Iron Maiden Albums Ranked from Worst To Best
By Joe Lavigne
Iron Maiden were one of the most successful British heavy metal bands of the '80s. Bruce, Steve and the East London boys are an absolute mega-force, and with sixteen studio albums (not including cover albums and live albums), we ask: What is the best album Iron Maiden album?
Maiden's catalog is broad, and opinion is often divided. So, after much deliberation, here is our top sixteen list of Iron Maiden albums, ranked from worst to best...
16. Dance Of Death (2003)
Following on from the hugely popular Brave New World, Maiden’s 13th studio album was always up against it. Having the worst artwork of all the band's album covers didn't help the cause either, but, despite all that, Dance Of Death is still a pretty decent effort. An album of strong moments, rather than a compelling, convincing whole, its diversity is its greatest asset. It may be Maiden's weakest offering, but we'd still give it a solid 7/10.
15. No Prayer For The Dying (1990)
No Prayer For The Dying often gets a bashing, and is also often ranked as the band's worst album, but, we don't think it's that bad. After all, it does feature Maiden’s only number one single, the enjoyably daft "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter," but the album was always going to be up against it being the follow-up to the mighty Seventh Son From A Seventh Son. There are a few decent songs here – the title track and "The Assassin," most notably, and, the album certainly has its charms.
14. Virtual XI (1998)
It's hard to define how good Virtual XI is as an album. It's great in parts, but confusing in other areas. Some songs are far too drawn out, and you just feel it was missing the irreplaceable Dickinson. If this was an album produced by another band, you feel it probably would have gotten more recognition and respect. But, as it stands, this is an album that had bags of potential, but didn't quite hit the heights it perhaps should have.
13. The X Factor (1995)
The X-Factor is only half a classic Iron Maiden album, with a disastrous mid-album slump that almost certainly put lots of people off at the time. The first 20 minutes are brilliant, but after that it’s slim pickings. Again, Blaze’s contribution was good, but it wasn't, well, you know, Bruce.
12. The Final Frontier (2010)
The Final Frontier suffers from being preceded by one of Maiden’s most momentous records, A Matter Of Life & Death. But it’s hard to find fault with the band's 15th album, even if its rather peculiar, by their standards. Highlights include "Isle Of Avalon," "Starblind" and "When The Wild Wind Blows" -- in fact, we'd go as far as to say they're among the finest Maiden have written since the return of Bruce and Adrian in 1999.
11. The Book Of Souls (2015)
OK, so, Book Of Souls may not be a classic Maiden album by any stretch of the imagination, but heck, this is still a bloody good showing for a band who many people saw as well past their best at this point. This is an album that showed the metal world that the East Londoners could still mix it up with the big boys, and keep the bar raised to a level of near unprecedented heights.
10. A Matter Of Life And Death (2006)
Nostalgia may dictate that Maiden’s run of phenomenal records during the ‘80s will always top these kinds of lists, but it’s equally true that the band’s efforts since 2000’s Brave New World deserve to be regarded with similar reverence. Of the five albums they’ve made since the millennium dawned, A Matter Of Life And Death stands out as the heaviest, darkest and most thrillingly cohesive of the lot. It doesn't quite reach the overall heights of Brave New World, but it's a lot closer than many people give it credit for. It's most certainly the second best Maiden album of the 21st century.
9. Piece Of Mind (1983)
Piece Of Mind was Maiden’s fourth album, and with material as strong as "The Trooper," "Flight Of Icarus," "Revelations" and Dune-inspired closing epic "To Tame A Land," it's easy to see why it's regarded as one of Maiden's strongest pieces. If you ignore the daft lyrics to "Quest For Fire," Piece Of Mind is more or less flawless. Seriously, it's that good!
8. Killers (1981)
Maiden were on fire at this point: Killers was an explosive confirmation of the immense potential the band had shown on their debut, with an even greater sense of momentum and conviction thrown in. The heroic intro "The Ides Of March" sets the tone, continued by the pummelling "Wrathchild." This is an album that is so ridiculously exciting and joyfully metallic, lead by the punk-rock infused tone of Paul Di’Anno's voice. His tenure was brief but props to the big guy for his huge contribution.
7. Brave New World (2000)
Maiden's 'comeback' album would probably rank a lot higher on most Maiden fans' list, but not on this one. With Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith joyously reinstated, Brave New World was always destined to be a stormer, and so it proved: It was a thrilling reinvention of the classic Maiden sound, with plenty of incisive emotional clout, and galloping bassline.
6. Somewhere In Time (1986)
The most underrated of Maiden’s ‘80s albums by a mile, Somewhere In Time came between two major milestones and, as a result, seldom gets the props it deserves. In fact, it’s a quite brilliant album, and still sounds fresh and vital 30 years later. Highlights include "Caught Somewhere In Time," "Wasted Years," and "Alexander The Great."
5. Fear Of The Dark (1992)
Maiden didn't produce anything out of the ordinary in the '90s, with the big exception of Fear Of The Dark. Only mad people don’t love the title track, of course, and you can take your pick from "Afraid To Shoot Strangers," "Childhood’s End," "Fear Is The Key" and the criminally overlooked "Judas Be My Guide" for a song of equal quality. This album often gets a bashing from metal fans, but, we see it as the band's best work outside their golden '80s period.
4. Powerslave (1984)
Powerslave is almost perfect. It seriously is a great metal album, and, one that many fans believe to be the band's best work. The album that sent Maiden around the world on the legendary World Slavery tour, turning them into global megastars in the process, it is both the definitive record of the band’s first decade and the album with the best artwork of all time. Thanks to "Aces High," "2 Minutes To Midnight," "Powerslave", and the mighty "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner," Powerslave is probably in the top five greatest heavy metal albums of all time.
3. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son should probably be number one, but, it's not, so, don't get annoyed. Anyone that doesn’t own every one of the top four albums in this list should relinquish their metal licence immediately. Yes, this is a flawless masterpiece and the icing on the cake of an eight-album run that has still yet to be bettered in heavy music history. Right from the onslaught of "Moonchild," the album takes us on a journey that touches on progressive themes, with precise metal overlayers. Immaculate singles "Can I Play With Madness," "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Prophecy’s," are splendidly awesome, each in their own right.
2. Iron Maiden (1980)
Iron Maiden was an audacious debut: raw, fiery, subtly progressive and delivered with utmost passion and power, its songs are all established classics and its finest moments – the exhilarating "Prowler," the monumental "Phantom Of The Opera," the spine-tingling "Remember Tomorrow" – are as good as anything Maiden have ever recorded. As Steve Harris has often noted, the production is a little flat, but that hasn’t stopped millions of people from banging their heads to "Running Free." This was the band at their punky best, with unmatched rawness.
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