The album opener. The declaration of intent – the tone setter – the mission statement. It is how a band vaults a listener to the experience set upon them. One of the masters in nailing down this aspect are Iron Maiden.
With 17 full-length albums, some of their all-time great songs are the ones to begin a studio adventure.
So here are the top 10 Iron Maiden album openers.
10) “Futureal” – Virtual XI (1998)
“I’m running out of my time, I’m running out of breath.” It’s as if Blaze Bayley knew his tenure as the frontman would be ending sooner rather than later. The striking immediacy of “Futureal” is a shock to the system with the Brits reminding they can write a track under 3 minutes.
It is the exception to rule on Virtual XI. The crazy, warping gallop of the guitars with the layered keyboards meshed with the simple “What is real? Futureal” chorus makes for a winner. Speedy, quick, catchy with the established Maiden wizardry. Can’t go wrong with this.
9) “Prowler” – Iron Maiden (1980)
The opening salvo of their career. The catwalk, sleazy, wah-wah guitar drips into Steve Harris’ bass assault. “Prowler” paints a picture of the seedy streets; eyes open wide being tempted by the ladies of the night.
There isn’t a guy who could capture the grounded, streetwise attitude than Paul Di’Anno with his tough and fortunate delivery. What seems like a standard rumbler deviates to an up-tempo solo section before circling back to the sleazy, seductive stride. A musical roller coaster and a sign of greatness that would ensue.
8) “Where Eagles Dare” – Piece Of Mind (1983)
Sheer wonder and majesty. “Where Eagles Dare” doesn’t wow with energy and force. It captures the feeling of soaring in the sky, capturing the feeling of the brave bird’s flight. While not the most complicated of offerings; the song take a rather simple guitar riff and lets it flow through peaks and valleys of an eagle’s journey.
The vocals take a back seat with Bruce handling the role of a narrator with his most impressive display is his elongated note of “dare” in the chorus. The song lets the imagination fly without being pretentious or too progressive. There isn’t another track in the Maiden discography it resembles.
7) “Be Quick Or Be Dead” – Fear Of The Dark (1992)
Perhaps the most aggressive composition in the Maiden canon, “Be Quick Or Be Dead” gets Fear Of The Dark off to a blistering start. The template is borderline thrash/speed metal with Bruce at his nastiest utilizing a rougher/gruffer vocal style expressing displeasure of political corruption.
Janick Gers and Dave Murray prove to be a potent guitar tandem with the divebomb guitar harmonies and Nicko McBrain throttles with furious drum work. A muscled, angry, and criminally underrated – “Be Quick Or Be Dead” deserves more recognition.
6) “Sign Of The Cross” – The X Factor (1995)
The showcase of new singer Blaze Bayley is a brooding, lengthened number that has grasped Harris and never let go. It has the prerequisite quiet intro building to electric fire. There is a mysterious, clouded atmosphere that hovers over an album lacking “happiness.”
While Blaze does not possess the operatic, showman abilities of Dickinson, Blaze provides a different edge with his lower range and belts out impressive notes during the chorus. One of the best of the Blaze years, the musicality offers twists, turns, and brilliant melodic moments.
5) “If Eternity Should Fail” – The Book Of Souls (2015)
This Dickinson penned opus was originally set for a solo album (that would appear on 2024’s The Mandrake Project) and is another glimpse of Maiden’s ability to establish a gloomy atmosphere, rousing rhythms, and sterling choruses.
A tense gallop fills the verse sections, and an adventurous, wide-eyed chorus brings it all home. It properly sets the stage for rest of the albums. Written with inspiration from the Marvel character Dr. Strange, – “If Eternity Should Fail” evokes feelings of wonder and curiosities of sorcery and the unknowns of the universe.
4) “The Wicker Man” – Brave New World (2000)
4) “The Wicker Man” – Brave New World (2000)The right song at the right time. The reunion with Bruce and Adrian Smith couldn’t be a bust. “The Wicker Man” is the home run swing that connects on the fastball. With the crowd pleasing “Your time will come” chorus, the twiddling, sweeping guitars and puncturing drums, “The Wicker Man” does exactly what it needs to do.
It launches the Maiden foray into an album of thoroughly strong material. It’s a mission statement and successfully declares “We are back!”
3) “Caught Somewhere In Time” – Somewhere In Time (1986)
3) “Caught Somewhere In Time” – Somewhere In Time (1986)New sounds, new experiments onto the Maiden foundation. Somewhere In Time brazenly introduced synths into their repertoire. It doesn’t punch as a main ingredient as it mainly contributes to the overall wall of sound. “Caught Somewhere In Time” is the clear-cut example of this with the trademark twin guitars opening with a dense synth to accompany the procession.
Erupting into an up-tempo, steady gallop, Bruce is devious sounding like a magician or wizard of some sort. What’s best about the 7.5-minute jaunt is it never lets up on the tempo – no shifts in speed as it keeps up a frenetic pace with tasty leads and pulsating bass. The best trick pulled off is all these lates – no matter what it says on the calendar, it’s still fresh after all this time.
2) “Moonchild” – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)
Beginning with an acoustic rhyme like something from an ancient folklore, “Moonchild” is breathtaking with the rhythmic pulse and attentive lyricism, fast-paced, wowing guitar play and the warping synth that takes listeners to another world.
Incredible and catchy musicianship is on display with Bruce displaying emotions of devilry and desperation. There are many musical nuances to latch upon like the descending leads transitioning to a speedy outburst or the closing static bounce as Bruce maniacally laughs to its conclusion. This is the prime example of Maiden spreading their progressive wings but not going overboard with it. Musically satisfying and leaves and imprint on the listener. A true masterpiece.
1) “Aces High” – Powerslave (1984)
It’s not an accident, the top 2 are also arguably the best 2 from Maiden’s history. “Aces High” is one of the defining songs of their career. The air-raid sirens, the twin-guitars melodies, the fast-paced gallop – it’s all there and in top form. The buzzing, whirling guitars in the bridge before the chorus and simply put one of the best choruses ever written. It’s empowering and made for the live arena.
Nicko and Harris are plugging away and the way they brilliantly shuffle back to the last verse after the solo is nothing short of amazing. Not only is it the most iconic opener, but it is also the quintessential concert opener. Absolute chills when Churchill begins his speech because all the Eddie-heads know what’s coming next.
Special mention to “Satellite 15…The Final Frontier” which also made the cut. As for the worst album opener…that distinction falls to No Prayer For The Dying’s “Tailgunner”.