But anyway, I was just listening to their first two albums with singer Paul Di'Anno, and every time I am freggin' surprised at how awesome those albums are. Amongst coffee-table metal fans, however, it's not that his time with Maiden isn't well acclaimed -- it just goes largely unknown.
Paul Di'Anno being badass.
Iron Maiden's "first" singer from 1978-81.
Iron Maiden's first LP was the self-titled Iron Maiden (1980). Of course the album is of epic-mega proportions. When we look back upon the 20th Century in the years to come, it will surely be one of the game-changing moments of the century, along with the rise of Communism, the Great Depression, the two World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, the 1984 film Red Dawn, Rocky IV, and the consequent fall of Communism.
Iron Maiden introduced us to the songs Prowler, Remember Tomorrow, Running Free, Phantom of the Opera, and (amongst others) of course, IRON MAIDEN!
The band's second major release came in 1981 with Killers. The album was slightly less epic than the first, but still ranks up there amongst major 20th Century events, such as the Apollo 11 mission, the Vietnam War, the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, and Super Bowl XV. This album gave us Wrathchild, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Killers, and Twilight Zone.
However, Paul Di'Anno's time with the band ended shortly after Killers. He couldn't foresee, indeed no one could, the even more epic arrival of singer Bruce Dickinson. For while Di'Anno was an awesome man, Dickinson was (and still is) indeed a god on the vocals instrument. And I mean after all, Paul Di'Anno aged into looking like a fat douche anyway.
Paul Di'Anno looking like a douche. Circa sometime more recently.
