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Prepare to dive into the electrifying world of Iron Maiden, featuring their most iconic and powerful heavy metal anthems! From epic historical battles and haunting ballads to blistering riffs and unforgettable vocals, this lineup showcases the band’s mastery in storytelling and musicianship. Whether it’s raw rage, soaring solos, or thought-provoking lyrics, you’re in for a legendary ride through Maiden’s influential catalog. Ready to rock?
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00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest works of the
00:10legendary heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
00:2120.
00:23Wrathchild After a stellar debut album, Iron Maiden needed
00:27to hit the ground running with the follow-up.
00:30The Ides of March would have sufficed as the thrilling technical instrumental opening to
00:35Killers.
00:43But the companion track, Wrathchild, shut down any notion that the group was more technical
00:49than metal.
00:49It's a firestorm of raw rage driven by Paul D'Anno's visceral vocals.
00:55And now I'm just gonna cry, yeah.
00:59Now I save my time to get on the road.
01:03Guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith turn up the distortion while Steve Harris lays down
01:09a particularly groovy bass line.
01:12Maiden's first collaboration with producer Martin Birch pushed them to embrace more heavy
01:17metal formalism.
01:18Though Wrathchild was relegated to the B-side of the Twilight Zone single, it received enough
01:24hype from fans to become a live staple.
01:27Yeah, I'm a rock child.
01:29Well, I'm a rock child.
01:31Well, I'm a rock child.
01:31Hey!
01:33I'm coming here to get you!
01:3519.
01:36Alexander the Great You can always count on Steve Harris for
01:43an epic history lesson.
01:45The album, Somewhere in Time, ends strong on Alexander the Great, a rundown of the life and times of
01:52the titular ancient Greek leader.
01:54Specifically, it follows his conquest of Macedonia and beyond.
02:06Following an ambient intro, the eight-and-a-half-minute-long jam really isn't a very dynamic composition.
02:13That's because the emphasis is on the brutality of Alexander's imperial warfare, complemented
02:19by sophisticatedly fast-paced musicianship.
02:30The guitar solos alone are so daunting that they excluded the song from live performances
02:36for decades.
02:38Whether he was a visionary or a villain, Alexander the Great at least made for a spectacular progressive
02:44metal anthem.
02:5318.
02:54The Writing on the Wall The album, Senjutsu, proved Iron Maiden to be as sharp as ever going
03:00into the 2020s, or rather, the lead single, The Writing on the Wall demonstrated that clearly.
03:12The animated music video suggests that Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith wrote the lyrics
03:18as a direct response to contemporary political crises.
03:22The song itself is a commanding call with especially foreboding reliably technical instrumentation.
03:35The single was considered an eerily perfect modernization of Maiden's classic sound, even
03:41if it was only a moderate success on the charts.
03:44When the whole album turned out to be a massive critical and commercial hit, the writing on
03:49the wall was hailed as a standout track.
03:5817.
04:00Wasting Love A ballad about love is definitely a rarity for
04:04Iron Maiden.
04:05Granted, Wasting Love merely slows down the band's intense sound, while the lyric reflects on the
04:11isolation that comes from superficial connections.
04:21All the same, it's a deeply poignant piece that effectively recontextualizes Bruce Dickinson's
04:27soulful vocals and the music scope.
04:30Yannick Gerr's guitar solo is still as grandiose as one would expect.
04:42Otherwise, Wasting Love was a subversive pick for a single off the album Fear of the Dark.
04:47It saw only a modest commercial performance and polarized metalheads.
04:52But the growing acclaim over time proves that Maiden's emotive experiments did not go to
04:58waste.
05:0516.
05:07The Wicker Man It seems that Bruce Dickinson couldn't resist
05:11referencing his own solo career with Iron Maiden's first single following his six-year
05:16break.
05:22The Wicker Man is not to be mistaken for his own previously unreleased track, whose lyrics
05:28more directly reference the 1973 horror film that inspired both songs of the same name.
