Iron Maiden songs

Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden are one of heavy metal's most influential bands. They're also one of metal's most enduring and distinctive acts, thanks to their melodic guitars, ambitious songwriting, powerhouse vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and iconic mascot Eddie. One of the first groups to be classified as "British metal," Iron Maiden helped set the rock scene for the '80s and inspired generations of subsequent bands, including Metallica, Dream Theater, Slipknot, In Flames, and Avenged Sevenfold. Despite a lack of radio airplay or mainstream media support, early allegations of Satanism, and a revolving lineup, they have remained consistently popular throughout their career.

Iron Maiden were formed in 1975 in Leyton, East London by bassist Steve Harris, formerly of the band Smiler. The group's lineup was volatile during their early years, but eventually settled on drummer Doug Sampson, guitarist Dave Murray, and vocalist Paul Di'Anno in 1978. Late that year, this incarnation of the band recorded a four-song demo and circulated it to club owners and others involved in the London scene, including the group's soon-to-be manager Ron Smallwood. The demo's popularity led Iron Maiden to self-release it as 1979's The Soundhouse Tapes EP, which soon sold out its 5,000-copy run. After scoring a deal with EMI, the band enlisted a second guitarist, Dennis Stratton. Late in 1979, Sampson departed due to health issues and former Samson drummer Clive Burr took his place behind the kit. The group's self-titled debut arrived in 1980; though it was recorded in a hurry, it was nonetheless a U.K. hit due to the single "Running Free." Its 1981 follow-up, Killers, had a harder approach thanks in part to producer Martin Birch -- with whom the group worked until his 1992 retirement -- and also saw the replacement of Stratton with Murray's childhood friend Adrian Smith.

The Number of the BeastDue to substance abuse issues, Di'Anno was dismissed from Iron Maiden after the Killer World Tour in 1981. His replacement was Bruce Dickinson, another former Samson member who joined that September and made his recorded debut with the band on 1982's groundbreaking The Number of the Beast. Boasting songs such as the title track and "Hallowed Be Thy Name," it became known as one of the all-time great rock albums. Though it was the group's first chart-topping album in the U.K. and was a Top Ten seller in several other countries, Christian activists and conservative politicians in America claimed the band was Satanic (which Iron Maiden denied). Nevertheless, The Number of the Beast's success made Iron Maiden international superstars, and despite the replacement of Burr with former Trust drummer Nicko McBrain, they changed very little of their style on 1983's Piece of Mind. The band undertook two major tours before recording 1984's Powerslave, which would go on to be another cult hit and featured the 13-minute epic "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," which was inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem. The product of Powerslave's 11-month tour was 1985's Live After Death, a double-live album featuring their biggest hit singles.

Somewhere in TimeNow established as a powerful and unique metal band, Iron Maiden experimented on their long-awaited 1986 album Somewhere in Time, incorporating synthesized bass and guitar and futuristic themes. They continued to expand their sound and subject matter with 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Another concept album featuring the singles "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Clairvoyant," as well as the group's first use of keyboards, it was Maiden's most critically acclaimed record since The Number of the Beast. After that album's release, Smith and Dickinson worked on their own projects: