Tag: iron maiden

Picking Five Songs From 1992

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

After a few weeks off it’s time to get this series going again. Here I go to a year and pick five songs I really like from that year. Not necessarily my five favorites, but certainly five of my favorites.

This time we’ve arrived at 1992. The music scene was a lot different after the nuclear chaos of 1991. Grunge and alternative were in, and a lot of ’80’s rock and metal was out. The metal end of it hung on for a bit but ’80’s rock was basically vaporized by this point.

I myself turned 15 this year so I was just along for the ride, taking in things as they came. By this point I had long accepted that I wouldn’t have the “Hair Metal High School” party that I had long been looking forward to as everyone had traded in their garb for flannel. I was well on my way to the far heavier side of music but this hindsight list doesn’t necessarily reflect that. Anyway, let’s have at it.

Iron Maiden – Judas Be My Guide

Maiden did not have the best decade in the 1990’s, but they did crank out a handful of nice songs and many of them are found on the ’92 record Fear Of The Dark. The one that hit with me beyond all the others, even the stellar title track, is this quick and dirty cut that is widely considered one of the band’s most underrated songs. This one does a good job of showcasing the more stripped down rock approach Maiden took in this era. Overall the move wasn’t well advised but it did work in spots, this being the prime one.

The Black Crowes – Remedy

The Crowes hit big in 1990 with their debut, and they hit again two years later with a bit of a change in direction. They went all in on deep fried southern melodies here and created a hodgepodge of rock, funk and soul that charmed a captive audience. This song basically says “uh, actually drugs are good” and is a total musical explosion.

Black Sabbath – I

For a brief moment we had another glorious run of Ronnie James Dio-led Black Sabbath. It didn’t last long but we did get the excellent album Dehumanizer out of the brief run. I is a slamming song that is apparently a redress of grievances from Dio to people who criticize heavy metal. This was a nice blast from a reformed legend in an era where everything was turned on its head.

Nine Inch Nails – Last

Up next is this cut from the 1992 EP Broken, which saw Trent Reznor dive into extremely heavy metal to get his points across. The points in Last are either that Trent is a lousy hook-up, and/or he hates the record industry. It’s probably both. The riff here is heavy and hypnotic and anchors this absolute slamming romp through whoredom, real or symbolic.

Alice In Chains – Down In A Hole

This one hails from the band’s seminal album Dirt. I’ve gone on about this song before, it is a haunting and beautiful lament that is actually a love track to Jerry Cantrell’s then-girlfriend, but sounds like the stuff of despair from someone at the end of their rope. This song goes beyond just the confines of this annual list and is one of my all-time favorite songs.

That covers 1992. If you’re keeping score, that means 1993 is next. I’m sure most everyone had that figured out already, but there’s always one in a crowd.

Now, in the spirit of the Spanish Inquisition, the unexpected part – the 1993 post is coming tomorrow. I’ve decided to double up on these in order to get them out of the way around the end of the year. I will probably not get two posts every week, which will cause this to run into 2026 for a little bit, but I am going to sprint these out because my various hiatuses have pushed this series WAY off track. So I will be spitting out twice the goods for a bit. Enjoy, or not.

Picking Five Songs From 1988

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year3 Comments

We are now to 1988 on this long-running series where I pick five of my favorite songs from a year. Yes, this will run all the way through this year. I imagine this will bleed into next year at this point since I took a good chunk of the early year off, so I’ll go ahead and pick five from ’25 as well.

But we’re a long damn ways away from that. Today we head to 1988. Rock was still running strong in its hair phase, though time was running out on the art form. Things were getting heavier and heavier on the metal end of things, as what we now know as extreme metal saw regular releases in ’88 and beyond. While I do love some 1980’s pop, I had kind of moved away from it by this point and was far more entrenched in the rock and metal end of things. By the time we get to the 2000’s, many of you may not recognize anything I post. But, again, we’re not there yet.

It is 1988, at least for a few minutes around here. Here are five of my favorite songs from the year (as always, not necessarily my five favorite, just five of my favorites). Enjoy.

