Review Summary: Killers is overall just a killer record
Killers is the second studio album Iron Maiden released after their highly successful debut, Iron Maiden. Killers was produced by the legendary Martin Birch, and sold four times more copies than Iron Maiden, but didn't do as well on the charts, going on No. 12, unlike Iron Maiden, which came at No. 4.
This time, Iron Maiden dive into the roots of the New Wave of Heavy Metal, giving it a heavier new sound. There were some improvements over the last album, but there are some things that just fall short when compared to the masterpiece that is Iron Maiden.
First, the improvements. Clive's drum work hasn't let up one bit, it's actually gotten better, more fast paced and memorable. You can hear the improvements mostly in "Genghis Khan" and "Purgatory". The bass is used more in this album than the last, giving it some cool bass grooves, most notably in "Innocent Exile", "Killers" and "Wratchild". The guitar work, I can't say it has improved, but I'll say that it's become more complex. The rhythm guitar is gone, and has been replaced by a secondary guitar with Adrian Smith. Paul is back to his signature style of singing, the vocals on the album are more rapid, fast paced, more aggressive, and with twice as many "Ooh Yeah!" screams. And Killers contains the best Iron Maiden instrumental, "Genghis Khan". I know a lot of people like "Transylvania", but this one is just a masterpiece, with changing pace, classic riffs, and I think it inspired one of the opening riffs of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (compare them, you'll see).
Now with the things that just fall short when compared to the masterpiece that is Iron Maiden. Some of the solos are less memorable (especially Dave's). Dave's solos are just too shredding for me, Adrian's solos are far better than Dave's (at least in my opinion), I don't know if a less shredding solo is more more complex than a shredding one, but I like Adrian's solos better. But, as I said, not all of the solos are less memorable, the solo in "Murders In The Rue Morgue" is a classic solo, I would say that it's the best solo on the album.
I've also got a problem with some of the writing. What kind of a huge writer's block did Steve go through when he wrote "Another Life". Seriously, I mean, the lyrics themselves are actually pretty good and Paul sings them perfectly, but it's the same verse repeated three times. Why didn't the the band help Steve out. I know Paul helped with "Killers", and Dave with "Twilight Zone", but other than that the whole album is written almost exclusively by Steve, it can't be that hard to write a song about suicide.
One minor problem is that some of the songs are too short, maybe that's also because of the writing. "Ides of March" is understandable, it's an intro and kind of a first-parter to "Wratchild", so, in a way, those two tracks can be viewed as one song. But, there's just no conclusion to some of them, oh wait, there's no conclusion to almost all of them. In "Wratchild", the guy is searching for his father, does he find him, we don't know if he finds him or not because the song is too short, and has no conclusion. In "Twilight Zone", does the guy bring his girlfriend to the afterlife or not, we don't know, why? because the song is too short!
And now we come to the themes. This album is very dark theme-wise, you thought "Number of the Beast" was dark (it is), well I would go to say that Killers is darker.
Check out these dark themes:
Bloodthirsty Killers ("Killers")
Schizophrenic Killers ("Murders in the Rue Morgue")
Suicide ("Another Life")
Framed Murder ("Innocent Exile")
War ("Genghis Khan")
Demonic Possession ("Prodigal Son")
A bastard looking for his father with no good intentions ("Wrathchild")
A ghost that's suffering in the afterlife ("Twilight Zone")
....Reincarnation? ("Purgatory")
And I honestly don't know what this one's about ("Drifter")
And now for rating the songs:
Ides of March - Great intro, which fades out to "Wrathchild" (5/5)
Wratchild - Classic song from beginning to end, only problem is that it's too short (4.25/5)
Murders in the Rue Morgue - Best song on the album, with the best solos and rapid vocals (5/5)
Another Life - If it wasn't for the writing, I would say that this is a forgotten Maiden classic (3.75/5)
Genghis Khan - Best Maiden instrumental. With changing tempo and classic riffs (5/5)
Innocent Exile - A personal favorite of mine. The chorus is the best part, and the instrumental work is just groundbreaking (4/5)
Killers - Second best track. Classic all the way through the eerie bass riff to the fast paced main riff (5/5)
Twilight Zone - Another personal favorite of mine. It's got great lyrics, nice rapid singing, and an epic chorus. The only problem is that it's too short (4.75/5)
Prodigal Son - A nice break from all the heaviness. It's a soft, semi-acoustic, underrated gem (5/5)
Purgatory - Easily the weakest song off the album. No memorable riffs, no cool vocals, and the song is just a fast paced mess. Although the chorus is pretty catchy, but that's the only redeeming factor of this song (3/5)
Before I get to "Drifter", I just want to say, this is the last song of the Di'anno Era, and the last song Di'anno sang for Maiden. Besides the live albums, EPs, and the "Metal for Muthas" compilation, the two albums, Iron Maiden and Killers, are all you get from Di'anno and Maiden. Killers leaves you wondering what could've happened if Maiden held on to Di'anno, supposedly we'll never know. A moment of honor for Paul Di'anno and what he did for Maiden....................Moving on.
Drifter - The whole song is like a repetitive chorus, but a very catchy one. The other stuff is not all that memorable, except the end, where Paul yells "I'm a drifter, driftin' OOOOOOOOOOOOH" and then gives the best "Yeah!" scream of the entire Di'anno Era. Not really all that good, but it's a nice way to end the album (3.50/5)
And that's Killers. And excellent album, but some of the writing is just off, and some of the songs suffer from it, being too short or just repetitive. So, the writing is the only thing keeping Killers from reaching heights like Iron Maiden.
