Iron Maiden : Killers

A VOICE INSIDE ME

COMPELLING TO 

SATISFY ME

 Killers 

is the second 

studio album

 by English

 Heavy Metal Band

 Iron Maiden

 It was first released on

  February, 2nd 1981

 in the

 United Kingdom

 by EMI Records 

and on 

May,11th 

in the United States

 by Harvest 

and Capitol Records. 

The album was their 

first with guitarist 

Adrian Smith, a

nd their last with

 vocalist 

Paul Di'Anno 

who was fired after

 problems with his 

stage performances

 arose due to his 

alcohol and

 cocaine use. 

Killers 

was also the first

 Iron Maiden album

 recorded with producer

 Martin Birch, 

who went on to

 produce their 

next eight albums

 until

 Fear of the Dark 

(1992).

BACKGROUND

Killers

 is the only

 Iron Maiden album

 to feature

 two instrumentals.

 It was written almost 

exclusively by 

Steve Harris;

only 

"Twilight Zone"

 and the title track

 are cowritten.

Except for 

"Murders in the Rue Morgue"

 based on the story 

of the same name by 

Edgar Allan Poe

 and

 "Prodigal Son", 

the songs were

 written in the years

 prior to the recording

 of their debut album.

Five of the album's

 songs featured in

 the band's 

live setlists in 1977,

 when

 Dennis Wilcock

 fronted 

Iron Maiden.

"Wrathchild" 

and

 "Strange World" 

appear to be written

 as far back as 1976

 and original singer 

Paul Mario Day

 later claimed he had 

co-written

 "Strange World".

 No songs were 

recorded professionally

 until the

 Killers sessions, 

with the exception of 

"Wrathchild"

 a version recorded in 1979 

was featured on the 

Metal for Muthas compilation

"The Ides of March"

 is nearly identical to

 "Thunderburst",

 by fellow

 British

 NWOBHM band 

Samson, 

who featured a

 pre-Maiden 

Bruce Dickinson

(Bruce Bruce)

 on vocals; 

however, 

"The Ides of March" 

was written during

 the brief time in 1977

 in which future 

Samson drummer 

Thunderstick 

was a member of

 Iron Maiden. 

While Harris took 

sole credit for

 "The Ides of March",

 "Thunderburst" 

is credited to 

Harris and

 all four members of 

Samson's 

Head On line-up, 

Bruce Bruce, aka Bruce Dickinson, 

Chris Aylmer, 

Paul Samson, 

and 

Thunderstick, aka Barry Purkis.

Killers 

spent eight weeks

 on the UK chart. 

The North American edition, 

which came out 

a few months later, 

was initially

 released 

on Harvest Records/Capitol Records

 and subsequently on 

Sanctuary Records/Columbia Records. 

The song 

"Twilight Zone" 

was added to the album.

 In Australia, 

the Skyhooks cover

 "Women in Uniform" 

was added instead

 as a bonus track.

The Killer World Tour

 featured the band's

 first US shows, 

beginning at 

The Aladdin, Las Vegas,

 in support of 

Judas Priest. 

Subsequently,

 "Wrathchild" 

is the only

 regularly played track

 from the album,

 appearing in 

almost all their tours.

TRACK LIST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94NedmSy3wg

(1995 Version)

CD 1

The Ides of March 

(instrumental)

Wrathchild

Murders in the Rue Morgue

Another Life

Genghis Khan (instrumental)

Innocent Exile

Killers

Prodigal Son

Purgatory

Drifter

CD 2

Twilight Zone

Women in Uniform

Invasion

Innocent Exile 

(Live in 1981)

Phantom of the Opera

 (Live)

Drifter

 (Live)

LINK

WHEN THIS WAS RE-ISSUED IN 1995

IT CAME WITH BONUS TRACKS FROM

 (live; from Maiden Japan)

(I Have The Whole Concert)

Will Post At a Later Time...