Queensrÿche – Eyes Of A Stranger

Starting off with the final track of what is my favorite album of all time. Operation: Mindcrime is a metal “opera” with a ton of political intrigue, murder and suspense, and Eyes Of A Stranger wraps up the album better than pretty much any ending to anything in history. The main charcter Nikki is locked up in a prison mental institution, left to recall the sordid events of the album in a drugged-up haze. The production on this song and album is absolutely perfect, and the song’s drive and melody are otherworldly, as is of course the vocal performance of Geoff Tate. There are few finer examples of a song around.

Death – Pull The Plug

Death metal had been on the scene for a few years, and by ’88 it was really getting into gear. Leave it to the namesake band to deliver an all-time classic. This “thrash on steroids” delivered a savage beating to the eardrums of metalheads brave enough to move beyond the mainstream. While Death would go on to become a technical powerhouse, Pull The Plug is some good meat and potatoes, basic death metal.

Bathory – A Fine Day To Die

From Bathory’s fourth album Blood Fire Death, this saw Quorthon blend his now patented black metal with more melodic influences, eventually coining the term Viking metal. This song is an epic journey told through a group who are facing their likely end in battle. It’s a massive song that inspires even my sedentary ass to get up and strive for Valhalla.

Candlemass – Mirror Mirror

And now time for a little doom. Candlemass of Sweden had cut their third album by this point and were in the middle of an arc that is now considered hallowed in the pantheon of doom metal. While doom is traditionally slower, this is one of several Candlemass songs that runs at a faster clip at times. It’s an enchanting track about a cursed mirror that swallows the souls of whoever peers into it. The song is aided immensely by the power and range of the “mad monk” Messiah Marcolin, a true treasure of metal vocals.

Iron Maiden – The Evil That Men Do

And we wrap up with another Iron Maiden song. This one hails from Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, which as I’ve relayed in the past is my favorite Maiden album. The song itself has a few complexities musically but is honestly one of the “simpler” tracks from the album. It is a forward, speedy driver and doesn’t let up throughout. Lyrically it is quite complex, as it deals with the album’s story of a child born of the Devil who gets up to some shit. This song is just before the child’s birth, if I’m recalling the story correctly.

That covers 1988. We are only one year away from putting a bow on the grand decade of the 1980’s. Things really do switch up after we enter the next decade.

And before I go, another quick programming note – I will continue this weekly posting format for what seems to be another four weeks, if I’m counting right. It’ll be a song and also this post, and perhaps another post in the middle of the week. I will run like this up until July 5, which is slated to be Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert. I do intend to livestream that event and I will provide a recap of it that following Monday. The week after that I will return to posting albums on Mondays, and I actually have a backlog going at this point so I should be able to keep up. ‘Till then.

Picking Five Songs From 1986

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year10 Comments

Ok, so quick update first – just as I was getting ready to start blogging again last month, we wound up buying a house so that took up a bunch of my time. We are now moved and things are getting settled so I have time to get rolling again. Hopefully I can get going here again now that I’m mostly settled. It might take a minute but I should be fine.

We move on now into the later 1980’s with this long-running series. Things were getting bigger and bigger for rock music, though it could be argued that the quality was starting to wane in comparison to the absolute gold of the early decade. Rock was going hair, hair, hair; while heavy metal was getting heavier and heavier. And pop was starting to get weighed down by pale imitators of the sound that was a goldmine a few years prior. But this year was pretty good, as many acts who were “off cycle” the year prior are back and cranked out some quality music.

As usual, this is simply five of my favorite songs from the year. It is not a definitive “top five,” this is a pretty fast and loose exercise.

Iron Maiden – Stranger In A Strange Land

Maiden came back off their world-conquering campaign to kick off their “synth” arc. The results were splendid and this single is one of my all-time favorite Maiden tracks. The song is about an Arctic expedition that discovered a long-dead explorer, it is not related to the famed novel of the same name. While this one keeps the pace reigned in, it doesn’t lack for intensity as the power and melody combine to offer up the long-frozen explorer’s tale.

Queensrÿche – Screaming In Digital

This is almost a rock opera type song about man versus machine, and the now suddenly relevant topic of AI. The lyrical fare might be fresh nearly 40 years later, but the music on this is ungodly and timeless. The instruments and samples are a mesh of chaos, and Geoff Tate delivers while might honestly be his finest vocal performance ever as he handles the tradeoff “arguments” between man and machine. One of my favorite songs of all time.

