- Killers (Iron Maiden album)
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Killers 
Studio album by Iron Maiden Released 2 February 1981 (UK)
6 June 1981 (US)Recorded Battery Studios, London, November 1980 – January 1981 Genre Heavy metal Length 41:18 Language English Label EMI Producer Martin "Headmaster" Birch Iron Maiden chronology Iron Maiden
(1980)Killers
(1981)The Number of the Beast
(1982)Singles from Killers - "Twilight Zone"
Released: 2 March 1981 - "Purgatory"
Released: 15 June 1981
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Sputnikmusic [2]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.Killers is the second album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 February 1981 in the UK, and 6 June 1981 in the US. 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. This was also the first Iron Maiden album made with veteran producer Martin Birch, who went on to produce their next eight albums before retiring after Fear of the Dark in 1992.
The song "Wrathchild" is the only regularly played track from the album, appearing in almost all their concert tours. The song was 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.[3] "Wrathchild" was also featured in the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.
Contents
History
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). Each song, with the exception of "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "Prodigal Son," had been written in the years prior to the recording of their debut album, although none were recorded professionally until the "Killers" sessions, apart from "Wrathchild" (an early version featured on the Metal for Muthas compilation).
The U.S. 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. "Twilight Zone" was also added to the album.
The song "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is based on the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. "Rue Morgue" is the name of a fictitious street in Paris, which translates as "Mortuary Street" in English, however, the only reference to the story in the song is when two girls are found dead.
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 Casino, Las Vegas in support of Judas Priest.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Steve Harris, except where noted.
Original UK release No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "The Ides of March" (instrumental) 1:46 2. "Wrathchild" 2:54 3. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" 4:18 4. "Another Life" 3:22 5. "Genghis Khan" (instrumental) 3:06 6. "Innocent Exile" 3:53 7. "Killers" Paul Di'Anno, Harris 5:01 8. "Prodigal Son" 6:11 9. "Purgatory" 3:20 10. "Drifter" 4:48 Original U.S. release No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "The Ides of March" (instrumental) 1:46 2. "Wrathchild" 2:54 3. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" 4:18 4. "Another Life" 3:22 5. "Genghis Khan" (instrumental) 3:06 6. "Innocent Exile" 3:53 7. "Killers" Di'Anno, Harris 5:01 8. "Twilight Zone" Dave Murray, Harris 2:33 9. "Prodigal Son" 6:11 10. "Purgatory" 3:20 11. "Drifter" 4:48 1998 Remastered release No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "The Ides of March" (instrumental) 1:46 2. "Wrathchild" 2:54 3. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" 4:18 4. "Another Life" 3:22 5. "Genghis Khan" (instrumental) 3:06 6. "Innocent Exile" 3:53 7. "Killers" Di'Anno, Harris 5:01 8. "Prodigal Son" 6:11 9. "Purgatory" 3:20 10. "Twilight Zone" Murray, Harris 2:33 11. "Drifter" 4:48 1995 Reissue bonus disc No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Twilight Zone" Murray, Harris 2:33 2. "Women in Uniform" (originally by the Skyhooks) Greg Macainsh 3:07 3. "Invasion" 2:38 4. "Phantom of the Opera" (live) 6:55 An older cassette version was also released which contained "Women in Uniform" on side two.
Chart Performance
Album
Year Chart Position 1981 Austrian Albums Chart 20[4] German Albums Chart 10[5] Norwegian Albums Chart 19[6] Swedish Albums Chart 11[7] UK Albums Chart 12[8] U.S. Billboard Hot 200 78[9] Singles
Year Single Chart Position Album 1981 "Twilight Zone" UK Singles Chart 31[10] "Killers" "Purgatory" 52[11] 1990 "Women in Uniform / Twilight Zone" UK Albums Chart[note 1] 10[12] — "Purgatory / Maiden Japan" 5[13] Notes
- ^ Re-release of both singles as part of "The First Ten Years" box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.
Personnel
- Paul Di'Anno – vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Clive Burr – drums
Additional personnel
- Dennis Stratton - guitar on "Women in Uniform", "Invasion", and "Phantom of the Opera"
- Martin "Headmaster" Birch – producer, engineer, "bullier"
- Nigel Hewitt – second engineer
- Rod Smallwood – band manager
- Derek Riggs – cover illustration
References
- ^ Huey, Steve. Killers (Iron Maiden album) at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
- ^ "Sputnikmusic review". http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=937. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
- ^ "Kerrang! Maiden Heaven Track Listing Revealed!". .kerrang.com. http://www2.kerrang.com/2008/06/maiden_heaven_track_listing_re.html. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ^ "Killers- Austrian Albums chart". http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Killers&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "Killers- German Albums chart" (in German). http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=Iron+Maiden&title=Killers&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "Killers- Norwegian Albums chart". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Killers&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "Killers- Swedish Albums chart". http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Killers&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "UK Albums Archive- 28th February 1981". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1981-02-28/. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "Killers billboard Chart". http://www.allmusic.com/album/killers-r9909/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "UK Singles Archive- 21st March 1981". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1981-03-21/. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "Purgatory- Chart stats". http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=9256. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "UK Albums Archive- 3rd March 1990". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1990-03-03/. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ "UK Albums Archive- 10th March 1990". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1990-03-10/. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
Categories:- 1981 albums
- Iron Maiden albums
- Albums produced by Martin Birch
- EMI Records albums
- New Wave of British heavy metal albums
- Albums certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
- Albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Albums certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie
- "Twilight Zone"
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