05:35Maiden's goes deeper into the themes of apathy toward and the inevitability of destruction.
05:41The shadow of the Wicker Man is rising up again.
05:47Fans embraced the lead single off of Brave New World as a metaphor for the dawn of a new
05:52age for the band's definitive lineup.
05:54And with a jumping riff behind the also long-absent Adrian Smith's shredding, The Wicker Man has
06:01moved from Maiden's triumphant comeback to one of their great classics.
06:16The Paul
06:17D'Anno era has not gotten enough credit since Iron Maiden's acclaimed namesake debut.
06:22The album's longest track is still held in high regard, and it's easy to see why.
06:29Phantom of the Opera loosely interprets the Gaston Leroux novel with an evocative interplay
06:34between D'Anno's theatrical vocals and a rapid melody.
06:45Of course, most of the seven-minute runtime is the progressive instrumental midsection.
06:57As the complex fan favorite became a live staple, it epitomized the stylistic differences between
07:03the gritty D'Anno and the operatic Bruce Dickinson.
07:14The quality of the studio production for such an immense composition hasn't aged well by
07:19the band's own admission.
07:21Nonetheless, Phantom of the Opera is a haunting showstopper.
07:32The album Seventh Son of the Seventh Son was praised as a crucial advancement in Maiden's
07:40progressive songwriting.
07:41But The Evil That Men Do stands out for both exemplifying that with its lyrics and shedding
07:47all pretense of showy musicianship.
07:58The explosive riffs and leads are all about enhancing one of Bruce Dickinson's most infectious
08:04vocal performances.
08:05Inspired by a line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the anthem bluntly ponders how once-compromising
08:12decisions define one's legacy.
08:20That mix of philosophy and hook made The Evil That Men Do an instant hit on the charts, which
08:27has since become a popular composition for covers.
08:29It's looking like a bright legacy for this timeless classic.
08:4113.
08:42Ace Is High Iron Maiden has gambled a lot on releasing historical war anthems as singles.
08:48Ace's high off the album Power Slave was a soaring success.
09:00Audiences were immediately hooked by a dynamic intensity that captures the sensation of an
09:06RAF fighter Ace during World War II's Battle of Britain.
09:10More importantly, it grieves the chaos and madness of the after-romanticized scene with its
09:16ripping tempo.
09:17The musicianship itself is airtight.
09:27As for the pop-cultural impact, Ace Is High has been widely covered and utilized across media
09:33as an adrenaline-pumping jam.
09:35It's surely a concert staple, even if Bruce, the air-raid siren Dickinson, considers it a
09:42particularly daunting vocal performance.
09:5112.
09:52Dance Of Death The title track on the album Dance Of Death
09:56actually didn't get much of a commercial push.
09:59After all, it's an almost nine-minute-long metaphysical prog suite that was inspired by
10:05Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal.
10:14At the center of this chilling journey into a supernatural world is a contemplation on self-destructive
10:21seduction and the ultimate value of life.
10:33But any listener would be tempted out of their seat by the complex and infectious composition
10:38led by Yannick Gers.
10:40He pushes Iron Maiden to the breadth of their virtuosity, from poetic hooks to blistering
10:46solos.
10:53While it may be a tough sell to mainstream metalheads, many recognize Dance Of Death as nothing less
11:00than a masterpiece.
11:0911.
11:11Power Slave There is at least one power greater than
11:14a living god – Death.
11:16That's the core theme of Power Slave, which depicts the existential crisis of an ancient
11:21Egyptian pharaoh.
11:22This is believed to be an allegory for modern celebrity worship.
11:34A tight rhythm and sweeping progressive melody bring this intimate drama to an epic scale with
11:40a runtime just over seven minutes.
11:42The suite was thus not released as a single off of the album of the same name.
11:54Fans and critics nonetheless singled it out as the album became one of the most important
11:59in heavy metal history.