Motörhead – Orgasmatron

Up next is the venerable legends with one of their many signature offerings. This is a slow, doom-laden marcher that explores the world of war, religion and political power, those dark masters that have taken the lives of many over the centuries. It’s all distilled here in the raw, primal form that only Motörhead can muster. As with the first two offerings, this ranks among my all-time favorites of the band’s catalog.

Metallica – Damage Inc.

1986 was a banner year for the band that would go on to become heavy metal’s biggest act. They released Master Of Puppets, which is often hailed as the quintessential thrash album. The album’s final track is a blistering slab of thrash, and again a song aimed at the bloody power corporations wield over rank and file citizens. The song serves as the final testament of Cliff Burton, mortally departed but always looming immortally over the metal scene he helped shape.

Dwight Yoakam – Guitars, Cadillacs

A bit of a curveball here, given the sheer amount of other heavy music that was released in ’86. But this cut from Dwight’s debut album has long been a favorite of mine. This was a good bit of barroom twang in a time when country was in a bit of a stale, pop-oriented direction. It remains one of Dwight’s top songs from a long and storied career.

That covers 1986. Next week we’ll see what’s up with one of rock music’s biggest ever years.

Picking Five Songs From 1984

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year7 Comments

I am still running through the years on this very long series. And here we are at 1984. Funny that, given that I spent a great deal of time last year discussing the music of ’84 on its 40th anniversary. Had I kept to my original posting schedule I would have gotten to this last year, but I was both busy and lazy so here we are.

Given that 1984 is special in my lexicon, I’m going to do something a bit different here. I’m going to offer up five songs today, and then I’m going to do five more tomorrow. This was always the plan on ’84 when I got to it. In a way it’s “cheating” since I’m only supposed to pick five a year, but it’s not like there are any real rules to this anyway. It’s just something I saw other people doing and stole from them.

At any rate, let’s do five songs from 1984, then do it all again tomorrow.

Queensrÿche – Take Hold Of The Flame

This ripper still stands as one of the band’s most immortal offerings over 40 years later. This was one hell of a debut full-length for a band who got signed to a record deal without playing a show. It’s a motivational tale, one lamenting those who did not, in fact, take hold of the flame.

Judas Priest – The Sentinel

My favorite Priest song of all time was bound to make this list. It’s a badass tale of some dark avenging force that wipes out all his enemies. Very dank guitar work here leads to a massive, heavy atmosphere and Rob Halford singing “sworn to avenge” in his unholy voice puts it all over the top.

Iron Maiden – Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

My favorite Maiden song came out in ’84 but I’ve spent enough time going over 2 Minutes To Midnight. This time I chose the monster epic based on the hit poem of the same name. This was the band’s longest song for 37 years and every second of it is massive and pounding. A true heavy metal masterpiece.

Van Halen – Hot For Teacher

1984 was Van Halen’s triumphant year (and album). This song was one last blast of fun party rock before the classic Van Halen era came to an end. Alex played a monster drum intro and the song celebrates the ages-old concept of being into a teacher. Fun all around.

Mercyful Fate – Gypsy

It’s time for some evil, as King Diamond and company romp through a dark visit with a mystical woman. It’s a great, catchy riff and replete with the signature King Diamond vocals. This one is a bit “simpler” than other MF tunes but it works extremely well.

That does it for this first installment of 1984. Tomorrow I’ll bring five more songs on a rare weekend post as a bit of bonus content.

Picking Five Songs From 1983

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year9 Comments

I obviously have not been on much lately. I am looking to return to more regular posting in the next few weeks.

We are now up to 1983 on this long-running series of picking five songs from a year. As is the case with all of the 1980’s posts, these are tough to nail down and this list should be taken as “five of my favorite songs from the year” as opposed to “my set in stone five favorites from the year.”

1983 is particularly challenging as there is a ton of stuff out there. In some respects it might have even been easier – I picked five songs in about that many seconds when I looked at the music released that year. I did a bit of looking around to make sure I was comfortable with my picks and I am, but wow there’s so much stuff that got released that year. Doing just five songs is like trying to fill an ocean by pissing in it, but five keeps things short and simple so I’ll stick with it. Let’s get into 1983.

Metallica – The Four Horsemen

Thrash was now on the scene and with it one of heavy metal’s most significant acts. This savage tale of the famed Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelations in the Holy Bible was right up my alley when I first played Metallica way back when. It’s a fun-filled romp through the end times, replete with horse galloping riffs and neck-snapping thrash aplenty.

