The rawest disc from the Maidens, even more than the previous one. "Killers" feels like a bridge, or at least that's how I perceive it, between the '70s Hard Rock and the somewhat Heavy (or NiuUeivovbritiscevimedal) of the '80s. These Maidens are much more concise and direct compared to the later albums, and they are tremendously effective, still retaining a certain underlying "refinement" in the melodies and song structures. And then there's their cartoonish-horrific side that I find so endearing, the usual stunning cover art, the dark-horror themes, and the literary quotes (this time it's Poe) presented in a never-serious atmosphere, all sublimated in the title track, which is my favorite on the album. Not that I like everything (I find the two instrumentals absolutely dispensable; they don't say anything to me, to put it poetically) but it’s a solid album with quite a few great tracks ("Murders in the Rue Morgue," "Wrathchild," "Twilight Zone," which is a little gem, and others).
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