Description

Limited album in a nice tri-folded digipack cover Iron Maidens debut self titled album was released on April 14, 1980 and a British tour began the following May that was followed by the bands first European tour supporting Kiss. The Metal For Muthas disc was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London England on the 20th of June 1980 with a very good audience recording, the instruments are well balanced and can be heard clearly for most concert focusing on the mid and high frequencies. There is some crowd noise present but does not distract from the listening experience only adds to the ambiance. Iron Maiden in 1980 was a well oiled machine, they had a stable line up of Dianno Harris Murray Stratton and Burr and their popularity was built on live performance and the incredible songs in their live repertoire. They had two tours earlier in the year under their belt, the first was in support of the Metal For Muthas compilation record on which two songs, an early version of Wrathchild and Sanctuary, appeared and due to their popularity Maiden was the headliner and the second was a month long jaunt in support of Judas Priest. The set list is great, they actually play the entire Iron Maiden album plus a few surprises. The first surprise is an early version of Killers but with different lyrics but the musical structure of the track is in place as is the chorus part with the I Can See lyrics. Another Life also from the Killers album is played and also serves as Clive Burr’s chance to solo and give the others a quick breather. The song is pretty much the same musically and lyrically as what would be recorded on the Killers album, only difference is it is played at a faster tempo as is most of the songs here. The version of Charlotte The Harlot is also very nice, the song is one of the few written by Dave Murray and while it was in the set list sporadically throughout 1980 it is great to have a live version with great sound quality on a silver release. Most songs, with the exception of the beautifully played Strange World, are at a faster tempo than their album counterparts. When listening to this concert you can feel the power and energy that would influence many bands that would later become the genre of thrash such as Slayer and Metallica. A few months after this recording the band would replace guitarist Dennis Stratton with Adrian Smith and be one step closer to their classic line up, although there are many who think that the Dianno led Maiden was the real deal. The gatefold digipack cover is adorned with relevant pictures from the Dianno era and the graphics are the usual high standards and considering that there are few, if any, silver releases from this early point in Iron Maiden’s history this must be considered an essential release for fans of the band or the casual listener. Track listing: 1. The Ides Of March 2. Sanctuary 3. Wrathchild 4. Prowler 5. Remember Tomorrow 6. Killers 7. Running Free 8. Another Life / Drum Solo 9. Band Introduction 10. Transylvania 11. Strange World 12. Charlotte The Harlot 13. Phantom Of The Opera 14. Iron Maiden 15. Drifter