensional..
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Halford sounds like a metal Neil Young on SWOD. A great album, but sometimes I'm thinking.. what's he singing to?
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Maiden has the volume of music, but to me. much of it is soooo similar that I just yawn.
And that's a valid criticism, but rarely did Maiden do something that just sucked. Priest's catalog is very diverse, but it's littered with bad songs and bad albums. Once you get past the first 5, they're remarkably hit & miss.
Maiden is nothing if not consistent. Honestly, I don't think they became formulaic until the last few albums. And even then, each of those have some oddball tracks that aren't even remotely their customary style.
Maiden plays way too safe for my liking...to me they havent changed since powerslave very much.. Id welcome the "hit and miss" and when Maiden writes a song that hits as hard at STEELER, then I will elevate them
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In 1988, I probably could've worn a different Eddie shirt every day for about 3 weeks! :D
And I dont doubt that for a minute :tup
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In 1988, I probably could've worn a different Eddie shirt every day for about 3 weeks! :D
I bet you probably wore the same Eddie shirty every day for 3 weeks.. :biggrin:
Halford sounds like a metal Neil Young on SWOD. A great album, but sometimes I'm thinking.. what's he singing to?
Actually, that's what I like about his vocals on SWOD. He's sort of in a middle ground between hippie/hard rock vocals and developing that distinct metal style of his. I think Halford was very much influenced by the Neil Young folky side of things as evidenced by covers like Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez, Better By You, Better Than Me by Spooky Tooth and Green Manalishi by Fleetwood Mac.
edit: 3 AMAZING covers, I should add
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In 1988, I probably could've worn a different Eddie shirt every day for about 3 weeks! :D
I bet you probably wore the same Eddie shirty every day for 3 weeks.. :biggrin:
I'm sure it happened! :lol
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I love how some one keeps saying I said this was about who is bigger. I even stated that I prefer Maiden over Priest... which would mean the direction of the thread was leaning towards favourites and not with "how big they are" (giggity).
go ahead and argue both. Its all good. Just be nice
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Its not about who is bigger, as how is bigger defined.?
its about who is better, more influencial, and subjectively makes better music.
to me the nod again goes to JUDAS, as without Judas taking Maiden out on the killers tour, who knows if Maiden would have been so accepted, remember that JUDAS took Maiden out on a few tours, it got the point that we only thought of them as "Judas's opener" remember there were lots of rock/quasi metal bands( Saxon) that would have sold their soul for that opening gig...most metal bands failed, Maiden was not nearly as mind blowing back then..Paul I thought was a more interesting front man..his voice seemed to allow the band to show through better, Bruce to me was them trying to get their own Halford..
Plus: Rob was larger then life.. he was magic, his presence was unreal.. his voice was mind numbing. I remember being at the Paladium in NYC( 1980?) and when he brought the bike out we thought the building was going to cave in, he OWNED.
Bruce just ran around howling in comparison..
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Two problems there. For one thing, opening for Priest really had nothing to do with most of their popularity. They were already signed with a major label and quite popular in the Uk. Their US success was more the result of Run to the Hills and Trooper/Flight of Icarus. Their world-wide popularity is the culmination of a shitload of touring over the years.
The other thing is that it wouldn't matter if they did owe their success to Priest. The topic isn't who was better in 1979. I'd say that Maiden surpassed them in nearly every way over the last 30 years. Priest was an awesome band for about 10 years then fizzled out. Maiden's more popular now than ever.
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Iron Maiden :birch:
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Both have had a massive influence on metal, both have gained a huge popularity for a reason, and I love both for different reasons. Can't choose.
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Maiden
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Plus: Rob was larger then life.. he was magic, his presence was unreal.. his voice was mind numbing. I remember being at the Paladium in NYC( 1980?) and when he brought the bike out we thought the building was going to cave in, he OWNED.
Listening to the 11/4/79 Palladium show right now! :metal
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These days, Maiden are definitely bigger than Priest. I know a ton of people who are moderate to hardcore IM fans, whereas with Priest, while I certainly know people who have an album or some songs on their MP3 player, I don't know anyone who specifically claims to be a Judas Priest fan.
I like both, but Iron Maiden are definitely bigger now. Here in Canada, I think IM have always been bigger.
Looking at their discographies, Canadian certifications (studio albums only);
Iron Maiden: 3 Multi-platinum, 5 Platinum, 3 Gold
Judas Priest: 0 Multi-platinum, 3 Platinum, 3 Gold
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Iron Maiden played arenas in the early/mid 80s.
Iron Maiden still plays those same arenas.
Judas Priest has been recently playing multi-thousand venues, not multi-ten thousand venues.
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Two problems there. For one thing, opening for Priest really had nothing to do with most of their popularity. They were already signed with a major label and quite popular in the Uk. Their US success was more the result of Run to the Hills and Trooper/Flight of Icarus. Their world-wide popularity is the culmination of a shitload of touring over the years.
The other thing is that it wouldn't matter if they did owe their success to Priest. The topic isn't who was better in 1979. I'd say that Maiden surpassed them in nearly every way over the last 30 years. Priest was an awesome band for about 10 years then fizzled out. Maiden's more popular now than ever.
I agree... but history will be the final judge ;), Maiden is obviously very popular as this poll shows..
but which will history say was the better... I know there is no real answer.. sorta a Beatles vs Stones debate
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Two problems there. For one thing, opening for Priest really had nothing to do with most of their popularity. They were already signed with a major label and quite popular in the Uk. Their US success was more the result of Run to the Hills and Trooper/Flight of Icarus. Their world-wide popularity is the culmination of a shitload of touring over the years.
The other thing is that it wouldn't matter if they did owe their success to Priest. The topic isn't who was better in 1979. I'd say that Maiden surpassed them in nearly every way over the last 30 years. Priest was an awesome band for about 10 years then fizzled out. Maiden's more popular now than ever.
I agree... but history will be the final judge ;), Maiden is obviously very popular as this poll shows..
but which will history say was the better... I know there is no real answer.. sorta a Beatles vs Stones debate
Except that the Beatles are obviously way better than the Stones, whereas Maiden and Priest are both awesome.