12:01As a prime example of how Iron Maiden brings history to life with philosophy and virtuosity,
12:07Power Slave has been immortalized.
12:19There is a particular reverence surrounding the Battle of Passchendaele on the subject of
12:24World War I.
12:26The Iron Maiden suite Passchendaele respects that with the more chillingly quiet passages in
12:31an eight-and-a-half-minute runtime.
12:41Then, that calm is broken by a storm of particularly harsh metal to enhance the lyrics' devastating
12:47description of trench warfare.
12:49This was one of the band's most overt efforts to modernize their style for the 2000s, without
12:55sacrificing the classic fundamentals.
13:06They've told their share of anti-war stories, but rarely with this much depth and force.
13:11So, while most would call Passchendaele a hidden gem, Iron Maiden and history enthusiasts see
13:18it as a triumph in their modern catalogue.
13:289.
13:29Run To The Hills Maiden's first single with Bruce Dickinson is so catchy that you almost
13:35overlook the lyrics' terrible tale.
13:38Run To The Hills opens with a mid-tempo reflection on American colonialism from the tragic perspective
13:44of a Kree warrior.
13:53The song then takes off as the European settlers glorify their bloodshed.
13:58As bold as the sobering narrative is, it juxtaposes an old-school heavy metal gallop and Dickinson's
14:05revelatory vocal range.
14:13UK radios were reluctant to play something so potentially controversial until the singles
14:19chart's success turned the tide.
14:21Run To The Hills would become synonymous not only with Iron Maiden, but with 1980s metal.
14:27It's been unessential for both the band and the radio ever since.
14:368.
14:37Two Minutes To Midnight If you thought Maiden's records of historic
14:42wars were harrowing, Two Minutes To Midnight is a striking warning of potential wars.
14:52The title refers to the Doomsday Clock, which tracked the prospect of nuclear escalation during
14:58the Cold War.
14:59As it so happens, the single was released on the 39th anniversary of the atomic bombing
15:04of Hiroshima, Japan.
15:06But the disarmingly dark lyrics altogether condemn war as carnage in the interest of elite fortunes
15:12and marketing.
15:19Ironically, the song's confrontational hooks, crunchy riffs and sophisticated solos made for
15:25a commercial power keg.
15:26Two Minutes To Midnight has all the engineering of a signature anthem for the band, as well
15:32as one of their most explosive messages.
15:427.
15:43Seventh Son of A Seventh Son Why wasn't this the seventh song on Iron
15:48Maiden's seventh album?
15:50Because Seventh Son of A Seventh Son is a concept album that follows Orson Scott Card's
15:55folklore-based writing in a deliberate way.
16:07Clocking in just shy of ten minutes, the title track opens side two with the birth of a child
16:13destined for great power and burdened with a great responsibility.
16:17The songwriting is peak prog, complete with intricate structuring and instrumental sections.
16:23It even features ambient keyboards.
16:34Despite the heavy style reigning supreme, the centerpiece of Seventh Son of A Seventh Son bewildered
16:40metal purists at first.
16:42It has since fulfilled its destiny as one of the band's most acclaimed works.
16:536.
16:54Wasted Years Somewhere In Time was the first Iron Maiden album
16:58to feature songs written solo by Adrian Smith.
17:01The first one would fittingly be a power ballad about solitude.
17:06Moreover, Wasted Years was inspired by the fatigue that came from Iron Maiden's 11-month-long
17:12world slavery tour that kicked off in 1984.
17:22Where fans observed it as a historic triumph, Smith saw it as motivation to reassess his priorities
17:28in life.
17:30That emotional theme charged a driving melody and a sweeping chorus into one of the most engaging
17:36singles in the band's catalogue.
17:44Confirming Smith to be a powerful storyteller on his own, Wasted Years has become a favorite
17:49among Iron Maiden fans through the years.
17:585.
17:59Fear Of The Dark Reportedly motivated by his own scotophobia,
18:04Steve Harris unraveled the burden of paranoia in seven minutes of heavy metal dynamism.
