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Stephanie Luis
MUSC 1040
e-Portfolio Paper
December 11, 2017
Iron Maiden

For my Music 1040 Course I created a presentation on the heavy metal band Iron

Maiden. A band I believe should have been mentioned in our text book American Music a

Panorama: Fifth Concise Edition, under the chapter Rock 1970s. Their style of music and

live performances have influenced and inspired many current rock bands. And theyve

accomplished so many things in the four decades theyve been playing.

I would like to start by defining heavy metal by the definition of Candelaria and Kingman

(2015), heavy metal incorporates the loudness, the pounding beat, and the distortion that are its

trademarks, these frequently mask musical sophistication and virtuosity. (p. 134) Another

important thing that makes up a heavy metal band is the famously long guitar solos. Heavy

metal or heavy rock are essentially heavier and louder blues with the inflected style of British

groups such as The Rolling Stones and Cream.

Iron Maiden accomplished so much in the few years they started. The band formed in

Leyton, East London in 1975 by bassist and primary lyricist Steve Harris. He had been

influenced by many people and groups such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep

Purple, Motorhead, etc. The list goes on and on Harris, at the time was currently in the band

Smiler, but decided to form his own group. And in slightly over 10 years (1975-1980) the band

created seven studio albums, one live album, went on seven World Tours, and even created a

mascot named Eddie. In 1982, Iron Maiden produced their hit album, The Number of the
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Beast. Just to be clear, they reportedly said theyre not a Satanist group. Amazingly enough,

they had a large following without the acknowledgement of mainstream media.

Although, to the media heavy metal was Satanist or devils music. It was a difficult

time for heavy metal bands during the 90s. The band Judas Priest was going through a law suit

over two brothers that committed suicide after listening to their music. In the end Judas Priest

won the lawsuit because long before the brothers had started listening to the band it was found

that they were going through some difficult times in their lives. Judas Priest is not the only band

that have been blamed for something like this. Many bands have been bashed for what they sing.

On the other hand, Iron Maiden managed to become even more successful with the

album Fear of the Dark. In the past decade many members came and went, but in 1999 the

six-man group that we know today were formed. Our line-up is Bruce Dickenson on vocals,

Steve Harris on bass and lead song writer, Nicko McBrain on drums, and Adrian Smith, Dave

Murray, and Janick Gers on the guitar. These last three guitarists were friends before they joined

Iron Maiden. The six-piece group created incredible new album hits such as, Dance of Death,

and Matter of Life and Death.

By February 2008, Iron Maiden got a customized Boeing 757 named Ed Force One, with

an incredible exterior designed just for the band. With their vocalist as a licensed piolet there

was nothing that could stop them from having another World Tour. They few went from India to

Costa Rica, Australia to Argentina, Sao Paulo to Tokyo, making it a total of 50,000 miles in 45

days! This not only made TV News headlines around the world, but the tour was even turned

into a film and DVD named, Flight 666. In 2010, the film ended up being No. 1 in music

DVD charts in 25 countries! This was a huge time for them.

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After almost two decades Iron Maiden has been as strong as when they first started

playing together. The only difference from then is their age. But that hasnt stopped them from

continuing their amazing live performances, and World Tours. They receive the Grammy for

Best Metal Performance in 2010. Theyve received around 6 other Awards. The latest one being

in 2016 when they got the Kerrang Legend Award; they are Legends in Metal. Milas (2017)

Iron Maiden have more than earned their proudly-held status as one of the most influential and

revered bands of all time.

Including many other rock bands today, such as Disturbed, Down, Powerwolf, Crossfaith,

Creeper, Miss May, and many others have been inspired or influenced by Iron Maiden because

of their unique music style. I love that their lead song writer is Steve Harris (bassist). Of course,

they also get help from other song writer and composers. What I think is unique is that many of

their hit songs have historical events incorporated into them, some examples are Alexander the

Great, Powerslave, The Trooper, Aces High, Invaders, The Clansman, and many

others. Its always nice to have a group from your favorite genre that sings of things other than

love and intercourse.

Iron Maiden has accomplished so much since it was formed four decades ago. Over 90

million albums sold, over 2000 live performances in 63 countries, 16 studio albums, 12 live

albums, 4 extended play records (EP), and 7 compilations. And awards for their talent and

music. Milas (2017) Maiden have accrued countless new young admirers by never being

predictable while remaining predictably brilliant.

This group has been my favorite band of all time! None will compare to their amazing

guitar riffs, the tempo and beat from the bass and drums, or Dickensons pleasantly melodic, yet
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high pitched screams. Nothing compares to their music, or their memorable live performance

The first time I got to see them perform live was this year (2017). I didnt get the best seat, but It

was honestly the best performance I saw from a metal group. Theyre not your usual head

banging band, but they incorporate their mascot (Eddie) into the performance countless times.

And the props were amazing! The stage gets changed around a lot. The whole time the band

plays you get to see the stage shift and change many times along with the explosion of fireworks

and lights. I never knew one outdoor stage could do that! Out of this world. What I will never

forget is their message at the end of the performance before the song, Blood Brothers. I could

feel how the crowd was brought together by those few sentences. They spoke about being at

peace with one another. To unite to overcome the hardships in the world. Not to be against each

other because of belief or physical differences. We all have one thing in common, were Blood

Brothers.
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Bibliography

Milas, Alexander. The Band. Iron Maiden. 2017, https://ironmaiden.com/the-band.

Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.
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Rohter, Larry. 2 Families Sue Heavy-Metal Band As Having Driven Sons to Suicide.
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Higgs, John. The 11 best Iron Maiden songs based on History. Team Rock, 08 Jul.
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Hartmann, Graham. Iron Maidens Bruce Dickinson on Lunatic World Leaders: There
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Iron Maiden. inflooenz, http://inflooenz.com/?artist=Iron+Maiden. Accessed 12 Dec.
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