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Plus: Rob was larger then life.. he was magic, his presence was unreal.. his voice was mind numbing. I remember being at the Paladium in NYC( 1980?) and when he brought the bike out we thought the building was going to cave in, he OWNED.
Listening to the 11/4/79 Palladium show right now! :metal
:metal I didnt even know that show can be had..wow
was Maiden the opener on that show? I think it might be the actual show!!
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Two bands that shouldn't be compared. Priest musically are the better band, albums like Painkiller would make Maiden cry in their boots, and a lot of Glenn's leads run circles around Dave and Adrian. Priest are also the band who have taken risks, tried many different styles, sounds and concepts. Maiden have always played it safe.
That being said, Maiden are my all time favourite band. Their simple yet clever approach to melodic metal left its mark on me. Amazing songs, great harmonies and great bass lines and of course Bruce Dickinson.
wut
He's a very good guitarist, but... Adrian Smith.
Don't get me wrong, I'd probably rank Adrian higher than Glenn, but technically, Glenn is a better guitarist.
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The only thing Priest has over Maiden is hit radio singles in constant rotation. I used to own JP's entire discography but could really only listen to a select few albums because most of them just weren't that interesting. IM on the other hand has their entire 80's output that I enjoy and only stunk in the 90s. I don't care for their last 3 albums because only then did they start to REALLY sound samey, but their older material kicks the shit out of every thing JP has done. So JP may be bigger in the mainstream sense, but IM owns them in the Metal world.
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To me Maiden >>> JP
Just seems like JP has always had really old thin sound. Maiden sure has it too on the earlier albums but it got a lot better really fast.
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Regardless of history or influence, there is no doubt that right now, Maiden are the bigger band by far. Both are household names, everybody has heard of them, so the only difference is the size of the fanbase, and Maiden's is simply bigger and more dedicated these days.
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out of these bands Halford remains the true star of both bands, he is unrivaled as the METAL GOD!
anyone who saw the bands in the 80s would have no doubts. to me Maidens star is Harris, and to me again the songs are written around his bass style. I also am not a big fan of History lessens and Warlocks in my Metal..
what song would the Maiden fan consider to rival Steeler ?
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Powerslave.
I don't even know Steeler. But that's my answer.
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out of these bands Halford remains the true star of both bands, he is unrivaled as the METAL GOD!
anyone who saw the bands in the 80s would have no doubts. to me Maidens star is Harris, and to me again the songs are written around his bass style. I also am not a big fan of History lessens and Warlocks in my Metal..
what song would the Maiden fan consider to rival Steeler ?
Rapid Fire would have been a better example. Steeler's a good song, but it's not what I'd consider indicative of what Priest did so well. Rapid Fire's an onslaught.
However, the point is meaningless since they're really not similar bands. Trying to compare them at the song level isn't going to get anywhere. I could ask for a Priest song that compares to Powerslave and you wouldn't find one.
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out of these bands Halford remains the true star of both bands, he is unrivaled as the METAL GOD!
anyone who saw the bands in the 80s would have no doubts. to me Maidens star is Harris, and to me again the songs are written around his bass style. I also am not a big fan of History lessens and Warlocks in my Metal..
what song would the Maiden fan consider to rival Steeler ?
Rapid Fire would have been a better example. Steeler's a good song, but it's not what I'd consider indicative of what Priest did so well. Rapid Fire's an onslaught.
However, the point is meaningless since they're really not similar bands. Trying to compare them at the song level isn't going to get anywhere. I could ask for a Priest song that compares to Powerslave and you wouldn't find one.
FUN FACT: I threw up during the song Powerslave on the Powerslave tour... Steve Harris's bass line vibrated it out of me
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That's a good point, Barto. Priest has a lot more "hard rock" in them than Metal. More lyrics about partying, more 8th-note chords chugging away, that sort of stuff, while Maiden seems to have a heavier sound and, of course, the gallop while singing about history or ripping off popular fiction.
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EB,
good points you make!! they are not similar... Rapid Fire is off the chart. my point is that Maiden just doesnt ever really rip it up and smash it down like some Priests tune. IM songs are more story time , long, meandering...
Preist is like recess at school, a 500hp muscle car.your first game of spin the bottle LOL, beautiful
Maiden is more like a history class, long ..interesting, fun at times, some monsters, Halloween..and thinking " whats this scary movie all about"? Bruce just doesnt do it for me.. I appreciate him.. but..its like the ole " we are smarter then you attitude" Ive met him and he is a nice guy.. but thats the persona I get off his music and antics..I know he can fly a plane..he is mr wonderful..LOL
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Eh? I'd say songs like "Killers," "Aces High," "The Wicker Man," and "The Trooper," just to name a few, rip it up just as much as Priest tunes can. But remember, for every "Painkiller," there are five "Pain for Pleasures." :) Also, I've never seen any sign that Bruce has a huge ego or suffers from some kind of pretentiousness. Same goes for all of Maiden, actually.
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I spent a few minutes looking for Maiden's answer to Rapid Fire (as a fine example of Priest's power), and had a pretty tough go at it. Although there are a few. The best I came up with was Be Quick or Be Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg_wJSPX-E0).
However, the important thing here is that Maiden absolutely can write songs with that level of aggression, while Priest isn't rally capable of writing the more contemplative songs that Maiden is known for. Again, it's apples and oranges, but I think Maiden is much more capable of playing Priest's game than vice versa.
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I think the thing that seperated Maiden from the rest of the field is that they've never really used that "razor" type guitar riff. They just don't have that "sound".
Bart, you're right about Be Quick Or Br Dead. I was thinking about that. I might also include other tracks like Where Eagles Dare, Aces High, and Montesegeur.
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I think the thing that seperated Maiden from the rest of the field is that they've never really used that "razor" type guitar riff. They just don't have that "sound".
Bart, you're right about Be Quick Or Br Dead. I was thinking about that. I might also include other tracks like Where Eagles Dare, Aces High, and Montesegeur.
Oh man, forgot about that song in my last post. One of my favs from DoD.
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I spent a few minutes looking for Maiden's answer to Rapid Fire (as a fine example of Priest's power), and had a pretty tough go at it. Although there are a few. The best I came up with was Be Quick or Be Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg_wJSPX-E0).
