Iron Maiden - Heavy Metal Legends in the Making

Many bands have worshiped at the foot of Iron Maiden. Such is the staying power of the band that more than 3 decades after its inception, it continues to move albums off shelves to reach platinum and gold status.

The group has sold over 75 million records, has been inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk, and has been hailed as one of the most influential rock bands in music history. The band has also been prominently featured in films, video games and songs by other groups, all in acknowledgment of its musical influence. Indeed, Iron Maiden is a legend in the making, if the band is not already one.

Band History

Iron Maiden has had its fair share of ups and downs in line-up changes. Steve Harris formed the original group on Christmas Day 1975 with the name being taken from the iron maiden torture device seen on the movie The Man in the Iron Mask. Harris (bass, backing vocals and studio keyboards) and David Murray (guitar) are the longest-standing members of the group.

Other current members include Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals, Adrian Smith on guitar and backing vocals; Janick Gers on guitar; and Nicko McBrain on drums and percussion while Michael Kenney performs with the group during live performances as the keyboardist. The former members were either fired from or left the group due to personal and professional differences. These former members were Doug Sampson and Clive Burr on drums and percussions; Paul Di'Anno, Paul Day and Dennis Wilcock on lead vocals; and Dennis Stratton on guitars and backing vocals.

Studio Albums

The studio Iron Maiden albums released since 1975 until 2010 now number 30 in all comprised of 14 studio albums, 4 extended plays (EPs), 5 compilations and 7 live albums. With such an impressive collection of albums to its name, the band has been cited in many music industry rankings including the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, the MTV Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All Time and the Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement, amongst other accolades heaped on the band.

Just to describe a few of the 14 studio albums released in the three-decade long career of the group:

* Iron Maiden (1980)- This is the eponymous debut album of the band, which contains classics like The Phantom of the Opera, Sanctuary and, of course, Iron Maiden
* The Number of the Beast (1982)- Widely considered as one of the most influential albums in the heavy metal genre, it is also the band's highest-selling album with worldwide sales of over 14 million, not to mention that this is also the debut of Bruce Dickinson as lead vocalist
* Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)- Probably the most lyrical of the group's body of work, it centers on topics like mysticism, prophecy, reincarnation and the afterlife
* The Final Frontier (2010)- This is the band's latest and fifteenth album slated for release in late summer and is gearing up to be yet another reason to worship at the altar of the this fantastic band

As the fans always say in greeting and farewells, up the irons!