Killers (Iron Maiden album)



Killers is the second studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 February 1981 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and on 6 June 1981 by Harvest Records and Capitol Records in the United States. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith, and their last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno, who was sacked after problems with his stage performance arose due to his alcohol and cocaine use. Killers was also the first Iron Maiden album recorded with the assistance of producer Martin Birch, who went on to produce their next eight albums up until Fear of the Dark (1992).

Background


Killers is the only Iron Maiden album to feature two instrumentals, and was written almost exclusively by Steve Harris, with only minor assistance from the rest of the band (the title track and "Twilight Zone" being the only other songs to receive additional writing credits). In addition, "The Ides of March", which serves as the opening track and first instrumental on the album, is the band's shortest song to date.

Each song, with the exception of "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (based on the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe) and "Prodigal Son", had been written in the years prior to the recording of their debut album, though none were recorded professionally until the Killers sessions, apart from "Wrathchild" (an early version recorded in 1979 was featured on the Metal for Muthas compilation).

The North American edition, which came out a few months after it did in the UK, was initially released on Harvest Records/Capitol Records and subsequently on Sanctuary Records/Columbia Records. The song "Twilight Zone" was also added to the album.

The Killer World Tour was the tour in support of the album and would feature the band's earliest shows in the US, the first being at The Aladdin, Las Vegas in support of Judas Priest. The song "Wrathchild" is the only regularly played track from the album, appearing in almost all their concert tours.

Track listing
All songs written and composed by Steve Harris, except where noted:

1995 US Reissue bonus disc
The original Australian version of the album also includes the band's cover of Skyhooks' "Women in Uniform", which was previously released as a single in 1980. The US Castle Records 1995 bonus disc contains several live tracks which originally appeared on the 1981 EP Maiden Japan.

Covers
The song "Wrathchild" was covered in 2003 by the English metal band Sikth and featured as a B-side on their single "Scent of the Obscene". The song was also covered in 2005 by female tribute band The Iron Maidens on their 2007 album Route 666 and again in 2008 by Gallows on the tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine. "Wrathchild" was featured in the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Appears as a bonus track on the reissue to American Death Metal band Six Feet Under 1999 album Maximum Violence.

Personnel
Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.

Iron Maiden

 * Paul Di'Anno – vocals
 * Dave Murray – guitars
 * Adrian Smith – guitars
 * Steve Harris – bass guitar
 * Clive Burr – drums

Additional personnel

 * Martin "Headmaster" Birch – producer, engineer
 * Nigel Hewitt – second engineer
 * Derek Riggs – cover illustration
 * Dave Lights – cover concept
 * Robert Ellis – photography
 * Rod Smallwood – band manager, photography (1998 edition)
 * Dennis Stratton – guitar on "Women in Uniform", "Invasion", and "Phantom of the Opera" (1995 edition)
 * Simon Heyworth – remastering (1998 edition)
 * Ross Halfin – photography (1998 edition)
 * P.G. Brunelli – photography (1998 edition)
 * Simon Fowler – photography (1998 edition)
 * Denis O'Regan – photography (1998 edition)
 * George Chin – photography (1998 edition)