However, the important thing here is that Maiden absolutely can write songs with that level of aggression, while Priest isn't rally capable of writing the more contemplative songs that Maiden is known for. Again, it's apples and oranges, but I think Maiden is much more capable of playing Priest's game than vice versa.
great post..
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this thread is a big FAIL. the intent was to see who everyone thinks is the BIGGER band, not which ones you prefer. but it's not obviously stated in the OP, but a few replies down... :facepalm: not to mention the unnecessary extra options.
Who cares what that other thread was about? That was that thread. This is this one. You don't need a poll to show which band was bigger--you can do the research and see what the numbers say. Last time I checked, you aren't in charge of deciding what any particular thread is or is not about, so kindly take your complaining somewhere else.
Even if he did have a complaining tone, in darkshade's defense, the other thread was debating who was bigger, and this thread was made to take the off-topicness somewhere else...but the OPs thread seems to be about who everyone thinks is better, as opposed to some kind of observable popularity (which is more objective, IMO). Oh well. Not that big a deal anyways.
In any case, darkshade, I am not the OP. lrn2readlol
its all good. i was just trying to help make aware the original purpose of this thread
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I think the thing that seperated Maiden from the rest of the field is that they've never really used that "razor" type guitar riff. They just don't have that "sound".
Bart, you're right about Be Quick Or Br Dead. I was thinking about that. I might also include other tracks like Where Eagles Dare, Aces High, and Montesegeur.
Aces High I'd say is a good call..
I loved that Priest won a Grammy the other year for Dissadent Agressor.. :metal
finally after 4 other nominations they finally got one!!
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Over all, this is a very tough call, as I have loved both of these bands for years, to say nothing of the influence they have had on the metal genre. Honestly, though, the way I think of it is like this:
I'll take Priest at their best over Maiden any day. As much as I love Maiden, the really good Priest albums, Like Painkiller, Defenders, and Stained Class, are far and away better then anything Maiden has ever done, IMO. However, Priest certainly has their WTF moments, and, sadly, they've had many of them. For every Painkiller, there is a Turbo; and for every DotF, there is a Demolition. While I prefer it when a band takes musical risks and tries something new with every album (which is a big part of why I like Dream Theater so much), that really only works if the end result is actually something good. Turbo is a perfect example of this: The title track is awesome, and if the whole album sounded that good, it would have been a fantastic record. But after that, it just becomes 80's glam 101, and while the songs aren't really bad per se, they aren't really anything special. Or take 2001's Demolition. I find it ironic that Priest actually managed to make a pretty decent album without Halford when they did Jugulator, and by and large, alot of the new things they were doing on that album worked. So they actually succeeded where Maiden and so many others had failed with a new vocalist, only to throw it all away with a lackluster follow up. Demolition was a mess of styles and creativity, as if Glenn and KK had no idea of how they wanted to "modernize" the classic Judas Priest sound, even though they had already attained that on Jugulator.
Iron Maiden, on the other hand, has never really changed that much over the past 35 years, and despite going through their ups and downs, it has worked for them. The biggest musical sin they committed was not picking a Dickenson wannabe when Bruce left the band (like Priest had done with Ripper, who actually could do the Halford material justice live). Other then that relatively minor stumble in the mid 90's, though, Maiden's career has been surprisingly solid, and for good reason. Like AC/DC, Maiden found a musical formula that works for them and their fans, and they stuck with it. As much as I love it when bands try something new, there is something to be said for sticking to your roots, and while I may not feel that Maiden has as many "classic" albums as Priest, I know I can pop in any Maiden record and enjoy it. Every musical genre needs a constant, something that is always there and never changes, and Iron Maiden is probably the biggest constant in metal (Motorhead is probably a close second). With Priest, its more hit or miss.
I guess what I am getting at here is that as much as I love Priest and respect them for what they've done for metal (and in all honesty, they do deserve more respect and credit for making metal what it is today then Maiden), taking their discographies as a whole, Maiden has been more consistent in the quality of music they put out, and as such, have an overall higher proportion of quality material. When the history of metal is written, I believe metalheads of the future will look back more favorably on Maiden then on Priest because of that unwavering devotion to their stylistic roots and relatively consistent artistic excellence. They will no doubt fondly look upon the the peaks of Priest's career as well, but they will find little to admire in the valleys that lie between them. So for that reason, I vote for Iron Maiden as the overall better band.
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Maiden fucking eats Priest for breakfast.
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I like both bands, but I choose Iron Maiden far and away. Iron Maiden makes my top 10 bands and Judas Priest doesn't come close to cracking the top 20 (I only keep track of the top 20). Iron Maiden I can listen to any time and love it. Judas Priest is the kind of band that I have to be in the mood to listen to (and that doesn't happen all that frequently).
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Maiden fucking eats Priest for breakfast.
DUDE, WTF?
I mean it's okay that you prefer Maiden and I can see why would you, but from that to eating the Priest for breakfast, COME ON.
I personally prefer Judas Priest, but as I've said, I can see why Maiden is the favorite. A more consistent discography, better shows nowadays, great songwriters all over their career.
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Does the fact that Judas are going to be doin a Farewell tour hinder the results?
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Maiden fucking eats Priest for breakfast.
DUDE, WTF?
I mean it's okay that you prefer Maiden and I can see why would you, but from that to eating the Priest for breakfast, COME ON.
God forbid we use hyperbole to express our opinions. I agree with Gadough.
@Ben: Are you saying they hinder the results in favor of Priest or in favor of Maiden? If anything they should be hindering them in favor of Priest, but 1. that doesn't seem to be the case and 2. I didn't even know Priest were doing a farewell tour until I read that JP interview. Basically I don't know what you're trying to say, sorry.
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According to poll results (Maiden is winning by a massive landslide) this place is like the second Iron Maiden forum (besides being the second Rush forum). :biggrin:
I have to pick Maiden too, but JP is definitely not far behind.
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Maiden fucking eats Priest for breakfast.
, lunch and dinner.
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I love Priest, but c'mon...Maiden is number one.
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I think this tread was before my time, but let me weigh in:
Maiden, and it's not even close.