Also – Dave Mustaine would very much like for you to know that he wrote this song originally, Metallica redid the lyrics and added some stuff after they shitcanned him from the band.

Mötley Crüe – Shout At The Devil

The Crüe were back with their second album and it would be both career- and genre-defining. The title track is an absolute ripper with its so simple yet effective sliding intro riff and lyrics about combating the influence of the Devil, though many in society would interpret the song differently. Still one of the greatest things ever recorded, hands down.

The Police – King Of Pain

The Police had a mega-hit album in ’83 with their swansong Synchronicity. This is an amazing piece, with Sting’s personal turmoil interspersed lyrically with the beautiful backdrop of Jamaica. It’s an absolute blast of mesmerizing synth rock that always captured my imagination.

Dio – Rainbow In The Dark

Ronnie James Dio was on his own after a dramatic exit from Black Sabbath. He wrote this song about his down feelings on leaving the band. It became an immortal metal anthem and one of Dio’s most heralded songs. He had a few more shots with Sabbath but he only needed one solo attempt to make this signature anthem count.

Iron Maiden – The Trooper

Maiden were on a roll by ’83 and they offered up one of their signature anthems on the Piece Of Mind album. The song is based on The Charge of the Light Brigade, an ill-fated British military maneuver in the 1800’s that saw a cavalry unit slaughtered based on bad military intelligence. But in the song Maiden capture the charge as the heroic last stand of ferocious soldiers fighting to the last. It quickly and easily became of of the top Maiden songs and has endured to this day toward the top of that list.

That does it for 1983. This is one hell of a slab of songs, tough to top this one. But the 1980’s abound with great music and I will press on to make it through.

Picking Five Songs From 1982

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year5 Comments

As a quick note – next week I’ll have my top ten albums of 2024 list, as well as my write up of Prince’s Purple Rain to cap off my celebration of 1984.

But for today, it’s off to pick five songs from 1982. This one was kind of fun as there seemed to be a bit more variety, I wasn’t necessarily slammed by 10,000 heavy metal songs I love that I had to winnow down. Still plenty of great music but a pretty simple list here.

As always on these and especially for this decade – these are simply five of my favorite songs from the year, not a definitive list of my absolute five favorite songs. I ain’t got time for all that. Let’s have at it.

Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name

Pickings are easy when your favorite band offers up what is widely considered the greatest song they ever recorded. This is a haunting tale of a condemned man who is in his final moments. Maiden were able to couple the dread of the story with their trademark harmonizing and rhythm and Bruce Dickinson delivers a performance for the ages. Things really don’t get much better than this heavy metal standard.

Judas Priest – Electric Eye

Choosing just one song from the seminal Screaming For Vengeance album is kind of tough but it’s pretty easy to go with this one. This is a heavy metal smorgasbord with all kinds of quiet and loud, mid-paced and fast stuff. It’s both heavy as hell and quite accessible. The dark theme of overbearing surveillance is on point, even more so now than 42 years ago. I can’t do anything about the hosed state of civilization but I can headbang along to its demise with this.

Michael Jackson – Thriller

This list is shooting fish in a barrel kind of easy. The title track of what is largely held as the best-selling album of all time is an absolute winner – a melodic romp through a zombie horror show. While the song itself is actually a fairly simple premise of picking up a girl by spooking her out with scary movies, the music video was an all-out zombie invasion that wowed audiences the world over. The song remains a Halloween staple to this day and of course Michael was the defining artist of the greatest decade in music.

Prince – 1999

But Michael did have a rival, he was not as alone atop the pop and rock mountain as some would like to believe. Prince would score his first widespread recognition with this apocalyptic hit. The thing to do when facing the end of the world is to party, which The Purple One summed up with a synth-funk track to boogie ’till the end to. It wound up being very fitting when 1999 actually came around, with the ultimately unfounded fears of Y2K. That was some weird shit to live through. But Prince provided the perfect soundtrack for it.

Scorpions – No One Like You

The Scorpions did rock as well as anyone ever. They also made their mark with a series of awesome ballads, but this song did not head into ballad territory – while proclaiming love, it’s a total rocker. It has been a live staple and one of the band’s signature songs since its release on their landmark Blackout album.

