Legendary is about the only word you could use to describe Iron Maiden without people arguing the toss. Stick them in a category with other '80s metal bands and all your Guns N' Roses fans come crawling outta the woodwork to tell you 'they're not proper metal, they're singing about hell and magic and stuff, not real life'. Fair enough, but whatever it is that Iron Maiden were and in fact still are doing, they do a damn fine job of it! 1980, and this band are just suddenly on the scene. They've got an album, they've got a mascot and they've got raw talent. With the amazing bass talent of their main songwriter Steve Harris, the ...  Read the complete review

I was asked in other opinion commentaries if I could provide some history on the band. Well, here we go: Iron Maiden have been around for over twenty years now, dominating the heavy metal scene for the majority of that time with their own disctinctive sound. Blasting on to the music scene in 1980 with their first album - titled, amazingly, 'Iron Maiden' - and releasing an interesting single that merged the anger of punk with the complexity of heavy metal musical style: 'Running Free.' To date, it remains one of their most popular songs, and usually features as a central point in their live shows. Initally thought of as merely another ...  Read the complete review