Don't get me wrong, I love Priest. I think Halford is one of the greatest metal singers EVER ("Run Of The Mill" is incomprehensible to me how a human can sing all that). I think Tipton and Downing are good, and while it's unpopular to say, I really liked Dave Holland's drumming. Ian Hill was great on the two songs he played on (the aforementioned Run of the Mill, and The Rage). I used to sing two Priest songs in my band (United and Living After Midnight). But I think they're just a shade too cartoon-y for me. I'm not really down (and never was, so it's not age) with the whole "METTLE GOD" thing. This is hard to articulate without examples but I think there's a more calculatedness about Priest. I can remember interviews where they talked about "the management" and I remember Glenn making a point that "they don't play to their ultimate capability in Priest" and it just screamed of... "product". On the remasters, the studio songs were "recorded during the earlier years of our career" and the live songs were "recorded live during one of our many world tours" or something like that. It took fans about nine minutes to figure out that all the live songs were from I think three heavily bootlegged, heavily distributed live shows. Contrast with Maiden where they write songs about Rod and Dave just says "I don't know, I just fuckin' play, man." All their albums have versions with complete b-sides and every live song has a name, place and date to it.
I know this sounds petty, but the devil is in the details. There's no bullshit with Maiden. It is what it is.
For me, Dickinson is the greatest metal (and I might say "rock") frontman in history, and I just kind of like Steve Harris' straightforward approach to things. He carries the flag for metal - I don't think there's ANYONE that would say he's not steadfast in his allegiance to his music - but does it in a more... everyman sort of way. I also prefer the more melodic approach to soloing from Dave Murray (I don't think I can name any KK or Glenn solo quite like, say, Another Life).
Full disclosure, my first concert ever was Priest on the Screaming tour with Maiden (on the Beast tour) opening. It literally changed my life. That 45 minutes of Maiden was like nothing I've ever seen. I can't really remember it now, it's more a feeling and an impression, but it was something else.
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This thread is back from the dead!
8 years and nothing has changed for me Maiden > Priest all day every day.
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Maiden, easily. But over the last decade or so, I've really become a Judas Priest fan. So technically, both, but I like Iron Maiden more.
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These are surprising results. I voted for Maiden, but 78-11?! Wow.
I guess it's just because Priest had twice as may albums as Maiden when I first got into both bands (after Piece of Mind and Screaming for Vengeance, but before Powerslave and Defenders of the Faith), I always viewed Priest as more of an "older" band. Priest albums always had a few skippable tracks, and certainly more than Maiden. Priest was also more overtly blues-based than Maiden. Also,
Halford > Dickinson >> Di'Anno
Murray/Smith = Tipton/Downing
Harris >>>>> Hill (this is particularly important because I've always been drawn to bands with strong bass players)
McBain >> Downing (although Travis > McBain)
All that puts Maiden on top, but it's not by a wide margin.
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Heh, when this popped back up I started reading back from the beginning (I'd forgotten that EPICVIEW posted outside of PR :lol). Now I'm at the restart 9 years later and people are making the exact same comments. Some things never change.
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:lol
And these results are not surprising.
Judas Priest are starting to play theaters or need another big name to play the amphitheaters here in the states while IM are still selling out arenas on their own. JP just aren't as popular with younger people like IM are. I'm not a JP fan, but I understand their recent output was fairly popular with their fans, but they don't have 20 years of consistency like IM do since the 99 reunion. Its why IM have a huge fan base of the next generation of metal fans where as JP do not.
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35 years ago this poll would be much closer ( and done with pencil and paper , lol ). Couple tokes of good stuff and " To Tame A Land " through a decent stereo settled this discussion on a few occasions for me ( regarding who is " better " ). Priest was the more popular band in my area by far however.
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:lol
And these results are not surprising.
Judas Priest are starting to play theaters or need another big name to play the amphitheaters here in the states while IM are still selling out arenas on their own. JP just aren't as popular with younger people like IM are. I'm not a JP fan, but I understand their recent output was fairly popular with their fans, but they don't have 20 years of consistency like IM do since the 99 reunion. Its why IM have a huge fan base of the next generation of metal fans where as JP do not.
Why do you think that is? Lineup changes? The material? The fact that Rob is older and - no disrespect - maybe isn't holding up as well as Bruce?
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If we want to compare reunions:
Iron Maiden:
20 years, five studio albums with various degrees of acclaim but no real turd, constant touring alternating album tours and classic tours, no line up chganges.
Judas Priest:
16 years, four studio albums with a very controversial one (I love it but let's face it, I'm in the vast minority), and just regular tours with the only exception being the farewell tour except it wasn't, and one key member retiring and now a second one forced to step down by health issues.
Also, Maiden always played the shit out of new albums and one in its entirety, while Priest just went along with the usual 3-4 new songs routine and then all classics.
I think Iron Maiden managed to create fans in the third millennium while Priest just carry on with their older ones. Of course there are tons of young Priest fans but they didn't even come close to how Maiden managed to reinvigorate and sustain a whole new fanbase.
BTW, I like a LOT Judas Priest, I've always enjoyed their live shows, but when it's a match against Iron Maiden....... Maiden win by a gigantic landslide.
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As a more relatively younger guy that didn't see Priest or Maiden in the 80s, I would have to say Maiden by a distance. It's for reasons that's already explained. It's quite telling when I decided to pass on a Groupon deal for Judas Priest and Deep Purple at the local amphitheater for around $35.00 or so for a nosebleed seat, but for Iron Maiden's upcoming show in LA in a larger venue, it was a no brainer at all to spend $70 (fees included) on Ticketmaster for a nosebleed seat for one of their classic tour sets. I would always prefer new album tours > classic, but at this point, who knows when Maiden will come back to LA anyway?
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Both bands are in the Big 4 along with Sabbath and Metallica. I go through phases - sometimes I’m in the mood for Priest’s more concise, harder-hitting approach and sometimes I’m in the mood for the epicness of Maiden. I slightly prefer Maiden in general but in the past 6 months it’s been mostly JP due to the release of Firepower, and me wanting to back to stuff I rarely listened to like Rocka Rolla. But it’s like choosing between 2 kids right? Between the two bands they’ve written dozens of the best songs to ever grace a metal album. Almost impossible to create a combined top-ten list of songs.
