As many of you know, Iron Maiden is a British heavy metal band that has made it huge. Argued to be on of the best and most influential metal bands of all time. Iron Maiden is a band that doesn't know how to not put out great music as evident with their last Studio album in 2010, Final Frontier. But since their creation, Iron Maiden has undergone some drastic changes to their musical personas. From Heavy Metal, to Hard Rock, to Power Metal. Iron Maiden has adapted their music and has continued to be one of the most beloved Metal bands of all time. This is a minorly lengthy look at how their musical persona has changed through links to examples of their music. So sit back and enjoy the great music in this thread. Of course I am not going to post their entire Discography. Take time to go and listen for your self :D Lets get things started with the roots. The original vocalist of Iron Maiden was a man by the name of Paul Di'Anno. Her performed with the band for two albums, Iron Maiden and Killers. He was replaced by Bruce Dickenson for Number of the Beast. This is the Di'Anno era Examples of Maiden with Di'Anno. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI-LoFQeSNc]Iron Maiden[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlGIFNS3Idc]Killers[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaTPAmP6Ak0]Ides of March + Wrath Child[/url] After Iron Maiden and Killers, the band decided to ditch Di'Anno because of his drug abuse. Bruce Dickenson took his place and the Maiden we all know and love was born. The first album to feature Dickenson was Number of the Beast. This is the first Dickenson era Example of Dickenson's time with early Maiden. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9kT37eIkaY]Number of the Beast[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhBw80Y54gg]Die with your Boots on[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyLVLw7OH44]Power Slave[/url] With the release of Powerslave, Maiden started to venture into new territory. Following in the footsteps of Richie Blackmore's Rainbow, they took a more mythical setting for their music. Songs like Powerslave, Flight of Icarus, and Alexander the Great built upon the idea of a mythological setting. This coupled with Dio's Work, as well as Judas Priest's, and Yngwie Malmstee's, we saw the creation of all the elements of the sub-genre that is Power Metal. This experimenting culminated in the release of the album, "Fear of the Dark." [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nba3Tr_GLZU]Fear of the Dark[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lflrWUzWBkU]Judas be my Guide[/url] In the mid 90's Dickenson left the band to pursue his solo career (which is really good by the way, if you are a Maiden fan you will like it.) A Scotsman by the name of Blaze Bayley was hired on to fill the spot of Vocalist. Bayley's Maiden took a different rout with the band. It's almost Hard Rock in it's composure. Definitely not metal and definitely not Power metal. Bayley worked on two albums with Maiden in this time period, The X Factor and Virtual XI. This is of course the Bayley era. Personally I believe that Bayley is incredibly underrated. He is a great vocalist and isn't as recognized as he should be. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz9zLHbEP7g]Man on the Edge[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fL548OgEIk]The Clansman[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-Ru8phxhHg]The Angel and the Gambler[/url] In 1999 Dickenson came back to Maiden and began working on what I call the New Era of Maiden. With albums like Brave New World, Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death, and finally their newest album, Final Frontier. This era definitely follows the themes of Power Metal and even takes Power Metal to a new and different level. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4t1W8IGU80]The Nomad[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGdqDAHaun4]Face in the Sand[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZDB0mAMkA4]Dance of Death[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wReIilks9Ls]The Pilgrim[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYhtbBsQqNM]The Final Frontier[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpM1Yk9-BqM]The Alchemist[/url] Iron Maiden has been going strong for 38 years. 38 years of ass kicking Heavy Metal and Power Metal. Here is to another 38 years and many more awesome albums. Hope you guys enjoyed this look at the evolution of Iron Maiden. Maybe made some new fans with this post. Hope you guys enjoyed the music. Fight on and Up the Irons!