Iron Maiden

By Kyle Pearson

Iron Maiden is a legend of heavy metal, a music style based on making a lot of noise, putting a lot of distortion on the guitar and placing great emphasis on the drums.

The name comes from a medieval torture, or way to kill somebody, that consisted in putting a person in a coffin with nails and closing it.

Iron Maiden as a band began in 1975 in Leyton (East London). The band members are:

-Bruce Dickinson (lead vocals), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar backing vocals), Janick Gers (guitar), Steve Harris (bass, backing vocals and studio keybords), Nicko McBrian.

Their influences include Queen, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Cream and the Who.

Over 30 years they have sold more than 80 million records, and they have made close to 2,000 live performances.

After playing for three years they recorded their first EP (The Soundhouse Tape), which launched them to fame, although their big success arrived in 1982 with the record The Number of the Beast. They have been playing non-stop since then. Their latest album is called the Final Frontier.

They are considered one of the best heavy metal bands in the history of music and certainly one of the pioneers in this style of music.

A lot of other bands have tried to copy them but, obviously, without a doubt, they are unique.