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Both bands are in the Big 4 along with Sabbath and Metallica. I go through phases - sometimes I’m in the mood for Priest’s more concise, harder-hitting approach and sometimes I’m in the mood for the epicness of Maiden. I slightly prefer Maiden in general but in the past 6 months it’s been mostly JP due to the release of Firepower, and me wanting to back to stuff I rarely listened to like Rocka Rolla. But it’s like choosing between 2 kids right? Between the two bands they’ve written dozens of the best songs to ever grace a metal album. Almost impossible to create a combined top-ten list of songs.
Well, the Big Four are Sabbath, Purple, Maiden, and Priest, but that's a quibble. Even Lars will tell you that (he said as much in the induction speech for Purple into the Rock Hall, though he had a "Big 3" of Purple, Sabbath, and Zeppelin).
By the way, anyone else think Rocka Rolla is an EXCELLENT album? I've been threatening a Priest discography for a while now, and I think some people will be stunned how high on the list is Rocka Rolla (and what it's higher than).
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Rocka Roll is a damn fine album, and one of the better debuts. I just think some are thrown because it is so different from what they became. It is more of a hard rock album than a metal one.
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I think the later half of Rocka rolla is incredibly strong and it's a good album overall. Run of the mill might be a top 5 Priest song for me. Also, I love that album cover. :lol
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Well, the Big Four are Sabbath, Purple, Maiden, and Priest, but that's a quibble. Even Lars will tell you that (he said as much in the induction speech for Purple into the Rock Hall, though he had a "Big 3" of Purple, Sabbath, and Zeppelin).
Deep Purple is not heavy metal, same with Zeppelin. Big Four of British heavy metal are Sabs, Maiden, Priest and Motorhead.
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Well, the Big Four are Sabbath, Purple, Maiden, and Priest, but that's a quibble. Even Lars will tell you that (he said as much in the induction speech for Purple into the Rock Hall, though he had a "Big 3" of Purple, Sabbath, and Zeppelin).
Deep Purple is not heavy metal, same with Zeppelin. Big Four of British heavy metal are Sabs, Maiden, Priest and Motorhead.
I don't know if there's an official big 4 of british metal, but I'd put Def Leppard over Motorhead personally. Although if Deep Purple aren't metal, and I get it, they might not be (although they inspired many metal bands that would come) then maybe Def Leppard isn't so much metal either. I just think Def Leppard is a bigger and better band than Motorhead essentially. (the better part is my opinion, I dont think theres any doubt who is bigger between those two)
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Well, the Big Four are Sabbath, Purple, Maiden, and Priest, but that's a quibble. Even Lars will tell you that (he said as much in the induction speech for Purple into the Rock Hall, though he had a "Big 3" of Purple, Sabbath, and Zeppelin).
Deep Purple is not heavy metal, same with Zeppelin. Big Four of British heavy metal are Sabs, Maiden, Priest and Motorhead.
If you listen to Lemmy, neither is Motorhead. He hated being called that (and musically, I think he was on to something).
EDIT: I think Cram is on to something, with the Deep Purple. No, I get it, you listen to, say, Woman From Tokyo and there is almost zero metal in there, but to his point, there's not a metal player out there that wasn't in some form or fashion influenced by them. Bruce Dickinson - the greatest metal front man in history, in my opinion, yes, over Dio and Halford - swears on the bible that is "Deep Purple In Rock". Dio, obviously, was affiliated with the Purple universe (via Rainbow) but what people don't realize is that he (in Elf) opened for Purple early on, worked with Glover on side projects before leaving Elf, and several of the Elf guy went on to work with Ian Gillan in later incarnations of his solo work. They were HEAVILY influenced by the Mark II Purple. Don't even get me started on Blackmore's influence; I know I'm biased (he's my favorite musician of all time, ever) but I put him in the same league - in terms of INFLUENCE - as Hendrix, Van Halen, Page and Iommi. (Interesting tidbit that's not really related to this idea: there's a very similar riff that appears in Zeppelin (Dazed And Confused), Sabbath (Iron Man) and Purple (Highway Star)).
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I don't know if there's an official big 4 of british metal, but I'd put Def Leppard over Motorhead personally. Although if Deep Purple aren't metal, and I get it, they might not be (although they inspired many metal bands that would come) then maybe Def Leppard isn't so much metal either. I just think Def Leppard is a bigger and better band than Motorhead essentially. (the better part is my opinion, I dont think theres any doubt who is bigger between those two)
I can't imagine ever calling Def Leppard a metal band. Granted, how bands are labeled sometimes changes over time - Blue Oyster Cult was often called metal back in the 70's, but never is anymore - but aside from being thrown into the "hair metal" pile in the later 80's (a subgenre that was more rock than metal in actuality), was Def Leppard even called metal back in the day?
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I see the whole this is metal / this is not metal thing as something that needs to be put into context with the time.
As an example, take the "tallest buildings in the world" list. Once it was the Great Pyramid. Then the Washington Monument I believe, and then a german church. By now it's all super skyscrapers, dwarfing what were once the tallest buildings.
Look at the London Skyline, there's a load of supertall skyscrapers, who almost cast a shadow on the famous St. Paul Cathedral which has a huge, tall circular dome. Is the St. Paul Cathedral a tall building or not? well, sure it is, but now our definition of "tall" has been redefined by giant skyscrapers.
The labels with heavy rock and the likes is the same. Deep Purple were "metal" back in their age, where "metal" replaces "heavier than the rest at the time". Then the actual heavy metal bands arrived and put into context the definition of what heavy was, and of course we realize that Iron Maiden is heavier than Deep Purple. But back when there was no Maiden, to the average listener the riff of Smoke in the Water sounded pretty heavy than most anything.
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was Def Leppard even called metal back in the day?
you mean aside from being considered one of the lead bands of the NWOBHM? :lol
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Right.
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That’s true, at least for their debut. But they quickly lost their edge, had Mutt Lange write their songs, and til this day deny the metal label. Some great rock songs though.
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High n Dry is still one of my all time favorite albums. There aren't many better than that.
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Voted just to see the current standings. Total Maiden fan here - though only since mid-2000s. I was never really in to metal prior to this. Like some Priest songs. Own a Greatest Hits CD and like it quite a bit. Just don't connect with them the way I did with Maiden after giving their Greatest Hits a spin.
High n Dry is a phenomenal album.
