This ought to shock some. The "hallowed" (and I use this term with severe sarcasm) Rock Hall of Fame has decided on nominating legendary British metallers Iron Maiden in to their supposed "hallowed" halls. According to the good people at Ultimate Classic Rock, here are their five reasons why this legendary East End band of metallers ought to be in there over some others
BTW, I just found out, Iron Maiden are NOT among the inductees this year. Instead, Jay-Z somehow is. [insert eye roll]
Basic info about the band
-Created on Christmas Day in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris
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| This picture is from 1976 actually |
-Went through a series of lineup changes before settling on a solid one to make 1980's Iron Maiden and 1981's Killers
-Bruce Dickinson coming in during 1982 for The Number of the Beast changed it all for Maiden. His soaring vocals made them popular in America. 1983, however, saw a new drummer coming in, former Trust drummer Nicko McBrain. The band continued to release legendary albums through the 1980s-Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, Piece of Mind and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
-Dickinson quit the band in 1993 to pursue a solo career, which allowed him to blow off the creative steam building in his head. His solo career proved to be quite successful while his former Maiden mates forged on with a new singer, former Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley. The dark, ominous tone the music had taken had alienated a lot of the band's fans, because of its dark, adult-oriented lyrics
-But vocalist Bruce Dickinson and axe slinger Adrian Smith returned in 1999, despite already having two guitarists at this point-Dave Murray and Janick Gers. Worried about the prospect of losing his job, Gers was reassured by Harris: "You're not going anywhere. I always wanted three guitarists anyway". Because of the scale of their tours and the multiple levels of success they've had, here are the five reasons why the good people at Ultimate Classic Rock believe this band needs to be inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame
Their General History
-Maiden has rocked the metal scene for more than forty years, gaining new fanbases everywhere with each passing day. They are one of the most popular bands, unwilling to compromise their sound, look, stage sets for the promise of commercial success. It's almost as if they don't care if people like them. Their attitude almost seems to say "Take us or leave us. This is what we do. If you don't like us, it's not going to affect us". Despite having very few, if any, of their songs played on American radio, they are one of the most highly successful bands in America. They did manage to crack the #8 spot on the Top 10 mainstream rock radio with 1983's "Flight of Icarus". Their manager, Rod Smallwood, even jokingly says that them getting American radio airplay ruins his plans to keep them off the radio
Reasoning for their induction
Their resume is stronger than most bands
-This East End, London metal band has rocked the metal scene for more than four decades, gaining new fans every day. They are uncompromising, not willing to put commercial success over good songs. They don't care if people like them. They do what they like, no matter the consequences. They are one of the most commercially successful metal bands, selling over 100 million albums worldwide. They have been the highest-selling band throughout all the changes in lineup. It's like worldwide news every time Iron Maiden releases an album. Fans flock in droves to the nearest music store to snatch up anything and everything with Eddie the 'Ead's iconic face on it because they feel like being a fan of Iron Maiden is like being part of a special club where you feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself
They've inspired countless bands
-They have inspired future generations of metal heads. Just ask Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich from a 2011 MusicRadar interview. "I don't think Metallica would be where Metallica is today if it wasn't for Iron Maiden. Not only paving the way but also for just inspiring me in 1981 to form a band." Or ask Slayer guitarist Kerry King, who revealed in a 2017 Rolling Stone Magazine interview, what his favorite Maiden album was. He had trouble singling out just one. "I love the first three equally. I went with 1982's The Number of the Beast because that was Bruce's first record, and he just stomped all over everybody's guts on that record...Bruce was the singer that made them metal royalty." Scott Ian, guitarist of Anthrax, said in his 2015 autobiography I'm the Man: The Story of That Guy from Anthrax. "I f---ing lived and breathed Iron Maiden. That's what I wanted to be from 1980-1985. Whatever we did, we looked to Iron Maiden because they did it best."
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| Anthrax |
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| Metallica |
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| Slayer |
Nobody did DIY (do it yourself) better than Maiden
-This is one of those rare bands that never chased a trend just to make more money or allowed others outside of their tight knit circle to influence their creative stream. Too many bands had allowed outside songwriters into their circle and it compromised their success. Iron Maiden never allowed that. There was one funny moment in 1982 when manager Rod Smallwood was eagerly awaiting the finish of The Number of the Beast to slap artwork on it to release it. The band had hung a sign saying "No northern managers welcome". If they felt like writing an 8+ minute song about the Gulf War, then that's what they do. If they felt like raging against the atrocities Sharon Osbourne forced at them in 2005, like they did in the 2006 song "These Colors Don't Run", then they will. That's what that song is about. The problems Sharon Osbourne gave them in 2005 in San Bernadino at Ozzfest over a perceived dig at her family from Bruce Dickinson. This band has done what they want, done it themselves and not cared what others thought. The scale of it has changed ever so slightly over the years. Their own hands on, do it yourself approach has continued to inspire bands. They still handle their own transportation from hotel to venue. They travel internationally in a massive cargo jet piloted by vocalist/pilot Bruce Dickinson.
They don't rely on past successes
-At this day in age, most bands rely on the success of past fame and past successes. Not Iron Maiden. They don't look to the past. They look to the future. This band likes to pose challenges to themselves and fans. For proof, check out the most recent album of theirs, their 2016 album The Book of Souls. No short 2-3 minute songs like they did with initial singer Paul Di'Anno. This album features sweeping songs of epic length, from "The Red and the Black", to the title track. The subsequent tour following it had the band performing half the album every night
They probably wouldn't show up anyway
-If this legendary, veteran metal band does receive induction, they probably won't show up. They probably feel as if they don't need it; they know their worth. Their fans truly know their worth. As vocalist Bruce Dickinson stated in a 2018 interview, "I'm really happy we're not there, and I would never want to be there. If we're ever inducted, I will refuse - they won't bloody be having my corpse in there. Rock 'n' roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland. It's a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it's dead. It's worse than horrible, it's vulgar."
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