18:10Fear Of The Dark would end up closing the album of the same name, as well as Bruce Dickinson's
18:14initial tenure with Iron Maiden.
18:23To say that he literally left on a high note is to downplay the captivating vocal range that
18:29conveys anger and anguish.
18:31Dickinson would thankfully return six years later, but the resonance of his would-be swan
18:36song has stayed constant.
18:46A live version would earn Iron Maiden their first-ever Grammy nomination.
18:50And as it remains a centerpiece in live performances, Fear Of The Dark still gives listeners the chills.
19:04The Number Of The Beast Controversy ran deeper than Run To The Hills with the album The Number
19:10Of The Beast.
19:11American audiences were particularly put off by the title and the title track for referencing
19:17the satanic digits described in the Book of Revelation.
19:25The song, in fact, rejects religious stereotypes of metal by describing Hell as a realm of pure
19:32evil and terror.
19:33Iron Maiden's visceral performance drove that into listeners' bones, along with confidence
19:38in singer Bruce Dickinson as a worthy successor to Paul D'Ano.
19:51The scandalous opus has since become so worshipped that the whole band is nicknamed The Beast.
19:57Indeed, few albums hit that heavy metal brand as searingly as The Number Of The Beast.
20:09Number 3.
20:10Rime Of The Ancient Mariner The album Power Slave goes out big with what
20:15would be Iron Maiden's longest track for 31 years.
20:19Rime Of The Ancient Mariner hits the ground galloping through an adaptation of an Odyssean poem by
20:25Samuel Taylor.
20:34But as this eerie epic evolves, so too does The Suite's elaborate structure.
20:39From ripping riffs and solos to a haunting ambient midsection, it's all things Iron Maiden, packed
20:46into almost 14 minutes.
20:55Rime Of The Ancient Mariner especially exemplifies their mastery of vivid storytelling through
21:01impeccable composition and musicianship.
21:03Despite its sprawl, it's become one of the most revered prog pieces among the band's fans
21:08and a worthy closer for one of their most influential albums.
21:21Iron Maiden has surely delivered some of the most iconic songs in metal.
21:26Most fans would go far enough to say that every second of The Trooper is iconic.
21:40The anti-war anthem describes a battle during the Crimean War with fury and agony in Bruce
21:47Dickinson's voice.
21:48Steve Harris and Nico McBrain's thunderous rhythm alone rags up tension to the extreme,
21:54and Dave Murray and Adrian Smith lead the charge harmonizing one of the greatest guitar riffs
21:59in the history of their genre.
22:08It's the kind of tight, dazzling jam to settle any conflict between metalheads and the mainstream.
22:14Above all, The Trooper always rallies the troops during live shows as quite possibly The Beast's
22:20signature hits.
22:21We will live to fight another day!
22:32Ohhhhhhhhh!!!
22:33Before we continue, check out this single from SoundMojo's album Balance – Classical music
22:38reimagined as rock, hard rock, and metal.
22:40Check out the full track and album below.
22:591.
23:00Hallowed Be Thy Name
23:01Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
23:04Hallowed Be Thy Name rings out with the initially meditative tale of a man preparing for execution.
23:17As the last track on The Number of the Beast gradually intensifies, the lyric howls with
23:23themes of remorse, death, and the afterlife.
23:26Unfortunately, a 2017 lawsuit revealed that some of those lyrics were placeholders lifted
23:32from the Beckett song Life Shadow.
23:40Steve Harris couldn't brush that under the rug after his seven-minute-long existential
23:45epic became an unlikely hit.
23:55Hallowed Be Thy Name's dynamic drama and prowess furthermore distinguished it as one of the
24:01most acclaimed works in the metal pantheon.
24:03It's naturally a mainstay in Iron Maiden's live shows, although their name is hallowed
24:08for many masterpieces.
24:17What are your favorite Iron Maiden anthems?
24:20Run for the comments below!
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