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Yea High n Dry is my favorite DL album, and yea my only reason of even considering them as a metal band is because of their beginnings in NWOBHM.
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They were absolutely metal, for about four years or so. I can remember (give me a break I was 15 and there was no internet) being at my first concert - Priest/Maiden, New Haven Coliseum - and the guy in front of us had a High 'n' Dry shirt on. We were quizzing him about when they would be coming on tour (and arguing whether that was Rob Halford on the album cover!). Tom Allom - producer of Lep's first record - was the producer for Priest, and even Lange at that point was coming off AC/DC, not Shania Twain. They were in the same league - at that point - as Priest and Maiden.
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was Def Leppard even called metal back in the day?
you mean aside from being considered one of the lead bands of the NWOBHM? :lol
Okay, but that catchy acronym aside, people really called them metal? Like, heavy metal?
Saying they were metal because they were part of the NWOBHM is like saying Europe and Bon Jovi were metal because they were placed in the hair metal subgenre.
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was Def Leppard even called metal back in the day?
you mean aside from being considered one of the lead bands of the NWOBHM? :lol
Okay, but that catchy acronym aside, people really called them metal? Like, heavy metal?
Yes. That is what was considered metal at the time.
Saying they were metal because they were part of the NWOBHM is like saying Europe and Bon Jovi were metal because they were placed in the hair metal subgenre.
Yes. Correct again.
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:lol yes, agreed Bosk. It's easy today to say hey they aren't metal, but (and I was only born in 84) from my understanding, that music WAS considered metal back then like Mirrormask stated.
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To further go into the irony of this - the other day on FB I saw reposted an ad about the first italian tour of Black Sabbath, and they were labeled something along the lines of "the most intriguing pop band of the moment".
Everyone laughed in the comments, but some users commented that back then, "pop" was a generic umbrella term for anything that wasn't classical music (or something along those lines), so for lack of better definitions and sub-divisions, Sabbath were generically labeled "pop".
Don't know if this is true actually but they seemed pretty convincing, and anyway this explanation makes more sense than promoters not knowing what pop and rock were.
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:lol yes, agreed Bosk. It's easy today to say hey they aren't metal, but (and I was only born in 84) from my understanding, that music WAS considered metal back then like Mirrormask stated.
Fair enough, but things change over time, and I doubt most would call them metal now. They were not more rocking/heavier than Rush or Blue Oyster Cult, both of whom were also called metal at times back then, but rarely are anymore. We have the benefit of perspective now.
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back
in
the
day
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Ok that was too much. Sorry kev.
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Because of your sig, I read that as "back in the day Winger would be better!" :rollin :rollin
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:lol yes, agreed Bosk. It's easy today to say hey they aren't metal, but (and I was only born in 84) from my understanding, that music WAS considered metal back then like Mirrormask stated.
Fair enough, but things change over time, and I doubt most would call them metal now. They were not more rocking/heavier than Rush or Blue Oyster Cult, both of whom were also called metal at times back then, but rarely are anymore. We have the benefit of perspective now.
Yea I dont disagree. Things change and most people consider Def Leppard some form of rock and not specifically metal these days but you also just can't ignore their beginnings when you look at them at a whole. Their latest singles aren't that far off from being some form of 80s metal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB7BeKwoYAs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB7BeKwoYAs) .
I think the difference though between them and say Deep Purple is that future generations of metal heads are less likely to say they were influenced by Def Leppard. Deep Purple had a huge influence on metal in the future.
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even called metal back in the day?
Very much so - and particularly prior to the release of Hysteria.
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35 years ago this poll would be much closer ( and done with pencil and paper , lol ). Couple tokes of good stuff and " To Tame A Land " through a decent stereo settled this discussion on a few occasions for me ( regarding who is " better " ). Priest was the more popular band in my area by far however.
This thread started well before my time but as I read it starting with the most recent posts and working my way back I came across this post from max_security and had a similar thought – depending on when you compared the two bands you might make a different decision regarding which one was bigger than you might do today.
I decided to look at both bands discographies chronologically and compare the highest chart positions of their albums. The reason I chose this metric is that the data is easy to find and tabulate and it gives some insight into how much excitement each band were able to generate in their fan base at the time.
Full disclosure time. Until DT arrived I considered Iron Maiden to be my favorite band. I became a fan just before the release of Live After Death. I have most of their albums. I have two versions of their biography, Running Free and have seen them live six times – three times during the classic era and three times during the reunion era.
My older brother was a big Judas Priest fan so I was aware of them and liked a lot of what I heard. My Priest CD collection extends from Hell Bent For Leather (Killing Machine) to Turbo. I had Ram It Down on cassette back in the day but it never got upgraded to CD. I also have the three CD greatest hits collection released in 2008. Outside of the CD’s I own I have not heard ANY of the other Priest albums in full and have not heard any of the re-union era material except for what’s on the greatest hits CD. I have not seen Judas Priest in concert but I did see Rob Halford when he opened for Iron Maiden in the early 2000’s.
I initially was only going to show album chart data from the UK since both these bands originated there. However, living in the US I found the data for the UK really didn’t match my own perceptions of the success of Judas Priest here in the US so I included the US data as well. I know the DTF is a global community and I don’t want other members to feel that data from their home counties were not important to include. Feel free to tabulate data and post with our observations / perceptions.
Lastly, I’m breaking my response up into a few posts covering each decade due to the editing involved in getting the table data to look correct. (I've learned more about BBC code than I really ever wanted to!)
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1974 --------------------- --- --- 1974 Rocka Rolla --- ---
1976 --------------------- --- --- 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny 48 ---
1977 --------------------- --- --- 1977 Sin After Sin 23 ---
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Stained Class 27 173
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Hell Bent For Leather 32 128
1979 --------------------- --- --- 1979 Unleashed in the East 10 70
JP released five studio albums in the 70’s and finished the decade off with the live album, Unleashed in the East. Unleashed was their highest charting album to date and its chart position reflects the culmination of their efforts and the success that they were able to achieve.