The song also holds significant personal meaning for me. I started dating a gal in 2009, still in the age of setting phone ringtones. I set this as her ringtone and it became our song. We were together for nearly 15 years and boyfriend and girlfriend before this past June when we did the deed and got married. And while she is not an ’80’s metal fan of any real sort, she has always appreciated this as our song. So it’s an easy add to close out this list.

That wraps up 1982, which will likely be the easiest by far of any of the ’80’s stuff to do. The next few are absolute hell, let me tell you.

Picking Five Songs From 1981

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year6 Comments

This series, often delayed, is now up to 1981. Again, the ’80’s are a tough time to narrow things down to five songs, so take this list as “five of my favorite songs from the year” rather than being a definitive list of my five absolute favorites. Nothing much more to say, let’s get right after it.

Iron Maiden – Murders In The Rue Morgue

The final salvo from Maiden’s Paul Di’Anno era came with this pounding musical rendition of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story. It’s fast, noisy and a great cut from Di’Anno’s final bow. This song is a bit less celebrated than many other Maiden tracks but it’s always been my favorite slab from this record.

Van Halen – Unchained

This was an absolutely slamming track that became one of Van Halen’s signature songs. Eddie does all sorts of stuff with the guitar here – making noise, keeping rhythm and just going all out. And David Lee Roth is, well, DLR here in all his glory. In this case it totally enhances the song, as it usually did in the early Van Halen catalog. Easily one of my very favorite Van Halen tracks here, can’t go wrong with it.

Rush – Limelight

Funny thing here – Rush wrote a song about being uncomfortable with the increased attention they’d gotten around this time, so the song they wrote became a hit and one of their signature tracks. The song features Rush being quite accessible yet also still offering the mind-bending music they excelled at. This song in particular is the Alex Lifeson show, with one of his most memorable solos. Rush would commendably succeed and do so largely on their own terms.

Ozzy Osbourne – Over The Mountain

I’ll set aside the valid arguments about who didn’t get properly comped for their writing work on this and other Ozzy classics and simply focus on the amazing music. This is a massive triumph that was part of an unlikely second life for Ozzy, who came out swinging as the Prince of Darkness in the early ’80’s. The song is phenomenal in every way and especially with Randy Rhodes, this is one of his finest works in a brief yet crowded field. This would sadly be his swansong, but it’s a hell of a way to go out.

Black Sabbath – The Sign Of The Southern Cross

While Sabbath’s former singer was racking up his own accolades, Sabbath themselves were trucking along just fine with Ronnie James Dio. This crushing doom track sees Dio explore the darker side of religion. It was one more triumph for Black Sabbath before things came undone, but it was again one hell of a way to wrap up the first Dio stint.

That does it for ’81. More very awesome music next week as the hits keep coming in what has to be the greatest decade of human existence.

A Salute to Nicko McBrain

On By bigbadburchIn News7 Comments

We’re now nearly two weeks removed from a massive announcement in the Iron Maiden camp. On December 7th, drummer Nicko McBrain played what stands as his final live show with the band in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Maiden were wrapping up their Future Past tour on this date and McBrain announced his intentions hours before the show.

Nicko McBrain was born in the Hackney district of London, England in 1952. He got his start drumming in the 1960’s in various pub bands. Through the ’70’s he would drum with Pat Travers, Gordon Giltrap and others before joining the group Trust. Through Trust, McBrain would meet Iron Maiden and would join that group in 1982.

For 42 years McBrain held down Iron Maiden’s drum throne, appearing on 14 studio albums and countless live shows. Nicko also owns a restaurant in Florida and a music store in England.

Recent years have been challenging for Iron Maiden’s oldest member. He had a bout with cancer in 2021, an early stage incident for which he has been treated. He also suffered a stroke in early 2023, just months before Maiden embarked on their recent Future Past tour. He was able to recover and perform the tour after rehabilitation.

The announcement was a sad yet celebratory matter – Nicko has clearly been through the ringer the past few years and his decision to step away from live performances is totally understandable. He has been a central cog to Iron Maiden’s sound, his unique sense of rhythm played well with Steve Harris’ kinetic bass playing and laid a solid foundation for the band’s music.

This also isn’t a full case of retirement. Nicko remains a member of Iron Maiden and is expected to participate in studio work. He is simply stepping away from live performances, of which Maiden are planning a two-year long tour celebrating their first 9 albums.

