Killers is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was first released on 16 February 1981 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and on 11 May in the United States by Harvest and Capitol Records. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith, and 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
thumb|right|180px|Killers was the second and final Iron Maiden album with vocalist [[Paul Di'Anno (shown here in 2008)]]
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.
When considering producers for their debut album, Martin Birch had topped the band’s shortlist however he was busy working on Heaven And Hell with Black Sabbath. Birch later recalled that when Iron Maiden contacted him regarding Killers, they told him: “We didn’t think we were worthy of you. Because of what you’ve done [in the past] and your reputation, we didn’t think you would take us on.” Birch replied: "That was your first mistake, because I was very disappointed that you didn’t ask me."
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. 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). Both "Innocent Exile" and "Wrathchild," are among the first songs Steve Harris had ever written, all the back in 1973.
Steve Harris later noted in the official Iron Maiden book, Run To The Hills "Production-wise, Killers was like chalk and cheese compared to the first album," Harris also acknowledged the lack of brand new material on the record, however he claimed it was nonsensical to deny such good songs a proper release: "The first album was like a ‘best-of’ from our live set, songs which went back years. [For Killers], we still had a lot of really good, strong songs, like Wrathchild, and we didn’t want to lose them." 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.
Critical reception
Upon release the album was met with mixed reception Robbi Miller from British music weekly Sounds gave Killers a one-star rating, stating "it’s more of a failure than a triumph." However Steve Harris later noted that Miller had dated, and been dumped by, Paul Di’Anno not long before, although he added that early review copies were sent out with an inferior mix. A reviewer from Ultimate Guitar gave the album a 9.7/10 clamimg "I feel that this is one of Maiden's best albums. Not their #1 best, but easily, let's see, yeah, #3. Right behind "Piece Of Mind" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son." In my eyes, it shows a stunning jump from the debut, and was really the first album in which the band established a signature sound.
In 2018, Metal Hammer included the album on its list of the 20 Best Albums of 1981.
Track listing
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Covers
The song "Wrathchild" was covered by Gallows on the 2008 tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, released by Kerrang! magazine.
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
- 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 – photography (1998 edition)
- Dennis Stratton – guitar on "Women in Uniform", "Invasion", and "Phantom of the Opera" (1995 edition)
- Tony Platt – producer of "Women in Uniform" (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)
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! Chart (1981)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| align="center"| 20
|-
|-
!scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)
| align="center"| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)
| align="center"| 18
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| align="center"| 28
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (2006)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! Chart (2010)
! Peak<br/>position
|-
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! Chart (2018)
! Peak<br/>position
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! Chart (2020–2021)
! Peak<br/>position
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col" | Chart (1981)
! scope="col" | Position
|-
! scope="row" | German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 26
|}