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35 years ago this poll would be much closer ( and done with pencil and paper , lol ). Couple tokes of good stuff and " To Tame A Land " through a decent stereo settled this discussion on a few occasions for me ( regarding who is " better " ). Priest was the more popular band in my area by far however.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1974 --------------------- --- --- 1974 Rocka Rolla --- ---
1976 --------------------- --- --- 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny 48 ---
1977 --------------------- --- --- 1977 Sin After Sin 23 ---
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Stained Class 27 173
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Hell Bent For Leather 32 128
1979 --------------------- --- --- 1979 Unleashed in the East 10 70
JP released five studio albums in the 70’s and finished the decade off with the live album, Unleashed in the East. Unleashed was their highest charting album to date and its chart position reflects the culmination of their efforts and the success that they were able to achieve.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1980 Iron Maiden 4 -- 1980 British Steel 4 34
1981 Killers 12 78 1981 Point of Entry 14 39
1982 The Number Of The Beast 1 33 1982 Screaming For Vengeance 11 17
1983 Piece Of Mind 3 14 1983 --------------------- -- --
1984 Powerslave 2 21 1984 Defenders Of The Faith 19 18
1985 Live After Death 2 19 1985 --------------------- -- --
1986 Somewhere In Time 3 11 1986 Turbo 33 17
1987 ------------------------ -- -- 1987 Priest...Live! 47 38
1988 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 1 12 1988 Ram It Down 24 31
1989 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the closest these bands were to each other in terms of popularity occurred in the 80’s.
Iron Maiden dominated the UK, only Killers didn’t reach into the top 5. Priest did better in the UK during this period than they did in the 70’s but they never came close to what Iron Maiden did.
Both bands achieved some level of success in the US market during this time. The success of Priest’s trifecta of Screaming For Vengeance, Defenders Of The Faith and Turbo allowed them to continue to fill large venues and remain popular. (They regularly played the 20K seat sports arena near where I lived)
Iron Maiden laid the foundation with The Number Of The Beast and then followed up with Piece Of Mind and then Powerslave. By the time Powerslave came out they were on equal footing with Priest in terms of popularity. From Piece Of Mind on Iron Maiden would headline the same 20K seat venue that Priest were playing here in my town.
Somewhere In Time charted better than Turbo and 1988’s effort by each band was really no contest - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is a top 5 IM album for me.
(I’m in the minority here but feel that Turbo is a really good album. It showed that a band that had already incorporated progressive and metal elements into their music could also create a highly polished hard rock album. This time being the height of the MTV era in the US – I believe the change in their look might have hurt them more than the music.)
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35 years ago this poll would be much closer ( and done with pencil and paper , lol ). Couple tokes of good stuff and " To Tame A Land " through a decent stereo settled this discussion on a few occasions for me ( regarding who is " better " ). Priest was the more popular band in my area by far however.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1974 --------------------- --- --- 1974 Rocka Rolla --- ---
1976 --------------------- --- --- 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny 48 ---
1977 --------------------- --- --- 1977 Sin After Sin 23 ---
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Stained Class 27 173
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Hell Bent For Leather 32 128
1979 --------------------- --- --- 1979 Unleashed in the East 10 70
JP released five studio albums in the 70’s and finished the decade off with the live album, Unleashed in the East. Unleashed was their highest charting album to date and its chart position reflects the culmination of their efforts and the success that they were able to achieve.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1980 Iron Maiden 4 -- 1980 British Steel 4 34
1981 Killers 12 78 1981 Point of Entry 14 39
1982 The Number Of The Beast 1 33 1982 Screaming For Vengeance 11 17
1983 Piece Of Mind 3 14 1983 --------------------- -- --
1984 Powerslave 2 21 1984 Defenders Of The Faith 19 18
1985 Live After Death 2 19 1985 --------------------- -- --
1986 Somewhere In Time 3 11 1986 Turbo 33 17
1987 ------------------------ -- -- 1987 Priest...Live! 47 38
1988 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 1 12 1988 Ram It Down 24 31
1989 -----------------------
I think the closest these bands were to each other in terms of popularity occurred in the 80’s.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1990 No Prayer For The Dying 2 17 1990 PainKiller 26 26
1991 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 Fear Of The Dark 1 12 1992 -----------------------------------------------
1993 A Real Live One 3 106 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1993 A Real Dead One 12 140 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1993 Live at Donington 23 --- 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 The X Factor 8 147 1995 -----------------------------------------------
1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 ----------------------------- 1997 Jugulator --- 82
1998 Virtual Xi 16 124 1998 98 Live Meltdown --- ---
1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s hard to fathom today that Iron Maiden’s No Prayer For The Dying would EVER chart better than PainKiller. However, I think this shows just how much momentum Iron Maiden had when 80’s ended and the 90’s began.
(I’ve never heard the whole PainKiller album, only the songs that are included on the greatest hits I have. I’m not a fan of the title track but A Touch Of Evil and Nightcrawler are both really good. Having said that – I prefer the British Steel / Screaming For Vengeance sound.)
The 90’s were a low point for metal in general but with Halford leaving after PainKiller Judas Priest pretty much fell off the map.
Iron Maiden on the other hand continued to have success in both the UK and US despite the fact that it was not up to what they had achieved in the 80’s. Virtual XI was the low point – it was the first album since Killers in 1981 not to reach into the top 10. They corrected that problem not long after the tour ended.