This news has caused even more speculation than normal about when the eventual end of Iron Maiden will be. While Nicko is a few years older than the rest of the band, it’s true that everyone is getting up there in age. Nothing has been officially announced or hinted at, only that Steve Harris has said he intends to keep going. News like this will naturally lead fans to wonder about the sad day when Iron Maiden hangs it up, but that does not appear to be on the horizon right now. The new touring drummer for Maiden is Simon Dawson, who has spent the past 12 years performing with Steve Harris in the band British Lion.

It is sad news but it’s also easy to celebrate Nicko’s decades of service to Iron Maiden. Here’s to you Nicko, and long may Iron Maiden reign.

Picking Five Songs From 1980

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year2 Comments

This little series that I’ve half-assed for the past while is now in to 1980. The 1980’s were the most significant decade in my musical development so this whole decade is gonna be loaded with songs I love.

And, as this series has gone, I will only pick five per year. It is more important than ever to remember that this is simply a list of five songs I like a lot from a particular year, this not a definitive list of my five favorite songs from any given year. There are so many awesome songs left off these ’80’s lists that it’s honestly impossible to mess with much – I just go with the vibe and choose five I really like. This stuff does get a hell of a lot easier once I get to the late ’90’s and especially the 2000’s.

But we are in it to win it here, so let’s kick off this look at the best decade the world has ever seen.

Judas Priest – Living After Midnight

In 1980 Priest would finally gain a foothold in the US with their landmark British Steel album, featuring this cut among others. The song is a bit more simple and fun than other things which was a point of debate, but it’s a glorious party anthem and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden

And now we’re on to the debut from my favorite band of all time. Pretty easy auto-include here with their self-named song from their self-titled album. This one is also fun, though much more murdery than the Priest track. Maiden have played this song live more than any other and by quite a margin. While they have a handful of signature songs, it’s pretty clear that this one is the real calling card.

Van Halen – And The Cradle Will Rock

Shocking stuff here, as the band who defined party rock offer up another party anthem. It’s also a rather simple offering, though Eddie makes quite a bit of noise as he often did. Rock on, indeed.

The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me

This one was huge business for Sting and company, a dark tale of a teacher wrapped up in lust for a student all set to the signature reggae-rock catchiness The Police had refined by this point. It’s moody and haunting at its core but a very infectious song on the surface, something the band would nail down again in a few years time.

Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell

Sabbath had a bit of drug-fueled turmoil that saw the exit of singer Ozzy Osbourne. The band were able to regroup with Ronnie James Dio and offer up this massive slab of heavy metal. It features a grand battle between good and evil within a person, something that would be a calling card of Dio’s career. Although Sabbath wouldn’t enjoy the full fruits of the decade of metal, they were off to a very hot start.

And that wraps this one up, five songs of about five thousand great ones from the first year of the ’80’s. The tough sledding continues in the weeks after.

Paul Di’Anno – 1958-2024

On By bigbadburchIn News6 Comments

A brief and sad post today, as it was announced that Paul Di’Anno died earlier today. Paul was 66 and had been the first recording vocalist with Iron Maiden. He would see through the first two albums, then engage in a variety of solo and band projects after exiting Maiden in 1981.

Di’Anno had been dealing with injuries and illness for a long time, his recent appearances saw him in a wheelchair. Paul never would again rejoin Iron Maiden in any capacity, though he and Steve Harris had been met up awhile back and had been regularly communicating. Paul also met with his replacement Bruce Dickinson for the first time earlier this year, a meet-up that was reported to have been well-received by all parties.

Paul Di’Anno was a pretty rough and tumble guy – his antics would fuel Iron Maiden early on, giving them a bit of a punk edge. His same antics, often involving alcohol, would also see him leave the group. But Paul left quite the legacy in his work, both with Maiden and outside of it.

So it is a sad day in the Iron Maiden world. While other fanbases struggle a lot with members who were fired or quit, Maiden has keep a pretty even keel with its former members, especially in recent times. Paul’s works can be celebrated easily with no concerns over the perception of the other Iron Maiden material – everyone knows the first Bruce era represents the band’s classic works, but the first two albums are classics as well that were massively instrumental in shaping the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Rest easy Paul, and may the world always know your signature sneer.