4. Iron Maiden (The Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind, Powerslave)
While there are many that look at Paul DiAnno’s time in Iron Maiden as their best, the band really took off in 1982 when former Samson vocalist Bruce Dickinson assumed the mic after DiAnno’s drug use got him fired. Before he became a renaissance man (pilot, fencer, author), Dickinson was just known as a great singer and formidable frontman. Number of the Beast was their first #1 album in the UK, and the title track and “Run to the Hills” are stone cold classics. As good as that album was, they topped themselves with Piece of Mind, touring relentlessly behind songs like “The Trooper” and “Flight of Icarus.” By the time Powerslave was released in 1984, the band expanded on their sound, with the epic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” topping 13 minutes in length. The band followed that up with Live After Death, which is the best way to take in the songs from Maiden’s hat trick of metal.