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35 years ago this poll would be much closer ( and done with pencil and paper , lol ). Couple tokes of good stuff and " To Tame A Land " through a decent stereo settled this discussion on a few occasions for me ( regarding who is " better " ). Priest was the more popular band in my area by far however.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1974 --------------------- --- --- 1974 Rocka Rolla --- ---
1976 --------------------- --- --- 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny 48 ---
1977 --------------------- --- --- 1977 Sin After Sin 23 ---
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Stained Class 27 173
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Hell Bent For Leather 32 128
1979 --------------------- --- --- 1979 Unleashed in the East 10 70
JP released five studio albums in the 70’s and finished the decade off with the live album, Unleashed in the East. Unleashed was their highest charting album to date and its chart position reflects the culmination of their efforts and the success that they were able to achieve.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1980 Iron Maiden 4 -- 1980 British Steel 4 34
1981 Killers 12 78 1981 Point of Entry 14 39
1982 The Number Of The Beast 1 33 1982 Screaming For Vengeance 11 17
1983 Piece Of Mind 3 14 1983 --------------------- -- --
1984 Powerslave 2 21 1984 Defenders Of The Faith 19 18
1985 Live After Death 2 19 1985 --------------------- -- --
1986 Somewhere In Time 3 11 1986 Turbo 33 17
1987 ------------------------ -- -- 1987 Priest...Live! 47 38
1988 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 1 12 1988 Ram It Down 24 31
1989 -----------------------
I think the closest these bands were to each other in terms of popularity occurred in the 80’s.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1990 No Prayer For The Dying 2 17 1990 PainKiller 26 26
1991 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 Fear Of The Dark 1 12 1992 -----------------------------------------------
1993 A Real Live One 3 106 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1993 A Real Dead One 12 140 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1993 Live at Donington 23 --- 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 The X Factor 8 147 1995 -----------------------------------------------
1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 ----------------------------- 1997 Jugulator --- 82
1998 Virtual Xi 16 124 1998 98 Live Meltdown --- ---
1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
2000 Brave New World 7 39 2000 ---------------------------------------------
2001 ------------------------ 2001 Demolition --- 165
2002 Rock in Rio 15 186 2002 ---------------------------------------------
2002 Beast over Hammersmith --- --- 2002 ---------------------------------------------
2003 Dance Of Death 2 18 2003 Live in London --- ---
2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2005 Death on the Road 22 --- 2005 Angel of Retribution 39 13
2006 A Matter Of Life And Death 4 9 2006----------------------------------------------
2007 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 ------------------------ 2008 Nostradamus 30 11
2009 Flight 666 15 34 2009 A Touch of Evil: Live --- 87
Iron Maiden jumped on the reunion bandwagon first, bringing Bruce and Adrian back into the band in 2000. They continued as the dominant metal band in the UK and had their first top 10 album in the US – A Matter Of Life And Death.
Rob Halford returned to Judas Priest in 2005 and also picked up where they left off in the 80’s – more successful in the US than in the UK. Nostradamus would be their highest charting album in the US to date – reaching number 11.
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If High and Dry wasn't considered heavy metal, what was? I don't know of anything that could separate them from For Those About to Rock, IM (ST), Diary, or Fair Warning.
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35 years ago this poll would be much closer ( and done with pencil and paper , lol ). Couple tokes of good stuff and " To Tame A Land " through a decent stereo settled this discussion on a few occasions for me ( regarding who is " better " ). Priest was the more popular band in my area by far however.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1974 --------------------- --- --- 1974 Rocka Rolla --- ---
1976 --------------------- --- --- 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny 48 ---
1977 --------------------- --- --- 1977 Sin After Sin 23 ---
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Stained Class 27 173
1978 --------------------- --- --- 1978 Hell Bent For Leather 32 128
1979 --------------------- --- --- 1979 Unleashed in the East 10 70
JP released five studio albums in the 70’s and finished the decade off with the live album, Unleashed in the East. Unleashed was their highest charting album to date and its chart position reflects the culmination of their efforts and the success that they were able to achieve.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1980 Iron Maiden 4 -- 1980 British Steel 4 34
1981 Killers 12 78 1981 Point of Entry 14 39
1982 The Number Of The Beast 1 33 1982 Screaming For Vengeance 11 17
1983 Piece Of Mind 3 14 1983 --------------------- -- --
1984 Powerslave 2 21 1984 Defenders Of The Faith 19 18
1985 Live After Death 2 19 1985 --------------------- -- --
1986 Somewhere In Time 3 11 1986 Turbo 33 17
1987 ------------------------ -- -- 1987 Priest...Live! 47 38
1988 Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 1 12 1988 Ram It Down 24 31
1989 -----------------------
I think the closest these bands were to each other in terms of popularity occurred in the 80’s.
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
1990 No Prayer For The Dying 2 17 1990 PainKiller 26 26
1991 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 Fear Of The Dark 1 12 1992 -----------------------------------------------
1993 A Real Live One 3 106 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1993 A Real Dead One 12 140 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1993 Live at Donington 23 --- 1993 -----------------------------------------------
1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 The X Factor 8 147 1995 -----------------------------------------------
1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 ----------------------------- 1997 Jugulator --- 82
1998 Virtual Xi 16 124 1998 98 Live Meltdown --- ---
1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
2000 Brave New World 7 39 2000 ---------------------------------------------
2001 ------------------------ 2001 Demolition --- 165
2002 Rock in Rio 15 186 2002 ---------------------------------------------
2002 Beast over Hammersmith --- --- 2002 ---------------------------------------------
2003 Dance Of Death 2 18 2003 Live in London --- ---
2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2005 Death on the Road 22 --- 2005 Angel of Retribution 39 13
2006 A Matter Of Life And Death 4 9 2006----------------------------------------------
2007 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 ------------------------ 2008 Nostradamus 30 11
2009 Flight 666 15 34 2009 A Touch of Evil: Live --- 87
Year Iron Maiden Album UK US Year Judas Priest Album UK US
2010 The Final Frontier 1 4 2010 -----------------------------------------------
2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012 En Vivo! 19 80 2012 ------------------------------------------------
2013 Maiden England '88 30 148 2013 ------------------------------------------------
2014 ------------------------ ------ 2014 Redeemer of Souls 12 6
2015 The Book Of Souls 1 4 2015 ------------------------------------------------
2016 ------------------------ ------ 2016 Battle Cry - 90
2017 The Book of Souls: Live Chapter 17 49 2017-------------------------------------------------
2018 ------------------------ ------ 2018 Firepower 5 5
2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metal music in general has been growing in popularity and both Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are both riding this wave.
Iron Maiden achieved their fourth and fifth number one albums in the UK with The Final Frontier and The Book Of Souls. These two albums each made it to number four in the US as well.
Judas Priest seemed to finally get noticed in the UK with Redeemer of Souls and Firepower reaching number 12 and number 5 respectively. They continued their success in the US as well with these two albums reaching to number 6 and number 5 respectively.
Not since the 80’s have these two band’s been as close in popularity to each other than they are now.
If we’re to believe the “W” site, looking at total album sales history today (2019) shows that Iron Maiden have outsold Judas Priest about 2:1. So as far as the biggest band is in terms of album sales and concert tickets sold I think this goes to Iron Maiden.
As far as who is the best is a matter of personal taste.